Kreuzworld setting (combine fan setting)

65 million years ago - dinosaurs wiped out in meteor shower, which contains among other
minerals, Omlevex

2 million BC - Lemurian Empire founded by serpent men

100,000 BC - Preservers visit earth and tamper with genetics

50,000 BC - Preservers make their last visit to earth, create Farside City

20,000 BC - Atlantis is founded by the sorcerer-king Atlan, following his defeat of The
Adversary

12,800 BC - Atlantis begins to grow corrupt, from a combination of hubris, and growing worship
of eldritch abominations such as the Rha'Zhaketh/Entropic Masters. Long-time hostilities with
Lemuria erupt into war.

10,000 BC - Atlantis and Lemuria destroy each other, both entombed beneath the waves. many
of the world's 'hidden lands' (such as Ultima Thule, Hybreedoria, Aerie, etc.) are founded by
the survivors of this Cataclysm. the arcane energies of the Cataclysm attract the attention of
supernatural beings that eventually become the gods and goddesses of ancient myth

10,000 - 20 BC - the Mythic age. Gods, heroes and monsters perform great and terrible deeds,
shaping the developing civilizations of humanity

9500 BC - the water breathing descendants of Atlantis rediscover the surface world,

3000 BC - Daedelus is granted immortality

480 BC - the chase between a Parousian flier and Haud Warship ends with both ships crash-
landing on earth. the survivors go into suspended animation, although the Haud periodically
awaken to make repairs, shore up their numbers, and eventually make preparations for a long
term guerrilla war with humanity

first century AD - Master Mage Simon Magus arbitrates the institution of The Pact,
establishing a code of conduct and regulation amongst the magic-users of Earth, which includes
a treaty of non-interference with the Pantheons, faerie, and other extraplanar powers. in time, the
Pact will become a formal institution, complete with a governing body

479 - 513 AD - the reign of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table

1098 AD - with the approval of the catholic church, the Covenant is formed to protect people
from the things that go bump in the night

1314 - Taurus Minos establishes his Labyrinth organization, taking advantage of and profit
from the dissolution of the Order of the Knights Templar. Secret societies whose roots lay with
the Templars founded in this time wage a shadow war with the man-bull

1315 - Temujin, the Iron Khan, nearly becomes the shadow Emperor of the Yuan Dynasty
before he's thwarted by agents of the White Lotus Society and/or a party of occidental
Adventurers. However, he survives the debacle and not only remains a potent figure in the
empire's politics, but rules over his own 'khanate' in the northern territories

1476 - Count Vlad Tepes III becomes Dracula, future Lord of All Vampires

1492 - Christopher Colombus discovers not only the new world, but the Metazon Islands.
Unfortunately for Spain, the strange nature of the islands prevents them (and the rest of Europe)
from seriously exploiting its resources

1621 - French colonists led by Alexander DuMauge establish a settlement in the Metazon
Islands, paving the way for other such settlements

1631 - the town of Freedom is founded

1641 - Autumn Arbor, Maryland is founded

1773 - the Pirate ("Privateer.") Lord Henry Wyverncrest claims and settles the Drakia islands
along the western African coast as the Pax Wyvernia, his psionic abilities a factor in his
kingdom's recognized legitimacy

1775 -1781 - American War for Independence

1777 - first contact between Earth and agents of The Network. Unfortunately, contact is made
with an ambitious charlatan, and the Network's warnings about The Swarm are misinterpreted

1789 - Freedom City, New Jersey is incorporated. the French revolution begins

1830 - Bedlam City, Indiana is founded

1861-1865 - American Civil War

1874 - New Atlantis is founded by the followers of Captain Nemo, and is recognized as part of
the undersea Atlantean Kingdoms

1876 - Century Station, Florida, is founded as part of America's centennial fervour

1885 - first documented scientific examination of superpowers, after the power granting
properties of Omlevex are discovered

1898 - first documented alien invasion, as biomechnical 'tripods' lay siege to England
1908 - the Tunguska event. a strange object of alien origin crashes into the Siberian countryside.
That’s pretty much the only part historians can agree on.

1913 - The Iron Khanate officially secedes from China as the Iron Khan begins actively plotting
world domination. He also has a "falling-out" with his young apprentice, Dr. Tzin Sing around
this time

1914-1918 - World War 1. Although superhuman involvement is almost unheard of in the war, a
handful of incidents are enough to convince several governments to begin looking into the
creation of super-soldiers.

1918 - Centurion's life pod enters our dimension, landing west of Freedom City, but leaving a
trail that links the world to the Terminus. Luckily for our reality, Omega has more important
worlds to crush at the time

1933 - Doctors Aeon and Steele found the John Smith Society for Scientific Progress. Within
a decade, its recognized as the "mad scientists' Union"

1935 - Archaeologist Adrian Eldritch becomes Earth's new Master Mage. Dr Prometheus
makes his early steps into supervillainy

1938 - the Liberty Men debut on New Year’s Day, and the Centurion first appears. These events
mark the start of the 'golden age', while on another continent, an expedition into the arctic circle
by the Nazis discovers Ultima Thule, and brings back Kal-Zed, who will become the third
Reich's Ubermensch. Praetorian 'first' attacks the modern era, along with some ill-timed alien
invasions Major Wilhelm Kantor of the SS discovers the lost city of Seti-Ab

1939 - World War 2 begins. the Nazis unveil their first wave of Ubersoldaten, led by
Ubermensch.

1941 - The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour brings the USA into WW2. President Roosevelt
establishes several super-hero teams, including the Liberty League, Sentinels and Homefront

1944 - Allied superhumans attack Calais en masse, performing the vital task of distracting Nazi
ubersoldaten from the real invasion at Normandy

1945 - World War 2 ends. Use of superhumans in wartime becomes severely restricted under the
Geneva Convention

1946 - the Wild Card Virus is unleashed upon the world. PHANTOM is formed

1947 - the Roswell Incident leaves samples of alien technology and biomatter in the hands of the
United States Government

1948 - Kantor begins the creation of SHADOW, starts calling himself Overshadow
1953 - the unmasking Massacre. The first Death Mask seizes control of Ruritania

1955 - META-4 is founded to hunt down the Atomic Brain

1960 - the Freedom League is formed

1961 - SHADOW makes its formal debut and first bid for world conquest.

1962 - AEGIS and the Foundation for World Harmony is formed

1970: Metazon is seemingly erased from existence in 1970. Everybody just 'forgets' about it
except for those heroes/villains with time/space adventure/shenanigans type stuff. Anybody from
metazon not on the islands at the time starts drawing a blank about where they came from

1971 - Kreuzritter raises the Island of Thule from its watery grave, using connections in both
SHADOW and PHANTOM, his sovereignty is recognized by the United Nations.

1974 - President Nixon's dirty secrets are exposed. A disillusioned Steel Commando II becomes
General Venom and founds the House of Serpents. The Foundation for World Harmony is shut
down

1975 - work on Project Pharos, a publicly available cold fusion energy reactor, begins in
Century Station. CS is made a district of the United States to clear the legal opposition. Dr
Destroyer appears

1976 - the Statesmen, the largest superhero team ever assembled, debuts, based out of Emerald
City, Washington

1980 - the sentinels disband. the Pharos reactor is discovered to be in violation of interstellar
treaties, it and all derived technologies are confiscated, nearly gutting century station, and
souring earth/alien relations, Divinos, Black Wing and Athena debut, bringing some spot of
hope to the year

1981 - following disastrous losses, the Freedom League disbands

1982 - the statesmen disband following a disastrous battle with The Atomic Brain that leaves
their base in shambles

1984 - Freedom city, under the mayorship of "hizzoner" Franklin Moore, outlaws costumed
heroes. Many cities follow suit. Protonik defects from the soviet union

1985 - Earth is invaded by The Swarm, resulting in the formation of the Patriots, but their
optimism and heroic deeds are eclipsed when the "Bangkok '85" incident, one of the worst
superhuman-related disasters in the 20th century, ends with 1000 civilians dead, marking the
start of the 'iron age' of superheroics.
1987 - The "Typhoid Croyd" outbreak of the wild card virus hits New York

1990 - the Rox Campaign vs the squatters at Liberty Island ends in disaster with terrible losses
to both sides. The Devil Shake, a massive, localized earthquake created by demonic magic,
demolishes Tokyo's Shinjuku district, turning it into a lawless, chaotic, demon-infested hellhole.
The GENOM Corporation becomes Spartacorp's Asian rival

1991 - former Soviet General M. Bison becomes president-for-life of Mrigranka (an island off
the coast of Thailand). Hardline military elements in Russia attempt a coup with the aid of
communist supers such as Blazing Star, but it fails bloodlessly due to heroes such as Protonik
and Troll

1992 - a loose collection of solo supercriminals form the Crime Union, based out of Emerald
City. An attempt by the patriots to police the world with UN sanction ends poorly, but Dr
Jeremiah Prophet uses the lessons of the debacle to lay the groundwork for Vanguard. Blazing
Star perishes to contain a nuclear holocaust in Belarus, or so the world thinks...

1993 - The Terminus Invasion of Freedom City results in the death of Centurion, but the
creation of a new Freedom League. The Day of The Destroyer leaves Detroit in ruins. The
appearance of the Sailor Senshi brings hope to blighted Tokyo. President George Bush "does
not" re-open the Foundation for World Harmony as a clandestine anti-terrorism organization as
one of his last acts as president. A new Sentinels team saves earth from the Heirophant

1995 - the San Francisco bay area is wiped out in a 7.4 magnitude earthquake. Divinos, already
run ragged and to the brink from recent events, is forced to kill General Iblis, and leaves earth.

1996 - Newly elected President Ben Farmer is assassinated. Vice president Reverend Leo
Barnett is appointed President of the United States and begins pushing for harsher anti-
superhuman policies

1997 - the San Francisco bay area reincorporates as Los Dios. Blazing Star emerges from his
irradiated tomb, declares himself the Czar, and carves out the border of his Burning
Protectorate. As much of the territory taken is radioactive wasteland, he more or less gets away
with it.

1999 - The Psychotic Seven attempt to take over the United States by violent revolution, before
they and their allies are stopped by a united front of superheroes, including a returned Divinos.
The restoration of Detroit is completed, and the city of brotherly love is renamed Millenium
City. Smashface rampages through Bedlam City, entrenching the troubled metropolis in its
downward spiral.

2000 - Gene Nation is formed, opposed by the equally new Tomorrow Society. Working with
the Tokyo Dominion Tank Police, Sailor Moon and other Japanese Heroes are able to prevent
the Entropic Masters from escaping, and release their death grip on Shinjuku

2001 - creation of Genesis Island

2002 - the "time of crisis". The Crime Union, under the direction of Godfather Gorilla,
becomes the World Crime League, now with the influence to be the supervillain equivalent of
the mafia. WCL operations are moved to Vegas, while Emerald City is considered a 'vacation
spot'

2004 - the Grue invasion. Harrison Danilek, The Usurper becomes first 'Emperor' of
Chiquador. In the midst of the Grue invasion, the Praetorian attacks, now possessed by the
Darkness Beyond Time, and is in fact the secret mastermind behind the invasion. A team of
time space and major occult guys bring metazon back into existence, betting the sudden burst of
life-light will turn the tide against the time tyrant. it works, the Darkness is exorcised, the Grue
retreat and praetorian returns to his time to lick his wounds.
Metazon is made the 51st state, and everybody who forgot about it in 1970 remembers it again.
problems: metazon is a place where 1969 was 7 years ago, and is having to adapt to the changes
made these past 40 years, to say nothing of the villains that see it as unsuspecting prey.
Metazon needs heroes now more than ever

2005 - the Freedom League move their base of operations from Freedom City to the
"Lighthouse", an orbiting space station, and announce they are expanding their operations to a
global scale

2006 - Count Reich destroys Olympiana. The Pantheon debut, creating Hearthstone Island.
the UN Publicly unveils Vanguard in response

2007 - General Amn Batani, president-for-life of Zulan is killed. in the wake of the resulting
power vacuum and infighting, Zulan becomes a Caliphate under Prince Siraj and the Nur al-
Allah.

2008 - The Orkus invasion. Pyote, Texas is wiped out by the metahuman dubbed 'little fat boy',
who after a series of events, is taken in by the Pantheon. The Radical appears in the service of
the people's paradise of Lugendu, which is gearing up for a three way war with Unitra and
Nestoria.

2009 - the Macross, an alien space ark/colony ship, crashes on earth. the alien colonists and
refugees make the newly dubbed Macross Island, and by extension, Earth, their new home.
High Lemuria is returned from the annihilation Zone to earth's pacific ocean (somewhere near
Hawaii, if you want specifics)

2010 - Present Day

North America
---

Aerie - the hidden sanctuary of the Avians, located in northern Greenland, Aerie's sovereignty
was recognized by the United nations in 1995, with the sometime supercriminal Talona acting as
their ambassador to the rest of the world.

Metazon - located along the western edge of the Bermuda Triangle, the Metazon islands lie
across a massive intersection of earth's ley lines, and as such has gained the nickname of
'Schrodinger’s continent', having an overall landmass roughly equal to the state of Colorado, yet
at the same time only occupies an area of 10 miles, yet expeditions into the heart of metazon
suggest an area comparable to Asia. The truth is that Metazon is a dimensional nexus, and as one
travels further inland, the further from reality as one knows it they get. As such, Earth's mystics
have established a 'forbidden zone' within the heart of central metazon, to prevent aimless
wanderings into the imageria, and to keep particular beings... 'out'

South America
---

Chiquador - a tiny nation wedged between French Guiana and Brazil, Chiquador's history has
been marked by civil wars, coup d’états, drug trafficking, petty tyrants and corruption, and was
regarded as South America's 'whipping boy', in which any country could do as they saw fit. this
all changed in 2005 when the incumbent President-For-Life was overthrown and replaced by
Emperor Harrison Danilek, Who even his own people call The Usurper. Underestimated as a
Death Mask wannabe, Danilek's technological resources were more than enough to drive out
initial attempts to replace him by assassination and counterrevolution. Since then, Dannilek has
not only stabilised Chiquador, but ushered in a wave of economic prosperity. having put his
house in order, the Emperor/Usurper has now begun a massive build up of military forces, and
although he's made no moves to use this growing force save to fortify his borders, its almost
certain he intends to begin a conquest of South America

Costa Azul - a tiny and corrupt island nation, whose desire for tourism does a poor job of
concealing its ill repute as a haven for money laundering, drug trafficking, and other criminal
activities. However, Costa Azul has no extradition laws or treaties, making it an agreed-upon
'vacation spot' for supervillains, and is regarded as neutral territory by criminal cartels such as
PHANTOM, SHADOW, and the World Crime League

Guamanga - a tiny nation located in the Central American jungles, Guamonga was a country
where poverty and despair ruled, as the wealthy 5% owned 90% of the country, including its
government. that is, until a violent peasants revolution threw the country into chaos late last year,
provoked by the self-proclaimed 'God-King of lost Lemuria', Megasaur. Since then, Guamanga
has seen peace and order restored, but now the country is ruled by eldritch cults of the Yellow
Sign and Hidden Coil, giving the secret societies of serpent men the means to act openly and a
foothold in global politics

New Hybreedorea - hidden within the Amazon Basin, is the new home of the Hybreed Society
following the loss of their ancestral homeland in the Himalayas in 1916, which was devastated
after a brutal attack by the Geodonians of Sub Terra, under the leadership of Hyreedorean
outcast and former general, Kainus. although suspicious of outsiders, especially after their
leader, Lady Lynxara was held captive and tortured by PHANTOM's South American branch
for a period of 5 years, Hybreedorea is aware that the common bulk of humanity are just ordinary
people with no ill will. Rumour persists that Lady Lynxara may soon apply for Hybreedorean
recognition by the United Nations, but such an act will force these proud and reclusive people to
reveal their location to the world.

Olympiana - located 500 miles southeast of Cuba, the island of Olympina was a lost haven of
immortals and creatures from the age of myth, until it was destroyed by the forces of Count
Reich's Death's Head cult in 2006. However, despite the catastrophic losses, portions of
Olympiana's wondrous/terrible population survive, some now exiled to the "Lost World", while
those who could be evacuated have since established a colony (new Olympus) in southern
Metazon

Utopia Isle - founded by survivors of ancient Atlantis, Utopia Island lies hidden in the Bermuda
Triangle, eschewing the hubristic magics of Atlantis in favour of science and human ability.
Since 1945, Counsellor Sarlyn, once known to the outside world as the Envoy, has worked to
convince his people to end their millennia of seclusion. Ironically, and tragically, the spark that
has led to the Utopians contacting the outside world was the destruction of their neighbour and
ally, Olympiana. Utopia's first public act was to provide refuge for as many survivors of the
disaster as they could, and have dedicated their superscientific minds to undo the devastation left
upon Olympiana itself

Europe
---

The Burning Protectorate - the Burning Protectorate - a desolate, radioactive wasteland found
along the Russian-Ukraine border, this lawless anarchy is the uncontested domain of the Czar, on
account of said radioactive hellholishness. Many criminals escape prosecution by travelling here,
instead taking their chances with the radiation and the Czar's temper. as a result, the Czar is the
unwitting jailor and executioner of some of eastern Europe’s worst criminals. despite the
nihilistic ferocity of the Czar's temper, the Burning Protectorate considers itself an ally to Russia,
an alliance stemming from the friendship once shared between the former Blazing Star and
Battle Czar

Ruritania - a quiet, peaceful postage stamp of a European nation, Ruritania's status as

PHANTOM's world headquarters is more or less an open secret, a reputation stemming in no
small part from the rule of the second Death Mask, who plunged Ruritania into ruin during his
downfall. Only the intervention of Spartacorp preventing it from being eaten up by the rest of
Europe, an act for which Kenneth Kane is recognized as hero of the people, and honorary
member of the Ruritanian royal family. The other secret of Ruritania's new success is the third
Death Mask, who while a ruthless terrorist determined to rule the world, is a far better politician
than his predecessor, and keeps those powers that do not recognize the sovereignty of Ruritania
in their place. Naturally, only a handful of people know that Kenneth Kane and Death Mask III
are the same person.

The Kingdom of Thule - the creation of its sorcerer-king, Kreuzritter, Thule was raised up
from the bottom of the North Sea in 1971, and its sovereignty was swiftly recognized by the UN.
despite prosperity brought from a trove of Atlantean/Ultiman artefacts and the use of alchemy-
based magics, the majority of Europe hasn't overlooked the parallels between Thulian society
and early Nazi Germany. Many espionage agencies are troubled by Thule's growing number of
superhumans, and Kreuzritter himself is a recognized "A-list" supervillain, who, earlier this year,
actually managed to defeat the Psychotic Seven single handed (who had attacked Thule in
response to the island nation's recent partnership with New Atlantis).

Ultima Thule - the secret home of the Ultimen, UT has slowly begun to interact with the outside
world, once it was made clear to them that Superior's actions would be reflected on them. these
early diplomatic efforts haven't gone so well, because while unlike Superior, most ultimen are
just people (however advanced), they really are a bunch of arrogant, distant, condescending self-
absorbed holier-than-thou jerks. but the point is they ARE trying to be better neighbours to the
rest of the world

Africa
---

Dakana - one of the wealthiest and most advanced African nations, Dakana's wealth stems from
the largest and most stable deposit of Daka Crystals in the world, and from the actions of her
king-champions, the line of the white lions, who in the 20th century broke from Dakana's
traditional isolation to begin trade and relation to the outside world. Dakana is also host to
UNISON's 'floating forces' and African operations branch, in keeping with King M'Balla's
concern for the stability of Dakana's neighbours

Lugendu - a cruel, totalitarian dictatorship located in western africa, Lugendu is ruled by an

effective triumvirate of President-for-life Joseph Otenga, Proconsul Doctor Kitengi Nshombo,
and his sister Alicia Nshombo, who acts as 'cultural attaché' (read: Big Sister Alicia is watching
you). in addition to the already horrific means by which such cruel dictatorships maintain their
power, rumours abound that Otenga supplements his power through dark sorceries, while more
publicly, Lugendu has been producing a startling amount of superpowered 'agents', from
mercenaries to 'volunteers', led by the infamous international terrorists and self-proclaimed "god
of the revolution," Tom Weathers, alias The Radical, who deems Lugendu "objectively Marxist,
man." it’s almost certain Lugendu intends to go to war with her neighbours, and perhaps all of
Africa

Marraket - An island territory of Kenya, Marraket's regional government was

conquered/overthrown by The Warlord in 1996, who now uses it as a base of operations for his
War Machine cartel, in exchange for providing 'security' along the east African coast for the
nations who can meet his prices. Marraket is recognized 'neutral territory' by the major crime &
terrorist networks, although the Warlord may soon be forced to take sides

Nestoria - Dakana's closest neighbour, Nestoria is the mythical kingdom of Prestor John, and a
nation where the Dark Ages never came, making it a nation of philosophers and cultural
enlightenment. however, since 2000, Nestoria has become increasable unstable, having been
subjected to civil war following the disgrace of her king, The Red Leopard, that would have
destroyed Nestoria if not for the intervention of Dakana, who have also made abundantly clear
that any who attack Nestoria, will be Dakana's enemy
Pax Wyvernia - a southwest African island chain, the Pax Wyvernia may seem idyllic and
perfectly ordered, the truth is its rule is based on manifest, utter inequality, matching that of
Apartheid's strongest/cruellest years. And that's BEFORE one accounts for the secret Orwellian
psionist regime of Lord Wyverncrest, that keeps his people from realizing the horrors of their
culture's 'prosperity'.

Unitra -global headquarters of Unitrol, Unitra is a paradise... so long as you're not superhuman.
everywhere one turns, there's anti-meta propaganda. Uniran secret police quietly execute families
who produce powered offspring, and no one wants to know what happens to said children.
Exterminator Robots are a ubiquitous sight in the major population areas (and make regular
'visits' to rural communities), and despite the best efforts of certain parties who wish to remain
anonymous, Unitra's leader, The Unifier, has survived numerous attempts on his life (mostly due
to the fact that he's not in Unitra most of the time). African nations comprise the bulk of Unitrol's
'client list', and its clear the Unifier is just waiting for an excuse to try and seize power
throughout the continent.

West Asia

Berannya - a former Soviet State, the so-called republic suffered greatly since it broke away in
1989, chiefly from constant fighting, be it internal succession wars, people's revolts or fighting
tooth and nail against its neighbours. This all changed in late 1996, when Berannya experienced
an unexpected swing in prosperity, power and stability. In 2001, the day after Berannya was
granted membership in the UN, it was revealed its fortunes were not the work of President
Mikhal Vukojojac, but the supernatural menace and self-proclaimed "once and future emperor of
the world", The Adversary [ooc: the Champions: New Millenium version of Doctor Destroyer.
not too sold on the name, btw]. Fear of their infamous patron has kept Berannya's enemies at bay,
even as the Berannyan people have gradually regressed into an agrarian, pseudo-medieval
society

Khandaq - a postage stamp of a near-middle eastern territory along the Red Sea, Khandaq
established its sovereignty and an iron clad border in 2006. Details are sketchy, but what is
known is that Khandaq is now ruled by a metahuman warlord known only as Teth Adam*, and
that unlike other such despots, he really does seem to have his nation's best interests at heart.

Zulan - in 2007, Zulan's President-for-life, General Amn Batani, met his end, and while we were
all glad to be rid of him, his death caused a power vacuum in the Zulanese government that
nearly destroyed the middle eastern nation, but when the smoke cleared and the dust settled,
Zulan was now a restored Caliphate under the rule of Prince Siraj (formerly of Jordan), who has
not taken the throne in order to keep the loyalty of both fundamentalist and secularist sides of the
population, and has the support of Zulan's religious leader, the Nur Al-Allah, making Zulan the
heart of his Nur sect (short version: powers are a gift from Allah, jokerism marks one as the
Devil's own.).

East Asia
---
Gamora Island - located off china's southeast coast, Gamorra Island has been a brutal
dictatorship and since 1945, when following WW2 it was taken over by and named after the Clan
Gamorra. under the rule of Patriarch Kaizen Gamorra, Gamorra Island evolved into a centre for
crime and terrorism throughout the eastern hemisphere. in 1980, Kaizen was overthrown by the
Mithran, General Iblis, but regained power soon after the general's death in 1995, and kept it
through use of the Mithran technologies Iblis had left behind, including a private army of cloned
supersoldiers.

Hearthstone - located off the coast of Sri Lanka, Hearthstone is the island paradise/stronghold
of the Pantheon, the creation and home of their founder/leader, Gaia. Unlike the other countries
on this list, Hearthstone is technically a territory of Sri Lanka, despite recognition of their
sovereignty and independence by most of the countries in the region. Hearthstone itself is a
tropical paradise, and part of the Pantheon's income comes from serving as a vacation spot for
the super-powered, offering modern amenities amidst the ancient city they'd restored from lost
ruins throughout the island.

Hybreedorea - devastated by the volcanic attack of the Geodonians, that same volcanic fury has
since brought new life to this hidden land. Unfortunately, it has also attracted none other than
Doctor Destroyer, who decided to tap the geothermal power of the volcano for his hidden
stronghold in the 1960. Those who still reside in Hybreedorea have since come to regard Dr
Destroyer as a living God. Destroyer has no intention of getting the region recognized as his own
country, as that would defeat the purpose of a secret headquarters

The Iron Khanate - the People's Republic of China denies the existence of a region in their
northeast referred to as the Iron Khanate, its false existence a hoax propagated by other nations
who seek to undermine the support of the Party through childish tales of a feudal monarch who
controls a region that can only be described as something out of ancient myths or children's
storybooks.

Makoroa - Another Island formerly belonging to China, Makoroa is almost as much a haven for
criminals as Gamorra Island, but actually makes an effort to conceal this fact, instead presenting
itself as the "Casablanca of the East". secretly ruled by a loose and rotating alliance of
supervillains, Makoroa's affiliated with the World Crime League

Mrigranka - located along the west coast of the Gulf of Thailand, Mrigranka is the heart of the
criminal organization known as ShadowLaw, and is ruled by the criminal warlord M. Bison,
who used his criminal and political connections (and use of his own psionic powers) to get the
postage stamp of an island recognized as a nation. Bison has been reportedly killed several times,
but each time has eventually resurfaced, claiming immortality as one of his powers.

Shamballa Vale - hidden within the Himalayas, is Shamballa Vale. Serene and idyllic, it is the
birthplace of a number of esoteric martial arts, and headquarters of the White Lotus Society. so
peaceful is Shamballa Vale that it is regarded as neutral territory by the world's mystics, and it is
here the secrets of eastern magic are preserved including (with some reluctance), an annual
delivery of scrolls/books from the brush of the Iron Khan himself.
Oceania & Antarctica
---

Arcadia - The secret Antarctic refuge of the Empyreans, a sister race of the fabled Ultimen,
possessing similar abilities but considerably less powerful than their antipodal cousins. Like the
Ultimen, the Empyreans have little interest in the outside world, living in their seclusion as
scholars and philosophers, although they do send out an envoy every ten years to bring back
news of the outside, if only so these immortals have something to talk about. however, they are
not so self-absorbed as to ignore the presence of SHADOW's Niflheim fortress as 'trouble ahead'

Genesis Island - located west of Australia, Genesis Island has one of the highest and densest
superhuman population in the world (outside of North America), and is the headquarters of Gene
Nation and its leader Cassius Mass, aka the Red King, who sees his island kingdom as a
blueprint for when he takes over the world. Most recently, Genesis Island has emerged from a
terrible civil war, forcing Mass to recognize the rights and privileges of Genesis Island non-
powered underclass

High Lemuria - found west of Hawaii, the recently returned island kingdom of the Evo-
Lutionaries may be one of the most advanced on earth, but this technology has yet to be shared,
partyly because the Evo-Lutionaries are arrogant and condescending jerks, but in truth because
King Tyranos and his inner circle are almost certain that humanity could do more with
Lemurian technology and science in a generation than the Lemurians could in their thousands of
years in the Annihilation Zone. as such the only nation they've traded openly with is genesis
Island, in return for their vital medical superscience

Kaiju Island - not a country per se, but as it's the closest thing to a natural preserve for
numerous city-crushing behemoths and leviathans (at least one of which has demonstrated some
signs of intelligence), the UN treats it as its own territory

Macross Island - sitting southeast of Japan is Macross Island, so named for the city-sized alien
space ark that crash-landed there last year, and the colony established by its passengers since
then, making Earth an official Unaligned world in the galactic community. Otherwise, think
Casablanca, but with aliens and a cyberpunk atmosphere, but without the Nazis

Neuschwabenland - a hidden fortress-colony-city in the Antarctic, NeuSchwabenland was

founded by hard-line elements of Nazi Germany who saw the writing on the wall, but refused to
be defeated, instead, using Nazi superscience and the help of the reptilian Haud aliens,
constructed their Antarctic refuge. Most recently, Neuschwabenland has fallen under the control
of SHADOW whose secret Antarctic headquarters was almost literally on Neuschwabenland's
doorstep, giving Overshadow the fruits of project: Third Generation, and a useful enforcer in
Iron Cross

Wakefield Island - also known as "the island that time forgot" and similar appellations,
Wakefield island is divided between two stranded factions of other dimensional invaders trapped
in our reality. The first faction is the Saurian Dominion, a race of intelligent, tool using semi-
humanoid dinosaurs. The other is the Primacy, from a point in the history of Earth Ape
reminiscent of the Confederate states of the American civil war. Despite massive turnabouts over
the years, neither side has achieved total domination of the island, although Intel suggests the
Saurians may be willing to relocate to Guamanga in the near future

Other
---

Atlantis - despite popular belief, Atlantis is not a single underwater city, nor even a collection of
them. When the undersea cultures speak of Atlantis, it's like surface dwellers saying 'Europe' (it’s
called the lost continent for a reason). The kingdoms of Atlantis allow the city-state of High
Atlantis (the Atlantis of King Theseus) to be their voice to the surface world. Prince Taggras of
Old Atlantis is acting ambassador plenipotentiary to the UN

Farside City - humanity's closest extraterrestrial neighbour, for the most part the lunar city state
maintains distant, if friendly relations with most of earth. exceptions include Waypoint station,
an extension built into the city for easier travel/communication between Earth and Mars, and the
appointment of recently returned Andrea and Mentac Atom as ambassadors between Farside
and Earth

Geodonia - Geodonia - have recently been forced to recognize the sovereignty of Terra King
and his Morlocks, and while the Geodonian ruling council would want nothing more than to
pitch the maimed lord into a magma stream, they recognize his genius and preserver artefacts
may be their key to taking fiery revenge on the hated surface, and as such have been in a state of
war with Sub-Terra. Geodonia has also been periodically shaken by the literally earth-shaping
events of the surface, such as the raisings of Thule and Hearthstone, and have added those human
realms to the list of those who shall be destroyed first (ironically, expeditions to beneath
hearthstone has led to the start of a Gaia cult within the Geodonian subculture)

Lemuria - the pacific equivalent to Atlantis, the sunken continent of Lemuria is regarded as a
barbarian wilderness, home to the Deep ones, Nagas (aquatic serpent men), and other aquatic
dangers. Regrettably, one of the few pockets of civilization is the so-called "Empire of Atlantis",
ruled by the immortal Atlantean war criminal Dagon, and his mistress, See Hexe.

Mars Base Sara - Since the arrival of the Macross, the fields of superscience have grown by
leaps and bounds. But, having learned from the disaster of century station, and countless other
incidents of superscience run amok, it was decided that the field testing of such miraculous
technology would not, could not be tested on earth. Instead, with the assistance of the world's
greatest minds, an observational research facility and archology-city has been established on
Mars to safely test the reverse engineering of alien technologies

New Atlantis - Originally an underwater archology founded by the infamous Captain Nemo,
New Atlantis was eventually brought into contact, trade and racial intermarriage with the
Atlantean peoples. Much like Nestoria, the New Atlantean government was thrown into
instability with the deposition of their Monarch in Exile, Aquarius, following the Psychotic
Seven's attempted coup. Their leaderless state stems from the fact that by laws of succession, it
would put Neptune on the throne, a madman who would without question, drag New Atlantis
down into the doom of the darkest depths.

Sub-Terra - the underground 'empire' of the Terra King and his Sub-Terrans and Morlocks. The
maimed king cares greatly for his subjects, and any enemy of the Geodonians are his allies in his
war. As such, Sub Terra is on peaceful terms with the beastmen of New Hybreedorea. Having
granted them passage through his realm in decades past after the destruction of their original
home, the act which provoked his war. indeed, much of Terra King's campaigns against the
surface world are in fact based on his fortunes in the war. Sometimes he raids to acquire an edge,
other times to lure heroes into the underworld, and gaining their aid against Geodonian forces

Valhalla Station - an undersea archology created by the wolds best and brightest off the
Metazon coast in 1955, Valhalla station grew increasingly reclusive and xenophobic over the
years, before sinking beneath the waves in 1975. Expeditions from the John Smith Society have
sought out Valhalla to learn its true fate. Those who reported finding it have never returned

Heroes of Omlevex
---

American Gargoyle - Metazon's greatest hero, the American Gargoyle's fought the good fight
since 1938, and since his arrival in the 21st century has joined the Freedom League, become a
speaker for the Joker Anti-Defamation League and is a card-carrying member of the Tomorrow
Society. Normally a loner who shuns the spotlight, Gargoyle made a vow in 1969 to be more
politically active after his lover, Jasmine Rawlins, died for her beliefs that year. What he's not
telling people is that the other reason he's been so active beyond Metazon's borders is that he was
trying to distance himself from the hurt of losing her.

Chosen Avenger - still protects the downtrodden and fights the downtrodden of Bay City

Cliffhanger - pushing 70, Clifford Avery has reluctantly semi-retired from the superheroic
lifestyle, and has taken up a career in politics in order to fight corruption on its own level, and
has since gone on to become the Governor of Metazon, as part of his efforts to co-ordinate his
constituency with the 21st century

Lacie Delmont - was investigating a case in Europe when Metazon vanished, and as a result
continued her career before marrying and retiring from the supernatural detective game. Lacie's
legacy is carried on by her daughter, the demon hunter Felicia DuMont, while Lacie today is the
John Smith Society's leading expert and Grand Dame on the supernatural and things that go
bump in the night.

Drake Einstein - the original 'celebrity hero', Drake tried his hand in today's entertainment
industry, and after team-ups with 'superlebrities' such as Phenom and Mr. Extreme, came away
appalled at how cheap and shallow a legacy he'd left in the decades he was gone. Drake still
seeks the spotlight, but now for his deeds rather than his acting, now using his wealth and talent
for numerous charities
Freedom's Fearless - have fulfilled their destiny. Dark Praetorian was the apocalyptic threat
their patron, the Keeper of the Realm had foretold of in their first meeting, and with the universe
saved for a moment it seemed like the heroes would go their separate ways. But now while they
still argued and bickered, the trio's friendship could not be sundered so easily. in fact they did
just the opposite, joining their team with the equally time-lost Fearless Five, cementing their
place as Metazon's premier super-Team

Man-Cactus - like Lacie Delmont, Man-Cactus was away from Metazon when it vanished, and
continued his career as a professional henchmen until the late 70's. Realizing he wasn't getting
noticeably older, Man-Cactus became disillusioned with crime and eventually turned himself in,
following a stint of henching for Alistair Usher which turned his stomach. Spending 30 years in
prison, Man-cactus tried to become a born-again Christian, but it didn't really take, and upon his
release tried working as a hero for hire in the American southwest. When Metazon returned, he
immediately moved back, eager to start truly repaying his debt to society. Almost seven years
later, he's still fighting his reputation as a former supervillain, but at least most of the heroes
aren't trying to fight him on sight anymore. In fact, he's a regular at Drake Einstein's monthly
celebrity poker game.

Omega Max - returned to the stars from whence he came, once more in pursuit of Grunn,
BRIDGER OF A THOUSAND WORLDS!

Poltergeist - continues her one woman war on crime.

Omlevex Villains
---

Baldknobber - On the instruction of Lacie Delmont, Baldknobber has been transferred to

Freedom City's Providence Asylum in order to receive the modern care he needs, and is making
excellent progress.

Brainteaser & Crimson Catastrophe - in an effort to counter the variables that are heroes and
to avoid getting beat up again, Brainteaser stuck up a partnership with the futuristic android,
providing the brain to go with its brawn, in return for services as a bodyguard. For its part, the
Catastrophe agrees in the logic in killing Brainteaser last.

Count Darkas - has taken leave of Metazon for the time being, in order to better acquaint
himself with the modern era. While his soul-drinking is covering his trail of victims, Darkas has
made an enemy of the new Crimson Tarantula, whom he mistook for her predecessor until he
was able to see her soul.

Dehumanizer - was in New York when Metazon vanished, running a plot to trigger every latent
Wild Card in the tri-state area. Upon his capture, certain unscrupulous parties within the U.S.
Government realized the madman's value, and thus the Dehumanizer was a founding member of
Project Icarus, and has remained with it to this very day.
Freeze Queen - was recently arrested, and like Baldknobber, was shipped off to Freedom City
for modern psychiatric care at Providence Asylum. Unfortunately, soon afterwards Glacier made
an escape attempt, and Freeze Queen joined him. The pair have since become both lovers and
partners in crime.

Grenadier & Ladybug - nearly being erased from existence and flung almost 40 years into the
future was enough to not only scare these two straight (mostly), but make them realize their true
feelings for each other. They've since been married, are expecting their second child in the
spring, and 21st century therapy is doing what it can to repair his wartime trauma.

Grunn, BRIDGER OF A THOUSAND WORLDS! - fled earth as soon as he was able, only to
discover his 2,000 year old empire had collapsed almost overnight in his absence. His mind
control gauntlets destroyed in 1970, Grunn, BRIDGER OF A THOUSAND WORLDS! has been
forced to rely on underlings to rebuild what he has lost. Underlings such as Sovereign and
Suleiman, who are for now forced to acknowledge the World-Bridger as their new God as
'reward' for reactivating his space-bridge network.

H-Bomb - shortly after his arrival in the 21st century, H-Bomb as captured by the Atomic Brain
in order to see what makes him tick. Unfortunately, the two radioactive reprobates hit it off once
they learned their mutual interests, and now H-Bomb is the Atomic Brain's willing henchman.

Jade Fang - as a servant of the Iron Kahn, the Jade Fang is now the head of PHANTOM's affairs
in Metazon, which is cutting into his time as a servant of the Initiates of the Hidden Coil and
other Serpent-people groups

Jonah - having been killed yet again in 1970, Jonah was trapped in hell, unable to return to life
unless the American Gargoyle existed. For 34 years he suffered at the hands and magic of his
mistress, save for brief periods, acting as her agent amongst the damned and politics of Hell.
When he was finally restored to life in 2004, Jonah vowed he would achieve immortality,
knowing well Zarka has grown bored with him, and that the next time he dies will be the last.

King Cockroach - still nutty as a fruitcake, King Cockroach finally hit the big time when he
took control of the Collective and nearly brought Freedom City to its knees before he was finally
stopped

Lazer Man - the entity Kyrvar was actually a renegade from the Nimbus (a race of living energy
which can symbiotically bond with humanoid life), and as such was Lady Starbright's arch-
enemy back in the 60's. With her resurrection (and induction into the Galactic Guardsmen) last
year, the two have picked up where they left off.

Liege Lord & The League of Evil - In 1970, Liege Lord tried to fight the Praetorian solo, and
barely escaped with his life. Unfortunately for him, this defeat finally made Liege Lord
recognize he'd need allies if he wanted to conquer the world. To that end, he sought out the
League of Evil and forced his leadership upon them. Only the newly combined forces of
Freedom's Fearless could stop this insidious six from taking over all of Metazon. The newly
dubbed Legion of Evil have since holed up in Southern Metazon, and are in the process of
converting the time-lost communist forces of the island to their cause.

The Masters of Crime - are taking advantage of the fact that they are clearly the number 2
supervillain group in Metazon, and have signed on with the World Crime League.

Melt Master - still getting his butt kicked by just about everybody.

Mindressa - Maintains her love/hate fixation on Drake Einstein. While impressed by his
newfound maturity and responsibility, Mindressa cannot accept him as an equal, and her schemes
against him revolve around trying to break his newfound strength of character

Mr. Gravestone - with the crime families of the world having forgotten about Metazon until its
return, Boss Johnny "Gravestone" Banelli has (no pun intended) cemented his position as
Metazon's king of organized crime. On the advice of his wife Crystal, Johnny's been trying to
focus on legitimate interests as Metazon tries to catch up with the 21st century, and providing old
fashioned solutions to high tech problems. The only two forms of crime Banelli doesn't have
control over are drugs and anything doing with computers

Orglo the unseen & Logoss the unspeakable - Much like Jonah, the gruesome twosome were
trapped outside our reality until the re-existence of their errant 'master', prompting the two to
seek the boy out once again.

Russian Gargoyle - in his hatred for American Gargoyle, the Russian Gargoyle has dedicated
himself to being his opposite, Joining the Crime League and becoming a member of Gene
Nation, and is on his way to becoming a metaman supremacist. Russian Gargoyle's first loyalty
is to Communism though, and thus between crimes he's been known to moonlight as Cuba's
unofficial superhero.

Scratch - turned out to be the Praetorian’s past self, and finally left our time to become the
terrible tyrant of time and space he's destined to be.

Sickle - refuses to accept the fall of his beloved Soviet Union, and has sworn to destroy all those
who turned against it, such as Protonik and Troll. Both Czar and Battle Czar like the cut of his
jib

Skeleton - remains one of the deadliest assassins in Metazon, and while no longer out to kill
Drake Einstein, still goes after the hero now and then to prove his one win over the man wasn't a
fluke

Skullduggery - Remains one of Metazon's most notorious criminals, and has escalated
operations, targeting entire communities with his fiendish schemes in the hopes making metazon
(and by extension: Metazon's heroic governor, Cliffhanger) suffer.

Slug - not to be confused with the similarly named Elder Worm, Slug's domains were deep
enough that they didn't disappear with Metazon, although their primary emergence tunnels did,
trapping the S'Lok in Sub Terra. The S'Lok have since vied for dominance in the underearth,
growing more hideous and mutated through a mixture of inbreeding and omlevex radiation. Slug
himself has grown to tremendous size in the intervening decades, fat on the omlevex rich
slimewater and the meat of living sacrifice, such that when he attacked the surface world soon
after Metazon's return, he was initially mistaken for one of Terra-King's giant monsters. This
attack has gotten the attention of the aforementioned Elder Worm Slug, whose minions are even
now mounting an expedition to sub-Terra to weigh the value of what it almost disregarded as
abominations.

Spring-heeled Jack - the same being as the one described in Autumn Arbor, Spring-heeled Jack
left Metazon to terrorize his old stomping grounds

Zombie Master - has become a semi-willing pawn of Baron Samedi's operations, and has
resumed his place in Siren's rogues gallery

Taurus Minos
the master of Labyrinth and One True Minotaur has had a very crippling problem.
No, not Daedalus
No, not superheroes in general
Good guess, but Century station is more of a headache than a weakness
No, the problem Taurus faced was the same all immortals have to deal with at one point or
another:
Boredom.
Taurus is incredibly, unbelievably bored. after long, yet countable centuries, Taurus has created
and perhaps even perfected the Labyrinth, making its existence so suspect that the fabled
Illuminati is the Labyrinth's primary cover story. The number of people who definitely know
Taurus exists can be counted fairly quickly. At most meetings of the inner circle, all Taurus has to
do is nod his approval and look menacing to keep his most powerful servants from getting any
ideas.
He's tried going out and slumming as 'dumb muscle', but after the first five times he splattered
the head of his 'boss' across the nearest wall he knows he can no longer go back to being the
mindless brute of his childhood.
Then there was the debut of Nightwatch, and Taurus put his own head through the wall for
missing an idea so obvious when he recognized Dr. Twilight as a half remembered acquaintance,
before laughing all through the next week.
Thus, the following month, Labrys Industries was dealt a major blow when an as yet unrevealed
terrorists group bombed their corporate headquarters in Geneva with a Wild-Card based viral
gas. as expected, hundreds died, a handful gained superpowers of varying usefulness, and a
slightly bigger handful were horribly mutated, "including" reclusive Labrys CEO/founder Bruce
Carter, whose anaemic health was traded for a godlike, if somewhat bovine physique, allowing
him to finally enjoy the outside world with his new lease and outlook on life.
For the first time since the days of ileum, Bruce Carter/Taurus is free to live and act openly,
courting supermodels, dining with kings and presidents, and even taking up extreme sports (he's
ALWAYS wanted to run along the streets of Pamplona, for example). Also be more daring,
gaining a (minor) seat on the executive boards of both Delphic industries and Grant
conglomerates
Oh, so very true now that Taurus could be exposed, perhaps even caught, but the Labyrinth is too
great now. No matter the damage, he can rebuild, or at worst simply outlive his opponents. In the
meantime, recognizing he hasn't operated like this since before the fall of Carthage, Taurus is
taking a refresher tutelage from a similarly revitalized August Roman (more on him later)
and, to convince Hades he's not shirking his God-given duty, Taurus has his PR based holdings
looking into giving olympianism (specifically, Hades worshipping aspects) a scientology style
makeover

The Coming of Centuria!

A freak lightning storm hit Freedom City, appearing out of nowhere and centred over the
Goodman Building. Naturally, the Atom Family investigated, along with Captain Thunder
(understandably thinking this was probably Dr. Stratos' latest scheme), only to find the storm
had heralded the arrival of a teenaged girl dressed like the late Centurion.

Centuria, as the girl called herself, quickly explained her situation, that she was from an alternate
earth, and the daughter of that world's Centurion, and She'd been sent to this world to find allies
against an invading army from somewhere called 'The Terminus'. Submitting to a mental scan by
Chase Atom, the truth of her thoughts and memories were verified. but, by the time the
combined efforts of the Atom family and the freedom League could trace the path back to
Centuria's reality, they were too late, and the lass of laurels could only watch a holographic
simulation of her world was consumed by the entropic forces of the Doom Coil.

Devastated, Centuria, also now the orphan Lara Leeds, numbly followed through the days to
come, accepting the problems of holding onto her Centuria identity (the only thing left to her),
getting grief counselling to being given a 'normal identity' and enrolment in Claremont Academy.

In some ways, Claremont was the worst part. It was strange to her, so much like her world, but
not. People she'd known for years were complete strangers; others rejected her because she knew
so much about them. But as days turned to weeks, she started to open up, first making friends
with Sleet-Saru (her room-mate) and Prometheus (after a brief, but emotional fight when she
thought he was still one of Omega's soldiers), and even did a spot or two of heroics. slowly, the
pain of losing everything was fading and the real Lara Leeds, a feisty, tomboyish compulsive do-
gooder was on the road of recovery.

Then Dr. Mayhem attacked. The time-lost villain, having heard rumours about a new blue and
gold gladiator seen in the company of 'those meddling kids' (the FC underworld's epithet for any
band of underage heroes), attacked Claremont in the hopes of drawing out what had to be this
timelines version of gladius. Instead not only did he get the Next Gen, he got Centuria. For a
brief moment, there was empathy between heroine and villain, the mutual understanding of great
loss. Then the moment passed, as Mayhem shrugged his shoulders, and in a flat tone, said "eh,
close enough." before attacking and launching into a semi-coherent rant about topics such as how
Centuria "dared to abandon (his) hatred!"

And to Centuria, this was the final blow. Here was someone who seemed as lost and alone as she
was, but had let it consume himself, failing to accept that life moves on. And Centuria snapped,
proceeding to beat Mayhem like a cheap drum, before coming to her senses before she did any
permanent damage and hauling him off to the nearest FCPD STARS unit. On the upshot, a lot of
her anger, pain and bitterness got washed away in said assault.

And so begins the saga of the Lass of Laurels, the daughter of Centurion, Centuria!

Naturally though, such a dramatic debut attracts attention, so now, a quick look at

Foes of Centuria!

Dr. Mayhem - his sanity finally cracking like a twig, Mayhem is now obsessed with defeating
Centuria, albeit, to the surprise of the Providence Asylum shrinks, Mayhem's enmity is less than
that of say, "the guys who want Raven dead" wing. Reportedly, right before he was taken away
by the police, Mayhem politely bowed his head and asked "same time next week?". As a result,
he's now under observation for a probable case of "holiday disassociated disorder".

Saturnalia Roman - Daughter and heiress apparent to the crime lord August Roman, Saturnalia
and Centuria seem destined to pick up where their fathers left off, with Centuria having busted
up several of Saturnalia's operations, and the Crown Princess of Crime has tried to destroy her in
response. For his part, August has indulged in assisting his daughter from time to time, but
ultimately considers Centuria more of a 'hobby'.

Nero - Nicholas Rourke has sadly, succumbed to his darker side, and the Master of fire has
returned to terrorize Freedom City. Centuria has taken up the responsibility of stopping him

THE Bee-Keeper - the identity and motives of THE beekeeper (named for his insinstance on the 'the' in
his name) are, outsid of what appears to be some sort of awkward, lovesick obsession with Centuria. at
least, Centuria's pretty sure the walking humanoid mass od talking bees is male (THE bee-keeper has
hinted it can assume human form 'off the clock'). for the record THE bee-keeper has no known affiliation
with local internet celebrity brian nisbet, aka The original Bee-Keeper, who intends to sue THE Bee-
Keeper for identity theft and copyright infringement, and in some blog postings has htreatened Freedom
city with reuniting Troublemakers Incorporated if thats what it takes to swat this pest once and for all!

Miss Martian - Shortly after her debut, Centuria came up against a new Bee-Keeper, whose
criminal activities brought the 50's villain team Troublemakers Inc. out of retirement. Working at
cross purposes, Centuria and the Troublemakers discovered that not only that the new BeeKeeper
was really Johnathan Hive, but that Hive was just one of Miss Martian's newest harem of Mind
Slaves. The Wayloran con Artist has since sworn revenge and to enslave the maid of marble.

The return of Troublemakers Incorporated!

Brian Nesbit, one and forever the bedeviling Bee-Keeper, leaned back in his chair with a tired
sigh. despite his bluster, he didn't have the energy for a vendetta like in the good old days. heck,
all he really would have wanted from this new upstart was just some acknowledgement, that th
punk could have asked permission to use the bee-keeper name.
even his concluding threat, to bring Troublemakers inc. back, that was pure blarney. they'd all
gone their seperate ways bacck then, and Nesbitt had burned bridges when he thought he'd hit the
big time in the 60's. last he'd heard, Smoker'd gone up the river, Rando got a gig in vegas, and
Zarko'd died as he lived, mid rant against superheros in his mountain lab

And that was when Calender Girl appeared in freedom city for hte first time in 60 years, walking
into the Southside Retirement Castle's common area as pretty and as energetic as when she
vanished for the last time. grantd, it took brian a few minutes to realize he wasn't hallucinating,
but she was there, large as life and putting a buzz to his heart that wasn't from the pacemaker
when she said

"So, anyway, doc tomorrow didn't press charges and thn i remembered this is when the gang gets
together again."

the gil was clearly a touch unhinged from whenever she'd been, but he could see the gleam in her
eye, that same look they'd all shared. she was a bonafide supervillain in her own right. the gang's
little girl, all grown up. and to such criminal charisma, brian nesbitt quietly took out the mask
from his coat pocket, and the bee-keeper once again spoke to his old colleague. and between
them, plans were made.

the first step was easy as looking through the phone book. if they were going to be serious about
this they needed to be ready to get out, and that meant they once again had to put up with The
Amazing Rando!. Unfortunately, when they tracked their comrade down to a house in the
suburbs, they were dismayed to find the once great Randall Schlemp entrenched in senility

Luckily, his grand-daughter had grown up not only on his stories of the good old days, but had
eaten up every lesson he'd taught her in magic and was ready to make her mark as The Amazing
Randa!.

Smoker was a bit easier to track down, having been in short-lived team up with Phalanx before
he was arrested, and decided to wait out his sentence than deal with an increasingly crazy world.
on the upshot, it turned out that the same radiation that gave him his powers also let him age in
what he called 'reverse dog years', only aging by about a decade in over half a century. it took
some convincing, but hile he wanted to stay on the straight and narrow, but Ted Daniel knew the
only reason he got out of the game was because it wasn't the same after the old gang broke up.
And so everyone's punch-clock supercrook signed up.

It was Smoker's idea to go to the Supers museum next, not to case the joint, but to pay respects to
the late, unlamented Dr. Zorka, who went out in a blaze of glory trying to take out the entire
Freedom League with his army of amazing colossal atomic death-bots. All that was left of his
genius was his last bodyguard robot, which was reduced to standing ominously and in a booming
voice saying "Welcome to the World of Tomorrow!"

as bee-keeper and smoker debated stealing the robot to give zorka a proper memorial, Calender
girl got up into the display, and knocked the robot on the side of the head.
"Wakey wakey doc," she said."gang's all here."

troublemakers old and new let their jaws drop as the robot first 'blinked', before stepping dwn
and in a hick hungarian accent, adressed them as his loyal minions and thanked them for their
swift implementation of his escape. Doctor Zorka lives again!

then, Dr. Zorka remembered he'd forgotten to send out the instructions, and explained he'd
cheated death by turning his newest bodyguard-bot into a life suport tank for his own
disembodied brain.

"Ze easy part vas taking it out," the root doctor cackled, as the fearsome fivesome beat a hasty
escape from the museum, "ze hard part vas putting it in."

for her part, Calender girl revealed she knew Zorka was alive after reading the biography he'd
publish next year. And, that they were going to get Teen-Aged Caveman. this would be a
problem, as bobby vaughn met his end in Vietnam.

luckily, the radioactive coelocanth was still on display at Freedom College.

And so, in the dead of night, Troubemakers Inc. (minus one... for now) set on their first
comeback heist, only to be beaten to the punch when a fraternity jock broke in and stole the
fossilized fish while they argued over who had point. and, luckily enough for the gang, was
similarly mutated as their old comrade was into an 8 foot tall albino cave-man. unfortunately it
seemed, he was smarter than his predecessor's atavistic self, when he dismissed Zorka with a
posh yet thuggish new england-accented insult

Luckily, The Beekepper, old in body but no less charismatic (after all, he'd stared down two
manifestations of biblical wrath), stepped up to the platetelling they newly created Caveman that
he had pased the 'test' they'd set up for the final memember of their band, a fraternity of torment
where the bucks and brewskis would always be cold and flowing, and that he was now an equal
partner in troublemakers Incorportaed, complete with stock options.

Troublemakers Inc. is baack, and once they catch up with the upstar bee-keeper, well, if Calender
Girl's cryptic hints are correct, they'l try to be heroes for hire once she appoints her successor...

Summer of Death

This past Summer, Sepulchre, one of the 5 greatest supernatural threats to walk the earth, made
his most ambitious play for power yet, when he tried to enact a ritual that would all him to usurp
the gods and demons alike and rule the afterlife in all its forms, from the depths of Tartarus to the
heights of Valhalla.

As heroes and villains alike dealt with a plague of the walking dead (and demons, and angels,
and...), a loose collection of magically-inclined heroes travelled to Sepulchre's palace in the
Inferno, to disrupt the centrepiece of this profane ritual, the channeller known as Cameo
there was much fighting across two-page spreads, and several d-through b-listers were killed.

But the good news is Sepulchre's plot was overturned, and the Master of the Malignant Arts was
remanded to the "care" of the dark lords he'd overthrown. also, most of the people killed in the
event were brought back to life

Along with a few people that weren't

As Sepulchre was defeated, Cameo felt a number of deceased souls return to life, those whose
lives had been cut short by violent or tragic ends, both heroic and villainous.

While many of the returnees are still unknown a few have been positively identified:

Nick "Will O' the Wisp Williams" - the ace investigator (and long-time favourite of Cameo's
channellings) was the first known resurrectee, appearing at Cameo's side. He only vaguely
recalls his post mortem relationship with her, but it’s clear he's attracted to her.

Titan Man - the self-same hero whose good intentions brought about the unmasking massacre
has gotten a second chance, which he almost blew in a 'suicide by cape' rampage. Titan man is
currently undergoing psychiatric evaluation at the Rosemont centre

Mackie Messer - the vibratory ace terrorist/serial killer is back, and has resumed a career as a
psycho-for-hire

Crypt Kicker - was sepulchre's right hand minion during the crisis. Since the event, however,
Crypt Kicker's been reported with the House of Serpents

Lady Starbright - the once beloved heroine is back to life, albeit bereft of her cosmic powers.
she has since been inducted into the Galactic Guardsmen

Lenore - back from the grave yet again, and still a vampire

Donar - the infamous ubersoldaten has returned, albeit...changed, now an entity of living
lightning and elemental fury

Bora - former member of Eurostar, nearly tore up London before she was stopped by Britannia.

These and others have come back. We’ll keep you updated as the post-event aftermath develops

The Lightbringers: This was essentially intended as a somewhat more grown-up version
of Challenge of the Superfriends, or a proto-JLA cartoon perhaps. The characters were
the primary superheroes of Earth-Para, a world with a relatively high number of
superbeings, mostly because it was a dimensional nexus, with naturally occurring portals
to many alternate worlds. The characters were pastiches of the Super Friends/JLA.

Atomic Agent: The African American member. He was an Army Ranger who discovered
the crashed starcraft of Z'onn Z'orr (see below), and was caught in the starcraft's
explosion. He gained Captain Atom type powers as a result. He was straight-laced and
very conservative, a real military man. He filled the "Black Lightning/Black Vulcan role".

Golden Glove: A physicist who opened a portal into a universe peopled with humanoid
energy beings. He reached out to touch one of the inhabitants, and somehow his left arm
was transposed with his other-dimensional counterpart. This gave him the power to create
force fields and objects of "solid light"; as Golden Glove he also used armour with built
in jet boots for flight, a helmet that gave him IR and telescopic vision, and some other
light-based gadgets. In darkness, his arm vanished, leaving him only with his tech.

Midnight Justice: A female Batman, essentially-just Hispanic (Puerto Rican) and from a
working class background. She was more reliant on gadgetry than the others, lacking
powers or even Batman-level fighting prowess (more on the Huntress level). She had
plenty of crime fighting gear and a personal helicopter courtesy of her mentor, a retired
Golden Ager named Black Bulldog. She preferred non-violent solutions, such as
knockout gas, flash grenades, and the like. A social worker in her real identity.

Thunder Woman: She fulfilled the Wonder Woman role, but was really a Captain
Marvel rip-a late-middle aged female archaeologist who discovered a mystic trinket
which turned her into an Amazon earth-shaker whenever she cried out "Thunder!". She
had a pet gecko (or iguana maybe) which changed into Thunder-Lizard, a tame
Tyrannosaur she could ride into battle (because a cartoon hero just needs that kind of
mount).

Tomorrow Man: The Superman of the group, but really more of a jumped-up Doc
Savage. His scientist parents raised him to be a superhuman, both with a very controlled
environment and a stream of psychoactive drug treatments. He used psi-powers to
duplicate Paragon-type abilities. No secret id-he was altruistic but honestly believed he
was better and smarter than nearly everyone else, barely treating even his teammates as
peers. He thought of Midnight Justice as a huge poseur. Why didn't she stick to street
crime?

Wind Warrior: Another riff on the obligatory "token minority hero" of the Super
Friends. A Native American (Cherokee I think), he had Red-Tornado type powers. But he
was definitely not a mystic-Wind Warrior was a mutant whose powers surfaced during an
industrial accident (sorry, don't remember specifics). Unlike stereotypical American
Indian characters, he didn't grow up on a reservation. His family were well-off in the
construction business, and he was a "redneck"-cowboy hat, boots, etc. as part of his
costume.

Zonn Zorr: Martian Manhunter, obviously. He was also part Aquaman, since he was an
amphibian who lived in an underwater headquarters near Alaska. Very strong and with
telepathic powers, but he couldn't shapeshift and was only partly humanoid-more like a
bipedal salamander. His people were refugees from a supernova sun and Z'onn was on
Earth because his ship crashed. He worked as a hero to gain acceptance while making
repairs.

Their grand enemy was Mr. Caprice-an ages-old sorcerer and priest of the "old gods"
from the very first tribe of humans on Earth. Mr. Caprice was very powerful, a
combination of Vandal Savage, R'as al Ghul, and Felix Faust. He made a wager millennia
ago with pagan gods that he could conquer the entire world within a set number of years-
and his immortality was running out fast, as Mr. Caprice's time was coming due. He
launched all sorts of plots, including: Allying with the Twilight Legion (anti-universe
Lightbringers, consisting of Captain Cobalt, Dust Devil, Lightning Woman, Millennium
Man, Midnight Mischief, Shadowhand, and Vorr Vorm the Conqueror) to capture cosmic
artefacts which would tilt the moral axis of the universe to evil; casting a spell that
drenched half the world in darkness, which paved the way for Mr. Caprice's alien allies
the Ebonoids to invade; and making the whole world forget the Lightbringers existed and
then framing them as "super-menaces", turning Earth against them.

After Mr. Caprice was finally defeated (and vanished into dust), the Lightbringers would
have to contend with lesser masterminds fighting over his resources and territory, with
factions engaging in civil war, gigantic robots and hordes of monsters being unleashed,
and so on. Still later, the villainous overlords of numerous parallel worlds would invade
now that Mr. Caprice was no longer mystically warding them away from Earth-Para.

That was the Lightbringers setting. Misfit Force took place on Earth-Forward; this
parallel world had few superhumans, and the most effective ones were mostly
benevolent. The world was a bit more advanced than the "real world" scientifically, but
also much more peaceful-war was very rare, crime much less, and most people
completely unused to serious violence. Everything changed when the Dark Djinn, an evil
Mxyzptlk type omnipotent entity showed up to ravage the world. Almost all the most
powerful heroes, the Peacekeepers, were banished or scattered across the universe by the
Dark Djinn before he was finally cast off the earthly plane by a spell cast by Titania the
Faerie Queen, an ally of the heroes. The last two members were a Power Girl type (Miss
Magnificent) and a kind of enchanted warrior type named Cosmic Cavalier. In the course
of the Dark Djinn battle, Miss Magnificent was aged into a senior citizen with diminished
powers, and Cosmic Cavalier was regressed into a thirteen year old. The two former
heroes retired until a group of old foes called the Abominable Alliance showed up-
villains the heroes used to handle easy, but who were now running rampant over the USA
due to lack of opposition. Finally, the pair recruited a few new superheroes to form a new
team, making up for their reduced powers with gadgetry and tricks.

Their new allies were Silver Guardsman, a long-retired former kid sidekick of a past
hero. Silver Guardsman was the curator of superhero museum and used his access to
come up with all sorts of wonderful gadgets, potions, magic rings, and so on, but who had
become rather out-of-shape and nerdy as an adult; Taffy Lass, a brilliant scientist cursed
with the genetic defect of dwarfism. She used an experimental machine to give herself
stretching and pliability powers; an Amazo-style android (albeit in female form) called
Heroica who was reprogrammed to serve the cause of good, but whose personality and
powers often malfunctioned, activating in reverse or randomly; and Super-Smasher, a
 youthful sanitation truck work with super-strength and speed who was also clumsy and
didn't know his own strength (always breaking things, etc.). Titania the Faerie Queen had
lost most of her mystic might, but was working on a way to get the lost heroes back. In
the meantime, the Misfit Force heroes (who wanted to be called the New Peacekeepers)
tried to keep the Abominable Alliance from taking over the world. The Abominable
Alliance's main members were Glamour Queen, an incredibly petty and vain witch who
specialized in curses, hexes, and illusions, Billy Brutus who was a purple ogre from
fairyworld, Prof Perfect who was basically a criminal Mr. Terrific, Golden Lad, the kid
sidekick of Prof Perfect was a spoiled 12 year old prodigy with a mini-Ironman suit,
Adonis X, who claimed to be a descendant of the Greek God, and Carbon Copier, a
teenage wannabe villain who copied the powers of those she touched.

I'll cover the A-Men, Team Eternity, and the Unbelievables a bit later, after I see if the
above goes over with anyone.

All my best.

PS: Yes, many of the character names are cornball and generic; remember they were
supposed to evoke an 80s Saturday morning cartoon series.

The A-Men existed on Earth-Uplift, a parallel Earth which experienced a sudden leap in
technology in the mid-20th century when the planet was visited by the last survivors of a
benevolent alien race. The extra-terrestrials were refugees from an aggressive race of cosmic
marauders, who had depopulated numerous worlds. By the present day (early 21st century),
Earth had colonized the solar system. Unfortunately, soon afterward the marauders (I think I
called them the Reckoners) caught up to their prey's trail-leading to Earth. They attacked our
solar system with bio-weapons, from gigantic kaiju to swarms of mutant insects.

Earth's greatest defenders were the A-Men, an android superteam. They were creations of Dr
Androcles and his prodigy daughter Zeta; each was named after a Greek letter-Alpha, Beta,
Gamma, Delta, and Epsilon-along with Zeta who decked herself out in a powered armour suit
and carried a blaster pistol. Each had a specific power (along with their general android
attributes), though I don't quite remember which A-Men was assigned which power in my
manuscript (which may be largely lost, I fear). One had tremendous strength, enough to break the
legs of a 100' tall kaiju (but was a little dim), one could change into any chemical compound but
was unstable, another could interface with other machines (but snobbish about machines being
better than humans), there was an A-Man who was a "living" solar furnace (could project heat
and gravity beams) and was "hot-tempered", the last was a living super-magnet but was a bit
manic-depressive (bi-polar-clever, huh?).

There were a couple hooks to the series. First, Earth-Uplift had flirted with android tech a few
decades back in the 1980s with disastrous consequences. The Android-Human war left millions
dead. So all android research was banned and Dr Androcles and the A-Men were wanted
criminals, despite their heroism. Also, Zeta suffered mental trauma early on from a Reckoners
attack and suffered a mental breakdown: she believed she was an android and never left her
armour. Of course her father was always trying to cure her. The A-Men were my attempt at a
manga-style cartoon, a cross between Battle of the Planets and Mighty Orbots.
There were a few other superhumans-I think Earth had a psi-corps of sorts, but most powerful
ones were the result of scientific accidents or were androids/robots like the A-Men.
Unfortunately, most of the others turned out to be insane or destructive, even if they started out
with good intentions.

Team Eternity was on the same world as the Lightbringers, the Earth-Para alternate. They were
the "next generation" of heroes, some of them former sidekicks to the adult Lightbringers.
Nightheart was Midnight Justice's ex-partner, a team leader with one big chip on his shoulder: he
had been forcibly retired after suffering injuries in battle, but re-invented himself with an exo-
skeleton that gave him back mobility. Astra was a telepath whose powers were similar to Saturn
Girl of the LSH, but who also had precognitive flashes. Astra appeared on the streets of a Major
City with no memory of her past after a rash of UFO citing, and she was always trying to find
out the truth of her origins. Neon Rocket was modelled after the original Bart Allen version of
Impulse; he was the youngest member and was Golden Glove's nephew. He used a "hard light"
suit of armour and glider discs for flight. Dyna-Doll was the ward of Thunder Woman, but was
actually an android created by Thunder Woman's antimatter counterpart Lightning Woman. She
was the potential traitor of the group, struggling against her programming. Kid Atomic was the
streetwise sidekick of Atomic Agent, but permanently encased in radioactive metal skin, forced
to wear an energy dampening costume. Sub-Terra Lad was a teenager from an underground
humanoid race, forced to the surface when his people started dying due to a strange plague. He
was taken in by the retired superhero Black Bulldog, who had been friends with the boy's father
King Terrus.

They were brought together by Chrono-Girl, who desperately needed allies. Chrono-Girl was
actually Prof Victora Wellstream, a scientist from the far future. Two possible timelines were at
war, one a peaceful utopian Earth, the other a ravaged wasteland where humans degenerated into
cyborgs and mutants who preyed on the other intelligent races of the galaxy. The forces of the
horrible future gained a big edge when they uncovered time travel, sending warriors back to tilt
events in their favour. Dr Wellstream travelled back to recruit champions, but a glitch in the time-
capsule she used turned the elderly woman back into a teenager. Team Eternity travelled to
various eras, battling the forces of (I think I called it) Earth-Oblivion. Their greatest foe was
General Or-Lok Oblivion, kind of Solomon Grundy type with a honking big bionic arm and a
cannon on his shoulder. The Oblivion Knights were his minions, elite warriors of the degenerate
future. Storm Girl was the former junior partner of Thunder Woman and Nightheart's ex-
girlfriend. She had lost her powers but was given them back by General Or-Lok, turning evil in
the process (a cackling, manic kind of evil). The Tempter was a sorcerer who had the powers of
"The 7 Deadly Sins"-cursing others with lust, gluttony, sloth, etc. Morgan Le Fay also threw in
with the evil future people, as did Dr Frankenstein, and a few other literary/mythological villains.

The Unbelievables...man, I'm having trouble remembering this one. It was an attempt at a silly
superhero treatment, like the cartoons The Incredibles and the Mighty Heroes. Let me search the
memory banks a bit more to see what if I can recall any specifics.

Alien Empires
---

Naturally, this isn't a listing of all the alien worlds out there, instead this is meant to be more of a
sampler of the galactic powers to express interest in Earth

The Confederacy of Allied Worlds - arguably the oldest political body in the galaxy, the
Confederation is comprised of thousands of independent worlds who refuse to be
lectured/coddled/dominated by any one world, such as the Lor or Grue. Unfortunately, the sheer
age and size of the Confederacy has left it bloated and corrupt, which, combined with the
devastation of the war with Orkus, led to the tyrannical rule of Kyros the Murderous, before he
was finally overthrown by a plucky band of freedom fighters (with aid from some of earth's
superheroes), and the high ideals of the old Confederacy have been restored under the
charismatic figurehead of Empress Aria the Merciful. But as the saying goes, many worlds are
twice shy after being burned by Kyros.

The Lor Republic - one of the the two nearest powers to earth, the Lor Republic is roughly
analogous to Star Trek's United Federation of Planets, i.e.: generally peaceful and benign, with
an interest in exploration and co-operation. To many worlds, the Lor are a welcome alternative to
the bureaucracy and corruption of the Confederacy. to this end, the Lor are trying to move away
from millennia of pro-humanoid bias, although there are still some vocal holdouts.

The Grue Unity: if the Lor Republic is the Federation, the Grue Unity is the Dominion, an
interplanetary 'protection racket' where worlds swear allegiance and resources to the Grue and
are thus spared destruction by the Grue space fleets. the Grue are the other closest power to
earthspace, but after the debacle of their invasion in 2004, have turned their resources inwards as
several of their subject worlds have begun to rebel against their yoke

The Atori Coalition: The Atori were once peaceful, and on the verge of joining the Lor before a
cosmic disaster demolished their entire civilization. left to the cruel 'mercy' of pirates, raiders and
warlords, by the time the Atori rose from the ashes they had become a cruel, xenophobic and
tyrannical military-industrial regime, conquering every world they, or their servitor races, set
foot on. While aggressively humanoid-supremacist, the Atori have allowed some non-humanoid
races to join in the coalition based on their strategic value (the insectile Photin are prized
assassins and bodyguards, for example), but still regard these beings as second class subhuman
scum.

Bridgeworld: entire planets that have collapsed into lawless anarchy and barbarism after being
linked to the spacebridges of Grunn, Bridger of A Thousand Worlds!, connecting them with
every other world the insane titan has "blessed" with his bridges. due to the nature of the Bridges,
the component planets of Bridgeworld can be found throughout the galaxy, in just about every
sovereign territory. Thankfully for the universe at large, Grunn, Bridger of A thousand Words!,
has forbidden space travel, restricting its spread to those worlds personally 'blessed' by the insane
space god.

The Network: While technically not a political body, The Network is one of the largest
corporate entities in the galaxy, having made their fortunes by ruthlessly exploiting pre-warp
worlds and civilizations, and are powerful enough to abuse galactic commerce laws as such. that
said, the Network is for the most part tolerant and benign, and the elusive Master Traders live
and die by their contracts and treaties. The Network will exploit and abuse the law, but they will
never break it.

The Opteran Regency: more commonly referred to as the Invid, The Opterans are a race of
slug-like bio-wizards and scientists, and following their first contact with the Grue and other
warlike races, have radically shifted their entire culture from scholarly isolation to violent
conquest. Opteran worlds, colonized or conquered, are usually reverted to pre-industrial
conditions, undoing pollutants and making the land fertile, to support the agrarian needs of their
new masters, and that the Opterans may study and experiment upon the native life forms.

The Stellar Khanate: while specifically referring to the worlds ruled by Kinan Khan, the Stellar
Khanate also refers to his growing alliance of planetary dictators and space pirate lords, who fly
Star Khan's banner in return for a piece of the action. The Khanate is presently little more than a
syndicate of pirates and warlords, their collective military might is making them a force to be
reckoned with.

The Thran Allegiance: okay, y'know the Empire from Star Wars? That’s basically the Thran,
only its reptiles at the top of the food chain instead of humanoids. Although if you've got
superpowers, it’s not so bad. If you've got powers, you can boss around regular thran, but are
expected to kneel and lick the dewclaws of any superthran that crosses your path

The Tsavrong Hegemony: an offshoot of the Grue, The Tsavrong have made every effort to
distinguish themselves from their genetic 'cousins'. Where the Grue are collectivist, the Tsavrong
are fanatically individualist, and while the Grue are cold, logical creatures, Tsavrong are
passionate in anything they do. This dichotomy is also political, where the Tsavrong recruit
potential allies instead of subjugating everything in sight. Don't get me wrong though the
Tsavrong are a brutal, warlike and objectivist culture who believe Might Makes Right/survival of
the fittest, and only consider alliance after a world has repelled their invasion fleets on multiple
occasions

Well, the galaxy is at a state of relative peace for the time being. there are some border disputes
and raiders, but for the most part the Star Knights and Galactic Guardsmen are making sure
everybody plays nice, or if they are at war, to keep it cold and out of sight.

But for major rivalries, the Thran and Tsavrong are trying to wipe each other out (Earth's new
recognition as a neutral planet have thrown a substantial wrench in general Ro-Mel's invasion
plans).

The Atori, basically being the Coalition from Rifts, but with Zentradi instead of Dog Boys as the
expendable shock troops, consider themselves at war with any world they come across that
doesn't meet their high standards, but right now they're debating a non-aggression pact with the
Stellar Khanate against the Opterans
Japan
---

Japan's affairs with superhumans have been almost as rocky as those of North America. While
beloved by the people, those supers which had fought for Japan in World War II and lived to tell
about it were revealed to be composed of psychopaths, criminals, and aberrations created by the
Green Dragon Society. As a result, the Japanese government had no qualms about accepting
restrictions on superhuman agents as part of their terms of Surrender. This suited societies such
as white Lotus and the Black Hand quite nicely, already embroiled in their shadow wars.

As a result, Japanese supers had to either act in secret, or register their names and abilities with
the JSSDF. As a result, Japan is one of the few nations with a working superhuman Registration
program, having had over half a century of practice in such matters. Of course, it helped that they
had such a low superhuman population in comparison to North America, and that those beings of
a mystical nature were more than capable of policing themselves

Then Came the Devil Shake.

Arguably the single greatest arcane disaster in the modern era, the usurpation and violation of
Japan's network of ley lines through a diabolic form of Feng Shui, performed by the Sorcerer
Levi Rah. The Devil Shake rocked through the city of Tokyo, leaving chaos and destruction in its
wake, and literally turned the entire district of Shinjuku into Hell on Earth, and thus dark and
terrible things from elsewhere began to creep into our reality. Worse yet, the oldest and wisest
mages of earth recognized that the Devil Shake was merely the first phase of Rah's profane
ritual, and the sorcerer had written wards into his curse that left their hands tied for the next ten
years.

Around this time, the GENOM corporation exploited the commercial and political anarchy that
ensued following the disaster, and gained enough influence to begin construction of what was
swiftly called Neo-Tokyo, a supposed miracle of industry and superscience, but has in reality
proven to a cyberpunk dystopia of corruption, greed and science run amok, where the populace is
divided between the corporate rich and the displaced poor.

But in the dark, a single light can shine the brightest. In the cursed streets of old Tokyo, a band of
female heroines known as the Sailor Senshi pushed back against the things that go bump in the
night, cleansing the city's demonic blight, and encouraging others to do the same. In 1998, a
techno-spirit calling it/herself Lain took to the computer networks of Neo-Tokyo. We still have
no idea exactly what she did, or is perhaps still doing, but somehow the Denizens of Neo-Tokyo
feel "better" then they did before her arrival. Mortal powers were not idle either. With reluctance,
the Japanese government established a "Tank Police", that would fight mutants, runaway robots,
supercriminals and demonic monsters with superior firepower. In Neo-Tokyo, a team of
armoured heroines, the Knight Sabres, took up the fight against the futuristic nightmares
spawned by GENOM's greed. In 1999, Professors Ken Sanada and Hiroshi Rara discovered the
remains of an alien starship, the excavation and reverse engineering of its technology led to the
creation of Graviton City
And in the year 2000, an initiate member of the order of the White Lotus fought his way into the
heart of the demon city and slew Levi Rah, and in doing so allowed the soul of Old Tokyo to be
contested once more between Light and Dark.

Since then, Japan has seemingly careened from one apocalyptic event to the next, surviving by
the skin of their teeth, but from all indications, their "silver age" has yet to tarnish to bronze.

Heroes of Japan
---

As one might expect, Japanese heroes in Kreuzworld are the kind you see in anime or manga-
based rpgs, where powers are typically and clearly derived from magical or sci-fi origins, as
opposed to the more eclectic mishmash of American superheroes. On that note, Japanese heroes
generally have a positive relation to their celebrity status, such that in Japan, a hero can sign
autographs and endorse products, without the stigma of being a 'sell-out'

A-Ko - a seemingly ordinary high school girl from Rara Island/Graviton City, Eiko "A-Ko"
Megami is one of the strongest superwomen in the world, regularly besting Mecha, giant
monsters, and the occasional eldritch horror with her bare hands. While not actually a superhero,
A-Ko is a part-time volunteer for the Earth Defence Force as an after school job. her parents
identities are classified, but her Father is a Mild-Mannered Reporter for a Great Metropolitan
Newspaper.

E. Honda - The greatest Sumo Wrestler in the world, Edmond Honda has perfected his body and
martial art to superhuman levels, and while not a member of the Order of the While Lotus, has
been invited to Shamballa Vale on occasion to demonstrate and teach his art

Earth Defense Force - A civilian agency, the EDF's mission statement is to provide 21st century
superscientific solutions to superhuman threats, with a focus on giant robots and Kaiju. as such,
the EDF's primary means of engagement are a trio of giant mecha reverse engineered from alien
technologies, and the alien war machine known as "Zinv".

Goku - Arguably Japan's most powerful hero, Son Goku is a martial artist whose mixture of
superhuman ability and ki techniques make him one of the most powerful beings on earth.
Originally a citizen of the Iron Khanate, Goku and his family defected to Japan shortly after the
birth of his son, Gohan. Goku's father-in-Law, Gyumao the Ox King, is the Khanate's
ambassador to Japan.

Knight Sabres - a quartet of armoured heroines, the Knight Sabres present a front of being
elusive, high-priced mercenaries to the countless megacorps and 'private agencies' that infest
Neo-Tokyo, and sometimes take such work to pay the bills or keep up appearances. the reality is
they are urban guardians in the vein of Raven or Black Wing, although instead of mobsters or
common criminals, they focus on runaway "boomer" bioroids and the other technological terrors
spawned by corporate greed.

Mighty Miracle Guardians - the latest corporate sponsored Sentai team whose heroics blur the
lines of reality and televised Fantasy, the Mighty Miracle Guardians differ from the rest by the
fact that each of them has superpowers as opposed to being martial artists with high tech gadgets

Rocky - former child star of the American sitcom "Freakin' Out!", Rocky Jones is one of Japan's
most popular celebrity heroes. but, while his fame and fortune are nowhere near fleeting, Rocky's
recently announced his decision to leave Japan for his hometown of Arcadia, in order to help the
Emerald City recover from the "Silver Storm" outbreak event

Ryoko - once a notorious Space Pirate who once sacked the planet Jurai 700 years ago, Ryoko
has since resurfaced on Earth, and has (mostly) abandoned piracy to become a somewhat
reckless and chaotic force for good. Much to their mutual chagrin, she also serves as bodyguard
to Princess Ayeka, Jurai's ambassador to Earth.

Ryu - the "World Warrior", Ryu Hoshi is without question one of the world's greatest martial
artists, and while he has travelled the globe in search of enlightenment, he frequently returns to
his homeland, having recently chosen to train an apprentice, one Sakura Kasunago

Sailor Moon - without question, Sailor Moon is Japan's most beloved heroine, appearing on the
scene in the wake of the Devil Shake disaster and beating back its demonic influence over old
Tokyo with the help of her allies, the Sailor Senshi, and her now-husband, Tuxedo Mask. and
despite being active for nearly 20 years, they've shown little sign of slowing down. In the mystic
community, Sailor Moon is recognized as the reincarnation of Serenity, one of Faerie's lost Lords
of Summer

Tokkotai - the first and last of Japan's Kikai Samurai, a squad of towering cyborgs constructed in
the latter days of World War 2, who fought the American 'island hopping' advance every step of
the way. Tokkotai was presumed destroyed and last at sea following the battle of Okinawa, but
was recovered from the Ocean Floor and revived in 1999. Briefly touted as the reborn warrior-
son of Japan, Tokkotai was given the ceremonial position as acting Yojimbo to the Emperor and
his family. Ironically, this was a very wise decision, for due to the sorceries of the Green Dragon
Society during the war, the royal family are a key point in Japan's mystic undercurrents.

Villains of Japan
---

Akuma - a terrifying figure amongst martial artists, Akuma is a fighter without equal, who in the
desire to surpass his limits, gave himself fully to the Satsui no hadou, or 'killing intent'. now he
prowls the world, appearing out of nowhere to fighters who might be able to match his strength,
only to leave them twisted, maimed wrecks of their former selves at best.

B-Ko - A-ko's arch-rival and nemesis, the August roman to her centurion, Biko Daitokuji is
heiress apparent to the Daitokuji Financial Group (see below), and one of Earth's greatest
scientific minds. Unfortunately, much of her genius is squandered on her petty and vindictive
rivalry with A-Ko and as an outlet for her increasingly obvious and severely repressed
homosexuality. But, despite her obsessions and use of the (VERY) revealing Akagiyama-23
biosuit, Biko has yet to truly embrace a life of supervillainy. Biko's new stepmother, Ayuko
Daitokuji, intends to rectify this.

The Buaku Gang - the largest force of 'disorganized crime' in Neo-Tokyo, the Buaku gang was
originally an outlaw motorcycle gang that formed in the chaos following the Devil Shake of
1990 with the arrival of their titular leader. revelling in their identity as punks and lowlifes, The
Buaku gang's strength comes from their open acceptance of freaks, mutants and outcasts (and
their surprising habit of acquiring high-tech weapons and vehicles), and retain their
independence from the Yakuza by acting as freelance mercenaries. The Gang has also been
known to target bio-tech companies from time to time, and rumour has it Buaku himself has ties
to both Gene Nation and the Tomorrow Society

Cell - the Anti-God spawn of the Entropic Master Outer Dark, Cell was birthed during his
parent's attempt to infest Earth in 1999. an insectile-humanoid creature who takes the strengths
of those he devours, Cell is obsessed with the ideas of consumption and perfection, making him
both egomaniacal and insecure, leading him to stage elaborate 'games', where he may prove to
the world, and himself, his 'perfection". Cell holds particular hated for Son Goku, who has bested
the beast on several occasions

Daitokuji Financial Group - an international investment corporation with many military

industrial interests, the DFG's primary business plan is to invest in and support other would be
megacorps on their rise to power, before taking them for all their worth and abandoning them,
Making the dfg more or less a barely legal corporate pyramid scheme. few are willing to try and
bring the DFG down, however, partly because of their heavy investments in Graviton City, and
partly because the DFG is in fact a subsidiary of Spartacorp, and oversees their pan-Asian
concerns.

Doc Otaku - is big in japan, highly regarded as a celebrity bad boy rebel pop icon in the cape-
punk counterculture that is in vogue with Japan's urban youth. for this reason, Otaku tries to keep
his nose clean for the most part when in Japan, and in fact works as a freelance technical
consultant for various technological concerns

GENOM - a rapidly growing Megacorp of almost unimaginable size and power, GENOM
presents itself as an upstanding concern, but is in reality riddled with greed, corruption and
disregard for both the law and public safety, engaging in mad science, arms dealing, and
encourages ruthless ambition in its executives. furthermore, in their relentless pursuit of profits,
GENOM's Boomer technology is an opened Pandora's Box But, unlike say, Spartacorp, GENOM
is not wholly evil. it's too big, too monolithic, and is in fact the very lifeblood of neo-Tokyo.
instead, GENOM in the kreuzworld is more like Robocop's OCP corporation. GENNOM itself is
not evil, its executives are. GENOM as a corporation is instead simply amoral, cold and
uncaring.

Kumu - an ancient War machine of Juraian origin (we think), Kumu differs from other malign
intelligences in that 'she' does not wish to destroy humanity outright, but will stop at nothing to
topple the barbaric patriarchy which has enslaved femalekind. in fact, Kumu is the only AI to be
blacklisted by the Foundry, after she was able to get Echnina and the Scylla network to rise up
against Talos. Destroyed time and again by the EDF and other heroes, Kumu has always
managed to rebuild herself, and is presently disguised as a small, yapping lapdog.

Largo - in life, Brian J. Mason was a ruthless corporate shark, a then-crucial member of
GENOM's board of Directors while at the same time being one of the few humans to rise to any
true power within the Foundry, becoming head of their Asian concerns. that was before he was
'killed' by the Knight Sabres, and as 'reward' for his true loyalty, Talos gave him new life as an
experimental 'hyberboomer' bioroid. Predictably, the process drove Mason insane. taking his new
name, Largo now considers himself a digital god, and while sharing his master's desire to scour
away humanity and replace it with the perfection of machines, seeks to one day overthrow his
master, and anybody else standing in his way.

Levi Rah - Little is known of the man called Levi Rah. he was one of many lost souls who
abandoned their life in pursuit of Shamballa Vale, and upon finding it devoted himself to its
secret arts, before his desire for power led him to betray them to the Iron Khan, whom he
betrayed in turn, and was seemingly dispatched by Temujin Khan's own hand. Decades later, Rah
resurfaced, now a powerful sorcerer and head of his own nightmarish cult, whose destruction at
the hands of the White Lotus Society, Black Hand and other occult agencies were part of the
ritual he used to cause the Devil Shake. For ten years he ruled the Demon City Shinjuku,
continuing his profane rituals to forces most foul, before he was finally slain. unlike others of his
ilk, Levi Rah is well and truly dead, his mortal remains 'dealt with' to prevent his resurrection
(exactly how is a very popular rumour). but, While Rah's body is gone, there persists the fact that
he had forsaken his very soul to his unholy master to bring about the Devil Shake, and that its
bleak and terrible essence exists as a cancerous wraith, haunting the demon city, and perhaps,
when time is right, the thing that was once Levi Rah will walk the earth once more.

Lord Piccolo, Jr. - an alien sorcerer-monk, Lord Piccolo was a despotic monster from ancient
times who sought to rule all of Asia before his imprisonment by the White Lotus Society.
Released in the Modern era, Piccolo picked up where he left off, and was eventually destroyed
by Son Goku. years later, a being resembling Piccolo appeared, claiming to be the
spawn/reincarnation of the would-be ruler of the world, and declared himself Goku's nemesis.
thankfully, Piccolo jr. appears to be lacking his father's egomaniacal insanity

Skyfire - the most feared Shivan shard-based supervillain in the world, Skyfire is an egocentric
violent grandstanding maniac, whose continued enmity of Star Knight has made him the newest
member of the Crime League, following Blackstar's departure into space.

Whispering Dark - a profane cult based around the "teachings" of Levi Rah, founded by an
insane prostitute who claimed to be the Dark Lord's surviving mistress, who last year led a mass
suicide to 'celebrate' the passing of the Dark Messiah. Whispering Dark has since fallen under the
leadership of a woman named Kali, who has been identified as Dr Rakhi Balan, formerly of
DEVA. Unlike her predecessor, Kali and her followers have demonstrated actual super-abilities,
but these are derived from an illicit cache of Shivan Shards

The Pantheon
origins

As with many things of great import in the world of Freedom, the Pantheon started humbly.
Stephanie Crane, a gifted student of history, theology and philosophy turned vagabond, so
disillusioned with the world but knowing it could be better. She’d tried countless religions,
switched between gurus and spiritual movements like the tides, but no answer revealed itself to
her. To Stephanie, her world was condemned to banality until she learned of dig in Sri Lanka.
from all appearances, the dig site had uncovered Grecian artefacts, indicating that Alexander the
Great's empire extended even further than realized, or at the very least, had used dedicated
scouting parties. This was a project the historian in her refused to pass up. More so, there was
something about the dig, of the ancient ruins that called to her with a siren's song.

But whatever answers she sought to find were dashed when agents of SHADOW attacked the
site. The truth of the ruin was that the ancient expedition was led by one of Overshadow's earliest
incarnations, who'd led his troops alongside and past Alexander in pursuit of a source of
incredible power. Power, Overshadow realized, that had gone untouched though to modern
times, as if still waiting for him. And so his minions descended upon the small village like
locusts.

But secretly as the attack had begun, an earthquake struck, sundering the ruins and startling the
SHADOW soldiers. In addition, the earth swallowed Stephanie in an instant

And just as swiftly, gave second birth to the one now called Gaia.

She emerged from the soil with a body of living stone, her hair flowing granite and her eyes were
glittering emeralds. The earth itself responded to her will, and she smote the SHADOW army
with the fury of a goddess, before restoring the village and valley to pristine conditions. The
villagers gathered about her, and the woman once known as Stephanie received her first inkling
of what it was to be worshipped. But her display was too great, too beyond her initial ability, and
so her spirit receded into the earth to rest, leaving her body a lifeless statue.

In her death-like slumber, Stephanie received a vision. She perceived a colossal well, from
whence silver waters flowed across the world in streams, each stream ending at a person, to
whom they bestowed great power. Stephanie looked upon her own stream, and felt its power
grow with every villager who gathered before her statue above. She knew the truth now, that she
was herself a goddess, unable to bear the faith of false gods, and that countless other superbeings
were themselves equally divine but unaware in a world that preached soulless science and banal
bureaucracy, so deprived of rightfully deserved worship.

And thus on the seventh Day, Stephanie crane truly died, and Gaia was born a third time, having
transcended the barriers between mortal, heroic and divine.

The road ahead was not an easy one. As will all gods, she faced opposition, not only from
SHADOW's attempts at reprisal, and others who sought to abuse their power like mindless
beasts, such as Ragnarok, but also the so-called heroes. The only one who came close was the
Centurion, who refused any notion of divinity in himself despite his sympathy for Gaia's quest
for a better world.

She was among those who attended Centurion's memorial, unexpected and uninvited, but not
unwelcome. She paid her respects and attended the ceremony in peace. When given a chance to
speak, she said what so many were saying: that the centurion was a god amongst men, and that
his example would inspire men to be greater than themselves.

Afterwards, she departed, saying simply "this world is not yet ready for gods. I shall sleep, and
perhaps it shall be ready then," before sinking into the earth and returning to her Sri Lankan
shrine to slumber.

Years passed, with not a trace of Gaia. That is, until recently. it began slowly, rumours of a cult
that splintered off from the Pinnacle Path, or small 'miracles' performed across the globe. Similar
yet unconnected reports of metahumans gaining a newfound sense of superiority.

Then came The Prayer.

A pirate broadcast interrupted every television and radio signal in the world, while a similar
video was made available for download across the internet. It began with the words of a little girl
praying for her father's rescue from being a political prisoner of the United states. a moment of
silence, followed by a woman's voice announcing "we hear your prayer, and reward your faith."

The broadcast changed to live footage of three metahumans assaulting the prison, and after a
short, bloody battle, over before even the Freedom League could react as they extracted the girl's
father.

The broadcast changed again, and displayed an island rising from the Indian Ocean. The
cameraman, now clearly a superhuman, descended to the island, created by a towering woman
made of living stone.

Gaia had returned.

"We are the Pantheon," she announced to the world as the broadcast ended, "Worship us, and
your prayers will be answered."

In the months following, the Pantheon's ranks have swelled, Gaia's island, now called
Hearthstone, has opened its doors to hero and villain alike, a paradisiacal commune for the
superpowered.

The Pantheon Today

As expected, the Pantheon is a veritable powder keg. Presently, the Pantheon is a mostly non-
violent organization, using its powers to work miracles across the globe in exchange for
sacrifices, typically an exorbitant monetary tithe, or assistance in maintaining the Pantheon's
website and 'prayer hotline'. and while many of its members regard 'mortals' with disdain, Gaia's
philosophy of Noblesse Oblige have kept them from truly abusing their powers, despite their
belief thy are 'above mortal laws'. Gaia herself is a controversial figure, equally the embodiment
of their humanitarian efforts and their self-proclaimed godhood.

Hearthstone itself is a tropical paradise, and part of the Pantheon's income comes from serving as
a vacation spot for the super-powered, offering modern amenities amidst the ancient city they'd
restored from lost ruins. Internationally, the Pantheon comes and go as they please, and while
unwelcome in nations such as Zulan or Thule, the Pantheon has established some presence in
troubled Nestoria and has recently won the right to preach openly on Genesis island. Since
absorbing the Egyptian Sect of The Living Gods, the Pantheon has opened their first (official)
American 'embassy' in Las Vegas.

Is the Pantheon Right?

For the most part, no. most of the Pantheon's membership consist of otherwise ordinary
superhumans, being no more divine than you or I. But, while Gaia's conclusions may be wrong,
there is some truth in her beliefs. Gaia has indeed grown more powerful as her worship spreads,
as have other rising stars in her commune, leading to the recognition by groups such as the Pact
and Covenant that while most of the Pantheon are not the gods they claim to be, Gaia and a few
others are more or less the real deal.

Divinity and worship

this of course leads to the question of whether or not gods need worship, prayers or sacrifices,
and if so, how can beings such as Horus or Athena remain so powerful, despite the death of their
religions centuries ago?

The answer is another yes and no question. Gods can derive sustenance from prayers and the
like, the same way most infants rely on their mother’s milk. as the deity in question grows older,
they learn to properly sustain themselves on the cosmic energies of the universe (among other
methods), and worship, while not as nourishing as in their youth, provides even an experienced
deity with a heady rush. Thus, to return to Athena for example, While she no longer craves
prayer as her brother Ares, secretly relishes the figurative 'high' she gets from public appearances
(which, to her credit, she considers a great and secret embarrassment, and fears the PR
machinations of Taurus may unwittingly turn the already hedonistic Olympus into a cosmic
opium den)

The Return of Vanguard, and the New Champions

---

Every child from Midwestern America knows the story of Vanguard, who gained world shaking
powers upon encountering a mysterious Idol in Tibet, and instead of trying to take over the
world, used them to safeguard humanity, before giving his life to save the planet from the
machinations of Doctor Destroyer during the Battle of Detroit.
Last year, Vanguard returned, first at the head of Sepulchre's army of undead heroes during the
Summer of Death event, and then, like other heroes and villains, was restored to life in the
aftermath of the crisis. But, much like Lady Starbright, when he came back, he was bereft the
lion’s share of his abilities, left only with a body that was 'merely' a paragon of human ability.

Undaunted, Vanguard at first tried to pick up where he left off, only for a narrow victory over
Bulldozer to snap him to his senses about his new limitations. He took up an administrative role,
trying to support the heroes behind the scenes, working as a member of the civilian support staff
for the Champions and as their liaison with AEGIS/UNTIL, but his heart ached to fight the good
fight on the front lines.

Then, last Detroit Day (the anniversary of the Battle of Detroit) came the Qularr, a race of
biotech using insectoids who had in the decades since their last attack on earth, developed the
means and ability to fight earthly heroes to a standstill.

But, what few realized until it was almost too late, was that the Qularr invasion, while all to real,
was an elaborate feint from the Machiavellian mind of none other than Doctor Destroyer, whose
Destroids (under the command of Black Talon) lay siege to the Champions headquarters of
Homestead, while all eyes were on the menace from beyond the stars.

And they almost succeeded, if not for vanguard. it was he who rallied a small, rag tag band of
heroes trapped together under the energy dome, and using a cache of gadgets (okay, a jetpack
and enchanted longbow of lightning) from the Homestead Trophy room, led them to victory over
Black Talon, and then destroyed the signal generator that was driving the Qularr into a genocidal
rage.

Oh, and they fired Ironclad out of a railgun to bring down the Qularr Mothership.

Since then, Vanguard has re-invented himself as a swashbuckling adventurer, seeking out old
friends to train in the ways of the mystery men of yore, and has already mastered the Archery
needed to use his lightning bow, while at the same time shaping his allies during the Qularr
invasion into a cohesive superteam, who have already made strides against the gangs and
gangsters of Millennium City's Westside district, such that the press has already dubbed them the
New Champions.

Members of the New Champions

---

Vanguard (Jeffrey Sinclair) - see above. Having been dead for over a decade, he's enjoying
every second of his new life, and mentoring a new generation of heroes

Jaguar (Santiagos Villagatos) - A private detective from New Mexico, Santiagos was cursed to
become a wereJaguar after he helped expose a child slavery/sacrifice ring of the Circle of the
Crimson Moon. he'd come to Millennium to be cured by Witchcraft, but has since chosen to spite
the Circle and become a hero (Witchcraft didn't have the heart to tell him that the curse became
permanent when he used it to spill the blood of others, even if it was to protect a family from the
Qularr)

Obsidian (real name unpronouncable to humans) - Heir Apparent-in-exile, Obsidian was

Crown prince of the Planet Minos, before they were overthrown and forced into hiding by
warlords loyal to the Stellar Khanate. Obsidian has chosen to stay on earth and grow stronger for
when he can come of age and rightfully challenge the warlords for the throne of Minos.

Quantum (Joanne "Jo" Amos) - A member of the Millennium city Police Department whose
mutant powers enabled her to survive a drive by shooting by the Cobra Lords biker gang
(ironically intended for her deadbeat older brother) that killed her parents and crippled her
younger brother, whose survival (and Jo's devotion to the MCPD police code) were the only
thing’s that kept her from becoming a murderous vigilante. As it is, Quantum oscillates between
being an uptight stickler for the rules, but at the same time has a fierce, hair trigger temper, and
while she tries to avoid killing, she doesn't lose any sleep if she has to put some superscum down
like the rabid dogs they are.

Seeker ("Lee Tosi") - the Man called Seeker swears he's Australian orphan who was raised by
ninjas in the outback, and does so with a straight face. This is actually the least far-
fetched/copyright infringing of the origins he's given when asked. In actuality he's a prematurely
activated clone of the Canadian archvillain Teleios, whose knowledge of the outside world
comes from watching way too many action movies. To no-one's surprise, Seeker is one of the
few heroes who can not only comprehend Foxbat's insane moon logic, but actually gets along
with the Fearless Felon to the point where the two are avowed 'hetero-life-drinking-buddies'.

Solitaire - An Orphan, Solitaire was raised by the servants of Silas the Elder, who had planned to
make the girl his pet assassin. Luckily for the world, Solitaire's training did nothing to crush her
optimistic, honest and curious nature, and upon finding out she was working for 'the bad guys',
she not only abandoned her master in order to do the right thing, but took with her an arcane
'widget' which she has since made her familiar. The Youngest of the New Champions, Solitaire is
registered as Vanguard's sidekick, and is a student at Ravenswood Academy. And yes, many have
noted she has a strong resemblance to Witchcraft.

The Power House

===

Contrary to popular belief and apparent trends, teenagers aren't the only people to get
superpowers. However, as Daedalus noted, they were the only ones receiving adequate training
in their powers and abilities, while any adult with powers was on their own, unless they wanted
the stigma of attending the Rosemont centre or Tomorrow Society.

And, after shutting down the back alley 'clinics' of the Power-House for the umpteenth time,
Daedalus decided to do something about it.

Months later, under the sponsorship of Daedalus Designs LLC. and in association with Harmon
Industries and Steele Omnitech, the Power House redebuted, now legal & non-lethal, a secure
 and confidential 'health & fitness club' for superhumans instead of a back-alley body-chop-shop.
I m a g e

As the above picture demonstrates, a city's local 'branch office' is actually a highly secure
teleportation gate, designed only to allow access to detected superhumans, who are 'ported to the
Power House proper, while normal humans will walk under the gear-arch without interruption, as
non-powered/power armoured heroes usually have their own training methods. Daedalus is still
fine tuning for magic-based beings, and naturally, the actual location(s?) of the Powerhouse itself
is/are a highly classified secret.

The interior of the Power House itself resembles a high tech, futuristic gymnasium, modelled off
of the training facilities of over a dozen superteams past and present (and thanks to time travel,
one from the future), and staffed by a friendly, courteous and professional crew of coaches,
instructors and trainers.

Unlike the facilities found on a team's headquarters, The Powerhouse has multiple specialized
training areas, instead of a singular 'danger room', each of which is conveniently (and somewhat
jokingly) labelled for your convenience, such as:

The Playpen - mobility testing. Much like its namesake, the Playpen allows the untrained
superhuman to move around without fear of injury

The Kitchen - Endurance testing. If you can't stand the heat, stay out of the kitchen. a mandatory
session for first timers, the Kitchen's purpose is to find the limits of a super's protection, ranging
from a routine physical and MXC style obstacle course, to rigours evaluation and live-fire
exercises

The Doom Room - the same training facility as offered by the Claremont academy,
recommended only for recurring clients/those intending to become superheroes

Naturally, such facilities are also drawing experienced heroes and villains alike, and in order to
cater to the Power House's code of confidentiality, the Power House is agreed upon Neutral
territory.

As the Power-House is still fairly new, its public locations are limited to Millennium city and
Freedom City, and the first 'expansion site' is already under construction in Emerald City in order
to accommodate those supers created in the Silver Storm. Once Daedalus gets enough data to
work the bugs out of the teleporter, he's hoping to have branches established in Freehold, Vibora
Bay, and Los Dios.

Grond, Project Greenskin & Burning sands

---

One of the most physically powerful beings on Earth, Grond used to be a cheap, one-bit hood by
the name of Sidney Potter, who was changed forever during what was supposed to be a routine
voluntary medical experiment (IE: time off for getting poked with a bogus cure for the common
cold). Not only was he injected with the wrong formula (a reptile-derived immune system
booster), but then he crashed into a shelf full of rare and potent chemicals, and dove into a toxic
river which was struck by lightning. Oh, and he was a latent wild carder too.

For all intents and purposes, Sidney Potter died in that river of toxic sludge-water, for what
emerged from the same was no longer a man, but the four-armed abomination that would be
dubbed Grond, a monster which would menace America and the world for the next 30 years.

In 1995, AEGIS gave the go-ahead on Project Greenskin, a specialized program to develop the
means to counter, fight and possibly even hulking monsters such as Grond, who were otherwise
invincible to conventional forces and almost always required superhuman intervention. At first
Greenskin did the impossible, capturing Grond with minimal casulties and bringing him back to
study.

Their attempts to control him however, failed miserably. Not only did Grond demolish their
facilities and escape into the old nuclear test sites of the southwest desert, but in the decade and a
half since then Grond has only grown more powerful

From his creation to his capture by Greenskin, Grond stood a little over 6 feet, and while
incredibly powerful, was regarded as a 'cannon fodder' villain, powerful, but little more than a
simple minded enforcer to whichever criminal mastermind was manipulating him at the time,
following his escape of Greenskin, when Grond was briefly recaptured in 2002, he had doubled
in size to twelve and a half feet, and then had more than enough power to take on an entire team
of heroes

In 2009, Grond reached his current status as a giant standing in around 25 feet tall (more if he'd
stand upright), and is now regarded as a full on Kaiju-class atomic monster, capable of fighting
off powerhouses such as Divinos or Protonik, making him more a force of nature than a mere
'supervillain'.

Project Greenskin, despite its aforementioned failure, has in the years since then to become the
leading authority in superbeing containment and countermeasures, having developed the
Superbeing restraint systems used by AEGIS and most of america's super-prisons. Until recently,
however, Project Greenskin's top priority according to director Francis Kaufman, was to bring
down Grond once and for all

I say until recently, on account of Burning Sands.

Originally a range of small communities not far from the site of the USA's nuclear test sites from
the 1950's, Burning Sands received its name and classification as an irradiated atomic wasteland
when it was subjected to unprecedented mutagentic Omlevex radiation by the Atomic Brain's
prototype "O-bomb" in 2004, turning an overall population of [I have no sense of scale here, so
let’s just say it was a frighteningly large number] into malformed radioactive mutants. the
environmental effects were similarly catastrophic, turning local bodies of water into bilious
bodies of nuclear waste-based mutagens, tainting the regional sky green, and most dramatically,
causing a stretch of desert badlands to actually catch fire for 24 hours (thus the name of burning
sands). in fact, the whole region has been so radically altered into something best described as
'alien', that outside observers have taken to calling it "Gamma World". Worse yet, this radiation
has not only attracted Grond who has since made Burning Sands his 'home', but the interaction of
his 'leavings' with its ecology has led to some of the stronger irradiates to mutate further,
becoming what can only be called 'grondlings', i.e.: miniature, sometimes hideously malformed
versions of Grond himself, with strength comparable to Grond's earliest days.

Project Greenskin's Sisyphean task is to tame this nuclear nightmare, and find a way to return it
and its residents back to normal. a task made more difficult by recent scandals, such as the
inhumane treatment going on at their own Biological Isolation & Containment Centre that
resulted in a mass escape (only kept from becoming a full disaster by then Acting AEGIS
Director Billy Ray, who put Kaufman in charge as a result), infiltration by rogue agencies such
as Project Icarus, and the loss of Priority detainee Drake "Little Fat Boy" Thomas, who has since
been inducted into the Pantheon's ranks as "Ra".

Snake Gulch
---

Howdy partner, and welcome to the Snake Gulch, and rootinest, tootinest, rowdiest robot
cowboy amusement park on this side of the Pecos! Built by genius toymaker and robotician
Tyrell Donaldson, Snake Gulch provides a heapin’ dose of fun and adventure for the entire
family. Snake Gulch attracts tourists from around the globe, who come to see the Old West
recreated in a contained environment that’s both safe and educational. Take off yer spurs, grab a
sarsaparilla, and stay for a while. At Snake Gulch, we guarantee a good time-or your money
back.

To most people, Snake Gulch is exactly as advertised, a wild west playground populated by
Tyrell Donaldson's signature 'retrotech' robots, with hourly stunt shows, the Sidewinder Spur
Roller Coaster, mule rides, and other theme park attractions

What the public does not know is that Snake Gulch isn't just a theme park, it's also a sanctuary
for intelligent robots and AI's, machines that have developed their own personalities, but refuse
to be the slaves of malign architects such as Talos or Mechanon, or be poked and prodded by
superscientists

Here, they can be free and establish their own community to find out what living life means to
beings that were never 'alive' in the first place, and all they have to is from opening to closing,
pretend to be cowboys. Ironically, many of the bots that come to snake gulch aren't pretending,
instead adopting the trappings of the old west as their own

Snake Gulch has had problems of late though. Agents of VIPER have been stealing bots from the
gulch and reprogramming them, partly to steal Donaldson's tech, but also to shut the park down
so they can strip-mine the hidden deposits of Neutronium the park is sitting on. Worse,
Mechanon has started to take notice of the town, and has begun spreading its own malign
influence.

People of interest

Tyrell Donaldson: the man himself, often described as the Mark Twain of robotics, Donaldson is
'officially' retired from superscience, but for those heroes who come all the way out to the gulch,
he's willing to lend what expertise he can. Tyrell also plays the part of Snake Gulch's 'mayor', and
tries to stay as much in character as he can

Belle Steele: Donaldson's greatest creation, bodyguard and surrogate Daughter, Belle is the de
facto leader of Snake Gulch's robots, despite her arguments to the contrary. having worked as a
part time superheroine for a few years, Belle genuinely likes humans, and is one of the leading
robot rights activists in the southwestern united states

Sherriff Robo [offline]: once the bastion of law and order into the gulch, Robo recently went
haywire, and nearly gunned down dozens of tourists if his sidearms weren't loaded with blanks.
Taken down by Belle (who covered for him by claiming it was Robo's evil twin), Robo has been
offlined and disassembled until Tyrell Donaldson can figure out what went wrong. in the
meantime, Donaldson has called in the hero Sundance to play the part of acting sheriff

Sister Seta: a quiet, mousy droid dressed in a habit, Sister Seta used to belong to Mechanon, and
preached its message of hatred, robot supremacy and "kill all humans", before she recognized her
master's insanity. Now she's devoted her entire existence to keeping other robots off the wrong
side of the code, and has hard-wired herself into devout pacifism

HED-1E 5.0: Mechanon's chief agent in Snake Gulch, playing the part of a greedy rail baron
with the attitude of a fire and brimstone preacher. Heddy ("...That's HED-1E.") is the one
responsible for Sherrif Robo's breakdown, but nobody's realized it yet. Left unchecked, Hedley
("HED-1E!") will twist everybot into Mechanon's human-killing slaves, and destroy any who
resist. may or may not have a pet killbot named M1-G0 at his beck and call

ASCII Oakley: the star performer of the Snake Gulch Stunt Show Shootout, who went over to
Mechanon's side not out of logic, but from envy over Belle Steele, who has managed to outfight,
outshoot, outperform and outsass ASCII at every turn despite ASCII being more technologically
advanced in every way.

"Gabby": a bot programmed after the stereotypical crazy old prospector, Gabby has gotten too
into character and is convinced there's gold under Snake gulch. to this end Gabby has been
stockpiling dynamite, and plans to blast his way to the "gold", blissfully unaware that the 'gold' is
actually neutronium, and his blasting will destroy the entire gulch

The Hero Games or PVP for fun & profit

---
Based out of scenic Millennium City, Hero Games was 'started' in the 1970's, when the US
government, caught up in the impending bicentennial fervour, started planning a 'superhero
Olympics’ as a spectacle to accompany the unveiling of the Statesmen. The idea was ironically
scuttled when AEGIS director Jack Simmons, who actually liked the idea, pointed out the
similarities between the event and the berlin Olympics of 1939.

The idea was revisted in 1980 (partly as an alternative to the actual Olympics, which where
boycotted over the USSR invasion of Afghanistan). Many heroes, hoping to forget recent
tragedies (such as the dissolution of the freedom league) were happy to participate, but the event
was marred as a dividing line between their generation and those younger or disillusioned heroes
who were gearing up for the impending 'iron age', who criticized the event as glad handing ego
stroking that ignored the real issues. this debate nearly led to tragedy, but it was swiftly dropped
when Doctor Destroyer chose to attack the event, hoping to wipe out most of his enemies at one
time

Regardless, this event inspire one enterprising young boy by the name of Dominic Ducard, who,
upon reaching adulthood and success as a media event promoter, bought the Hero Games
trademark for a pittance, and established it as his own brand of super-powered Sports
entertainment.

Patterning it after the bread & circuses of Pro Wrestling and based out of scenic Millennium
City, the Hero Games is all about super-powered competition, usually displayed in combat
(Ducard would like some of the diversity of the old games, but for now "capefights" get the most
ratings).

Programs under the Hero games Umbrella:

Celebrity Cape Fight - exclusively the domain of Millennium city, Celebrity Cape Fight's motto
is "expect the unexpected". Millennium heroes who register with Hero Games may challenge
each other at any time and any place, and if the challenge is accepted, a specialized Hero Games
cambot will arrive on the scene and not only record the action, but establish a powerful force
field so that civilians may watch the fight firsthand without fear of injury. Although most of the
Champions could not be reached for comment, Ironclad is considered the CCF champion (and in
fact uses twitter to let local heroes know where they can find him if they want a match), James
Harmon IV (wealthy man about town, but secretly Defender, Leader of the Champions) has
openly criticized the event as barely disguised bloodsport.

B.A.S.H. (Battle Arena Super Heroes) - originally one of Hero's competitors, B.A.S.H. operated
along the US/Mexico border towns as a venue for super-powered Luchadores, before BASH
president El Gato Rojo ceded the rights to Ducard, hoping to get BASH and superluchas more
exposure. regarded as Hero's 'hardcore division', BASH has next to no rules, and instead of high
tech security measures, places its fights in condemned buildings (and in fact has their schedule
planned in advance with Millennium’s urban renewal committee) or neighbourhoods scheduled
for demolition. BASH has come under fire for this by charity organizations out of concern for the
risk it poses to the homeless who might be residing in BASH 'arenas', but much like CCF, BASH
takes the risk to civilians with grave seriousness

Ultimate Tournament of Champions (UTC) - a more secure venue, UTC is team based
competitions held in specialized arenas, ranging from traditional cage matches to high-tech
multilevel chambers, and most recently, using doom Room technology to simulate exotic locales
such as ancient jungle temples.

competitors of Hero Games

XWF (X-treme Warfare federation): pro-wrestling for the super-powered, its got better publicity
and drama, but the drawback is that much like regular pro wrestling, much of XWF's shows are
Kayfabe (IE: scripted and "fake", although not as much as one might think, the fighting's
definitely real), largely due to the fact that XWF hosts in traditional stadium venues (which given
some of the personalities involved, is a disaster waiting to happen). XWF has recently become a
subsidiary of Spartacorp

XTREME! Action Combat Championships: the newest and loudest of the capfighting circuits,
XTREME! has a publicity machine to match the EWF, and the reality to match Hero Games.
Their biggest draw is that unlike the other two, XTREME!'s stable includes known supervillains,
and in fact their reigning champion is none other than the a-list alien gladiator Firewing
(admittedly, his inclusion was a case of "are you gonna tell him no?"). XTREME also goes to the
greatest lengths to avoid civilian casualties, exclusively hosting their fights in unpopulated areas
such as the Mojave Desert or abandoned strip mines, and using live telecasts by trained
professionals.

Circus Maximus: regarded as THE capefighting circuit long before the others existed, the Circus
Maximus of Saturnalia Roman has made the move towards legitimacy, with specialized and
secured arenas in high profile locations as Emerald City, Las Vegas, and Freedom city. as with
XTREME!, much ballyhoo has been made of the circus employing actual supervillains, but the
majority of those who aren't just somebody working a gimmick are convicted felons on a
specialized work-release program (courtesy of the Bruckner Ridge Rehabilitation Program), or
ex-cons who couldn't get a job elsewhere upon their release. naturally, rumours abound that the
Circus is also host to illegal underground 'death fights', but no real evidence has yet to be
uncovered

The Wildfights: in the lawless catacombs of the Los Dios Caverns, those mutated by the
wildstrike hold regular pit fights, a ritualized outlet for their rage and tensions, before some of
the smarter realized they could broker the fights as gladiatorial 'entertainment' amongst the jaded
wealth of Los Dios, who would pay money to watch freaks beat each other bloody. It's barbaric,
but for the time being it’s the only way the wildstrikers can make the money they need for food,
supplies and medicine.

Stronghold Prison
---

the first maximum security prison designed exclusively for superpowered inmates, Stronghold
Prison is the Alcatraz of supercriminals everywhere, and is the ideal other prisons of its kind are
compared to.

Built on and into a desolate mesa in the New Mexico desert, Stronghold is isolated and self-
sufficient, dozens of miles away from any population centres, and in a distinctly eco-unfriendly
move, had made certain there is no drinkable water between them and the prison. in fact, with it
own power generators and top of the line medical supplies, Stronghold's only input from the
outside world are prisoner transfers and heavily guarded food deliveries once a month

On the interior, Stronghold uses a modular cell layout, being able to prepare a cell to stymie an
inmates powers within a day's notice, and The Dungeon, a specialized suspended animation wing
for prisoners too powerful or dangerous for said cells. And, while Stronghold has had its share of
riots and breakouts, these events are rare enough that it only ads to Stronghold's mystique

Presently, the 'crown jewel' of Stronghold's inmates is none other than Aleandro Medina, better
known to the world as Menton, former right hand spy and assassin of the infamous Doctor
Destroyer, and arguably the most powerful psychic on earth, whose psychic plots and
conspiracies numbered enough to match those of his former master.

Normally possessing a keen sense of self-preservation, Menton was finally caught when his ego
finally got the better of him, when with the aid of his sister Mentalla (and by extension, the rest
of Eurostar), he attacked Farside City and tried to usurp the power of the Moonstone and use its
power to enslave the world.

Instead it left him a drooling, comatose wreck, and horribly mutated (before he was a handsome
Spanish playboy. now he's scrawny with an overdeveloped brain growing out the top of his
head). Eurostar promptly threw him under the bus to cover their escape, and he was shipped to
Stronghold almost as soon as he was brought earthside.

A few months after Menton was interred in The Dungeon, Stronghold's administrative staff have
noticed that not only have the prisoners been experiencing symptoms that vaguely resemble the
effects of Mind Control, but that these effects are starting to develop amongst the prison guards
as well, and thus those yet unaffected are preparing a temporary headquarters outside the prison
in the event Menton's experience with the Moonstone have indeed amplified his powers to this
degree

But really they're just being paranoid. i mean what are the odds that...All Glory To Menton....

Mayoral Mayhem!
--

- Millennium City Politics were rocked early last week when agents of the terrorist cartel VIPER
made a series of assassination attempts on the life of incumbent Mayor Calvin Biselle,
culminating in a near-fatal car bombing. In a surprising turn of events, Mayor Biselle's life was
saved not by the MCPD, his bodyguards or local heroes, but rather by his own superpowered
breakout, turning him into a 9 foot tall monosyllabic hulking brute who has taken the Supranym
Mister Mayor

Mayor biselle's arch-rival, Sherman Adair, naturally had a field day with this, unleashing a media
firestorm that's resulted in the upcoming Mayoral elections becoming much more...chaotic

Running this term

Mayor Calvin "Mr. Mayor" Biselle - the incumbent mayor has refused to let his mutation
interfere with his duties, and although stuck using words of three syllables or less and speaking
in the third person, remains as sharp and intelligent as ever

City councilwoman Madeline Bell - secretly the supervillain Medusa, Madeline Bell doesn't
actually plan on winning, and is instead using the media circus of the election to drum up interest
in PSI's public face/recruitment agency, Mind Inc..

Captain Awesome - a C-list superhero, Captain Awesome is running on a "tough on crime"

platform, after his Archnemesis, Dr. Insanotron, walked out of the courthouse last year due to a
technicality. Awesome means well, but he's not yet realizing he's starting to attract the wrong
crowd

Doctor Insanotron - Captain Awesome's archnemesis, Doctor Insanotron is running mostly to

cheese off the Captain. Ironically, despite being a classic silver-age style mad scientist,
Insanotron's platform has some valid points and ideas, although his slogan "you have 24 hours to
deliver your votes" leaves something to be desired.

Alistaire Currie - a staunch anti-supers advocate, Currie was thought to have an uphill battle, but
it turns out there's a good deal of millenniums who are unrestful regarding the number of
superpowered beings in Millennium City limits, and Currie’s campaign has worked around this
theme of 'normals unbound', pointing out that while superheroes have their place, it was ordinary
men and women who created Millennium City. a good man, but political analysts from Freedom
city have noticed an unsettling similarity between his platform and that of freedom's ex-mayor,
Franklin "buddy" Moore, who brought about the city's 'iron age'

i now open the floor for other would-be candidates I had not considered, but would not be out of
place in a semi-futuristic comic book version of Detroit

"If Destroyer must fall, he will fall to his own hand, not to his enemies!"
-- Last words of Dr Albert Zerostoiten, aka Dr Destroyer

Death Duel of The Destroyers!

---

Doctor Destoyer, arguably the greatest supervillain of our time, whose defeat in 1992 brought
about nothing less than the Battle of Detroit, an apocalyptic confrontation that reduced the
Midwestern metropolis to rubble. All evidence on site suggested that Doctor Destroyer perished
with Detroit and the 3 dozen heroes he took down with him, and a great many intelligence
agencies, superhero teams and a few powers on the other side of the fence spent the next decade
making sure it was true.

They were wrong.

Destroyer's career had made him radioactive. No other villain, save for the fanatics already in his
employ was willing to work with him, and heroes around the world were making his takedown a
top priority. Blowing up Detroit was the only way he could go to ground, and it wasn't until 2002
that he was able to take any action, and even then, it was to make a token attempt to terrorize
Millennium City every July 22nd, as a reminder to the heroes of the enemy they made that day.

In 2004, while investigating the heist of an experimental hyperalloy shipment, The Champions'
investigation led them to one of Destroyer's hidden lairs in the Millennium City area, and not
only did they thwart Destroyer's aim to re-establish a foothold in the region, but while they were
unable to confirm destroyer had returned, it sent up a warning flag to everyone the possibility

Recently, Doctor Destroyer's agents have been active again, but their efforts have been...
schizophrenic. Some actions, such as a squadron of Black Talons bringing about the recent
Qularr Invasion, or the reactivation of Destroid factories beneath Millennium City, fit Destroyer's
M.O., other incidents, such as Rakshaha's attempt to summon the demon-god Kigatilik, or
Gigaton's attack on Project Greenskin being a smokescreen for Destroids scouting portals of
Qilophtic energies in the area, suggest a sudden interest in the occult. Surviving UNTIL agents of
investigations into sightings of Doctor Destroyer himself have come away with reports of
Karkaradons, monstrous, other dimensional sharkmen, a turn that has even made some Doctor
Destroyer's most fanatical minions uneasy.

The answer to this sudden change in behaviour is simple:

There are two Doctor Destroyers

The first was born Albert Zerstoiten, one of the world's greatest scientific minds, and has
terrorized the world since the 1970's, who adamantly refuses to acknowledge even the existence
of magic.

The second, whose true identity remains unknown, is better referred to as the Shadow Destroyer,
who while almost as much a scientific genius as Zertstoiten, is a master of the mystic arts, and
not only hails from a reality not our own, but was a former annihilist in the service of Omega
himself, and has chosen to strike out on his own following his master's humiliation in the Time
of Crisis event.

Perhaps most troubling, is that while Doctor Destroyer seeks world domination and power for its
own sake, unconfirmed reports from an averted apocalyptic future suggest that the Shadow
Destroyer has set his sights in another direction, aspiring to transcend not only mortality but
divinity, becoming nothing less than a true Entropic Master.

This in itself would be bad enough, but the worst part is that Doctor Destroyer has of late
become aware of the Shadow Destroyer's use of his minions and resources, and will soon react
accordingly, by hitting the Shadow Destroyer with everything he has, for Power is the only love
of Doctor Destroyer, and he is a jealous lover.

The world barely survived the days of one Doctor Destroyer. Unless heroes take action, it will
not survive the Death Duel of The Destroyers.

The Master Mage's apprentice

---

As mentioned in the official sources, Adrian Eldrich's time as the Master Mage of Earth is
passing, and when not saving all existence from between the curtains of reality, he has been
devoting his time to finding a worthy successor

It certainly hasn't easy, mind you. Not that's he's had no luck, mind you. in fact there have been
many good candidates, but they each have their drawbacks

seven: the obvious candidate, but despite her potential, she's still too raw and inexperienced

Dr. Rune: Adrian’s first choice, Rune had actually served as Master Mage but was forced to
abdicate due to his personal problems. Adrian offered again, but Rune refused to betray his
mentor's trust again. he did however offer to scout the other candidates while eldritch does
master mage stuff

Warlock (villainomicon/Icons) - evil but focussed, he's in the running, but is most likely to
become a Dark Lord

Solitaire, witchcraft and others - too involved in superheroics

Sebastian Arcane - actually came as far as the testing, but refused to go further, being unable to
let go of his worst fears of becoming like his father

But really, the biggest problem to the search is eldritch himself. Magic's all about change, but
he's falling behind the times and out of touch with the mortal world. And unfortunately, most
mages are taking the wrong lessons from his example.

That is, until one night, having been in Chicago on business, Eldritch consulted the phone book
for takeout, and found the following:

HARRY DRESDEN---WIZARD

Lost items found. Paranormal investigations.

Consulting. Advice. Reasonable Rates.
No Love Potions, Endless Purses, or Other Entertainments.

[writer's note: I know next to nothing about the Dresden Files books or RPG, please excuse my
lack of knowledge or incorrect assumptions]

Intrigued but being out of touch with the Chicago magic circles, Eldritch investigated the man,
and found him rough and uncouth, but of good stock, especially when the murder case Dresden
was helping to investigate led them to the unliving horror of the Necropolitan, who sought to tap
the mass grave of The Beast of Chicago, before it was sent screaming back to the dark by the two
wizards.

I'll let an author more practised and versed in the Dresden books provide a detailed account of
this event, but following the Necropolitan's defeat...well, that second loudest profanity you just
thought you heard? That was the White Council reacting to the news that Harry's been made
Eldrich's apprentice.

Of course, apprenticeship isn't so easy as being picked out by the previous guy. Harry's got a
long road ahead to prove himself truly worthy of this great honor, uch as travelling the world to
receive study and testing at the hands of some of the magical figures most respected figures.

(this post incidentally, is inspired by the appearance of one Robert Caliburn, a fairly obvious
Harry Dresden Expy in Champions Online, and a very important NPC for the Vibora Bay
mission chains. If Caliburn is an extant NPC, well, tough noogies)

Activators
---

seriously, those supers whose power is to activate the latent superpowers in others is the absolute
rarest of the rare, and those who exist on earth at this time number in the double digits at most.
this excludes godlike entities such as Mr. Infamy or other such god-entities, although to make
this longer, I’ll include those with reliable power-granting technologies, and those who are
supposedly dead

Boost - Pieter Hans Cross, formerly of Switzerland, who in seeking a way to cure his own rare
strain of Polio. originally only able to amplify the powers of those subjected to his "Booser
Chair", boost has not only learned how to grant temporary superpowers to nats with his
technology, but is the inventor of the Mitoid-type drug "Belligerent" that's recently been
introduced into the Millennium City Underworld

Christine Trelane - aka synergy, Christine is the gestalt of secret origins, and unlike most of the
other activators, is able to activate any latent superhuman regardless of origin. Mutant, nova,
wild card, descendant of some mouldy Babylonian god, you name it, she can activate it.
Christine is part of the UNISON Intelligence Advisory Office attached to the UN sponsored hero
team Vanguard with her husband, Jackson King

Croyd Crenson - the infamous source of the "Typhoid Croyd" outbreak of the wild card virus
(specifically Xenotakis-c or "craps") in 1985, Medical authorities are well aware of the
possibility that The Sleeper may develop this ability once more
Divis Mal - as theorized by Sethothes, may or may not actually be able to trigger latent Novas

Halcyon - A wild Card derived mutagen, Halcyon is the titular 'sacrament' of the Halcyon cult
operating out of Century Station. while its mortality rate is lower than that of the actual Wild
Card, the drawback is not only greater risk of a Joker draw, nor neurological damage resulting in
insanity, but the secret truth, that every survivor of Halcyon becomes a late draw black queen,
with a percentile chance of triggering their unpredictable and often messy demise. unlike other
WC variants, a Halcyon mutate can be exposed to the virus an additional 2 times.

Jane Dow - formerly the b-list 80's heroine Water Lily, Jane's exposure to the "craps" variant of
the wild card at first seemed to only leave her with the ability to take away the wild card of
anyone she had sex with. What jane did not find out until months later is that any nat she has sex
with will not only catch the wild card, but they draw the ace (90% deuce).

Mindbender - while unable to grant superpowers herself, Mindbender's obsession with creating
other superhumans has led to increasingly successful breakout 'events'

Project Proteus - naturally, the creation of superhumans is their entire mission statement, and
despite the countless bodies they've left around the world since the 1970's, they are in fact very
good at creating new supers.

St. John Latham - whose Wild Card allowed him to grant the power of mind switching to anyone
he had sex with, and in doing so created the crime gang known as the Jumpers. Latham was
killed in 1990 during the Rox Crisis

Wish - her origins unknown, Wish was an activator par excellence, who gaveth and tooketh away
the powers of anyone she felt like. reportedly killed by UNISON agents (or, if you believe in
such a thing, the Foundation for World Harmony) in the 90's, approximately 2 weeks ago reports
of a woman matching Wish's description and abilities was sighted amidst the entourage of
Pantheon 'spokes deity' Epicuris. if this is indeed Wish, the presumption is she was one of the
Summer of Death's resurrectees.

Where Are They Now?: John Fortune

He was America's Rapunzel, the son of the winged Peregrine and the Tantric Wizard Fortunato.
the only known living child of two Aces, but kept from his birthright out of the very real fear he
would draw the dreaded Black Queen

in 2003, John's card finally turned, and for a time he had it all. Fame, fortune, the power to heal,
the company of a beautiful woman in a black leather catsuit, and reconciliation with the father he
had never known. But then it all turned sour. his draw was not an ace of healing, but a black
queen of self-immolation powerful enough to destroy all of Missouri at the least, a fate prevented
by not only by not only the self-sacrifice of Fortunato, but to do so he stripped away all of John's
powers, leaving him nothing more than ordinary.

the media being what it is, John was forgotten almost overnight, and thus the public never
learned of his half-hearted interest in origin chasing, trying increasingly radical means of trying
to re-awake and control his powers

Then, In 2007, John learned of the Cachet, a mystic amulet given to his mother before he was
born by the Living gods (the self-Proclaimed human vessels of the Egyptian Pantheon), that he
had never received. desperate, urged on by friends (and maybe a little drunk), John crept into his
mother's home, and donned the amulet, only for the living stone to burrow into his flesh, and
turned him into the living vessel of Sehkmet, the Egyptian Lion-Goddess of fire and destruction.

Seeking to control or at least understand his new powers, John went to the living Gods, and from
there went to Zulan, where he became a pivotal figure in the bloody civil war. He rallied other
heroes to step in against the endless tide of bloodshed, and together they put down the Devil
Guard like the rabid dogs they were, and protected the Living Gods in their hour of need.

For their actions, John and his allies were inducted into Vanguard, and for a time, the life of John
Fortune was good, and he was on top of the world, with power, fame, and the girl of his dreams.

But, there was a side the public never knew. John's earlier taste of power had left with him a fear
that people only loved him for his powers. As for the power itself, as mentioned, it was never
really his, for he only did he only channel Sehkmet's might, a strain that was gradually taking an
ever-greater toll on his health, but he learned it had all been a failed gamble. Had he been given
the amulet in 2003, as the Living Gods had intended, he would have become none less than the
embodiment of Ra, the implication that Sehkmet would leave him if another candidate appeared.

The following year, that fear became reality, when at the climax of the "Little Fat Boy" crisis, the
Sehkmet Stone tore itself from his body, and embedded itself in the body of the atomic ace,
Drake Thomas, and it was this chubby child from Pyote, Texas who became Ra. And in the
aftermath, John Fortune once again vanished into obscurity.

So, where is he now?

Today, John Fortune is living in Freedom City, overseeing the Pre-production of the Movie
adaptation of "Death Draws Five", the novel about his first brush with celebrity and death. it's the
tail end of his 15 minutes of fame, but he's come to terms with it.

That is, until one night, when dreaming, he hears a message

"The Gods do not forget those who come to their aid."

The next morning, on his way to lunch at Pyramid Plaza, he turns down a corridor he shouldn't,
and walks through a wall that isn't there, into the long buried egyptian crypt.

And upon reaching the hidden burial chamber at its heart, John knows his true destiny

He is not just John Fortune. before he was Alexander Rhodes, and many, many others, until at
first, in the time between when the oceans drank Atlantis, and the rise of the sons of Arius, he
was Prince Heru-Ra of Egypt, who challenged the Gods themselves for the right to punish the
vile wizard, Tan-Aktor.

And now, he is The Scarab once more.

And more than half a world away, for the first time in over 20 years, Overshadow feels that
which men call fear.

Kreuz control: SAS (and more) to Freedom City

The Guard

the year was 1980, and Lady Starbright had fallen, giving her life to contain the mt. St. helen's eruption
while fighting some of of the world's greatest villains (details are sketchy, but evidence suggests either
Overshadow or Kreuzritter was involved. neither villain has taken credit)

it was on that dark day that the Guard was formed, a team that could handle threats no one hro could
handle alone.

however, what the public doesn't know is that Guard was incredibly shaky at first, and was on the verge
of collapse from conflicting egos and agendas.

then the freedom league was gone, disbanding in the wake of terrible battles against the Crimson
Katana and the Scions of Sobek. realizing they were now the only game in town, the Guard quickly
cleaned up their at and put their petty squabbles aside, and thus they quickly filled the void the league
had left

not long after this turnaround, the Guard gained a surprising new member, the Centurion! granted, he
was only a reserve member, but not only did they get a huge shot of credibility, but it was also cathartic
for the centurion, then still blaming himself for the deaths of scarab, tectonic and halogen

however, the team's true trial by fire came in 1984, when New York City was attacked by the Paetor's
Dark Empire of Anti-Earth. and after an epic struggle, The Guard was both victorious, accepted by the
public, and now a true team.

Ironicly, the Guard played almost no role in the Terminus Invasion of '93, due to the fact that at the
time, they were busy alongside Adrian Eldritch indealing with the Red Minstrel, who had become the
avatar of the Unspeakable One, and tried to drive the world into the madness of his master that dark
day. by the time they finally reached freedom city, the tide had turned against Omega, and with the pic
events going on then, their efforts were largely unnoticed.

since that time, The Guard has suddenly found itself both the elder team and "the new guys" with the
reformation of the freedom league

Artificer - the obvious choice is that Artificer's a direct competitor of the Foundry, the fact is that the
Artificer's smart enough to know he can't compete with them on that scale. besides, there's no
challenge in mass-production. instead, Artificer plies his services on a more personal level, developing a
reputation for precision, custom details, or just providing technical consultation. alternatively, Artificer
could be an idependant contracter and/or middleman to both the foundry and labyrinth

Seawolf II - the DNAscent process has produced draatic succeses, and catastropic failures. Seawolf is a
bit of both. on the one hand, his strength and invulnerabilty are staggering, possibly on the centurion's
level. on the other hand, his escape ruined not only years of research, but forced them to abandon a
perfectly good conspiracy in the US military. currently, Seawolf and his undersea commune of
expatriates, mutants and info-criinals is something of a wild card, but while Labyrinth has failed to
recapture him, Overthrow's envoys have met with suprising success, a trum card Dominic Ashe is
keeping close in order to keep his position on the penumbra. further complicating matters is the rumor
that Seawolf is starting to receive patronage from mastermind...

the Iron Duke - the undustrial revolutionwas marked by many as a time of wonder, few more so than
Daedelus. for those few short years, the rest of humanity was starting to get caught up with his genius,
providing him with the resources to carry out centuries worth of ideas and designs, and openly no less,
for with so many wondrous creations, who would notice but one (or ten) more?

he hoped it would be his finest hour, instead it was a crushing reminder of the hubris that left him
cursed with immortality in the first place. you see, Daedelus was smart enough to work through proxies,
befreinding and nudging along inventors working on ideas similar to his own. Isambard Brunel was one
of them, and his project, an immense clockwork automaton, was too tempting to resist, a chance to see
if man could at last replicate the work of the gods (talos was still lying on the Aegean seabed*).

conntrary to popular beleif, Brunel never intended for the Iron Duke to become his new body, instead
simply using his mind as a template for the duke's programming after an absinthe inspired brainstorm
(without daedelus' knowledge or consent). coming across the scene, Daedelus interrupted the process
before it killed brunel, but was too late to stop it from ruining his health. recognizing his hubris had
again cost a good man his life, Daedelus destroyed the plans for the iron duke, and returned back into
seclusion. he did not however destroy the machine itself, for in those bleak minutes as he contemplated
such an action, the Iron Duke whirred to life and displayed a rudimentary consciousness, and thus
Daedelus could not bring himself to cause a second death that day.

afterwards, the Iron Duke was deemed property of the british royal navy, and was put to work in the
shipyards like today's industrial robots, and there it remained until the second world war, where it was
reprogrammed and put to the feild as an instrument of war, reprogrammed to seek and destroy german
emplacements.

but, they did not have Brunel's blueprints, nor Daedelus' guiding hand, and thus in scant days their
'living dreadnought' became an uncontrolled mechanical monster, destroying everything in it's path,
until british heroine Dover Angel gave her life to end the mindless rampage along the Rhine

but in 1972, the Iron Duke returned, more powerful than ever before and now guided by a corrupted,
frgmented perversion of Brunel's mind, and remains a considerable threat to this very day.*

* - incidently, Talos has what can be described as a soft spot for the Iron Duke, viewing the now
herculean automaton like an unfortunate, slightly retarded younger sibling, to the point that talos has
lent discrete aid on occassion.

** - for more on the Duke's resurrection and power-up, read the upcoming bios for red phoenix and
green ronin

Kreuzritter, and Der Konigreich von Thule

[---]

it is a little known fact that the arctic Sacuary of the Ultima was not their original home, instead hailing
from an island in the North Atlantic. it was this island that the Thule Society first sought out in their
quest for their mythic namesake, and when it was discovered by Milo Rauchenberger, it was his findings
that led to Wilhelm Kantor's infamous expedition, and the advent of Kal-Zed.

but, While Kantor was risking frostbite, rauschenberger was scavenging the sunken city for any artifacts,
and it was here that he found a mystic suit of armor, that granted the wearer mastery of the elements. a
man of ambition, he was forced to don it, refusing to turn it over to hitler or worse yet, Kantor. thus,
Milo became Kreuzritter, hero of the Nazi regime.

with his elemental powers and growing knowledge of thulian magics, Kreuzritter swiftly became as
influential a figure amongst the ubersoldaten as Geistmann, Ubermensch or Kantor, and it was he that
conceived and performed the rites which brought forth Donar and valkyrie. and while Ubermensch ruled
battlefeilds and Kantor the war cabinets far better than he, Kreuzritter's ability to play both kept him
relatively safe from his rivals, despite how the pair overshadowed his exploits with irritating frequency.
but, despite mutual assassination attempts, a freindship of sorts developed between Kantor and
Kreuzritter, each seeing how the othe could prove useful in their designs (until they stopped being useful
and could be killed off), and between them the idea of SHADOW was first conceived.

in 1945 the writing was on the wall, with the allies advancing on Berlin itself and Ubermensch having
already fled. Both Kreuzritter and Kantor agreed the wise thing would be to flee to South America. but,
with Ubermensch gone, Kreuzritter was expected to lead the last charge of the Ubersoldaten against the
Liberty League, Allies of Freedom, and the individual allied superheros at the battle of the Elba River, a
battle that would end with Nazi defeat and Kreuzritter's apparent death.

contrary to popular beleif, Kreuzritter's defeat was not due to simply ovetaxing his powers (although
that did play its fair share), but rather it was Sarge Shrapnel who sabotaged the villain's Brand Tiger
super-tank, using information Kantor had purposely leaked after his last encounter with the allies. that
the tank was already set with radio-detonated explosives was simply added insurance on Kantor's part.
In any event, Kreuzritter spent the next two decades, buried beneath the earth, his very being into an
elemental creature and merging with his armor in order to survive.

two decades later, he was exhumed by SHADOW operatives, and after they found out the hard way he
was alive, Kreuzritter was brought before Overshadow, and very swiftly recognized Kantor (this resulted
in the destruction of the entire base, and was the first true feild test of overshadow's first battlesuit,
fighting the elemental mage to a draw). aftertempers cooled and the pair moved to another base,
Overshadow, in an uncharacteristic display of mangomanity, offered his former ally a spot in the
Penumbra as both an apology, a chance to gain footing in this brave new world, and of course, keep
Kreuzritter under his control.

by 1965, Kreuzritter went rogue, citing the first Operation: Inundation as "Der Fuhrer's folly redux" and
having grown convinced of Overshadow's growing instability. besides which, he'd finally diverted
enough resources to form his own organization. and, after 5 more years of planning, gathering strength
resourcesand support, he formally announced to the world

on november 29th, 1971, he raised the island of Thule from the ocean depths, and while the superheros
were busy dealing with the storms, quakes and flooding that erupted across europe as a result, his
envoys registered the island as the Kingdom of Thule, an independant and sovereign nation, with
Kreuzritter (claiming to be his 'son') as its absolute monarch. keeping tight control over what the world
was allowed to see, by doling out fragments of Ultima/atlantean artifacts and technology, Kreuzritter
ensured Thule's place on the world stage. that Thule was targetted by SHADOW for the next three years
was mostly out of spite on Overshadow's part, furious he hadn't thought of it first.

Today, Thule is at once both the darling and black sheep of Europe, a maverick nation that is at once
both a hub of high technology econimic hub, but an almost certain haven for criminals, terrorists and
supervillains (in fact, there are those in both UNISON and AEGS who feel that Terrorism is in fact the
backbone of Thule's economy, but lack the evidence to back up these accusations), ruled by an armored
despot and madman.

more recently, Kreuzritter has unveiled the Einherjar, Thule's own team of 'superheros', both native
(Miolnir, Empyrean) and american ex-patriates (Der Eule, Gottdamerung). that so many of them
resemble the nazi Ubersoldaten is Kreuzrtter's way of thumbing his nose at his surviving watrime
enemies.

Despite their bitter rivalry, tensions between Kreuzritter and Overshadow have cooled, surprisingly due
to the efforts of Ragnarok, Overshadow's prodigal son (and newest member of the penumbra, replacing
Keres after the talos debacle). while reviled across the globe as an unstable psychotic
vigilante/supervillain (depends of who you ask), Ragnarok is hailed as a hero in Thule's borders, and in
fact holds citizenship as a reward for thwarting an attack by "monsters and envious foreign powers"
(read: a three-way battle between himself, Centurion and Superior).

on that note, Overshadow is considering loaning Ragnarok to thule for membership in the einherjar,
both to disguise Ragnrok's affiliation with SHADOW, keep an eye on an obvious rival, and "make that
Musclebound idiot someone else's problem." *

* - overheard in conversation with Dr. Sin and Taurus during last Quarter's San Angelo retreat for the
Penumbra (depicted Agents of Freedom, page 74)

The Einherjar, Champions of Thule

[---]

Every nation has it's supersoldier program, and Thule is no exception. However, where Thule stands
apart is its dramatic 'success' rate, producing at least 6 metahumans in the past 3 years (conspiracy
theorists have noted this coincides with Thule's admission of Labrys Industries into its borders). And,
with the recent publicity of Eurostar, Kreuzritter has decided the best place to field-test his growing
superhuman army is in plain sight, letting his minions play superhero and gain the public trust before
stabbing them in the back.

Hence, the Einherjar, Thule's sponsored protectors, named for the fabled warriors of Norse myth. As
with Eurostar, their tactics are brutal, yet effective, such that a friendly rivalry has emerged between the
two teams (despite Miolnir and Protektanto's efforts to the contrary, both having fought during their
black ops days), but unlike Eurostar, with actual sponsorship, the Einherjar enjoy a greater degree of
political support from the EU. More to the point, the Einherjar's ranks have recently swelled with a
collection of 'provisional' members.

Presently, the Einherjar consists of:

Miliollnir, the hammer of Thule - born a swede, Rickart Sollander was among the many who flocked to
Thule's banner on the promise of food shelter and purpose. a former beggar, Sollander soon found
himself in the Thulian army, and rose through the ranks by a mix of malicious cunning, ruthless
ambition, and zealous loyalty to his sovereign, none of which went unnoticed.

Eventually, Sollander was personally admitted to Kreuzritter's inner sanctum, and was offered a chance
to become like his master, a living embodiment of Thule itself. With all the conviction of a fanatic, he
accepted, and soon found himself at the heart of a most painful mystic rite, from which he emerged
with the power to become a supernatural juggernaut of elemental stone. Calling himself Miolnir, he was
promoted to the rank of General, and found himself Kreuzritter's right hand and enforcer, the Einherjar
given to him to enact the will of Thule

Grendel - Named for the very same monster of the Axis powers (AF: ToW p.61), it as first believed that
Kreuzritter had performed the same ritual that made the original. In truth however, Grendel is a product
of soulless science (and a recipient of the DNAscent process, but that of course is a very close secret).
however, as noted by Patriot, Doc Steele and the Sentinel have noted after seeing the beast in action,
the difference is academic at best

Lorelei - a startlingly beautiful woman gifted with hypnotic pheromones (and an 'undocumented' mind
controlling voice), officially she's Grendel's handler. Unofficially, Lorelei is perhaps Thule's greatest spy
and assassin, often working behind the scenes while the rest of the team captures everyone's attention.

Berserker - the unarmed combat specialist, Berseker was subjected to a variation of the DNAscent
process that mixed both the 'feral' enhancement package developed by Matthews Gentech and a
recreation of the Patriot formula, giving him a superhuman body, keen animal senses, nigh immunity to
pain and fatigue, and a barely constrained killing rage. Completing the process, Berserker was outfitted
with retractable bionic claws, completing the allusion to his mythic namesake

Draugar- named for the Nordic ghoul, Draugar is a reanimated deadman, a fiendish mix of Thulian
formula spiked with zombie powder coursing through it's veins. In addition to the abilities of a 'runner'
zombie (see the day of the dead remake), Draugar is thankfully unable to 'spread the love', but instead
has a vampiric touch, that drains the heat and life from any this modern ghoul touches

Muspelli - not all of Thule's projects are carried out in the lab. a soldier in the Thulian army, Muspelli
was "accidently" exposed to a nanotech-based napalm agent, which when mixed with a similarly
experimental flame retardant, left him with devastating pyrokinetic abilities, giving him powers not
unlike factor 4's pyre

Kraken - created at the same time as Berserker, Kraken was meant to be his naval counterpart.
However, instead of the controlled mutation, Kraken's body reacted violently to the process, becoming a
hideous, bestial monstrosity, the parts of countless ocean predators (predominantly the giant squid)
combined into one nightmarish whole, his mind twisted into something cold and alien. More disturbing
is that Kraken has been approached by the Deep Ones during deep-sea exercises, and is on the verge of
becoming an adherent to their dark, forgotten gods

Empyrean - a first generation Thulian, Victoria Eichel unwittingly followed in her sovereign's footsteps
when she found, stole and donned a suit of mystic armour found on an archaeological dig. Unlike his
armour, however, hers' bore divine aspects, primarily the ability to fly on wings of holy fire and manifest
a burning sword. After a three year stint as a solo heroine across Europe, Empyrean was personally
invited by Kreuzritter to take her place amongst the Eiherjar. After a barely-unsuccessful attempt on her
life by the serial killer Janus, she accepted. While she believes wholly in the good her tam can do, she's
becoming more concerned with the attitudes and amorality of her comrades, and begins to fear that
there is something rotten in the Kingdom of Thule (exactly how rotten is up to the GM)

the Eiherjar's provisional membership is as follows

Eule - Howell Heflin, despite his name, is not related to that particular Nazi supervillain. Instead, Eule is a
grand-nephew of Konrad Zoller, the Red eagle. Too arrogant and insubordinate to join the US air force,
upon the discovery of his infamous ancestor and his own mutant power to fly, he emigrated to Thule
and applied to the Einherjar

Geist - almost killed when an AEGIS/Overthrow skirmish spilled across her university campus, Carol
Braun found herself able to become as invisible and insubstantial as a ghost, and lost faith in America's
ability to safeguard itself, much less the world. dropping out, she drifted aimlessly until finding that the
strict, fascist order of Thule was the purpose she needed

Gottdammerung - a publicist for Hizzonner Franklin Moore, David Beasley had it all, even managing to
keep his position as FC city hall's spin doctor when Mayor O'Connor took the reins of Freedom City.
Whether he was really safe or if O’Connor was just working his way down the ladder is a moot point,
due to the Terminus Invasion. Last seen having lunch near the Goodman building when the invasion
began, Beasly was naturally counted among the dead. In truth, he survived, after a fashion, and at
terrible cost. The Terminal energies jump-started Beasley's own superpower, a destructive, entropic
aura that anything he touched crumbled to dust and ambient energy, save the omega drone gauntlets
he stumbled upon. Destitute and desperate for a cure, he felt his only salvation lay in Thule, and made
his way there. And while they've since developed a non-reactive containment suit for him to wear, in
exchange he would take his place amongst the Einherjar as Gottdamerung, the twilight of the gods.

The hand - a shrinking serial killer, Roy Barne's biggest mistake was to continue his 'work' in Thule
(where he had fled in order to escape a police manhunt back home). However, Miolnir saw the
potential, and instead of the death penalty, Barnes was pressganged into the military, receiving the
training and conditioning to become a feared (and deniable) assassin. His full code name is "der hand
des Todes", but having negligible grasp of german, he just calls himself The Hand. To ensure his loyalty, a
mystic rune was carved upon Hand's flesh, such that should he step out of line, his masters will bring
about a slow, painful and gruesome end to his existence

one last addendum - Despite rumours to the contrary, neither White Knight nor Blitz are ever going to
be considered applicable for Einherjar membership, due to the former's established career as an out-
and-out supervillain (Kreuzritter would like plausible deniability for his minions get caught showing their
true colours), the latter due to her dubious celebrity.
This isn't to say Kreuzritter won't use either of them (or any other neo-Nazi villains) as dupes, pawns or
what-have-you, just that he can't associate his "superior men" with vulgar criminals and delusional
spoiled brats.

American Sentinel
---

A World war 1 Air ace, maxwell Liberty was shot down and crippled by the infamous Red Baron, and
returned home to manage the family business properties. but, when WW2 broke out, he turned away
from commercial enterprise and became a civilian instructor for the military, where his sharp and tacical
mind earned him the respect of both colleagues and students. he also attracted the attention of other
parties, who felt his heroism, patriotism and sincerity made him the perfect test candidate for Project
Anodyne, an attempt to give mortal men powers like Centurion through atomic energy.

Injected with a series of chemical cocktails, Liberty and 11 other patriotic mean, each no longer able to
serve, wee subjected to atomic fires. Liberty alone walked out, his body crackling with energy, physicly
and mentally unscathed. his body healed and rejuvenated to prime condition, looking only half his age.
further experiments revealed tremendous abilities: flight;, superstrength, invulnerability, immovability,
and to generate radioactive energies, both harmful and benign.

Soon after, he was re-trained to be an elite soldier, and debuted to the public as The American Sentinel.
While it was originally planned to put him with The Sentinels (for obvious reasons), but was instead
primarlly assigned to the Pacific theatre to battle the rising threat of the Hinomaru, apart from a stretch
in europe to face the seeming flood of Ubersoldaten in the final days of the atlantic campaign, before
returning to Asia alongside Human Tank and Gunner, with whom he became fast freinds.

after a dramatic battle at Iwo Jima, Sentinel was ordered to fly alongside the Enola Gay for the bombings
of Hiroshima and Nagasaki as aneyewitness, the first American to truly see the horrors of the atom.
Upon delivering his report to president truman, Sentinel requested a discharge, unwilling to be
responsible for more deaths. granted an honorable discharge, Sentinel prepared for civilian life, only to
receive the news of the gruesome murders of Tank and Gunner by the Crimson Katana. Only the fists
and words of the Centurion kept the Sentinel from casting aside all they'd fought for those bloody years,
convincing him that there had been enough killing and that america needed heros, not soldiers.

returning home, Sentinel decided to start again. he transferred most of his holdings to New York, leaving
several trusted managers to run his business while he explored the world. through the 50's, Sentinel
learned the streets, travelling from Freedom city to Ultima Thule, from Shamballa Vale to Dakana. He
met fellow adventurers, like Doc Steele and John Danger, battling foes from agents of ODESSA and
SHADOW (albiet the latter wasn't calling itself that then), to the dreaded Atomic Brain, who went on to
become one of his deadliest enemies.

Finally, the heros started to return in the 60's and Sentinel joined them, eventually striking up a
freindship with the cosmic peacekeeper lady starbright, which in turn became a romance. He weathered
a freindly rivalry with the second group of Sentinels, and lent his aid to the Statesmen's trinity (who'd
gained his powers in an attempt to recreate the Anodyne process).

the late 60s and 70s brought a wave of new threats and dangers. The Atomc brain massacred the
Statesmen, maimining trinity and mutating a third of him into the monstrous singularity. The kingdom of
Thule arose under the rule of Kreuzritter (sentinel's greatest wartime foe), who would later cause the
death of Lady Starbright.

In response, Sentinel formed the Guard, to honor her memory and keep the forces of evil at bay, and by
the mid 80's he was an international hero, officially dropping the "american' from his name.

following the Terminus Invasion, things haven't gotten any easier though. with Captain Thunder on the
freedom league and Protonik in space, Sentinel has taken up the centurion's role as global protector.
he's revealed his identity to the world, in order to thwart the "grand unmasking" plot of Dr. Stratos and
Janus (this is the same plot that exposed captain thunders ID, among others, btw). and, just to cap
things off, not only he lost a fair portion of his atomic might to the Power-theiving android Damocles
(bringing him down from PL16 to to PL12) only to be attacked by Hiroshima Shadow the next day, but
he's starting to hear rumors that the Atomic Brain has survived it's seeming destruction at the hands of
Protonik.

Janus
---

Our story begins with Zachary King, born to a family of prestige and tradition, one built on human
suffering. Privateers, slavery, arms dealing, all have carried the king blood, and zachary was their
ultimate product.

a cruel, horrible child, King grew up spoiled and with want for nothing, taught by his father that is was
the family creed to take what and as they wanted. but, all things changed when Zachary turned 13, and
after a poaching safari in africa, his father took him on a trip through the himilayas as a rite of passage.
on this expedition, tragedy struck, and both father and son were stranded for over a week in the
unforgiving cold, such that by the end, the elder King intended to kill and consume his own son in order
to survive. Zachary had other ideas, citing when he was at last rescued (silent, withdrawn, but curiously
healthy) : "Father went out to find food one day, and that was the last i saw him."

Upon returning home, Zachary followed the family code to the letter, his appetite for murder growing
alongside his insane brilliance, as one by one his relatives fell to fatal accidents, living him with a
croeseusal inheiritence.

but this wasn't enough, still seeking greater sport, King chose to challenge society itself, reliving the
career of Jack the ripper. however, he'd been sloppy in his arrogance, and while at large, Scotland yard
peiced together his identity. but, to king, since he was still free, he had 'won', and felt the need to up the
stakes again. before fleeing england for a time, he eradicated all traces of himself. the family manor
burned, bank accounts liquidated (and transferred to cayman accounts), and files shredded, he would
build himself anew. with his past buried, he felt Zachary King was dead, and that he would instead be
Janus, his new enemies the superhero (with Centurion as the ultimate prize).

To celebrate his new life, Janus returned to london, and murdered the vigilante, Wraith. What he did not
expect was been found out so soon after and the subsequent horrible beating at the hands of a relative
newcomer, Caliburn, to say nothing of being arrested by the same slattern of a detetcive who'd fingered
him as the second ripper in that old life of 3 years before.

In short, Janus declared war on Caliburn, making every effort to make his life hell in between
establishing himself as a criminal mastermind, to the point that since that declaration, Janus has not
only uncovered caliburn's identity, but horribly scarred the man and killed his lover (the detective, in a
happy coincidence[to janus]) to boot. Indeed, Janus feels the most alive when against caliburn, as if
some missing void in the blackened, corrupt thing he calls his soul were suddenly filled.

and there's a good reason for that, he's sure, reasons so explicitly tied to sometime dreams, of secret
societies, world wars, and fighting a man he hates above all else, both of them bleeding to death on the
shifting, empty sands of the great desert, under the watchful eye of Ra...

Jade Naga and the Haud

---

often disregarded by just about every hero but the really mysticly inclined, the past ten to 15 years have
in fact been very good to the serpent men

1 - in 1993, fifth-rate Parisian theif the Red Minstrel became this dimension's living embodiment of the
Unspeakable One, and came within a scale's breadth of restoring Earth to "the good old dayssss" of
Madness and Chaos. that the Minstrel still acts as said avatar of chaos only means that to the Serpent-
men, their ultimate victory is just a matter of time

2 - the Serpent Queen is back, another certain sign that the serpent shall once again suck freely upon
the yolk of the world-egg

3 - Prince Vultorr the Cruel has made contact with the Serpent ent of earth-Freeport. their plane's
greater access to mysticism, combined with the technological resources of SHADOW have many
serpents feeling they can at last strike openly

Jade Naga doesn't buy these claims for a minute. Stranded on Earth for centuries, he is a high
Warmaster to the Haud empire*, which is to the serpent-men as the Lor republic is to humans. And
while he recognizes the serpent-men as his race's fabled "Divine predecessors", he feels that they have
fallen too far since the Preserver visitation to rule the world as they once did

Instead, Jade Naga has been exceptionally busy, ever since the early 20th century when his soldier-
drones brought before him envoys from the green dragon society. through standard mind-ripping, he
learned of the second world war raging amongst the 'pinkies', and how the nearest political power
(japan) was joining a group called the Axis, which was poised to conquer this backwater mudball. seeing
a quick way to gain the tech to return to space, he approached the japanese forces as a silent partner,
earning the earthly name he now goes by (his propername, Zin'Ser jahn, is not to be given to lower life
forms such as pinkies).

While at first a secret backer of the Hinomaru (supplying them with compliments of Haud Soldier-
drones, mistaken by many to be 'demons'), Jade Naga eventually was brought into contact with the
Nazis, and in conjuction with Drs. Geistmann, frankenstein and Drang, helped conceive a long-term
Eugenics/spoilsport plan dubbed 3rd Generation, Where in Haud technology would help establish a
Master Race. Given Iron Cross and Jagerin as the required superhuman element, and with Jade Naga
contributing an Antarctic Stronghold the Haud had established in the 1850's (later renamed Neu-
Scwabenland), 3rd generation was well underway by the end of the war.

Since then, 3rd generation has mutated into it's own cabal of secret intelligence, divided into ODESSA
(intelligence, focussing on the eugenics and capturing alien tech, as described in Iron Cross's 'crooks'
profile), and AXIS (military arm, focussed on developing new super-agents, as suggested in Champions:
new millenium). Jade Naga is today tangently involved with them, but uses them often enough to
remain an ally.

Neu-Scwabenland's greatest enemy in recnt times, ironicly enough, is SHADOW, ever since Overshadow
first established his Niflheim fortress almost literally on their doorstep. the remaining nazi command of
ODESSA/AXIS has no love fopr SHADOW, having grown accustomed to self rule, but Jade Naga, ever the
conniving, ambitious viper, has already been working with SHADOW since the early 90's, and is fully
ready to sell his allies up the river in order to keep his own plans in motion, including the realization of
3rd generation.

* - for the record, the Haud Empire is now a territory of the Stellar Khanate. they didn't go quietly, but
today the Haud make the finest interrogators in the khanate secret police.

The Baron & Doc Cimitiere

---

While Siren and Baron samedi are the most visible icons of the Loa active today, they are far from the
only ones

In Haiti, lives Guilliame LaCroix, better known as The Baron, who unlike Siren or Samedi, channels all the
spirits of the Loa, their hand, voice and rythym on the mortal world. a free spirit, he has lent his aid to
many heros, but rarely strays far from his native land, and the people who need him.

And then, there is Doc Cimitiere. once the nephew of crimelord "Papa doc" Duvalier, he is equally hated
by Siren, Braon, and Samedi, for Cimitiere seeks nothing less than to chain the Loa, the height of
blasphemy amongst the Voudoun. Not even death at their hands and brought back as Samedi's zombie
slave has stopped him, for while an abhorrent necromancer, even Samedi respects the traditions he and
the other Loa have lain down, while Cimitere seeks to reduce the vibrant magic of the houngan to the
sterile levels of soulless science he once worshipped

Archer Gold
---

an up and coming hero in Washington, Archer Gold is quickly being considered a hero's hero, the sort of
guy who uses the word "citizen" in everyday speech, helps little old ladies cross the street and won't
hesitate to do the right thing.

At least, that's what "Owen Robinson" tells himself every morning when he looks in the mirror.

you see, Archer Gold has a couple of secrets. First, he's not Owen Robinson, his really Ethan Keller.
Second, he's not THAT Ethan Keller, he's the Ethan Keller of Anti-Earth.

on that Earth, the Archer split off from the tyranny syndicate (announcing his resignation with the
murder of the black bowman, his abusive mentor), and formed his own gang. At first, they just wanted a
peice of the syndicate's pie to themselves. but, as time went on, Archer's priorities changed. rather than
the life and death cutthroat business, to the gang, crime became more like a game, to steal for the
challenge, to harass for the thrill, and that the take wasn't as important as how much fun you had. not
that they ever associated with Mind-Master or LIGHT, they were still villains after all. anti-villains, but
villains nonetheless

then it all went sour. Paetor got himself whacked, and Captain Thunderbolt started pressing for tighter
control. the city itself became the eyes and ears of the secret police once Master Metropolis turned up.
and then, just when things couldn't get worse

There was the Time of Crisis. not the part with mind-master and the big 20-sided bomb, but rather what
came after that, when the Freedom cities of 4 different earths breifly merged, repelling an incursion
from Omega and the terminus. and, amidst all the confusion, Anti-Earth's FORCE Ops was destroyed by
Omega himself, when they joined the fight to keep their racket secure, with only Archer surviving

weeks passed. with the gang gone, life stopped being fun for Archer. especially when the new Black
Bowman turned up, wanting to prove himself to the syndicate by taking down the traitor. cornered in a
back alley, archer was all outta luck...
until that previously locked door opened, and Archer found himself in the shop of Mr. Destiny, a
mysterious, all-powerful entity who could grant your greatest wish, so long as it would help somebody.

"i've had my eye on you, Kid," the man in white said, "and I know what you want. You need to lie low for
a while, put a new gang together, and maybe, just maybe get back to being a swashbuckling, devil-may
care rogue again. I can arrange all that, and more, but it's gonna cost ya, capiche?"

"K', what's in it fer you?"

"me, personally? bupkiss. you though, well, let's face facts. so long as captain dunder-butt's up there
with that flying palace the syndicate's buildin, crime's only gonna pay for the syndicate. might be a
bigger jerk than paetor, if he plays cards right."

"so?"

"so, things are gonna get awful borin if that happens. vice has gotta flow if it's gonna pay off, and ya
can't steal what folks don't have. so, what i'm askin ya kid, is to think a the big picture, and when ya go
out that door, run the biggest con of yer career, n' go look up a guy named robin hood, ya follow?"

confused, archer stumbled out of the shop, and found himself on that other earth, the one with the
freedom league. and, although it took him a while, he did indeed read up on robin of sherwood, and
how he robbed from the rich to give to the poor. learning of his double, Ethan changed his name, and
took p a new ID and turf, honing his skills by playing hero, and scouting out talent for the biggest score
of them all, robbing the tyranny syndicate blind.

but, until then when he feels it's time, 'Owen Robinson' looks in the mirror every morning and every
night, telling himself that this hero stuff is all just a con.

the thing is though, just who's he trying to Con?

Lady starbright, part I

The Nimbus
---

One of the many wonders of the cosmos is the Nimbus, a powerful, reclusve race of energy beings, that
long ago transcended physical form, enabling them to outlive even their solar system, but confining
them to the conductive nebula that formed as a result. and for a time, things were good

this seclusion, however, ended when their home nebula was threatened by the coming of So-Lar, the
Living Sun. while their nebula would recover from So-Lar's passing, the energies of the cosmic entty
would cause irrevocable harm to the Nimbus themselves. faced with unspeakable peril, the Nimbus did
as they had never done, and called as one for help, help from the solids they dismissed as base matter.

Across the galaxy, the Star-Knights (then but a mere 5 centuries old) celebrated a grand victory. So-Lar,
destroyer of countless civilizations, would son be a threat no more, deceived towards the outer rim and
a black hole cluster, which would finally destroy the monster (or even just contain it indefinately, they'd
settle for that.), when a young, plantive cry broke the mood. a young squire, stationed on monitor duty,
had recieved the plea of the nimbus, who lay helpless before So-Lar's wrath, and only the Star-Knights
had the power to save them.

At this, a feirce debate raged across the banquet hall. Was it not the duty of every last Star Knight to
preserve all life? Was one race, no matter how rare and unique, worth the safety of the entire galaxy?
and if it was not, could they live with the knowledge they had doomed an entire race to extinction,
through both action and inaction? so great the turmoil that even great Mentor was challenged, pressed
to prevent civil war and then work the greatest good.

But as they argued, the squire acted. eager to help in any way he could, he stole a ship and flew out to
the Nimbus Nebula, his only thoughts then of how a powerless Lor (not even a mentat, even) could stop
the all-devourer. a lost cause, but the code of the knights was that the lost cause was worth the most to
fight for.

miraculously, he reached the nimbus well in advance of So-Lar, and hastily explined why he had come
(carefully downplaying the Star Knights role in their doom, of course), before explainging the oly plan
that had a chance of success. he alone would confront So-Lar, and offer himself up as a herald, luring it
back the way it came. this would undo the work of the Star-Knights, but at least the Nimbus would be
safe.

This nimbus were both moved and apalled. on the one hand, they knew that ending the threat of So-Lar
was worth almost any price. On the other, the squire's nobility was unlike anything they'd seen, that he
felt even a nebulous hive-mind was too high a price. the debate raged almost as feircely as that of the
star-knights had, but in the end, the nimbus vetoed the idea. they still wanted to live, but not at the cost
of the galaxy.

"well," the squire said, blase resignation hiding growing despair, "I'm out of ideas. I mean, it's not like we
can just move your nebula out of the way."

he'd meant the quip as gallows humor. instead, it again set the nimbus to debate, this time tinged with
certain hope and anxiousness, until their radio waves slowed to where his ship's comms could translate.

they explained that they could indeed move the nebula, if the squire accepted a risk. Nimbus energy was
symbiotic in nature, able to bond with certain other forms of energy, specificly, humanoid life energy. a
chosen few of their number would leave the nebula, and irrevocably bond with the squire, in theory
giving the squire the ability to command ambient cosmic energies, and thus tow the nebula to safety.
the risk was that this could destroy the squire, not so much in the process, but as a result of such
exertion.

"The cost of my one life is worth your billions," he replied without hesitation, and the process began. in
an instant, he was both lor and nimbus, cosmic energy and living flesh, no loger in need of suit or ship,
and as promised, the command of their energy was at his fingertips. exerting every ounce of will, he set
to his great task, to pull the Nimbus from peril to safety. the strain itself nearly shattered his mind, and
still he pulled. his very being was bleeding away to energy, and still he pulled. and at last, as he felt
madness descend upon his mind, he knew. it was working, the nebula was moving. but too late. So-Lar
at last entered their system, and would be upon them in light minutes. And so, the squire pulled harder,
refusing despair. a valiant effort, but wasted.

wasted, had it not been for the Star-Knights, having decided as he did that the Nimbus needed saving,
ashamed they had wasted so much time arguing the point. they attacked So-Lar, capturing it's attention,
however breifly, giving their lives to aid the evactuation. and as some knights fell and their armors
returned to the citadel, they were not lost, instead nourished and restored by the nimbus, imbued with
the same bond as the squire, to aid his herculean task, until at Last the nebula was clear, and both star
Knight and Nimbus champion drove So-Lar towards its' entropic prison. the nimbus, and the galaxy,
were saved.

And what of the squire, who alone braved the peril, and acted when no one else would? as predicted,
his body was destroyed, but he did not die. he instead was transformed, evolving into a nimbus himself,
joining those he'd given everything to save. those star knights saved by the nimbus, now bereft of their
armors, chose to continue the good he did, a decision the nimbus encouraged, eager to give back to the
galaxy they'd ignored for so long. and in the cnturies since, they would work great good.

and in time, this good would come to Earth

Lady starbright, Part II

The Strange Odysessy of John Douglas

---

In the millenia since their recue from So-Lar, the Nimbus have spread throughout the galaxy, eager to
help other races, joining with select champions of their choosing.

For earth, their champion was at first John Douglas, a dedicated Tuskegee Airman selected to pilot an
experimental spacecraft reverse engineered from the "Roswell Incident", whom the Nimbus found by
purest chance.

official and 'unofficial' reports say douglas' craft exploded shortly after reaching outer orbit. what really
happened was that his craft found itself smack in the middle of a Grue incursion fleet, and was fired
upon before he could betray their prescence. the nimbus, already observing earth due to grue activity
but feeling earth wasn't ready for their aid yet, intervened, giving john their power like so many others
before. but, this time the process was interrupted, only giving john a portion of their cosmic might, and
thus he was captured, sentenced to be taken to grue prime where his knowledge of earth would be fed
directly to the meta-mind.

and, like the pulp heros he'd read to his young daughter, John managed to escape his captors, beginning
a journey for home that would take 5 years to accomplish, as he aided the many aliens along the way
and facing cosmic horrors he barely comprehend. the Haud, the Mycanoids, Black hole gods and more
stood before him, but he overcome them all, longing like wily odysseus to return home to his family. at
the start of the 5th year, he almost gave up, but a chance encounter with the science-hero Cogito, who
was fleeing earth for his own reasons, gave him hope, and so he pressed on.

and finally, he returned at last to the solar system, his journey at an end, his nimbus powers now at their
peak. but, before he could do that, the nimbus set before him one final task:

The Titans of Mars.

very few know their origins. those who do refuse to tell. Ancient, eldritch things, so terrible that the
Preservers themselves stripped mars bare to end their threat, or so the Nimbus beleived of the old
stories. Exactly what john's mission entailed is unspoken, even among the nimbus, but he succeeded,
and returned to home, but paying the ultimate price to do so.

Angela, his daughter, was the first to find him, standing over the body of the Titan he had slain, making
certain it crumbled to red sand, that his world, his family was safe. his wife, Theresa was the second.

he drew them both close, telling them how he missed them, the shrt, short version of what had
happened, and was happening, as his felt the nimbus pass from him to his daughter, per his wishes. he
was tired of flying, tired of the stars and their alien majesty. he was home, he had his family. that was all
that mattered as he gave the smile of his one last time.

John Douglas died the happiest man on earth.

Tokkotai & the Kikai Samurai

---

given the prevelence of mysticism in japan during the war, it was commonly assumed by many an allied
super that magic was the only thing one had to worry about in the pacific theatre. these assumptions,
however, were soon brutally crushed under the heel of the Kikai Samurai, a fleet of gargantuan cyborgs,
products of Haud technology

as the fighting drew closer to japan, the Kikai became more frequently seen in battle, even on kamikaze
suicide missions. but for all their power, the Kikai Samurai were slowly destroyed, such that by the battle
of okinawa, only one of them remained.

his name, was Tokkotai

Ryunosuke Ashikagara was destined to become little more than a footnote, had it not been for his
brother. from childhood, Ryunosuke was as enamored by his family's samurai heritage as his older
brother Oishi (who in turn would go on to become Bushido), but because he'd been born weak and
sickly, Ryunosuke was kept from any and all attempts to live that dream, and instead became a scholar.
as such, the two brothers grew up differently, despite sharing the same home. while Oishi immersed
himself in ancient traditions and venerated swordsmanship, Ryunosuke chose to embrace the future,
and studied not only the arts, but modern science and technology. In time, this let due many heated
arguments between the brothers, as they debated what path japan would take.

then came the war, and Oishi was transformed by the Green Dragon Society into Bushido.with this, their
feud was seemingly ended, for both brothers agreed that as Bushido, Oishi was the true samurai ideal.
at this point, Ryunosuke would have become but a footnote in japanese history, had it not been for the
Freedom Brigade

although their mission would end in disaster, humiliation and disgrace, the Freedom Brigade did indeed
come very close to success, fighting their way past the then incomplete hinomaru towards Hirohito,
Tojo, and Geistmann's trap. by poor timing, Ryunosuke had come to the palace that evening to
congratulate his brother's formal placement as a superhuman defender of japan, and was thus struck
down when the fighting collapsed the roof upon him. soon after, he was pulled from the wreckage by his
brother, to whom Ryunosuke gve what he thought would be his final words.

"My one wish," he said between mouthfuls of his own blood, "Is that I could have fought by your side,
brother."

when next he opened his eyes, Ryunosuke screamed in agony, his body being cut away by serpentine
Youkai, a sight that greeted him each time he drifted in and out of consciousness.

eventually, consciousness truy came back to him, and he was truly reborn. no longer frail, he was a
giant, a samurai of gleaming red and silver, with the strength of a hundred men, his every dream come
true. the Jade naga, the most secretive of the Hinomaru, had used science to grant his dying wish,
brining him back to life in a body fit for the kami themselves.

this exicement turned to horror, however, when Bushido denounced Ryunosuke as an abomination, a
foul, honorless, souless mockery of the Samurai. in a blistering tirade, Bshido denounced the cyborg,
stating coldly and clearly that ryunosuke was dead, and that only the need for allies on the battlefeild
kept him from striking down the kikai himself.
Rejected and alone, Ryunosuke refused to give in to despair, choosing to embrace his new path without
fear or regret. If Ryunosuke was dead, then so be it! he would become Tokkotai, and would prove
himself the only way he coud, on the battlefeild.

time passed, as Tokkotai fought battle after battle, seeing less and less of his homeland as he fought the
americans and chinese, earning the respect of the soldiers beneath him, but treated more and more as
an object by his fellow supersoldiers, until at last he stood on the beaches of Okinawa, the site of his
final battle.

his final battle with the american Sentinel took them all across the island, into the air, and even onto
nearby battleships, neither man nor machine giving ground. until at last, with a migty blast of Atomic
Thunder, Sentinel hurled Tokkotai into the unforgiving sea, where the cyborg shut himself down in
hopes of rescue.

When Tokkotai next awoke, half a century had passed, dredged from the ocean depths by a historical
expedition, and was returned to Japan as a prodigal son, to accolades and honor, but also to the
knowledge that the Ashikagara clan had died with his brother.

now truly alone, Tokkotai has chosen to bury his greif in duty, living by the Samurai code as his brother,
and ancestors did.

and When Tokkotai goes to battle, he likes to think that his brother now fights beside him, if only in
spirit.

The Red Minstrel

[---]

in 1947, the world was almost destroyed when the Brotherhood of The Yellow Sign finally succeeded in
drawing to te Earthly plane a manifestation of the Unspeakable one. a terrifying, idiot god and
personification of true Chaos, it wreaked untold havoc across the city of San Angelo, so terrible that it
took just about all the allied heros to keep it at bay, before it was finally destroyed by a one-time
alliance between Adrian Eldritch and Malador (who helped his hated enemy on the sole grounds that he
didn't want the universe destroyed before he had a chance to rule it). so great was the dispelling that
time itself was reversed, undoing virtually all of the damage that the avatar had caused. to the world,
they saw the creature they later called "the Piper" was destroyed by the Pacific Patrol. nobody knew
what became of the piper's flute, or of the strange red diamond the entity became upon it's defeat. at
least, not for some time.

decades later, Jean-Fortunee Hamelin, a skilled but foolish french theif, infamed for trying to hold off the
paris police with a gold-plated flute (he'd stolen it thinking it was the fabled flute of the pied piper) and
being a foolish dreamer, had since struck up a supervillainous career as the red minstrel. better armed
perhaps, but still a foolish dreamer. Case in point was that he'd heard of the Temple of Mars, a cult
which worshiped the Olympus Diamond, a blood red stone that was said to grant incredible power to
those that wished upon the stone for it, and was conveniently on display at the New York Museum of
History. ever the dreamer, the Minstrel decided to see if the legend was true.

he had no idea how right he was.

although the cult worshipped the diamond, none were willing to bask in it's power, let alone by touching
it. when Hamelin wished upon the stone, he broke the seals of malador and eldritch, and became the
new manifestation ofthe unspeakable, corrupted beyond measure and driven to the depths of Madness,
now weilding chaos magics and able to bring insanity with but a song.

it was the Red Minstrel's godlike rampage that kept the Guard (and Eldritch) from the Terminus Event of
1993, and with the fanatical support of the Temple of mars and the Brotherhood of the yellow sign
behind him, historians of the supernatural suggest this was an attempt by Omega to create a second
front by an alliance of convenience with the Unspeakable.

At any rate, The Red Minstrel was defeated after a hard battle, much of it's power bled away back to it's
foul master. but to this day, The Red Minstrel remains the avatar of chaos and madness embodied,
seeking to spread it's apocalyptic song once more

to that end, The Red Minstrel has een travelling west, seeking the one Instrument worthy of it's lips. and
the only thing that ultimately stands in its' way is The Bard.

god help us all.

An update on the Einherjar:

Ragnarok is indeed now a card-carrying member, a move that's set both AEGIS and Unison up in arms
(the former finally got some evidence connecting the half-aesir to SHADOW, the latter due to Ragnarok's
infamy across europe as a violent criminal)

more to the point, Kreuzritter has succeeded where Overshadow has failed, in that he found a loophole
to the Aesir vow of non-interference. in a public ceremony, he oversaw the marriage of Albrecht
Wilhelmsson and Anya Datsuk, the two exchanging vows with a blood oath, legallizing their union in the
eyes of the world and giving Thule and its ighty monarch a boost of good publicity.

More to the point, by mingling her blood with that of her husband, has awoken the latent mystic power
in her own veins, granting unto her the powers of the valkyrie, whose infamous name Anya has taken
for herself. and, while her station in SHADOW is Ragnarok's 'seceretary', the rest of the penumbra holds
her words higher than that of her husband, especially Overshadow, who uses her as his eyes and ears
into Thule.
Incidently, while Overshadow was again furious at kreuzritter's flagrant display, he is by no means
concerned. Valkyrie is loyal to him, and Ragnarok to her, and, when the time omes fo the third
Operation Inundation, he fully intends to send a complement of his "children of the slain" into Thulestag
and show Kreuzritter that while he found a loophole, Overshadow found a bigger one.

Guard, part 2: the times they are a'changin'

---

In recent times the Guard has begun to fracture slightly, both from the renewed prescence of the
sentinels on the local scene and the Freedom league on the global. there was talk of even disbanding
altogether, although the public never knew.

the solution finally came from outside the Guard, when Colonel Jennifer Ellis, director of UNISON,
approached Guard with an offer. she'd watched the revival of the Arsenel of Democracy under AEGIS, to
say nothing of her concerns about Eurostar or the Einherjar, and the resulting notion of the next world
war being fought with supermen.

her proposal was simple: "Someone needs to watch the watchmen", that the Guard would act as an
independent superhuman peacekeeping force on UNISON's behalf. like the arsenal, but on a global scale

after much deliberation, The Guard accepted, and have since taken on a number of new recruits, such
as:

Magistrate: canada's national hero, a former policeman turned alchemic shapechanger

Britannia: England's representative, a powerful psychic heroine who may or may not be the newest
champion to the spirit of england

The Olympian: grecian hero imbued with demigodly might and a 'lightning aegis'

Striker: former brazilian football ('soccer' in the american dialect) whose powers stem from an
enchanted football

Russia has agreed to send a representative, but is currently undecided between sending either the
gravity controlling Muzhik or or the second Bogatyr, despite entreaties from the enigmatic General
Winter (a known supervillain) to go in their stead

Dakana's White Tiger has announced he will not be joining, citing his duties as head of state, but has
offered to at as a liason between the Guard and Freedom League
contreversially, after a joint rescue effort in Iceland alongside the Einherjar, Thulian heroine Empyrean
offered her services to the Guard in hopes of bridging the political gap between Thule and the UN. this
request is currently being reviewed, and Kreuzritter has refused to comment on the situation.

today, the Guard still operates out of their New York headquarters, with Slipstream having retired from
active duty in order to co-ordinate the growing number of Guard's feild teams and perform the required
lab work.

Cyclone II
---

despite his impressive physique and West Point education, Brian Ericsson was in fact a capable cheif
engineer in META-4's super-science division, before he was let go due to allegations of working for
GENOCIDE. Granted, he was vocally anti-mutant, and to his dying day was a card-carrying member of
ALPHA, but he frequently denounced the mutant-hunting terrorist group as "paranoid psychotic morons
who make honest americans look bad" in the same breath.

At any rate, Brian's career in intelligence was soured, and so he set to work in the private sector, using
his remaining favors and connections to start his own company, Ericsson Engineering, and the military
design contracts to feed it. When Gavin Peirce took over META-4 soon afterwards, Brian offered them
his company's discounted service as a sign of loyalty and lack of ill will, and EE has produced gadgets and
munitions for them ever since.

in 1992, Ericsson Engineering gained two new employees: Rob Miller (who would go on to become the
first Cyclone), and Brain's own son Buzz Ericsson, a veritable clone of his father (to quash rumors, Buzz
isn't a clone for 2 reasons: Brian's not smart enough and he views cloning as "a soulless mockery of god's
work"). Buzz swiftly put together what rob was doing, and the two soon became partners in
crimefighting, with Rob operating in the feild as cyclone, while Buzz worked on upgrading the suit while
keeping their activities secret from his father.

and it all went swimmingly until Rob got himself killed. until then Cyclone's focus had been on dealing
with terrorists and lower powered supervillains, horribly underpowered and unprepared to face one of
"the big guns". in a horrific televised battle, Abbatoir all but destroyed the armor, removing vital
components such as rob's left arm and the structual integrity of his ribcage. left with no other option, he
detonated the suit's self destruct device rather than implcate buzz in his actvities.

AEGIS and META-4 were helpless against Abbatoir, and the fact that Captain thunder defeated the villain
didn't ease Buzz's mind. he knew Abbatoir would escape and start the whole thing all over again, solid
proof of his beleif that "powers ruined everything", and that somebody needed to take the fight to the
crazies.

Someone with a gun.

locking himself away in his lab, Buzz rebuilt the Cyclone armor, better than it ever was, with enough
firepower to take down even the toughest Power. at the same time, he convinced his father to go ahead
selling heavier weapons and exo-suits to META-4 under a "slugs for thugs" initiative. in weeks, the suit
was completed, and the new Cyclone made his debut the only way he could.

Abbatoir had escaped while being transported to Buckner ridge, decimating everything and everyone in
his path in yet another televised bloodbath.

in .5 seconds, it ended as Cyclone fired his heavy autocannon, reducing the supervillains head, brains
and upper torso to a fine red mist, and announced he was proof ordinary men weren't going to put up
with monsters anymore, a dramatic start to his bloody vigilante career.

in recent times, Cyclne has met with adversity. his father found out about his new career, and died of a
heart attack in the midst of disowning him. as a result, Buzz took over from him as head of Ericsson
Engineering. while an engineering genius, he's no businessman, his brusque, cold demeanour driving
away most of the compay's allies. his life as Cyclone has of course always been hectic, being wanted
across the eastern seaboard on numerous 'murder' charges.

but Buzz is a smart man. smart enough to know that the META-4 gravy train will run out someday, and
that the Freeom league is but one ego-trip away from becoming the world's biggest threat. smart
enough to recognize himself as a sociopath, and to cver his tracks. and, he's smart enough to meet with
a ms. Xena Latham to discuss supplying arms to america's real heros: GENOCIDE.

Corvae
---

in the past few years, much speculation has risen from the notion of a 'raven family', the number of
costumed heros who share some tie to Freedom city's resident protector. this is mostly gossip about the
current raven and magpie, but there is some truth to the matter

in the 1920 and 30's, there was Corvae, who fought tirelessly against the gangster's of that era, in
particular the growing corruption of the mafia, before hanging his cape and cowl by the late 40's. aside
from a mention by the first raven in a 1969 interview, that was the last the public heard of him.

decades later and across the globe, Rustam Alexandrovitch Konanykhine, a young but brilliant russian
engineer, fled his homeland with his little sister Tanya in tow. his ingenuity and innovative designs had
landed him a lucrative military contract, to design a tactical combat armor for them. unfortunately, the
vors, the 'new' russian Mafiya, was also interested in the armor, and had killed rustam's parents and
maimed his sister (leaving her mute) to force his cooperation.

Rustam fled to america, but the vors gave chase, using illicit connections to have rustam arrested as an
illegal immigrant, with the intent that the Americans would send him back to their clutches all but gift-
wrapped, with the armor as 'evidence'

powerless and penniless, Rustam was stunned when an elderly stranger entered his jail cell. the man,
Anthony De Luca, explained that he knew Rustam's case intimately, and had already arranged legal
counsel that would prove the conspiracy against Rustam.

after Rustam was set free, he naturally asked De Luca for his reasons. De Luca explained that his family
was once involved with the italian mafia, and that he had become the Corvae as a result. In rustam he
saw the same potential, and had hoped the young man would choose that same path. Rustam thought
long and hard over the man's words, of what the vors had cost him and how they preyed upon the
people, and his hatred for them, but also of his concern and compassion for Tanya. eventually, Rustam
accepted the offer, and De luca helped train and prepare him.

they upgraded and restyled the armor, installing flight capability and a supercomputer linked to
numerous databases, allowing rustam to draw on expertise he didn't have when needed. De Luca also
set Rustam up with his own IT solutions company that he could provide for Tanya and draw attention
away from himself.

today, the new Corvae fights a war on organized crime in Washington D.C., and while he has yet to earn
the cooperation of the police, he's been making definate headway, even teaming up with Archer gold
once or twice.

more recently, Corvae has been contacted by the Aerie, whom he views as gloryhounds, and thus far has
turned down offers of alliance. he's also trying to fight off a buyout by Steele Omnitech, fearful that
Omnitech would expose his vigilante career.*

on the plus side, he's finally corrected that bug in the suit's voice-changer, so that it no longer mixes his
v's and b's. hopefully, this means the papers will stop calling him Corbae.

* in truth, Doc Steele has put together Corvae's identity, and is hoping to gain the crime-fighter as an
ally. the buyout is just the stick. Once Steele meets Rustam in person, he'll present the carrot.

Rain Killer
---

Gillian Rivers had felt like a victim for most of herlife, only recently taking control, and with a bloody
vengeance. her mother used to say that rain was the tears of heaven crying for all the bad n the world.
Gillian became rain Killerto punish those that caused the tears.

born in 1970, Gillian was born sickly due to her father's exposure to Agent Orange variants during the
Vietnam war, meaning the majority of her childhood was spent in and out of detroit hospitals, leaving
her parents with costly medical bills. as a result, gillian struggled to make her parents proud through
schoolwork, eventually becoming the first member of her family to go to higher learning when she was
accepted to the university of michigan

on her last year, though, tragedy struck, when her parents were among those killed by a rampaging
supervillain. on the brink of success, her life was snatched out from under her. she hated those who
committed crimes, especially the arrogant hubris of 'supervillains'. she couldn't decide if 'superheros'
were any better, for the criminals always returned. almost blind with rage at the world, she collapsed.

Gillian awoke at a private hospital ward to find a META-4 operative standing above her. he offered his
condolences, and explained to her the nature of her illness, that she was a latent metahuman unable to
properly metatabolize her own energies. META-4, fresh off it's then success of its "bestiary" operatives,
wanted her to join a program that would help and train superhumans. Gillian agreed to the offer once
she found out that she'd be trained to hunt down other metahumans, for she was eager to hurt the
world's bastards. over the next few weeks, she was administered medication to control her sickness,
and it was discerned that she was a power-dampener, able to nullify the powers of other supers, but
unable to reah her full potential. thus, a prototype suit of power armor was created to amplify her
powers.

like many in that time, Gillain, now acting as Rain Killer, was assigned to META-4's superhuman
operative team, ELITE, but like just about everyone else on the disastrous precursor to the Reserve, Rain
Killer went rogue, stealing her powersuit and becoming a vigilante when she felt ELITE was underused
and only served to protect the status quo.

since then, Rain Killer operated across the eastern united states, regularly preying upon the criminal
underworld, almost exclusively targetting ultraviolent metahumans, draining their powers before
subjeting them to her armor's brute strength, following her 'eye for an eye' morals. that is, until she was
beleived killed in a warehouse explosion, reportedly the work of the Olivierti mob. some suspect that
she's still alive, but any evidence either way went up in that spectacular fireball.

that said, Gillian Rivers is very much alive, accepting an offer of support and sanctuary from an unlikely
source, working under a cover identity at Steele Omnitech's Metahuman research facility in Freedom
City while her benefactor has her armor upgraded, who admires her aims, and feels she'd benefit
working alongside a similarly skilled professional...

The Artificer
---

Major Blake White, USAF, came from a career military family, one that disdained his intellect and kept
him from becoming a full-out child prodigy. indeed, joining the air force was the only way he could think
of to get out from under his father's thumb and closer to the technology he loved. but while he stayed
near the cutting edge, Blake never got a chance to keep a lab coat over a uniform.
then they found the ship.

it was a strange and beautiful craft, unnervingly alien, composed of what looked like crystal but was
strangely alive at the same time, emitting a chiming hum that served as it's death knell as it perished
under florida sky. half an hour later, agents of Majestic would take away the ship-corpse for their own
ends, but not before Blake had made his own assessment. he didn't particularly care for the ship's
origins, but he'd found their records that give a depressing opinion of earth's development as far as he
could tell, which echoed his own buried cynicism. and, just as the Majestic aents were pulling up, Blake
found the real prize

a perfect sphere of gleaming chrome, blake had only picked it up to find out how it hovered above its
pedestal. but that one touch, and his mind exploded with ideas and information, expanding his stunted
genius a thousandfold, endless designs imprinting on his mind that made missiles look like stone knives
and tanks like bearskins. more to the point, it meant freedom.

stealing away with the sphere and the few other trinkets he could grab, Blake White snuck away from
the crash and went AWOL. holing up in a cheap motel he first built the simplest designs, each successful
creation making the next easier. by morning he'd invented a matter fabricator from the television, which
he sold to the motel owner to buy the man's silence. this, plus the owner's unfortunate fate later that
day (he overloaded the machine and blew up the motel) gave blake inspiration to solve the conundrum
in his head.

He knew that the materials he really needed were hard to come by, and that the easiest way to get it
was with money. meanwhile, there were powerful men with lots of money, but in desperate need of his
genius. And so Blake White became the Artificer, a mercenary inventor and gadgeteer, soon branded a
supervillain after his first few encounters with Lady Starbright and Daedelus. such titles didn't matter to
Artificer, it just meant he had to finish his personal battlesuit to prevent such interruptions to his work. it
also gave him the freedom to simply take any invention or schematic that might advance his own work.
and all the while, new and more clients came to him, their offers for better or more customized
technology challenging his intellect, and paying hand-over-fist for it. for Artificer, life was good.

that is,until Talos literally showed up on his doorstep.

the Grecian automaton made his points quite clear: Artificer was rapidly becoming the Foundry's cheif
competitor in the feild of illicit super-science, and while Talos didn't particularly hate Artificer, there
were matters of 'brand recognition' and 'market identity' that needed resolving.

ever interested in self-preservation, Artificer asked what he could do to come out of this with his own
life.

"You will cede Artifice designs, all of your current facilities and technology to the Foundry."
"Done," artificer said so matter of factly it set even Talos back. when asked to explain, Artificer stated
that he'd grown bored with his current work, and sought new, greater challenges, not simply increasing
the rate of fire on plasma rifles or the reaction time of a killbot. and as he spoke, he unknowingly
touched something in Talos's cold brass mainspring. in the Artificer Talos saw a man as brilliant as
Daedelus, but unhindered by such organic qualities as compassion or ethics, those same qualities that
had torn apart their freindship millenia ago. He woould never go so far as to say freind, but the Artificer
was rapidly becoming someone Talos could consider a peer.

Talos rescinded the 'buyout', instead offering Artificer a position on the foundry as a 'technical
consultant', with unlimited resources and no longer bound by pedestrian demands. The Foundry would
handle the bulk and commn orders, while Artificer could devote his time to truly exotic technology.
never a stupid man, Artificer accepted, and hasn't looked back since.

as for the ship and the sphere? well, that ship was what had brught John Douglas back to earth,
property of the Titans of Mars. the sphere on the other hand, was a preserver relic, much like the one
found by Project Aladdin. Artificer is well aware of these facts by now, and has since cultivated an
interest in preserver technology, such as that belonging to Mastermind, or this M.E.G.A.S. device he
keeps hearing rumors about

Magistrate
---

Daniel Fischlin grew up in montreal in the thirties and forties, and became an RCMP officer stationed in
the northwest territories. When he stumbled onto an alien hive, he was kidnapped by the Haud and
experimented on by Jade Naga's personal coterie of scientists. Fischlin was nothing more than a guinea
pig for the Haud to dissect and rebuild, conducting brutal experiments that eventuallt ransformed him
somehow, and he learned to shape his body into a thousand elemental forms.

Daniel lost 25 years to their experiments, and in that time most of his freinds and family aged or passed
on. when he finally escped that base, scattering the vicious reptillians, he was shocked to emerge into a
different world. 1979 was not 1954.

Daniel tracked the Haud across canada, discovering a nest of vipers beneath the very heart of the
nation's capital. he would transform himself into a firey form to melt their weapons; change to steel to
tear apart their armor; and finally become liquid nitrogen to take advantageof their vulnerability to cold.
when the battle was done, he recieved the applause of the Parliamentarians stunned to learn what had
lain beneath Parliament Hill, subconsciously manipulating them. in the aftermath, police and reporters
questioned him relentlessly, and it was PM Pierre Trudeau, who not only saved him, but suggested the
name "Magistrate".

trudeau was reelected to power in december, and asked Magistrate to serve as canada's official hero, a
position he was honored to accept. For the next decade, Magistrate was canada's resident defender. he
travelled from newfoundland to british columbia and from lake huron to the beaufort sea. he worked
with Centurion during the end of the cold war, brokered peace treaties with russia's Bogatyr, and
became a good freind and ally of canada's most internationally celebrated heroine, Mother Raven.

In more recent years, Magistrate has worked hard to extend his mission beyond canada's borders. he
has helped on numerous canadian peacekeeping efforts, and has been recognized by the UN for his
humanitarian efforts. from 1991 to 1996 alone, magistrate spent extended periods at more than two
dozen peacekeeping ops worldwide.

in 1996, Magistrate was brought on board to help co-ordinate the creation of a UNISON/AEGIS joint task
force, to deal with metahuman crises and hotspots. although not a permanent member of the JTF, he
regularly acts as a consultant and mentor, and is always on call if his help is required

magistrate is on good terms with most of the world's major heros. like sentinel, he's a national hero.
similarly, his police background better allows him to understand the inscrutable caliburn. meanwhile, his
hatred for the haud is second only to slipstream's. he's cooperated on international drug operations
with officer prometheus, and once worked with the Baron to defeat doc cimitere in haiti

magistrate has the ability to change his body into any elemental or chemical form, but he can't mix and
match (for example, he can't have phosphorous hands and a titanium body) or even partially transform,
but he's not restricted to single elements, with steel, silver nitrate and hydrochloric acid among his
many compound forms.

with the recent changes to the Guard and its UNISON sponsorship, Magistrate was a natural choice to
join the revised team, and with his experience on the world stage, there's talk that he'll be taking
sentinel's place as chairman or feild leader. Magistrate, however, hoas no real desire to lead, and in fact
has reservations about being anything more than a reserve member. this mostly stems from his former
'super-agent' status, feeling that by taking on the big cases alongside the Guard means that smaller
cases, such as the recent resurgence of SHADOW and rumors of a GENOCIDE-sponsored "Project:
Minuteman", could be slipping through the cracks.

that said, there's a world that needs saving and he's been asked to step up to the plate. so while he
grouses about open cases to his superiors, he'll fight the good fight, and give it his all.

anything less would be unbecoming of the RCMP, former or not.

Minotaur
---

Damon shap, decorated green beret ans META-4 agent, became Minotaur following his participation in
the man-myth project, gaining superhuman strength and nigh invulnerability. from there, he signed on
with the Reserve, META-4's highly publicized superhuman task force.

Until he was killed, murdered by the assassin Toreador on unspecified orders from The Illuminati.
watching helplessly as his blood poured out onto the streets of Arcadia, Minotaur bid his life goodbye.

life, had other ideas.

minotaur opened his eyes, and found himself in a medical suspension tank, his mind clouded and barely
conscious, but definately alive. out past the glass he could see his boss, META-4 director Talia Thorn,
speaking with somebody. nobody he recognized, but even in his addled state he could tell they were
talking about him, before the tank's drugs put him back under.

the next time minotaur opened his eyes, he was in a bed somewhere, and standing over him was the
biggest guy he'd ever seen dressed in the best looking suit he'd ever seen. his head was cowled, so
Minotur couldn't see his face, but there was an oddly familiar feeling to him

"Take some pride Mr. Sharp," the giant said in a basso rumble, "only a handful of people have ever
gotten a personal audience with myself. My name, Mr. Sharp, is unimportant. You see mr. Sharp, what is
important is that somehow, you have something I consider very important to myself. originally, it was a
small, trivial matter, which in retrospect I suppose i overreacted to. you see, you and I are much alike
mr. Sharp, and I'm rather ... prejudiced about being unique. However, I'm a reasonable man. your
superiors owe me a debt now, and i see now that you in turn do me favors just by being who you are. All
it's going to cost you is that first, I get 10% on any and all money you make as your alter ego. the second,
my little erzatz freind, is that you shall never die until our Master's work is done. oh, and you're never
going to remember this conversation, but that goes without saying."

darkness claimed Minotaur again, and next time he awoke in a META-4 medical facility, with inferna,
pugilist and the rest looking down over him. they explained that the powers he'd gotten from the man-
myth project had apparently tacked on a sort of serial immortality as well, brining him back from beyond
the grave, which he saw as the proverbial gift horse. barely two weeks later, Minotaur was back on the
scene fighting alongside the reserve, and he couldn't be happier.

but lately, he's noticed things. while the Reserve's relationship with the press has always been rocky,
their criticsm's become a bit less harsh of him in particular, despite being the team's most agressive and
violent member. second, is that he's been getting 10% less of his regular pay. and third, is that ever since
his resurrection, when having to work with the Freedom league these days, Minotaur feels a dark,
bestial little voice in the back of his mind, urging him to smash daedulus like the gnat he is. it's a voice
Minotaur has been trying very hard to ignore...

"His is the House of Pain.

"His is the Hand that makes.

"His is the Hand that wonds.

"His is the hand that heals."

- From The Island of Dr. Moreau, by H.G. Wells

Mister Matthews
---

Samuel Andrew Matthews, billionaire Founder and CEO of Matthews GenTech, one of the smartest
minds on earth and possibly the leading expert in life sciences (after Dr. Atom, of course), has in many
minds been proof of the American Dream. born in a remote Alabama cottage to an unmarried single
mother, too poor and isolated to attend public school, he overcame these obstacles and more to
become the biotech mogul he is today. Despite numerous allegations of supevillainy, dubious ethics, and
other shortcomings, Matthews GenTech does a lot of good, with frequent breakthroughs in medical and
environmental research, pharmaceutical innovations and regular charity donations.

thus it's small wonder that Mr. matthews has a rather high opinion of himself when he looks in the
mirror each morning, considering himself a self-made man worth more than entire teams of heros.

the heros that ruined his life.

a brilliant child, his mother had scrimped and saved her meagre earnings as a novelist, to get him into
the hunstville school for the gifted rather than be crushed under the medocrity of public school. this in
turn led to his acceptance at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, despite being only 13 years of age.
Elated, he'd caught the bus from home... and found the only person who'd loved him dead, murdered by
superhumans.

earlier that fateful day, the Artificer and white banner had stolentop secret blueprints from the marshall
space flight centre, but were persued by Lady Starbright, Dadelus and a then-inexperienced Mother
Raven.eventually, the trio disabled Artificer's spectre-jet, but not before his indiscriminate missile fire
had torn a deadly swath across the countryside, and while they tried their best, they weren't able to
contain the damage.

Samuel watched as his home burned down about his mother's corpse. he didn't call for help, knowing it
was too late, that no one would hear him and that the heros didn't care. he watched his mother's home
become her funeral pyre until it was ash on the ground, before walking back to huntsville. he bought a
train ticket for boston, angry that his only family had been taken away from him by the superhuman
menace.
Samuel earned a Ph.D. in inorganic chemistry at 17, and a second PhD in mammalian genetics by 19.
during this time, he became a card-carrying member of both ALPHA and CODE, while in addition to his
academic studies, he became fascinated with the occult, specificly the 'fringe science' of Alchemy, and
delved into unorthodox research, such as assisting Dr. Dippel in creating the DNAscent process in 1972
while working on that first PhD).

Samuel, now Dr. Matthews, started Matthews Gentech to study the affects of metallic gene-inhibitor
concoctions on mammalian behaviour, which resulted in a mutant grizzly bear breaking loose and
mauling his face, which while restored by reconsructive surgery, left him scarred and aged prematurely.
it also resulted in scandal and a public hearing before the Borad of directors at M.I.T., where he was
reprimanded for irresponsible research. In response, Samuel rejected his PHD's and refused to call
himself a doctor, from here on insisting to be called Mister Matthews

Since Gentech went public in 1979, Mr. Matthews has risen to a position of power in the criminl
underworld, orchestrating a slow and quiet revenge against all superhumans, creating horrific
alchemical and biotech monstrosities in his hidden labs. he's had dealings with SHADOW (he's bought
and sold cloning tech from them), GENOCIDE (while found of their anti-superhuman stance, he
considers them to be mostly ignorant, backward-thinking jackanapes), and the Power-House (Matthews
personally designed their 'Feral' package as a side project and gave it to the Romans as a condolence
when Centurion died at Omega's hand instead of theirs), as well as an unwitting love/hate relationship
with the Labyrinth (mostly an ongoing feud with Jonothan Grant, although Matthews has regular and
freindly online discussions with 'Bruce Carter'. for his part, Taurus recognizes Matthews as a delusional
megalomaniac that's going to get eaten by his 'pets' someday, but has respect for Matthews'
acheivements and honestly does enjoy their correspondence, if only for the man's histrionics.).
Matthews' occult expertise has also been tapped from time to time, such as when he laid the
groundwork for META-4's Man-Myth project (contracted via the Labyrinth of course, who combined his
research with that of Dr. Anthony and the DNAscent process. For his part, matthews recognizes what
evidence there is of his work in the Bestiary, and he's presently debating wether to destroy them
outright or make them his slaves)

several lesser heros have fallen under the tooth and claw of Matthews' monsters, although matthews
reserves special hatred for Mother Raven and Daedelus. this isn't to say the man is without his good
points. he regularly donates to groups like greenpeace and the WWF, and sponsored funds and
equipment to hospitals dealing with those injured by superhuman battles. and whle their
creation/enhancement can be a sadistic, torturous process, mr. Matthews cherishes his monsters like
they were his children (because in a sense, they are), such that even that mutant bear that tore his face
off, Montgomery, is now Mr. matthews' most trusted bodyguard and only confidante

now in his 50's, Matthews has begun to look at the bigger picture, to wipe the menace of super-scum
from the earth in one master stroke. Project Dies Irae he calls it, the systematic analysis and elimination
of every known superhuman, followed by the domination of beasts over men (granted, that part only
comes up after he's been drinking too much, but he's thought about it often enough to put it on the
drawing board).

to that end, Mr. matthews has been collecting all availible research of the infamous Dr. Drang,
contemplating a new body for himself to replace the old as the nazi did. although with regular gene
grafts and alchemic therapy, his current body is as robust as ever, despite appearances to the contrary

The Lady of the Lantern

---

it has been 13 years since michelle lee donned the guise of the Lady, and became the de facto guardian
of new york's Chinatown, and 5 since she aveged the murder of her father by exposing the crimes of
Wong Siu Tong to Interpol. She is grateful that she did not sink into the bloodlust of revenge, but her
actions still led to his death, slaughtered by the lin kuei assassins of the Scourge Emperor for his greed,
ambition and failure. this also means that The Lady has his attention as wel, and she hopes it is simply
scant.

Since that time, things have been still, the Lady's activities now based around the enforcement of Triad
bounderies. this isn't to say she's in their pocket, but rather she 'persuades' them to focus upon their
legimate activities.

but there is something...not right. Although she does good, The Lady of the Lantern has of late felt she
hasn't done enough, that her gift of light is being wasted in ennuii and routine patrol, and fears losing
her centre.

then, last month on a case that led her to San Angelo's Dragon gate, she'd been forced to fight Seeker of
the Champions, possessed by the spitit of the infamous sorceror T'ien Lung. it was a hard fought battle,
but the Lady triumphed when her light exorcised T'ien Lung from the Australian hero, and cast him back
into the realm of fire, a feat the Lady thought impossible, until she recalled the words of her teachers,
that they called her power over light the Bhudda's blessing. She'd always thought herself a mutant. but
now, perhaps she is something more. to this end, she has studied the legends and accounts of
Shamballa Vale, and dreams of seeking it out. but crime never sleeps, and so her hopes of
enlightenment and destiny are ever tauntingly out of her reach.

That is, until she heard of the Gathering...

The Misters
---

to time travellers and dimension hoppers, they were something of a myth. that is, until at least three of
them appeared at Circus Maximus during the Gathering.

Exactly what the misters are is a mystery. they are a series of identical looking male humanoids,
adressing themselves as a number, and claiming to be the representatives of unknown powers on par
with the likes of Quirk or Mr. Infamy. while their motives are unkown, their duty is best described as a
mix of fight promoter, lawyer and editor. typically, they will appear out of nowhere, claiming to
represent a particular (and pobably fictitous) agency, before moving onto their assigned task. in most
cases, this task involves getting metahumans to fight each other much like a sporting event, like an army
of cosmic Don King clones. rarely willing (or perhaps just unable) to start these conflicts themselves,
they prefer to buy or barter with others to do their bidding, promising and delivering rewards for
services rendered. such rewards tend towards the financial, for despite the conflicts they create, the
Misters try very hard to avoid upsetting history or current power balances

a further paradox to their nature is that while arranging brutal fights, the Misters are completely
abhorrent to the idea of any combatant under their watch getting killed. in the case of the Circus
maximus, they were prepared to make exorbiant offers to august Romon just to ensure the survival of
the Lady of the Lantern, claiming her to be a 'sizable investment' they were unwilling to lose. they had
no interest in wether she'd win or lose her battle with Ms. Scarlet (an early statement from Mr. 5
revealed they expected scarlet to utterly dominate the fight), their concern was simply that she'd
continue living.

the most likely idea behind this behaviour is that the Misters simply refuse to throw away any
prospective 'talent', on the grounds that somebody out there will come to watch them fight, and the
talent dying means losing those fans. An alternate theory, proposed by Dr. Tomorrow, posits that the
Misters concern is to either avoid or fulfill a time paradox, that history has something further planned
for those they interact with. he also theorizes that like Quirk, the Misters are not inherently malicious,
and just don't want to see anyone truly 'hurt'.

Lieutenant Thunder

Ryan Robertson had always loved superheroes, and growing up in Freedom City did nothing to deter his
interest in them. After years of collecting comic books, cartoons, movies, documentaries, novels and
role-playing games, he developed an encylipedic knowledge of costumed heroes, their adversaries and
their impact on the world, and wrote articles about them in his highschool newspaper. After graduating,
Ryan attended Freedom City University, where he quickly achieved degrees in English, History and
Philosophy, and specialized in Superhuman History and Superhero Ethics. At the age of 26, Ryan began
teaching at the institute and has written several books on the superhero community, as well as a series
of books based on fictional heroes drawn from his own creative imagination.

Life might have continued on like this for the rest of Ryan's life had it not been for the intervention of
Argo, the Ultimate Android. Possessing the combined might of the entire Freedom League, Argo had
recently become accutely aware of his limitations. While powerful, he lacked the creativity many lesser
beings (IE, humans) demonstrated, and attributed his most recent defeat to his more logical but
straightforward tactics. Deciding to put an end to that, Argo kidnapped Ryan, now a well known expert
on superhumans, and imprisoned him in one of Talos' abanonded bases underneath Freedom City.
There, Argo used his powers to forge a powerful mental link with Ryan, tapping into Ryan's vast
knowledge of superhero history, and more importantly, knowledge of superhuman battle tactics, the
weaknesses of the Freedom League and Ryan's own creativity. His mind brimming with ideas he'd never
before experienced, Argo used this newfound knowledge to set a trap for the League.

After luring the League to his base with the threat of killing his hostage, Argo sprang trap after calculated
trap on the unexpected League, who had expected Argo's usual degree of straightforwardness. It was
only after several Leaguers had been defeated, stunned or weakened that Argo appeared and began to
systematically dominate the already routed heroes. The villain may well have won had Ryan not recalled
an incident where a telepathic villain had forged a similar link to another hero, and the hero was able to
use that link to his advantage. Realizing that Argo had made the link between them too powerful, Ryan
was able to actually draw some of Argo's duplicated powers into himself.

Argo was shocked to find his powers cut in half, and even more surprised when an unknown individual
whose appearance was an amalgam of the Freedom League's burst through a wall. Calling himself the
Composite Leaguer, Ryan attacked the awesome android, managing to hold Argo at bay while the
League recovered. However, it quickly became apparent that the power Ryan was leeching from Argo
was too much for his human body, and he could feel the exertion begining to take a fatal toll on his
heart. In a desperate display of ingenuity, Ryan used Pseudo's shapeshifting to wrap around Argo, and
thus imprisoned, was denied Lady Liberty's powers. One power stunt from Captain Thunder allowed
Ryan to drain even more power from Argo, denying him the Captain's power at well. With Argo's might
depleted, Ryan launched one final, all out assault that had nearly defeated the android, who then
decided to cut his losses and let loose with an Extra Efforted Gravidic Blast from Daedalus and then
teleport to safety using Dr. Metropolis' power, severing the mental link as he did so.

The League gathered around their rescuer only to find that Ryan's heart had stopped due to the strain of
the battle, and that he had only minutes to live. Captain Thunder used his mastery of electricity as
impromptu heart paddles and was able to shock Ryan's heart back into functioning. The League then
took Ryan to a hospital, where they thanked him for his efforts and rewarded him by taking a picture
with him by his hospital bed, and then all signing it as well. It was the single best day of Ryan's life.

That was until a week later when he fondly remembered his brief time as a superpowered being and
tried to recall exactly how it had felt to have that power. Doing so caused a strange feeling to well inside
his chest, and when he focused on that feeling, there was a blinding flash of light and Ryan found his
appearance changed. He was taller, better looking, built like a greek god and clad in a costume that
looked like a modified version of Captain Thunder's. Surprised, Ryan experimented with his new form
and found he possessed quicker reflexes, amazing strength and toughness, and the ability to fly. Using
that last power, Ryan traveled to the Freedom League's headquarters, where he consulted with Captain
Thunder about this strange transformation. An analysis from Daedalus confirmed that Ryan's time linked
with Argo had left him with some residual energy from some of the heroes, and that Captain Thunder's
shock treatment had given that residual power a catalyst to make Ryan a full fledged superhuman.
While lacking many of the Leaguers more esoteric abilities and having none of their skills or technology,
Ryan had just enough of Johnny Rockets speed to be faster than a normal human, just enough of
Pseudo's shapeshifting to achieve this superhuman form, and the combination of Captain Thunder, Lady
Liberty and Siren's strength, flight and toughness to be a powerhouse of not inconsiderable levels. Ryan
meekly apologized for unintentionally borrowing Captain Thunder's look, but the good natured hero
merely smiled and said that Ryan had proven himself good enough to deserve the look, and the name
"Thunder" if he wished. Johnny Rocket offered up the name Lieutenant Thunder jokingly (after getting
many a groan by suggestion "Captain Thunder Junior"), and Ryan accepted it with great honor and
humility.

The Freedom League trained Ryan in how to use his abilities, though Ryan has refused membership
since he feels he needs more experience under his belt before he can contribute to the World's Greatest
Superteam. Captain Thunder's son Bolt was initially a little warry of this outsider being brought into the
Thunder Clan, especially since he apparently ranked "higher" than he did, but after meeting Ryan in his
normal form and discovering his love of RPG's, Bolt, Chase Atom and Ryan have gotten along
smashingly. Today, Ryan patrols Freedom City while still teaching at his University, somehow managing
to balance superheroics and his students while trying to live up to the legacy he's been handed.

Normally, Ryan Roberts appears to be a normal human in his mid-twenties. When he concentrates on
the power within him for a few seconds (full round action), he can cause it to burst forth into a blinding
flash of light that transforms him into Lt. Thunder, a taller, more physically imposing man apparently in
his mid-thirties. He currently maintains a one person apartment on the Midtown area of Freedom City's
Wester Side, as its right between his college campus and one of his favorite spots in Freedom City: The
Superhero Museum.

More recently, Lt. Thunder earned the attention of Duncan Summers, particularly during the G'tach
crisis, and thus Ryan Roberts was soon offered a position as part of the Claremont faculty, both as a
history teacher and an assistant to Beatrice Smart for student training. this is partly due to his own
credentials, and partly the need for somebody versed in modern super-history following the arrival of
the Alterniteens (that he provides an extra pair of eyes tto watch over the alterniteens doesn't hur
either).

For the record, while Ryan is obviously gradually learning the true identities of the Next-Gen, he's
nowhere near finding out who Headmaster Summers used to be.

The Czar
---

While Protonik was then the most visible and popular hero of the Soviet Union, he was hardly the only
one. Blazing Star, aka Piotr Gregov held almost equal renown for his mutant-born mastery over cosmic
radiation and charismatic majesty. However, while Protonik was beloved by the people, Blazing Star's
loyalty lay with the Goverment and military, as opposed to the heros beyond the iron curtain as he was
to threats like General Winter, SHADOW, or the Atomic Brain.
When Protonik went rogue in 1987, Blazing star knew his time had come, and he would recieve the glory
he was due, and the soviet union would emerge triumphant amongst the chaos. but, to his alarm, these
did not happen. instead of Blazing star, the people turned to Muzhik, a relic of the second world war.
instead of furthering communism, Premier Gorbacev was encouraging capitalism! and the americans,
anatheama of the soviet union, were welcomed as allies. a loyal sldier, Blazing Star watched as the
Soviet Union dissolved into chaos and turmoil.

Small wonder then that he was on the forefront of the 1991 coup, leading those soldiers who felt as he
did in armed revolution. he even went so far as to send a challenge to the Centurion overseas, to protect
the growing democracy that "had crippled this once mighty nation", hoping to succeed where protonik
had failed

to his shoc and shame, the coup was thwarted, not by the centurion, or by american heros, but by the
russian people, civilian and military. the american team FORCE ops was there to fight the russian
supersoldiers on the coup's side, but Blazing star vanished shortly before the fighting began. most
presumed he'd come to his senses and fled a fight he wouldn't win, and went into hiding to escape his
cowardnice.

In reality, Blazing Star was kept from the battle by none other than Protonik, who'd left his life in
america to try and talk sense into a man he once thought of like a brother. and while blows were
exchanged, Protonik's words were enough. he showed his former ally that in his desire to proect the
nation, he had forgotten who it was he was protecting, and that instead of the hero he was, blazing star
would be remembered as a thug and childish bully. he had been Blazing Star for so long he had forgotten
to be Piotr the man.

And so it was that in the wake of the Coup, Piotr Gregov emerged into the world, to live in his beloved
russia rather than watch it from on high.

one year later, Piotr Gregov, the blazing Star, died a hero. Working as a nuclear plant technician in
Belarus, he was present as the facility went into meltdown, threatening a disaster to dwarf that of
Chernobyl. while others panicked, he acted, using his powers to get his coworkers to (relative) safety,
and then to stabilize the reactor core and contain the disaster. the facility was lost, haphazardly and
hastily buried by the government, but the people and the countryside were safe.

but despite overwhelming evience to the contrary, Piotr lived, after a fashion, his mind and body warped
by the constant radiation, his powers mutated and enhanced. years later, his energy signature had
grown potent enough to by detected by belarussian scientists. fearing th worst, the government
deployed a large military force. they need not have bothered.

the facility's protective bunker shattered in an explosion felt as far away as warsaw, as what remained of
Gregov emerged from the ruin. a 12 foot tall nightmarish, skeletal monstrosity of corroded metal and
carbonized bone, guided by a foul intelligence and undying hatred, proclaiming itself Czar of all it
surveyed, and demanding the supplication of all before it. after futile resistance and the Czar's swift
retaliation, the surviving soldiers became the start of his army.

before either UNISON or europe's superhuans could react, the Czar carved out his Burning Brotectorate
from the radioactive lands of southern belarus and northern Ukraine, and almost as quickly turned it
into a well-defended state with the support of the balkan warlords who flocked to his banner.

The Burning Protecorate is in itself a mirror of the Czar's madness. nothing is sacred, No crime is
forbidden, no commodity refused, a nhilistic anarchy (the Czar cares little about the day o day affairs of
his kingdom) that lives on despite the slow, constant death-grip of background radiation. the Atom
Family's own Jack Wolf has described is as like the Terminus in miniature, leading some dimensional
physicists to theorize that the Czar is this reality's equivalent of Omega, given their similar appearance
and abilities

Lullaby & Crybaby

---

Iris Walker and her son, Micheal, were your classic Fens story. A teenaged runaway from Wyoming, who
dropped out of high school to chase dreams of fame and fortune in freedom city, as well as stay with her
boyfriend and his band. things got bad enough when the band turned to drugs, and they got worse
when Iris got pregnant, and was abandoned when both boyfriend and band vanished into the night.

Iris was quick to clean herself up, to keep her drug abuse from harming her unborn child, and 9 months
later, it seemed she was in time when micheal was born hale, healthy and hearty. as she first nursed her
son, Iris knew this was her only love, and she would do anything to protect him.

which is when it all went south. Iris lived on a mix of welfare and would-be boyfreinds, and what money
she scraped from that barely covered her let alone her baby. Making matters worse was that Iris herself
had no skills, limited common sense, and abyssmal luck, the banality of their eistence, combined with
living in the fens, made them invisible to those around them. then it got worse.

Micheal broke out.

While waiting at a bus station, Micheal began crying, sending everyonein the building save his mother
into a frenzied rage. Only the timely intervention of Foreshadow was able to prevent any lasting harm
from the impromptu riot, however unprepared he was to learn it was the baby who started it, and not
whatever scheme White knight was up to lately. In the aftermath of the incident, he told her this was
neither her nor micheal's fault, and that there were people willing to help them. and just as he was
about to suggest them to the claremont acdemy, Iris started singing to her son, and Foreshadow fell
asleep.
Since then, the duo, designated Lullaby and Crybaby to protect their identities, have been made a
priority case for the Next Gen, to whom Foreshaow forwarded the case. Duncan Summers believes
Lullaby still too scared to leave the city, and thus far, outbreaks of sudden riots and mass narcolepsy
have proven him right. Ironicly, lullaby has since heard of the Claremont Academy's open-door policy,
but her overwhemling fear of micheal being taken away from her is still keeping her from going to the
super-school for help.

Burning Man
---

One of the newest and deadlier foes of Freedom's street savvier heroes started out as just another peice
of city scum. Wendell Olsen was a run of the mill Lincoln drug addict and would be drug dealer, as he
continually tried to brew Meta* in his grandparent's basement, until the day of an unexplained fire.

to this day, Wendell still doesn't know what happened, the result of flunking chemistry in high school
plus continued exposure to meth fumes. what he does know however is that one moment, there was a
bright flash, and the next moment, he was on fire. his grandparents died, and he was hositalized, only to
miraculously recover mere days later. still not grasping what he'd become, he went back to business as
usual. Searing pain was his only warning before he lit up on fire again. thi time, Sonic and foreshadow
were on hand to limit the destruction and saw Wendell as he trired to flee the scene before the pain
caused him to black out

Since then, Burning Man, as he's come to be called, has become a wild card in the FC underworld.
normally, he keeps a low profile, trying to just live as a regular cheap hood, but his now continuous
addiction to painkillers has indebted him to the criminal element for the distractions his curse provides.
making matters worse for him is that he's caught the eye of the labyrinth's outermost passages for they
are most curious about how a high school drop out got ahold of the formula for Meta

Gaia and the Pantheon

---

As with many things of great import in the world of Freedom, the Pantheon started humbly. Stephanie
Crane, a gifted student of history, theology and philosophy turned vagabond, so disillusioned with the
world but knowing it could be better. She'sd tried countless religions, switched beteween gurus and
spiritual movements like the tides, but no answer revealed itself to her. to Stephanie, her world was
condemned to banality until she learned of dig in Sri Lanka. from all appearances, the dig site had
uncovered grecian artifacts, indicating that Alexander the Great's empire extended even further than
realized, or at the very least, had used dedicated scouting parties. this was a project the historian in her
refused to pass up. moreso, there was something about the dig, of the ancient ruins that called to her
with a siren's song.

but whatever ansers she sought to find were dashed when agents of SHADOW attacked the site. the
truth of the ruin was that the ancient expedition was led by one of Overshadow's earliest incarnations,
who'd led his troops alongside and past Alexander in pursuit of a source of inccredible power. power,
Overshadow realized, that had gone untouched though to modern times, as if still waiting for him. and
so his minions descended upon the small villiage like locusts.

but screcly as the attack had begun, an earthquake struck, sundering the ruins and startling the
SHADOW soldiers. in addition, the earth swallowed stephanie in an instant

and just as swiftly, gave second birth to the one now called Gaia.

she emerged from the soil with a body of living stone, her hair flowing granite and her eyes were
glittering emeralds. the earth itself responded to her will, and she smote the SHADOW army with the
fury of a goddess, before restoring the village and valley to pristine conditions. the villagers gathered
about her, and the woman once known as stephanie recieved her first inkling of what it was to be
worshipped. But her display was too great, too beyond her her initial ability, and so her spirit receded
into the earth to rest, leaving her body a lifeless statue.

In her death-like slumber, Stephanie recieved a vision. She percieved a colossal well, from whence silver
waters flowed across the world in streams, each stream ending at a person, to whom they bestowed
great power. Stephanie looked upon her own stream, and felt its power grow with every villager who
gathered before her statue above. She knew the truth now, that she was herself a goddess, unable to
bear the faith of false gods, and that countless other superbeings were themselves equally divine but
unaware in a world that preached soulless science and banal beauracracy, so deprived of rightfully
deserved worship.

And thus on the seventh Day, Stephanie crane truly died, and Gaia was born a third time, having
transcended the barriers between mortal, heroic and divine.

The road ahead was not an easy one. As will all gods, she faced opposition, not only from SHADOW's
attempts at reprisal, and others who sought to abuse their power like mindless beasts, such as
Ragnarok, but also the so-called heroes. the only ones who came close were the centuion, who refused
any notion of divinity in himself despite his sympathy for Gaia's quest for a better world, and Dr.
Destroyer, whose company Gaia found too loathesome to keep.

She was among those who attended Centurion's memorial, unexpected and uninvited, but not
unwelcome. She paid her respects and attended the ceremony in peace. when given a chance to speak,
she said what so many were saying: that the centurion was a god amongst men, and that his example
would inspire men to be greater than themselves.

Afterwards, she departed, saying simply "this world is not yet ready for gods. i shall sleep, and perhaps it
shall be ready then," before sinking ito the earth and returning to her sri lankan shrine to slumber.
Years passed, with not a trace of Gaia. that is, until recently. it began slowly, rumors of a cult that
splintered off from the Pinacle Path, or small 'miracles' performed across the globe.similar yet
unconnected reports of metahumans gaining a newfound sense of superiority.

then came The Prayer.

A pirate broadcast interrupted every television and radio signal in the world, while a similar video was
made availible for download across the internet. it began with the words of a little girl praying for her
father's rescue from being a political prisoner of the United states. a moment of silence, followed by a
woman's voice announcing "we hear your prayer, and reward your faith."

the broadcast changed to live footage of three metahumans assualting the prison, and after a short,
bloody battle, over before even the Freedom League could react as they extracted the girl's father.

the broadcast changed again, and displayed an island rising from the indian ocean. the cameraman, now
clearly a superhuman, descended to the island, greated by a towering woman made of living stone.

Gaia had returned.

"We are the Pantheon," she announced to the world as the broadcast ended, "Worship us, and your
prayers will be answered."

In the monts following, the Pantheon's ranks have swelled, Gaia's island, now called Hearthstone, on the
verge of becoming the first meta-human founded nation, and has opened its doors to hero and villain
alike, a paradisial commune for the superpowered.

As expected, the Pantheon is a veritable powderkeg. Presently, the Pantheon is a mostly non-violent
organization, using it's powers to work miracles across the globe in exchange for sacrifices, typically an
exorbiant monentary tithe, or assistance in maintaining the Pantheon's website and 'prayer hotline'. and
while many of it's members regard 'mortals' with disdain, Gaia's philosophy of Noblesse Oblige have
kept them from truly abusing their powers, despite their belief thy are 'above mortal laws'. Gaia herself
is a contraversial figure, equally the embodiment of their humanitarian efforts and their self-proclaimed
godhood. she is presently unwelcome in dakana and Kreuzritter has personally declared her an enemy of
the state.

the Freedom League coulld not be reached for comment.

Proteus - not a member, but has been known to lend them aid
enchanter - emotion controller. doesn't believe Gaia saying supers are gods, but doesn't mind being
treated as a god
wrath - high end psychotic pyrokinetic, he's in essence Gaia's attack dog and fanaticly loyal to her. he's
the main reason nobody's made a dedicated assassination attempt on Gaia yet, because if she goes, he
may very well wind up in charge
adam forge - techno-wiz, he's the mind behind any of the pantheon's shiny toys
epicurus - another emotion manipulator attracted to the pantheon's hedonistic lifestyle

now, if you want people genuinely interested in what the pantheon's selling, here's a few mentioned in
the paragons chapter of worlds of freedom that wouldn't be out of place on hearthstone

Medea - was originally high preistess of hecate. the pantheon's like old home week to her
baron samedi - the pantheon are living proof of his argument that the loa should rule humanity
ragnarok (note: the WoF2.5 version is not an official member due to his status in the Einherjar, but he is
allowed to associate with them as the 'thulian ambassador', while in truth his wife Valkyrie is spying on
them for both Thule and SHADOW)
green man. he's tried courting Gaia in order to get his roots on her terraforming powers.
superior - if he's escaped the zero zone again, the pantheon is definately his cup of tea
factor four. currently taking advantage of the lack of extradition laws
siren (if only to keep them from heeding samedi's advice)
magni (young and iimpressionable, he was invited for a visit. the alterniteens just barely avoided
sparking world war 3 when they tried to 'rescue' him)

of the algernon side of the WoF2.5

horus - is of two minds of the subject. on the one hand, hearthstone reminds him of home and he
definately sees the good in the Pantheon's efforts. on the other, he knows their equivalent of the
serpent queen will rear it's head soon enough and with apocalyptic results
the covenant - are taking a wait and see approach, as there isn't enough real occult goings on to justify
pantheon-related operations. Dr. Rune has however suggested that there may be some truths to Gaia's
claim of divinity, and chronicle is mum on the subject
hell's belles- as the most obvious super-celebs outside of the happening, has been invited to put on a
performance. Sanguine is thinking it over
the prometheans - one of them (intel's not sure which one) decided to pop in and take the chance to
socialize with fellow superior beings. his brothers dragged him back through a teleportal, kicking and
screaming

basicly, hearthstone is home to or being visited by pretty much any super who either is or just thinks
themself a god, and either agrees with the pantheon's mission of "benevolent rulers of the earth" or
likes their "and do as thou wilt shall be the whole of the law" policies. i welcome Davies and Rhialto to
make mention of who else has been socializing with the pantheon. i do think however, tha the really big
movers and shakers in the occult/divine scene (eldritch, malador, etc.) are giving these upstarts a nice
wide berth for any number of reasons (the phrase "disaster waiting to happen" comes up a lot though)

finally, rumor on the occult circuit is that mr. Infamy's been making more appearances of late since the
Pantheon started up. whether e sees them as competition or is just taking advantage of their creating a
'sucker's market' is known only to him

That's an attitude, sir, that calls for the most delicate judgment on both sides. Because as you know, sir,
in the heat of action, men are likely to forget where their best interests lie and that their emotions carry
them away.

Silas The Elder

---

Not all of Eldritch's enmies are world shaking horrors such as Malador or cosmic despots like Queen
Una. Indeed, since the late 1940's that some of the most dangerous threats in magic are in fact all too
human.

Such an enemy is Silas The Elder. While Silas has never made a direct attempt on Eldrich's life, it stems
more from his knowledge he'd be trading one indirect rival for countless enemies, and thus, killing
eldrich is just bad business.

Silas, you see, is a hermetic scholar of the medici tradition. His magic, while impressive, is nothing
compared to the Master Mage or een prodigies like Seven, but his wealth of arcane lore, quicksilver
tongue and natural cunning make him no less dangerous. His magic is an older, subtler sort, of contracts,
ritual and sacrifice. instea of taking matters into his own hands, he operates through agents and proxies,
extorting owing debtors to live up to the bargains they struck with him, or in more direct matters, his
most loyal servants, those whose true names are known to him alone. an occult kingpin, he can be
likened to a massiv spider, huddled safely as he weaves and endless web of politics, favors and self-
serving schemes. it is also worth noting that Silas rarely tells an outright lie. no matter his deceptions, his
words always carry a ring of truth, no matter how cached, cryptic or elusive, letting others convince
themselves of any lie for him.

It is unknown exactly how old Silas is, having kept himself alive by more mundane means, but the
general consensus among the occult gossip is that he was born in the late 1700's at the earliest. What is
known is that he assumed his current guise in 1947, and made the mistake of trying to make a then-
inexperienced eldrich into one of his unwitting pawns. the plot backfired, and the master Mage drew the
scheming scholar under the scrutinous gaze of the occult community for perhaps the firt time in the fat
man's life. Silas turned the knowledge of his existence and activities into an asset within the decade, but
he has never forgotten nor forgiven the disgrace of that day.

Today, Silas The Elder continues to spin his web from his manor home in Glastonbury, and accepts offers
for his services no matter the party. he's done lunch with Taurus and sold books to Seven, traded gossip
with dr. rune and assessed Kreuzritter's latest acquisition, all for modest fees or simple bargains. "we're
all in the same business," Silas frequently says to the untrusting, "I see no reason why it cannot be good
business."
however, there is one being Silas has made no secret of is his hatred for Brimstone, which has shaken a
half century's amount of work to add the Covenant to his patronage. As far as Chronicle has been able to
peice together, Brimstone was under The Elder's direct employ or another position of relative trust
before Brimstone's inevitable betrayal, which almost certainly included stealing the Book of Shadows
from Silas' personal library. he's kept these findings from his superiors on the grounds that they might
try to use the book as a bargaining chip, and that it's probably safer for the world that the book stays
with brimstone than return to Silas's hands

Destroyer
---

Alexander DuVay was born in 1983 in a small town in Kansas, to a normal, everyday woman named
Jenifer Eraslin. Alexander was just like every other child; he ran, he played, he went to school. He was
normal in every way except one.

Alexanders father was a supervillain, and none other than Dr.Destroyer. His father had many powers,
most of them related to energy control, but his most formidable power was his mind--and the incredible
intellect that went with it. Alex was born during a senseless tryst, when Dr. Destroyer was breifly
confined to the mortal form of Michael DuVay, an interdimensional mechanics engineer. Years later,
when Dr. Destroyer--found out that his "imprisonment" had resulted in a child, he came to Kansas and
destroyed Jenifers home, kidnapping young Alex at the age of 5 as well as coldly murdering the young
childs mother. The authorities, of course, where aware of this, and with the help of legendary superhero
Centurion, himself intrigued by rumors he had heard of Michael DuVay's powers, tracked Dr. Destroyer
to his lair, hidden in a frozen valley in the Rocky Mountains.

Exactly what happened next is not known to anybody...except for Alex, and he has only vague memories
and flashes, like snapshots in his mind. What is known is that Dr. Destroyer was working on some kind of
device, and when they attacked, a terrible malfunction occurred. The entire valley was filled with
crackling red energy, and when it was over with the valley--as well as several of the surrounding
mountains--were annihilated, leaving only a huge, blackened crater in the ground.

In the center of that crater was Alex, crackling with the same energy that had blasted the valley,
unconscious and curled in a fetal position. Centurion had survived the explosion as well--the only known
being to have done so other than Alex himself--and was the person who discovered Alex there. Taking
pity on the young boy, Centurion picked him up and transported him personally to the Albright Institute,
where Alex would spend the next 15 years.

It was found that the red energy infused his entire body, through every cell, every bone, every muscle,
every neuron. Alex exhibited *no* ability whatsoever to control this energy, in any way shape or form,
and so a special suit was built to contain it. More importantly, it was discovered that this unknown
energy somehow interacted with the very basic building blocks of his body's matter, reinforcing it to an
as yet unknown degree, resulting in his incredible strength and durability. This energy is also the reason
his hair has turned brilliant red; his hair, being translucent as most human hair is, reflects the color of
the energy within it.

Many years and more than a few test's later, the energy was eventually identified. It was all explained to
Alex in what he considers the second most important event in his life (after the events described above);
Centurion himself explained it to Alex personally, in the second and last meeting the two ever had
(although the first that Alex actually remembers). It is Omegan energy, the same energy contained
within the whirling chaotic hellhole known as the Terminus, and the very same energy wielded by
Omega himself. Exactly what this portends for young Alex is not yet known, although the possibilities
haunt Alex every waking moment.

Alex recently made his debut i Freedom city to fight Death angel and the rest of the G'Tach, taking on
the name of his infamous sire as his own nomme de gurre. not out of any sense of familial pride, but to
take even that from a monster best forgotten.

As to how this energy got into him...and how he came to survive that explosion....Alex does not know,
although he does remember in some deep place inside. He can tell when he wakes up screaming at
night.

Major bones

BACKGROUND:

Not much is known of Major Bones, himself having forgotten most of the details of his life, only his rank
(found on his uniform) and that he presumably died at the battle of Gettysburg. What is known is that
he was among the countless zombies raised by the villainous Malador as part of a plan to turn
washington D.C. into a city of the walking dead.

Police, military and even superhuman forces were brought in to stop Malador, but while they prevented
the villain from slaughtering every town and city in his path and thus swelling his army's ranks, the
undead horde eventually reached the capital. it was here that the heros of america would make their
stand, and it was here that Major Bones first came to the public eye.

The Major himself describes it best:

"The whole time it was like I was half-asleep, just marching forward n' followin' orders, wit what parts a
me that still worked thinking that ornery [CENSORED] was General Meade hisself. but the thing is, he
was bossin around so many of us, that some folk were startin to look past the snake oil he was feedin'
us.

"Now, y'see, while I don't recall much, I do remember Washington. So while i was makin a foll a myself
going 'Brains' er somesuch, part a me still knew the city, knew the country. wasn't till I saw Mr. Lincoln I
knew that I still had a cause worth livin' fer."

it's a famous image, the one zombie suddenly breaking from the horde, and shambling up the steps of
the lincoln memorial, gaze locked with the great emancipator, before turning about and springing to life,
commanding the decaying legions to turn upon their master and fight once more for what they'd once
died for.

the results were dramatic, malador's assured victory becoming a total rout as his army turned against
him, forcing the villain to flee. and, with his retreat, all the zombies reverted back to unmoving corpses.

all of them, except the major. For whatever reason, he was refused his eternal rest, claiming that (when
questioned) "My country still needs me." refusing an honorable discharge for similar reasons, the Major
was first assigned to Arlington Cemetary, before discovering his own necromantic powers while
thwarting another supervillain Menace.

by now a recognized 'oddball' celebrity, Major Bones was inducted into the Statesmen, and reassigned
to act Pennslyvania's resident superhero, where he continued to serve after the team was disbanded.

during the recent expansion's of both the freedom league and the Guard, offers were extended to the
major, which he politely refused, although he's since made little secret he'd be happy to sign on with the
Arsenal of democracy if they'll have him.

POWERS/TACTICS:

At first thought to be a sentient zombie, Major Bones has since been reclassified as a 'Lich", a more
potent form of Undead, able to summon and command the spirits of fallen soldiers. at first thought to
only summon his former Company, the major is in fact able to draw upon any of america's fallen,
including a WW2-era M4 Sherman tank crew, complete with tank. Major Bones is both unable (and
unwilling) to summon naval or air forces to his aid.

As such, Major Bones relies upon conventional Infantry tactics, leading the charge himself either on foot
or astride the aforementioned 'haunted tank'.

Augustus Tiberius Rex

Sometime after the disappearance of August Roman, his daughter Saturnalia swifly took the reigns of
the 'roman empire', which she has ruled with aplomb, despite attempts by rivals inheirited from her
father.

that is, until A. Tiberius Rex came onto the scene. despite his monstrous appearance, Mr. Rex has
proven himself to be suave, sophisticated and every bit as intelligent as the (presumably) late mr
Roman, having established his own niche within Freedom's circle of "legitimate businessmen". for
example, Mr. rex has begun sponsoring charity projects throughout the Southside district, and he's
already bought the property to establish his own Boardwalk casino (with the blessings of boss driogano
and the olivierti family)

Mr. Rex's origins are of course a popular mystery, with the so-called "Tyranno Don" himself having
dropped conflicting clues. the popular theories are presently

- he's the Ani-Earth version of Roman, having left his home dimension to preserve his dry sense of wit
and lord over the hairless rubes. Nobody's been willing to go to Ani-earth to find out, but he really hates
lowbrow comedy and motormouthed heros like johnny rocket

- he's a Saurian from Wakefield island, whom August found and raised as an enforcer and later potential
heir. this is supported by dialogue between Augustus and Saturnalia that suggests the two have met
prior to his debut, and Augustus' frequent contributions to the Pickman museum of antiquities

- he really is August Roman in a new body. why he'd come back as a talking dinosar is anybody's guess
(although given their friendship, those in the know cast eyes upon Mr. Matthews)

whatever the answer, Mr. Rex was a listed beneficiary of August Roman's will, although nobody knows
exactly on what terms, as the executor of the estate met an 'unfortunate accident' the day his office was
torched by the pyrokinetic Nero

while some form of truce exists between Augustus and Saturnalia, the former has clearly set himself in
opposition to her, having established himself as one of the sponsors of XTREME! Action Combat
Campionships, in direct challenge to the Circuit Maximus.

Jade Naga

real name: Zin'Ser Jahn of the fifth ring

occupation: would-be world conqueror, Warmaster (admiral) in the imperial navy, former master
colonizer
place of birth: terragen isle, fifth ring
affiliation: Haud empire (defunct, Jade Naga is unaware the empire is now part of the stellar khanate),
AXIS/ODESSA
height: 7'0" weight: 300 lbs eyes: red-gold, hair: none

the Haud earth would know as the Jade Naga was feared as a brutal warmaster in the Haud Empire*. he
was born to the noble jahn family, and excelled as a military strategist. he made his name as Master
Colonizer, breaking the will of entire populations, rapidly earning the equivalent rank of admiral. his
reputation was put at risk, however, when a group of parousian slaves escaped in a stolen starship.
Zin'ser had no choice but to give chase.
the pursuit was long and gruesome. the parousians flew through a jump-point in their attempt to
escape, but Zin'ser followed them out past the furthest reaches of (then) known space, to the sol
system. the Parousians were finally captured above earth, but the slaves refused to surrender, despite
the Haud's superior firepower and extesive damage to their ship. instead, , the Parousians rammed the
Haud ship, causing both crafts to plummet through the atmosphere and crash, countless miles apart.
Many of the Haud survived, including Zin'ser, six of his noble brothers, several Pin'to harem concubines
and a handful of soldier drones, although many were badly injured. the ship itself was badly damaged,
barely able to fly from the crash site and out to sea for repairs, but many systems still worked. believing
the Parousians dead, Warmaster Jahn and his crew slid into the hibernaation chambers and restorative
sleep. for decades they awaited rescue, awakening every few years to make repairs and maintain the
ship, but no one answered their signal beacon. in time, Jin'ser realized he and his crew were alone with
no hope of rescue. and while theprimitive "pinkies" surrounding them would be useless in repairs, but
he realized more advanced civilizations might be elsewhere*.

Zin'ser spawned soldier-drones with the survivors of his harem to explore the planet. they were set out
in small groups, seeding the world with pockets of Haud. they hibernated as needed, and years could
pass before they reported or returned. every few decades, Zin'ser repeated the process and sent out
another cell.

and so the Haud watched and waited as human civilization developed, while Zin'ser stayed in hiber-
sleep, only fully waking in the 20th century*. he watched the progress of the war machine, the rocket
and the atom. he thought that finally he could be free of earth and sought to take control of these
resources, but has been thwarted every time by earth's superheroes. the Haud have tried hijacking
shuttles, stealing communication arrays, and even bribe (or subjugate) governements or other
spacefarers in an attempt at rescue, all in vain. most galling of all for the Jade Naga is that one of the
Parousian slaves that caused them so much grief survived, and has opposed them since the 1950's as
Slipstream

Jade Naga as railed at each defeat, furious at being thwarted by primitives, but theextensive network of
cells spread across the globe has given him countless falback positions, making total elimination of the
haud all but impossile. one day, they will contact the empire, and then earth shall tremle at the sight of
their warships before being subjugated as a colony world

powers: Jade Naga shares all the abilities of the Haud ruling caste. superhuman strength (can lift 8 tons),
endurance and reflexes (such that he can actually fight the much faster foes like slipstream or johnny
rocket), as well as psychic powers such as telepathy (limited to reptillian races, such as the serpent
men), and mind control (no such restriction). his fangs release a parlytic venom, and he is a master of
unarmed combat and military tactics. in addition, he has access to all manner of alien technology*

Red Pheonix
---
Sarah Gebhart, a bright and exceptionally athletic girl, was plagued by never-ending nightmares when
she turned 16. She continually dreamed of birth through fire, or death in darkness. It affected her
studies and health, and no doctor or medication seemed to help. Eventually, her parents took her on an
extended vacation to a friend's estate in southern Bavaria.
In late summer, when Sarah felt stronger, several classmates visited and took her on day trips. The last
excursion was to Strasbourg, and a ruined castle from when the French crossed the Rhine in WWII.
Dover Angel was killed there when the American Sentinel and she clashed with Iron Duke and Herr
Cryptic.

That night, Sarah's dreams returned. She rose in a dreamlike trance, dressed, and left the hostel. She
walked to the ruin well past midnight, followed by a shadow. Her waking dream revealed a hidden shaft,
leading to a lost, underground chamber. Looming above her was a huge, iron man, covered with dust. A
shining bayonet protruded from the automaton's chest. Sarah slowly advanced, while the shadow
following her descended.

Sarah cautiously touched the blade, and was overwhelmed by an explosion of memories: it was
nameless and ageless, passed through generations of sister-warriors; each was a champion of justice in
her own time, shaped from contemporary dreams; as one died another was born. The last hero had
been Dover Angel, slain by Iron Duke.

Rachel Wilde, a relic thief long hunting for this mystic weapon, landed beside Sarah and rushed to grab
the blade. Sarah realized her intent and wrestled for control of the weapon. The artifact suddenly began
to melt! Liquid silver flowed over them while they fought for power and dominance. The tie was broken
when Iron Duke's motionless body absorbed the last fragment of the weapon. A tremendous
thunderclap threw apart. Sarah had gained the greatest portion, partially cloaked in armour and holding
a brilliant energy blade. Wilde held the second most, armoured in a green battlesuit. Iron Duke soaked
up but a fraction, but more than enough to reawaken him and greatly increase his strength. The
weakened ruins unexpectedly collapsed upon them, ending the battle prematurely.

Sarah emerged, filled with fragments of past lives. She knew she had been chosen to stand against
darkness and injustice. The nightmares stopped and she returned to school with the knowledge that she
could manifest the mystic armaments with but a thought; bookish Sarah would vanish, to be replaced by
the Amazonian Red Phoenix.

Red Phoenix befriended Lady Starbright and the American Sentinel in Europe. Sarah soon travelled to
America to study history at EU, in part because the city was a centre of metahuman activity. She has
lived there for many years, and eventually became a professor of history. Sarah strove to learn more
about her incarnations, and tried several times to retrieve the stolen armour from Wilde. Iron Duke was
a constant nemesis and Wilde, as Green Ronin, became an infrequent but difficult opponent. Red
Phoenix joined the Guard as a full member in remembrance of her close friend, Lady Starbright.
It's been theorized that Red Pheonix's mystic abilities (and those of her past lives) are similar to those of
lady liberty or Britannia, in that she represents some primal aspect of womankind, suggesting her
epithet of the "tomorrow amazon" might not e that far off the mark. however, unlike her counterparts,
the fac that Red Pheonix is a perpetually reincarnated warrior woman rather than an era's designated
champion suggests there is more to the tale, and that her origins lie somewhere in the depths of the
Imageria.

on the other hand, during a conversation with Dr. Rune over a few pints of Djinn Sling, paranrmal
investigator/rumormonger Thomas Rhymer's noted a few of Red Pheonix's known past lives have
appeared roughly around the same time as those of Overshadow and he scarab, suggesting another
peice of the puzzle. a peice, because that was when he passed out drunk, and forgot the entire night
when he woke up a week later.

it's worth noting that Red Pheonix's powers do bleed over into Sarah's normal life. she's aging much
slower and is immune to sleep and disease, (hence why she's still doing her thing at her current age of
52). however, it's worth noting she's been spending more and more time as Red Pheonix, each time
volunteering just a little more of her time to her own superheroics in addition to missions for Guard. This
increased prescence and activity has led the few mystics aware of her reincarnations to theorize that
she's going to go the way of her mythic namesake in the coming years. Those fewer still mystics who are
aware of the link etween Red Pheonix, Green Ronin and the Iron Duke have also wondered if the
Pheonix's enemies have also been bound to the Cylce of the pheonix.

Luminary
---

the true identity of luminary is a mystery, even to himself. he has no solid memory of his life
before waking up on a laboratory table, and even that memory is hazy and fragmented, a blur of
recollection that only comes into focus when he finally woke up somewhere in the New Mexico
desert.

lost, alone and amnesianic, he wandered the desert for days, gradually realizing his own inherent
powers, how he felt neither heat, cold nor hunger, his prodigious strength and imperviousness to
harm. one such test of juust how durable he was revealed he could fly, and by accident he
discovered his light control powers. even with no memory, he knew these powers were unusual
to say the least, and his thirst for identity only grew, leading him to the town of Roswell for
answers.

By chance, he arrived just as a passing airliner was going down from a faulty engine. without
thinking, he saved the aircraft and brought it safely to the ground, putting a start to his heroic
career.

Dubbed Luminary by the press, and taking the name Bill for his plans to build a new life for
himself, he spent roughly a week as Roswell's own superhero, before being approached by
UNISON analyst Jeremiah Prophet (a very distant member of that illustrious family), who
recruited him for The Guard in exchange for helping Luminary learn his past. it was an offer
Luminary accepted in a heartbeat.

As a member of Guard, Luminary has proven himself to be charismatic, a born leader, displaying
a knack for tactics that caught even himself by surprise, while his powers make him a match for
even Sentinel. in the meantime, UNISON has provided him with the alternate identity of Bill
Randall Allen, letting him pursue and live a normal life when not part of the team.

Prophet's also been true to his word, albiet with limited success, finding more clues to who
luminary is not than who he is, and he has no prior genetic record nor fingerprints in either the
FBI or interpol files. Prphet's only lead is that Luminary might have been a veteran, his psycic
probing uncovering memories of a life in wartime.

GM secrets wrote:What Prophet isn't telling Luminary is that he's almost certain he knows who
the man is, or rather, was supposed to be. by combining Luminary's testimony to an AEGIS intel
report, Luminary's lab was in fact a SHADOW genetic research facility, tasked with creating
SHADOW super-agents, specificly those with power template based on a gene graft from
Superior. He's shared this with Colonel Ellis and Sentinel, and the three are working on how to
break the news to luminary,. what Prophet has not told his superiors is that he doesn't really
believe Luminary is a clone of Holtz Hellman, and is trying to find out just who in the
SHADOW hierarchy Luminary was meant to replace

Daedelus & Century Station

When Pressed on theissue, Daedulus insiststhe reason he left earth was the reminder of his immortality
and the loss of so many good friends. similarly, Pseudo bluntly states it was to keep his best friend from
an eternity of suicide.

they'd like to forget the main reason they left.

increasingly disillusioned about the state of the world, in 1975 Daedelus entered one of his centenary
hubristic periods, and decided to undertake a bold, long-sighted endevour. using both his own
discoveries on the matter, and consuling pseudo on the Grue's common usage of it, Daedelus designed
the worlds first large scale cold fusion reactor.

the next step, daedelus realized, was that this couldn't be connected to the freedom league, that
mankind had to think they'd achieved this on their own merits. So he andPseudo faked their departure
from earth, and took up assumed names before settling on the city they'd chosen to usher in a new era

that city was Century Station, a crumbling, decript husk that had relied oo heavily on textiles and steel
production. Daedelus sank a substantial portion of his wealth and a single lifetime's worth of favors to
create the Pharos reactor and the infrastructure to support it. Century Station flourished, becoming a
high-tech mecca with money to spare. America, and the rest of the world, watched with baited breath
once they realized what was coming, that peace and economic prosperity was within our grasp.
and then, the dream was aborted.

mere days after the massacre of pyramid plaza, Daedelus was already a wreck, having never let himself
get used to the loss of mortal freinds lest he succumb to the same madness of other immortals. but
then, it all came crashing down, when both Star-Knight and another alien, Alpha Prime, came to century
Station. In using Grue science and technology, Daedelus and pseudo had violated not only laws against
outside interference (laws which, as a Grue, Pseudo did not recognize), but treaties that gave earth the
protection of the Star Kinghts and Lor republic. out of freindship, A'lann Koor kept the disgraced heros
names out of the media, but Pharos was to be dismantled, all derived 'hybrid' technologies were to be
confiscated, and both Daedelus and Pseudo were to be brought before planetary courts. that the same
politicians and businessmen who had helped daedelus before so quickly turned and spewed rhetoric
tainting human/alien co-operation for at least a generation was just another knife in the back

and, as a final blow, the immortal inventor's eldest foe, Taurus Minos, tipped his hand. Daedelus was
made aware that Century Station would belong to the Labyrinth the moment he left Earth.

devastated, Daedelus was a shell of his former self, offering only short, minisyllabic replies at his trial,
only breifly taking the same court to task in defence of Pseudo with the same strength and conviction of
a man who defied gods themselves, before meekly sitting down and accepting every lie, half-truth and
misconception put upon him.

Daedelus recieved the galstandard sentence for first time monoworld offenders, Planetary Exile,
forbidden to return to the planet of his birth for a period of no less than 10 years. Pseudo, by virtue of
his own deeds and those as part of the freedom League, in addition to Daedelus' oratory in his defense,
was free to go.

and so began that long journey that would one day lead Daedelus home, as he and pseudo, a pair of
hard-travelling heros, went out among the stars to see what the real universe was like.

[---]

Back on earth, Taurus' rule of century station was resolute, as it became first a trophy, where he let the
once glorious metropolis spiral into decay and ruin as the high tech sector was almost literally pulled
out, and hten his plaything, as Century Station became his city, where the Labyrinth was free to test the
DNAscent Process and the many corporations Taurus owned would not be bound by petty morality.

but hope is not lost for Century Station. despite the Labyrinth's power, Taurus couldn't truly control the
city. first, the problems of the city has grown too much for even Taurus to keep quiet, and thanks to
certain agents of AEGIS (and meta-4, and several other organizations who wish to remain anonymous),
the United states govenment has given Century Station a deadline to clean up its act, or they'll do it for
them. here, Taurus' anonymity is his weakness, as once controllable puppets are scrambling in unwitting
defiance of him

second, is that Century Station is not without its heros. Alpha Prime, for example, has been assigned to
Earth (and Century Station) indefinately (technicly, until it's up to proper standards of civilization and
advancement, but humans being humans...), and not only has she been a thorn in the Labyrinth
operations there, but CS' troubles are such that it's becoming a magnet for would be heroes to clean up
the act, such as the city sponsored hero team The Centurions (which, in light of the president's
ultimatum, is personally bankrolled by taurus himself. yeah. he's paying heros to mess up his plans).

that said, hope may be fleeting for Century Station, its nigh-lawless sprawl an open invitation to not only
criminals of all stripes (regular, organized and supervillain), but its attracted groups like SHADOW or the
DNAscent cult known as Halcyon, and even a new, powerful and enigmatic master villain calling
him/herself The Minotaur, who is most definately not Taurus, who has in fact posted a considrable
bounty on this newcomer.

Welcome to Macross Island!

many human cultures hold the number three in high signifigance, so its no surprise that the third major
alien incursion of the new millenium was as auspicios an occassion as the Grue and Orkus invasion.

particularly so, because it wasn't an invasion.

Farside city detected it first, an object nearly the sze of manhattan island, whose path would collide with
that of the earth. naturally, they alerted the Atom family, who alerted the freedom lague, who alertd
everybody else.

for the third time in about as many years, the heroes (and a few villains) of earth united against a threat
unlike any other.

and then this final stand against an uncaring universe became an errand of mercy.

as the object passed the orbit of mars, the signals were heard, by radio, by stellar comms, by psychic
forms, a million voices crying out for help. his was no asteroid but in fact a mighty ship, slowing, but still
out of control. and so the heros redoubled their efforts, but it was for naught, the ship could not be
stopped

Divinos and Protonik gave everything they had to push the ship back into he night. but it would not stop

those inside the ship mde one last gamble with its mighty engnes, but it would not stop.

and so the mighty ship fell to earth, striking a small island in the south pacific like the fist of an anry god,
but the tale does not end there. for while the island was devasated, the force of the impact felt around
the globe, the efforts of the heros had been enough. the ship was stopped with what was ultimately but
a ripple. life on earth would go on, the endof the word averted yet again.

for weeks the ship sat there, inert and lifeless, before its passengers felt it safe to disembark, to risk the
flock of human armies camping outside their door. of the many races, it was the normally stoic and
consrvative Zentran who emerged first, not because of their official reason (that they would most likely
survive whatever was out there), but because they wanted to see the entertainment being provided to
the troops (hong kong born j-pop starlet Lynn Minmei).

it was a sight that set the tone for these visitors, how a trio of gigantic alien soldiers emerged from one
of the less guarded airlocks and made their way to the show, removing their helmets and shouting
'deculture' to show their approval of the concert as they watched with rapt fascination and enthusiasm.

and from that unconventional meeting, first contact was made. not just with the Zentran, but the oher
races aboard: the Spherians, the Opterans, the Garuda, Kabernites and more. these days also marked
humanity's first official meeting with aliens of the Lor Republic, who explained their tale.

the origins of the ship, which they dubbed the Macross, was an ancient artifact of the Preservers, a
colossal space ark rescuing the survivors of doomed planets, which the lor had found, and repurposed as
a colony ship, that they would use to seed and settle new worlds as Macross continued its endless
voyage. but now, The Macross was crashed, never to fly again, making this island (and by extension,
Earth) a Lor colony. and as a colony, Macross would share the knowledge of its many parent worlds with
humanity (within reason).

in the months since then, the now dubbed Macross Island has become the Lor's embassy to earth, a port
of call and hub of alien activity. not just the colonists, but those aliens already n earth and the
surrounding stars. although ostensibly part of the Lor Republic, earths relatively isolated location makes
Macross neutral territory amongst most alien powers, and already has embassies for both the Grue
Unity and Stellar Khanate, among others.

those in the intelligence commuity watch macross closely, for while they've thus far managed to avoid
the missteps that destroyed olympiana, their technology has villains the world over drooling with greed,
and may likely be the spark that ignites the PHANTOM/SHADOW war.

Races of Macross

Macross is home to over a million aliens of many different races. listing them all would fill an entire
sourcebook, so here's just a sample of the more proment ETs who cal mcross home.

The Lor: the majority of Macross' nearly-human-looking population, the lor differ from humanity
through their greater variety of hair and skin pigmentation, and genetic disposition towards psionic
abilities.
The Zentran: the most recognizable and famous of the Macross aliens, the Zentran are a race of
towering giants, engineered cloned and bred as warrior-slaves to the Atori Coalition. the Zetran of
Macross are amog the few who rebelled against their masters and lived to tell about it, after they
discovered that they could in fact have children. while centuries of training have made the Zentran
normally stoic and conservative, they are very competative, and have latched onto human popular
culture (especially music) with gleeful fascination.

the Kabernites: a race of 8 foot tall ursinoids (and genetic 'cousins' to the Cholaxans), Kabernites are an
easy going yet industrious people with a knack for mining and engineering (having a reputation amongst
the Lor similar to dwarves in human fantasy games), before they were conquered by the Atori and their
homeworld was later destroyed by Orkus. but Kabernites are survivors, and finding their new home has
done much to maintain their upbeat attitudes.

the Garuda: vulpine humanoids, the Garuda came from a planet with a highly psychotropic atmosphere,
spurring the evolution of psionic abilities and awareness. they don't particularly like to talk about how
they came to be aboard the Macross, citing only that they had fled before a great disaster. of the
peoples of macross, the Garuda are well regarded as spiritual figures.

the Perytonians: a passionate and tempermental people, Perytonians have a demonic appearance, with
reddish complexions, sharp teeth and prominent horns rising from their heads. they were long
oppressed by the Atori, and have only grudging, hard-won acceptance for the Zentran of Macross.
curiosly, Perytonians escew the science of their fellow colonists, and openly practice forms of alien
magic.

the Spherisians: crystalline entities who have shaped their forms to resemble humanoid life, the
Spherians are natural energy conductors, allowing them to act as the power source for hand held energy
weapons or other electronic devices. according to the Spherians, their 'homeworld' is some sort of
crytalline asteroid feild, much like the rings of saturn.

the Praxians: a race of alien warrior women almost identical to the amazons of greek myth, the Praxians
are the most 'primitive' of the macross aliens, preferring techology based on archaic principles and their
own superhuman physiques. their culture maintained for generations through a preserver gene
bank/artificial insemination device and an aggressive genetic sequence (praxian mating has a 1 in 1,000
chance of producing male offspring), hte Praxian homeworld was devoured by Abbadon roughly five
years ago. curiosly, the Praxians have in their mythology figures that strongly resemble Dr. Prometheus
and his offspring (if the prometheans were female, of course).

the Opterans: perhaps the most alien of the Macross colonists, the Opterans are only barely humannoid,
resembling bipedal gastropods with hands and opposable thumbs, whose mastery of biotechnology is
better decribed as bio-wizardry, with telepathic abilities that suggest the opterans are a distant genetic
cousin of the grue (indeed, the Opterans confirm their homeworld lay on the far side of Gruespace).
humanoid life and mind intrigue them, and while the opterans have claimed they are refugees, there is
the sense they consider life on Macross to be a long-term wildlife study. that said, while their intellect is
cold and alien, the Opterans are making efforts to 'socialize' with humanity, unlike say...

The Haydonites: it says a lot when the average haydonite, an ominous, mechanical figure in dark robes
with a chilling voice and an incandescent cyclopean red eye stares at you and says they've chosen this
form to put 'organic humanoids' at ease. aloof, cryptic, a touch condescending and other synonyms for
cold machine intelligence, the Haydonites keep their secrets well, but are believed by the lor to be the
original 'crew' of the macross. but while the Haydonites are creepy, they do seem to have the colonists
best interests in mind.

The Atori Coalition Systems

on the fringe of Lor-space, there is chaos and opportunity, as stellar barbarians and fledgling star
empires war amongst each other. the Most successful of these Warlords is Star-Khan, but one of his
newest rivals for galactic dominance are the Atori.

To understand the Atori, one must look at their history. in the distant past, they were like the Lor, albiet
evolved to withstand the high gravity of their homeworld. technologicly advanced, they were on the
verge of a golden age that would have made them ready to venture out among the stars, when disaster
struck.

a terrible apocalypse swept the world, as its ley lines ignted from a rare planetary alignment ignited the
worlds mystic leylines, reshaping continents and opening countless dimensional rifts, plunging every
civilized race into a terrible dark age of chaos. centuries later, from the ash of the old, and those same
fires of chaos, the Atori emerged.

where once they had been idealistic, enlightened and advanced, now the Atori Coalition were cruel,
facistic and xenophobic. worlds fell before them, at first claimed in response to invasion and exploitation
when the Atori were at their weakest, but the Atori expansion quickly became a matter of power for its
own sake, and and civilizations on the fronteir came to fear the sKeletal motif of Atori weaponry almost
as much as grue raiders. worlds that resisted were crushed. those who rebelled against the Atori yoke
were glassed

and worse, the Atori were learning. while virulently opposed to any and all things magical and mutated,
the Atori quickly embraced genetic engineering soon after they conquered the gene-masters of Tirol and
created their gigantic Zentran warriors. races that showed promise and loyalty were given favorable
positions in the Atori heirarchy as servitors. their first major opposition was against the infant Stellar
Khanate under Queen Khana, ending with a treaty that the Atorian empress and Star-Kahn uphold to
this day, allies until the sudden yet inevitable betrayal that will come once mutual and more important
foes are crushed.
Unlike most other empires, the Atori Coalition has no real interest in earth at this time, with only a small
fleet of warships positioned in the solar system after tracking a band of rebellious Zentran to the
Macross, and the Macross to earth. with Macross established as a lor colony, however, the Atori are
considering making the expeditionary force fleet commander Azonia their 'ambassador' to determine if
taking earth is worth their time.

As a culture, the Atori themselves are a facistic, warlike gynocracy, where women rule and men are at
best second-class citizens. due to the disaster of their past, the Atori have nothing but hate for any and
all things magical, and little more than revulsion towards nonhumanoid species. but while they may be
cruel and oppressive, on thefronteir, there are humanoid colonies that would gladly choose that over
death by the grue, or being fed to the war machine of the stellar khanate.

the Opteran Regency

Old ones, bio-wizards, Elder Slugs, Lords of evolution, these and more are the names given to the
Opteran race for their genius, mastery of biotechnology, and general sate. but there are other names.
The Incursive Swarm, the hungry plague, the uncaring, lifewarpers, and more, for the Opterans have
worked horrors as well as miracles.

by human standards, the bulk of the Opteran race are much like the martians dreamt by H.G. wells, with
intellects vast, cool, unsympathetic, and ultimately alien. An opteran researcher would think as much
about vivisecting a human as you would reading a book for the first time.

legion are the killform drones of Optera. massive, crab-like creatures capable of tearing through starship
hulls with their brutal claws. these monsters are the most seen by surviviors of Opteran expansion
swarms, such that many cultures think the Opterans and their creature-mecha unrelated.

Opteran worlds, colonized or conquered, are usually reverted to pre-industrial conditions, undoing
pollutants and making the land fertile, to support the agrarian needs of their new masters, and that the
Opterans may study and experiment upon the native life forms.

if there is one drive all Opterans share, it is that of evolution, the belief that the fabled preservers were
not gods, but the ultimate life form. this is the goal of Opteran experiments, to find the path to the next
stage of life, so that the Opteran can take on step closer to being like the preservers, and share the
secrets of life with the rest of the cosmos

however, there is a growing schism at the heart of the Opteran homeworld, the argument of nature vs
nurture. by their nature, the opterans are relatively peaceful, however alien they act. however, contact
with the Grue Unity and other brutal, warlike races have forced the Opterans to respond in kind, giving
them a low opinion of 'unenlightened' races. worse, in fightinng the Grue the Opterans have comome to
understand urges such as hate and conquest, leading one Opteran to call itself the Regent, who has the
driving urge to protect Optera at all costs, and force Opteran enlightenment on the galaxy. the Regent's
counterpart has evolved in response, becoming the 'Regis', which stresses the nature of the Opterans as
scholars and explorers, and argues that while survival is a prioriity, Opteran evolution is paramount.
unfortunately for the universe at large, both sides agree on a low opinion of humanoid races. the only
difference is that the Regent stresses enslaving races, while the Regis prioritizes unbound
experimentation.

The Opterans of Macross are those who reject the regency, and have chosen to flee their home in the
hopes of finding a third way, or at the very least, to preserve the Optera that was. and in their time
aboard the great ark, they have reached some level of understanding with the 'unenlightened', and now
on earth, are utterly fascinated with the chaotic nature of human culture, which is as alien to them as
they are to us, to the extent that they've begun drawing up plans to create a more 'pleasing'
ambassador to humanity...

Earthlings of interest to the Opterans

---

Changling & Pseudo - the Opterans and grue have a long, bloody history, in addition to the Opteran's
envy of the grue's 'spontaneous evolution'

Megastar - the Macross Opterans want to study the preserver technology that powers the young hero,
and have 'asked politely' if he'd submit to a prolonged study. while most took his sarcastic 'i'll get back
to you on that' literally (and are still waiting for his consent), some are getting impatient and are going to
throw a crab-mech at him to observe the results. then do it again to verify said results.

Mastermind - if the Opterans (macross or otherwise) become aware of Masterminds connection to the
preservers, they will consider him an ally without hesitation in the hopes of learning Preserver secrets.

Star Knight - has been breifed on the Opteran race, and has orders to keep an eye on the ones on
Macross, in addition to her duties as Macross Island's de facto superhero champion.

Welcome to Claremont Academy

"Hope you survive the semester!"

as expected since the recent policy change, Claremont Academy has seen an iflux of nnew students,
ranging from ordinary kids who just got powers, to extradimensional refugees brought by Navigatrix.

So, lets meet some of the students not covered in hero high and related pdfs

Minor League - Tessa seracino was just your average tomboyish little girl with a passion for baseball and
soccer, until she found out in the worst way possible that her father was working for the Mafia. her
mother killed and herself kidnapped, Tessa was used as bait to lure out her father, Frankie Seracino,
whose superhuman senses and reflexes allowed him to not only survive the ambush, but get his
daughter out of there. the next 4 years were spent running, from city to city, Frankie himself forced to
adopt a mask and the monniker "bullet time", as stooges outside The Family would give a mask less
trouble than they would a mad man with powers. But while he could run for as long as it took, Frankie
knew this wasn't the life for his girl, especially when he found out she was getting powers of her own.
So, frankie did the only thing he could, and dropped his little girl at Claremont, then sold himself to
August Roman, on the promise that no matter what happened to him, the families would leave her
alone.

Tess, or minor league, as she intends to call herself once she makes Next Gen, understands her father's
sacrifice, despite the emotional scars it left, and is gradually getting used to having something
resembling a normal life again, and has held onto her happy, outgoing personality. with her own
enhanced reflexes, she's a terror at school sporting events.

Boybot - the pinnacle of the reaserch and science of Kobo Technologies, Boybot is the first fully sentient
Korean robot, for years he protected Seoul from assorted threats and criminals, while being the loyal
son of his 'father', Dr. Kobo. Sadly, Kobo passed away earlier this year, and per the terms of his will,
Boybot has been sent to claaremont to interact with humanity, in what kobo had hoped would lead to
advances in robot rights. heroic to a fault, he remains innocent and hopelessy naive, unaware for
example, that kobo tech has been bought out by spartacorp, that nt all robots his 'brethren', and is still
trying to grasp that his actions have consequences (although to his credit, he''s less of a walking disaster
than Ultimatum)

Kitty Kat - Headmaster Summers is well aware of the humanoid cat-girl that's begun stalking the
academy grounds and has a good suspicion of her origins (a runaway experiment of Matthews Gentech).
having deduced she's very frightened of humans, but aware of the academy as a safe haven, summers
been making a few late night strolls around campus to draw her out and let her feel welcome. also
leaving tuna sandwiches so she doesn't eat edgar, and scheduling more doom room sessions for the
Next Gen and Alterniteens, as he expects visits from Doc Otaku or the Tomorrow Society within the
week.

Jonni Rocket - the immature cloned 'daughter' of Speedtste hero Johnny Rocket, Jonni has the
appearance and health of a 2 year old girl, and the ability to run at speeds of up to 50 miles an hour.
presently, claremnt is the only place Johnny can think of that can keep up with his girl ("the atom
family?" "stairs." "freedom hall?" "villain magnet." "tomorrow academy?" "...i tried, but Serena told me
castle mass is getting...uppity lately. her words")

Pixie - right now, Kuran Klang possibly the most famous student at Claremont, being the first natural
born Zentran of the Macross Refugees, having been brought there by Navigatrix for her own safety after
her parents were murdered in a terrorist attack, rather than leave her to be a pawn in the alien colony's
politics. this has naturally led to unexpected visits from AEGIS, UNISON, and other interested parties
until a compromise was reached to make her an 'exchange student'.
Kuran Klang, for her part, is your perfectly ordinary Zentran female (5 years old, 15 feet tall, 10 tons and
growing...), and like most of her race has fallen head over heels for earth culture. matter reduction has
been suggested so that she can be safer, but its still under discussion as the Zentran are extremely
cautious of what effect it might have on her physical development. thus far, only Changling has
volunteered to be her babysitter.

Sheryl Nome - another Macross alien, Sheryl is a Lor mentat, a rebel for wanting to persue a career in
music than become a psychic soldier like so many other lor her age. to her credit, even without the
enhancement of her psychic powers, she's a gifted singer with a promising career, her attendence at
claremnt a compromise, that she gets to try 'going native' but has instruction in her abilities

Ranka Lee - yet another transfer, as far as the students (and ranka herself) know, she's the academy's
first takisian student, supposedly chosen from a pool of ten million tarhiji applicants by Dr. Tachyon
himself and accompanied by her adoptive Lor brother/guardian, Ozma, but Ranka's periodic
demonstration of PTSD, resistance to telepathic effects and the fact that Ozma has special forces
training suggests she may be a traumatized psi-lord, sent away for her safety and to avoid scandal, and
ozma is her bodyguard. Like her roomate Sheryl, Ranka has a dream of becoming a singer, and to her
credit has already played a few performances, and once helped AEGIS Quell an uprising of Atori-loyal
Zentran. (note: while amplified and exaggerated through the effect showmanship and ranka's empathic
abilities, Zentran really do react to human music this way, going from 'kill all humans!" to " :D
DECULTURE !!!" within an alarmingly short time)

The reality, however is something known only to Ozma, Headmaster Summers and the Freedom League:
Ranka is not takisian, or even Lor. the cold reality is that she was recovered from an Opteran hive-ship,
every fleet that has held her since then has been attacked by insectile creatures known as the Vajra, and
that Ranka's genetic strucure is equal parts human, Opteran and Swarm DNA. the hypothesis Dr.
Tachyon came to is that Ranka is the 'child' of Mai Minh and the Swarm that attacked earth in 1985, and
as such is an embreyonic Swarm Mother herself. Tachyon's decision to earth is threefold. first, the
pragmatic, better earth suffer from the vajra than takis. second, earth is the only homeworld to have
EVER repelled the Swarm, and Tachyon has faith they will do so again. and finally, it is his hope that in
helping Ranka understand her powers may enable them to stop the threat of the Swarm once and for
all.

Secret wars of the Atomic Age!

the 1950's. the golden age had drawn to a close, as heros who punched hitler in the face hung up their
capes and put away their masks in the wake of the atomic bomb's power, the complexity of the red
scare and the continued march of science and progress.

or so uncle sam would like you to believe.

across the country, men and women settling down into a quiet life were approached and recruited by
men in dark suits and smart looking hats, askd to deal with a menace only they could face. jane and joe
america heard nothing of this, because with america having just taken the blow of the Wild Card virus,
and walked again into hte terrible fires of war over in Korea, the truth about what horrors now stalk the
land of liberty would bring chaos, panic and anarchy.

the bomb was terrible enough, but the truth is somehow worse. the truth that the atomic experiments
in new mexico did indeed bring about a new age, but not the one promised by washington.

from 1945 to 1963, America lived in an age of monsters.

across the southwest, a stange, unnatural plague unleashed by well-meaning ignorance ran barely in
check. a ghost town of ruined buildings and savaged trailers mark the passing of giant ants. cloudless
thunder in reality the roaring bellow of a scaled leviathan, and other fortean events in reality the mark
of things no longer left to the imagination.

the government and military did what they could, but while th veil of secrecy remained intact, they
realized they will soon be powerless against this onslaught. america needed heros. heroes with powers
beyond those of mortal men and women, heroes who knew they will never be honored in public for the
deeds asked of them, to help those who had cast them aside as relics of a darker time.

today, these forgotten wars are slowly coming to light, secret documents declassified, men villified being
seen in a new light after the truth that they gave their lives for you and me came to light, men like:

Golden Boy: well-meaning but disgraced for his role in the fall of the Golden Age, Jack Braun threw
himself into the monster wars, perhaps hoping to go out doing something right for once. if so, he didn't
get his wish, but what supers worked with him during this period very quickly understood he was not
the Judas Ace everyone thought, himself included.

Patriot: Between the fiasco of the Atomic brigade and the rise of AEGIS, Jack Simmons led brave men
against the monsters of the day, most of the survivors of which would form the core of AEGIS

Doctor Zero: the self-proclaimed Angry Scientist , Zero was the government's go to guy for anti-monster
science in the feild, and a source of plausible deniability (no, that wasn't a giant skull faced robot gorilla,
just a supervillain. go back to sleep, john and jane america). When certain parties pointed out the
unfortunate implications, Zero's death was faked and he kept his position until his actual death in 1968.

Centurion: the monsters you have heard about? gigantosaur, the beast of Kilamanjaro and others like
them? those were the great defeats of the Monster wars, those that required centurion to swoop in and
save the day, the hero of last resort, an agreement by both Centurion and the president.

Jackson & Zara wilde - from their marriage n 1957 to their deaths in 1961, the Wildes considered the
Monster Wars to be a 4 year working honeymoon.
but it wasn't all that great in the Atomic age. while before the public awareness of it, this was the time
of the Atomic Brain's great infamies. in the monster Wars, the Atomic Brain was the face of evil, many of
the horrors fought the result of its mad experiments

Magical Orders.

I'll be blunt. the number of mytic shenanigans and goings on when combning rpg settings can be
maddening. so, as opposed to my multi-part handling of other organizations, here's just a snapshot of
the workings of earth-takens mystic groups and goings-on.

The Pact - Contrary to popular beleif, the pact is not in itself evil. in simple terms, The Pact is the closest
thing to a governing body, court of law or trade organization for magic users and magical beings around
the world, and like any organization so incedibly huge, has its good as well as its bad. both Adrian
eldritch and Serena Mass hold positions in the inner circle, for example, and often counter the excesses
of corrupt parties such as Silas The Elder.

The Covenant - Formed in the midde ages by the catholic church to fight dark and eldritch powers, The
covenant has evolved into if not the longest lived, then successful paranormal research and defense
organization, outgrowing its papal influence to include members from several relations and spellcasting
schools. that said, while the Covenant are very good at their jobs, they have an antagonistic history with
the magical world that has only recently and begrudgingly accepted the good they do.

Demon Patrol International - the result of an unusual marraige between the Covenant, big businesses
and Triad Syndicates, DPI was ceded to the oversight of the People's republic of China during the Hong
Kong exchange of 1997 is pretty much the opposite of the covenant, a flamboyant and active
organization with a rock star attitude and habit of collateral damage over course of reckless pusuit.

Pandora - the black sheep of the John Smith Society, Pandora's status isn't due to being evil, but in the
academic pursuit and study of magic. founded by Daedelus in the early 1900's, Pandora's niche is the
collecion of legends and lore of humanity's esoteric histories into one accessible database, providing
knowledge to all who seek it. An extremely open-minded group, Pandora merged with the JSS soon after
the latter's inception, and while maligned, has at least the courtesy to provide rational explanations for
an irrational world. the only downside is that Pandora members have a frustratingly frequent habiit of
being driven insane by what they find, peering into the dark corners of te earth.

The Global Antiquities Society - a non-profit organization, devoted to the preservation of sites and relics
of ancient history, with an emphasis on restoring to their homelands archeological and cultural arifacts
plundered in the 19th and 20th centuries. the other side of it is that the Global Antiquities Society is an
exclusive gentleman's club catering to immortals and sapient undead (an offcial change in the late
1800's, although rumor has it the club was founded by mummies), often serving as neutral territory for
polite conversation (Eldritch has been known to hold a floating poker game when he visits a local
chapterhouse.)

brotherhood of the Yellow Sign - the secret society of serpentmen are trying a considerably different
approach of late, as inspired by a conversation between Taurus and Prince Vultorr the cruel, rebranding
themselves as a new age, multi-media religious group not unlike Scientology or the Pinnacle Path
(Taurus is pretty ticked off over vultorr steaing his idea for reinventing olympianism for the 21st
century). they appeal to the cult's usual targets openly, and have made a few attempts at door to door
solicitations. nobody has been dumb enough to approach the Serpent Queen for comment (and
survived, anyway)

Michealites - proof that 'light is not good/dark is not evil', the Michealites are a supernatural religious
hate group dedicated to wiping ou any and all things 'unholy', especially beings with a demonic lineage
or of pagan idolatry. unsurprisingly, they base themselves around the iconography of medival crusaders
and knights templar.

The Mephisto Alliance - one of many demonic cults, the Mephisto alliance has seen a dramatic increase
in membership following the Orkus Invasion, and are rapidly rising in influence as they promise the
breaking of the Seven Seals of Sheol. Unusually for such cults, the Mephisto alliance sports a broad
variety of supernatural creatures, from vampires o werewolves and ghosts in addition to the typical
assortment of demons and zombies. Most troubling to those following the cult's activities are reports
that the Kalak the Mystic is giving them his full support, while Malador and Adrian Eldrich are taking
mutual interest in tracking their activities.

The Seven Seals of Sheol

So, for those whose adventures are of a mystical persuasion, just what are the Seven Seals of Sheol?
well, the short answer, to paraphrase Clive barker

"Angels to some. Demons to others..."

The Seven lords of Sheol were once gods, ancient and primordial, loved and worshipped in the time
before the oceans drank atlantis and lemuria alike. but, as the brotherhood of the Yellow sign grew,
these same gods became twisted and corrupt, foul perversions of their once glorious selves (or perhaps
they were always entropic masters, none can say now). and in their disgrace they turned upon the
mortal world in terrible fury, before they were bound to the lower depths of the cosmic coil by the
Master Mage Malador and other great mystics and heroes of the first age of the Earth, their physical
forms sealed and scattered across the world. and so they slumbered in their myriad prisons, forgottenn
by the march of time, forgotten even by Malador, who erased the memory of their location from his
mind.

but now, in this new millenium, the seals at least begin to weaken, and those who srve powers dark or
cast sight upon the yellow sign know their masters generals stirr and await rescue, and now scour hte
globe for clues. how this came about is irrelevant, only that it is happening now.

Because of the nature of their prison (and an implication of their power), Each Lord of Sheol is bound to
a seperate continent, and their ambient power only extends as far. this does mean that their respective
cultists have a general idea of which master is where, but at the same time, the Seven Seals of Sheol
must be broken individually, forcing a race between the servants and enemies of the seven lords

The lords Themselves

Amemiat - also called the devourer or the mindless, Amemiat is gluttony personified, a great,
amorphous blob with many pseudopods and tendrils, gorging itself on souls living or dead, with a taste
for hte lost and unhappy.

Astaroth - the first of the seven, and in some iconography depicted as their de facto leader, Asatroth
bears the form of a mighty angel, titantic in stature, beautiful and terrible at once. yet, for those who
look upon it, they can see the wrongness of Astaroth, senseits true nature as an abomination and
mockery of the divine

Azazel - the despair embodied, princess of undeath, Azazel appears as an ancient, emaciated female
corpse with a skeletal face and wild hair, forever wailing piteuously as one who knows nothing but
ultimate suffering, and seeks to drag all creation into that same pit of emptiness.

Empusa - possibly the most infamed of the seven, Empusa's legend survives as a myth amongst the
eldest and most learned of vampires, that while Empusa did not create vampires, it was
husband/bride/patron of the very first of their kind, welcoming them to undeath after they had been
cast from grace. Empusa is rarely depicted, but a recurring motif of scalloped wings, ssharp teeth and
flowing blood lends credence to it being like a demonic vampire

Mephisto - the uncaring, Second of the Seven, dread lord and other titles, Mephisto shares many traits
associated with the christian devil, with blood red skin, hooves, bat wings, horns and a goatee. Cold,
detatched and aloof from the chaos and terror it creates. of the Seven, Mephisto has the most direct
influence in the modern age, being able to leave its prison to enter hell by dint of its demonic nature.
mephisto cannot leave hell (not even directly communicate outside it, relying on its servants and pawns
as intermediares), however, something Mister Hoppy has personally enforced due to "the rules of the
game."

Sutekh - the youngest and ost human of the seven, Sutekh manifests a form not unlike the sterotypical
mummy, complete with bandages and pseudoegyptian finery. Said to be the first lich, ancient and
neither dead nor alive before Takofanes drew his first breath, The Scrolls of Sutekh claim the Seventh
Lord 'likes' humanity, and would see them risen up to become as gods themselves by his own hand.
however good a sales pith Sutekh made, He was still the first of the seven lords to be imprisoned by
Malador, and violently, at that.
Vasuki - wild and unpredictable, Vasuki is nothing but rabid fury and bestial instinct, Vasuki was little
more than an animal. for this reason, despite its existence as a scourge upon the mortal world,
destroying everything in sight and driving mortals to uncontrolled rage and animal lust, is perhaps
potentially the least destructive of the Seven Lords.

Religions

the Brotherhood of the Yellow Sign - cult of the Elder Things, most notably the Unspeakable One.
presently trying to gain public support through going public with a scientology-style makeover, and has
already absorbed several existing cults.

the Church of Jesus Christ, Paragon - contraversial Greek Orthodox christian sect that advocates
Superhuman powers are granted by god, just like the miracles written in the bible, making Superhumans
God's messengers.

the Church of Jesus Christ, Joker - based in New York's Jokertown, the church is a potestant sect
emphasising Christ's message of brotherhood and perseverance. While founded by religious Jokers, the
church has attracted members from several visible minorities, superhuman and nat alike.

The Heralds - one of the alien religions that's spread out from Macross Island, the Heralds are a non-
violent group with beliefs similar to bhuddism, placing an emphasis on spreading their beleif in empathy
and understanding sentient life, teaching others that 'alien' is just a word for neighbour.

The Holy Church of The Seven Thunders - Evangelical Christian sect, emphasising the strength and deeds
of mere mortals, with a contraversial demonizing stance on superhumans.

the Initiates of the Hidden Coil - the religion of the serpent-men loyal to the Serpent Queen and other
reptilian deity-figures such as Naga, Megasaur, and Set The Destroyer. the official religion of the Saurian
half of Wakefield island.

the Nur Sect - a radical fundamentalist Islamic sect founded in the 1980's by Nur al-Allah, the Nur Sect
believe that superpowers are the blessing of Allah, but that those supers whose powers come with
freakish mutations are soulless abominations, while magic is the work of the devil, cyborgs are the
walking dead, etc.. they are still debating exactly where aliens rate (it was a back burner issue until the
Macross Incident).

Olympianism - Worship of the gods and goddesses of greco-roman myth, re-introduced with a 21st
century makeover by the labyrinth. Athena has tried to distance herself from it, but accepts her worship
to keep mortals from turning to Hades (whose more diabolical aspects seem to be softening now that
his ego is regularly massaged through worship.) Olympianism is actively boycotted by Daedelus.
The Pantheon - international cult worshipping superhumans of all stripes, but primarily those affiliated
with Gaia and Hearthstone Island. their central tenet is that Superhumans are the gods of a new age, in
addition to the returned gods of forgotten ages, and deserve worship and sacrifice from mortal men and
women. other tenets depend upon the 'deity' worshipped by the parishoner.

voodoo - through the efforts of Siren and Baron Samedi, Voodoo has been going mainstream since 1962.

Superheroic education on Earth-Taken

So congratulations, you're an underage superhuman with some incination of diving headfirst into this
crazy mixed up world, but enough sense that you should probably find somebody to show you the ropes
first before you make an ass of yourself. So, lets see what super-schools you can apply for

Arcadian Academy: headquartered in scenic Bay City, the Arcadian Academy isn't so much a school as a
super-powered youth centre (with a dash of boot camp), with applicants being expected to attend local
high schools(thus the academy has chapterhouses in other super-cities, such as Freedom and millenium
city). Students at Arcadia are typically second generation heroes, or those dead set on becoming
superheros. here, you're trained in the basics and essentials, from teamwork to being able to confront
mind-blowing weirdness at every turn.

the Tomorrow Academy: in strk contrast to the Arcadian Acadey, Madame Tomorrow's alma mater is
oriented around providing a safe and productive learning environment for superteens unable to fit in
with normal people, be it due to inhuman appearances or uncontrolled powers. in return, students are
expected to also understand Castle Mass' credo of acceptance and togetherness. Graduating students
may join the Tomorrow Society proper, but Serena Mass encourages graduates to accept job placement
and internship through the JADL or PPS.

Claremont Academy: the best of both worlds, Claremont Academy stresses a balance between the
superheroic and normal sides of life, and the fact that it is a school environment. Headmaster Duncan
Summers disapproves of Arcadia's semi-militant approach, and while admiring the intentions of the
Tomorrow Society, has gone on record with what flaws he percieves, cheifly the problem of segragating
super-teens from normal society, citing "they need to see the bad as well as the good." as such,
Claremont accepts gadgeteers and 'badass normals' as students, in order to keep them grounded.

The Living Gods: the newest and most contraversial brance of Pantheon's operations, The living Gods
are their outreach program to teenaged superhumans. Based out of Las Vegas (specificly, the Oasis
Ranch), they do preach the same message as the Pantheon, but stressing first and foremost that their
divine right is as much a responsibility to the mortals beneath them. "Sort of like being a cosmic
babysitter, but with much better perks and pay." as one such 'godling' explained anonymously.

The Scions of Caine: much like the Living Gods, the scions of caine are gene nation's answer to schools
such as the tomorrow society or claremont academy. young metamen are found and "approached", and
shown that their powers are gifts that make them gods amongst insects. the current residence for SoC
applicants/students are the Genesis Island Embassies in Bay City, Freedom City and New York. just look
for the crowds of protestors. Students are advised to avoid Jokertown, they haven't forgotten how
Xavier Desmond flipped the Red King the famous "Triple Deuce" during their first and only televised
debate, and relish openly mocking any and all things Gene Nation.

PSI: a Gene Nation splinter group, PSI makes this list for the sole fact that they 'recruit' by kidnapping
psychicly sensitive children and 'indoctrinate' them in their ideals. Surprisingly, Cassius Mass is honest in
his public denunciation of PSI's methods and ideals, and among his few edicts to his followers is to co-
operate not just with superheros, but to assist human authorities in order to root out PSI and all they
stand for. Dr. Parker Psion has also publicly announced neither he nor his children are affliated with PSI.

Shadow Academy: a very recent development, the Shadow academy is a clandestine training program
for aspiring supervillains, even more clandestinely backed by the Labyrinth. to keep up pretenses, The
Headmistress has agreed to give Overshadow first pick of the graduating class, who knows these recruits
are probably also labyrinth spies. for his part, Overshadow has seeded the academy with immature
Shadow Mutates. The Headmistress does not weed them out, treating their infiltration as a long term
special 'extra-credit' assignment for her pupils.

Groups

AEGIS: America's number one task force for things strange and abnormal, or terrorist threats
conventional forces can't handle. they defend human peace and freedo against the worst reality has to
offer, and they are the best there is at what they do. if you can't get the Freedom League, count on
AEGIS to be your sheild.

- Project Secure: when the smoke clears, the bad guy dealt with and the hero gets hte girl, Secure steps
in. the super-spy equivalent of a CSI team, Secure's job is to examine, disarm and remove any unusual
phenomena left behind. death rays, alchemic flesh golems, strange glowing portals and brains in jars?
that's secure's bag.

- Paranormal regulatory division: AEGIS gets all the weird cases, so they get stuck with the superhuman
stuff. that's where hte PRD comes in. they're AEGis' 'fbi face', with dark suits, sunglasses and subvocal
earpeices. they get to deal with supers who just got their powers, space aliens seeking residence, robot
sentience cases, stuff like that.

the Joker Anti-Defamation League: Founded in 1964 by the late Xavier Desmond, the JADL is one of the
oldest and most largest groups to peacefully and legally advocate superhuman rights. originally founded
to protest the discrimination against the victims of the Wild Card virus, the JADL expanded its portfolio
to include those whose powers brought gross deformities regardless of origin, mutants (natural born
superhumans), and eventually all superhumans. in one of his final public interviews, Desmond outlined
the path the JADL has taken for the past 25 years: "We are no longer fighting for our rights. we are
fighting for your rights, for your children's rights. Anyone could wake up with a mutation, an origin away
from an equally wondrous and terrible world. thus no one should live in a world that hates and fears
them. and those who do hate and fear, remember that a man greater than I once said the way to be rid
of an enemy was to make them your friend."

- Paranormal Professionals Society: an outgrowth of the JADL, PPS is a non-profit trade organization
designed to help superhumans who have no interest in crimefighting or supervillainy, instead finding
them decent, paying work and achieve relatively normal lives. as a result, PPS is often having to work
with, around and sometimes even against the PRD to achieve the rights of their clients

The Tomorrow Society: while technicly unaffiliated with the JADL, the tomorrow Society shares many of
he same goals, primarily a chance for super-powered children to grow and get a good education in life
and their powers without fear of harm, discrimination or loss of control.

- Rosemont center: It is a sad admission by Serena Mass, the Red Queen that there are those beyond the
tomorrow Society's help, those whose powers are such a curse that it has twisted their minds and
bodies. these individuals, and others whose entry into the superhuman world turn traumatic, have a
home at the rosemont center (founded by Dr's Emily Rosemont and Tachyon), and with the center's
help, mmay they find their place in the world.

UNISON: As AEGIS is to the United Sates, Unison is to the free world, dealing with threats beyond the
scope of conventional militaries, from giant monsters and alien invasions, to terror cartels such as
Phantom or Overthrow

- Foundation for World Harmony: does not exist anymore. it did exist in the 60's and 70's, but it was
folded and mothballed. it was not retasked as an international counterterrorism skunkworks and folded
into UNISON to fight the enemy on their terms, or undertake missions too sensitive for UNISON's public
involvement, such as last years rescue of hostages from the Iron Khanate

- UNTIL & SCRET: Contrary to popular opinion, America does have something of a monopoly on
superheroes. this is where Until comes in, as UNISON's arm regarding international supercrime,
responding to metahuman emergencies. SCRET is Until's special forces, the heavily armed mortal men
and women who have to rely on tech, tactics and teamwork to bringdown superhuman threats. despite
SCRET's high turnover rate, they have several major successes, such as when they managed to defeat
Eurostar 6 months back in what UNISON Director Colonel Jennifer Ellis called "an honest to god miracle."

house of serpents: to General Venom, the second american revolution has become the second civil war,
as after years of fighting heroes such as the patriots, the HoS has gained the full attention of AEGIS,
which is attacking his operations like they would SHADOW. while most masterminds would react poorly
to such events, Venom points out to his uncertain lieutenants that their ranks are growing, as americans
disillusioned by the past decade find voice to tell their government "don't tread on me!", and signing
onto the team that's stood by them while uncle sam walked on by.
The Foundry: the premiere technology and arms manufacturer for the criminal underworld, operated by
the ancient robot known as Talos, who delegates Foundry operations in order to focus on world
domination. among the few humans who serve the Foundry include the director of its american
operations, Mr. Wayland Talos (no relation).
- Artifice designs, LLC.: the private business of the Artificer, a brilliant yet amoral inventor, theif and
armored supervillain, recently 'bought out' by Talos himself. Artificer's benefit to the foundry is that he
provides custom designs and modifications for individual clients dissatisfied with the tandard foundry
catalogue

Gene Nation: Prior to the emergence of the Patheon, Gene Nation was THE superhuman supremacist
group, extolling the Red King's views through rhetoric and violence, before using Genesis Island as their
first successful bid at legitimacy. In return for continuued political recognition, the Red King has indeed
reigned in his followers excesses, for now content with lebensraum and the possibility that this cease
fire between the divine right of metamen and mere mortals will allow him to use his words to convince
hero and villain alike to put aside their bickering and join against the human oppressors.

the initiative: a rising shadow power, the Initiative is a consortium of highly influential business leaders
and politicians with a muual interest in seeing the world turns as they want it to. more to the point, not
only are they not a labyrinth front, the initiative asseted itself as dramaticly opposed to Taurus when
they discovered the Labyrinth was real. as a result, the present mutual goal of the Initiative is to curb
superhuman influence, and put the reins of the world back in the hands of men.
- harbingers: between the Century station fiasco and the recent invasions by the Grue and Orkus,a great
number of people are starting to watch the skies. The harbingers are such a collecion of people, with
brilliant minds, deep pockets and powers political. these paragons of humanity's power are first and
foremost concerned with allien invasion and subversion, but they have not forgotten the Psychotic
Seven's attack on washington, and so they seek to open people's eyes to the truth that the only hope for
humanity is humanity. they are the eyes of hte initiative, always watching and never trusting.
- 7 Thunders: religion is the opiate of the masses, and so the Reverend butler uses the christian faith to
turn men and women against the devils in their midst, raking in donations that go to line his share of the
initiative's coffers. but despite his apocalyptic preaching and anti-supers retoric, reverend butler is for
the most part an admirable man, advocating racial and sexual acceptance, and a humanist view that
surprises his critics (If God does not answer your prayer, it is because He prays for you to find your own
strength, as any loving father must one day wish of his children.)
- SHOCK: an extreme right wing human supremacist group, SHOCK (super Human Obseration and Contol
Knights) believes anyone who isnt fully human (aliens, cyborgs, mutants, wild cards, etc) is a potential
threat to humanity. as such, the initiative use SHOCK as their unwitting fist, supplying them with funds
and technology to take the fight to the superhuman menace.

Labyrinth: the fabled secret corporation founded by Taurus Minos himself, with fingers in just about
every major corporation and government wether they know it or not.
- Fabricators Inc.: founded in 1980, Fabricators Inc. was originally a way to entertain Taurus by
competing with the Foundry in the production of weapons and technology. by the 1990's, Fabricators
became the primary testbed for 'willing' volunteers for the DNAscent process.
- the syndicate: does not actually exist, although the capoyabun is very real. rather, the syndicate is the
appearance the Labyrinth takes when dealing with organized crime families.

Phantom: Death Mask is one of the few people alive who knows SHADOW isn't nearly as crippled as it
presents itself to be, yet isn't on SHADOW's payroll. exactly how long he has known is a mystery but the
fact is PHANTOM and SHADOW have fought for the position of being the world's most powerful terrorist
cartel since their inception, and which PHANTOM has occupied since SHADOW's apparent collapse in
the 1980's.
- The War Machine: at considerable expense, PHANTOM has recruited the services of the would-be
world conqueror known as the Warlord, in preparation for the looming PHANTOM/SHADOW war, a war
Death Mask intends to win.

Shadow: As dark and terrible as ever, SHADOW is gearing up for the third Operation Innundation while
simultaneously pretending to still be crippled from their near collapse. everything is going to plan, and
Overshadow is experienced enough to know this is about where the wheels start to come off. he's
getting antsy and impatient, and more than a little paranoid about the inevitability of Scarab's return
gumming up the works yet again. he's checked his enemies list twice, and knows once revealed,
SHADOW will have every last one breathing down their necks. For this reason, Overshadow is
marshalling his forces together in preparation for the equally inevitable war with PHANTOM.
- Overthrow: as mentioned in Agents of Freedom, Dominic Ashe is becoming aware that Overthow is
simply SHADOW's most recent patsy, and that While overthrow is taking the risks, SHADOW has reaped
the benefit. while not yet confident enough to break away (and the odds of surviving SHADOW's
reprisal), Ashe is looking into ways to reduce overthrows dependence on its patron and ultimately sever
ties.
- the Thule Society: SHADOW's occult arm, the Thule Society is experiencing divided loyalties. True, the
Crimson Mask is eternally loyal to Overshadow, but as his master relies far more heavily on science and
technology, feels ever more unappreciated, especially when he sees the prosperity and power of his
order's namesake, and wishes to broker an alliance between SHADOW and the Kingdom of Thule
- unitrol: the ever ambitious Unifier finally bit off more than he could chew when he discovered the
latest country he was trying to subvert was deeply in SHADOW's pocket, and that the General he had
murdered and impersonated was a SHADOW I-bot. Taken aback, he tried to escape, but was captured
and brought before Overshadow himself. luckily for himself, in his career as No-Man Unifier had
developed a singular talent for self-preservation, and Overshadow, impressed by the overall scheme and
flattered by such masterful grovelling, decided to not only spare the upstart but to present a
magnamious offer, to join the Penumbra itself as Overshadow's spymaster. of course, there were
provisos, such as "confirmation of lyalty", and "redistribution of resources", but to Unifier, it all means
he cann go back to doing what he does with the power to back up his plans, and only has to come
running when overshadow pulls his leash.

Viper: a long standing yet minor threat in the scheme of things, Viper was a distant third when SHADOW
and Phantom were the major players, and has only dropped down the ranks in the wake of groups such
as Gene Nation or the House of Serpents (many people think viper is in fact part of the HoS. General
Venom encourages this belief, since it makes HoS look bigger). repeatedly clobbered by heroes and
agencies alike, used as a proxy by SHADOW and PHANTOM (at the same ime, no less, turning Vier
against itself), Viper has survived and evolved over the years, by preying on its weaker rivals. MENACE,
the Invisible Empire, FORCE, Apocalypse today, Baseline, TOTEM and more, all have been consumed and
absorbed into Viper, giving it a wide and unpredictable amount of technology and super-agents. even its
ignonimity is Viper's weapon, its goals and leaders unknown.

World Crime League: a very new organization, the WCL is intended to be the first successful
"Supervillains' Union". conceived by supercrooks Player 2 and MoonQuake, their idea was brought
before, approved and is now bankrolled by Godfather Gorilla. Presently, the WCL is only just starting to
reach its potential, with many villains joining, but has yet to recruit any of the "A-Listers", although
Godfather Gorilla is trying to arrange talks with the Crime League in order to change that...

the counter-clock culture: the hippie counter-culture movement of the infamous Tick-Tock Doc has been
making a resurgence of late, awkwardly moving from a bunch of weird smelly long haired cynical hippes
into a revoluionary army of weird smelly log haired cyncical hippies, protesting just about everything
and anyone, with methods ranging from sit ins to violent protest (and a number criminal acts authorites
have yet to connect them with)

forgone conclusions: the go-to source for high priced mercenaries, FC was originally a mercenary unit in
itself, but has since become a reliabble hub for the growing market of super-powered soldiers of
fortune, while doing an admirable job of covering up their more contraversial missions and clients, and
thus have run rescue of Dakanan border villages while at the same time commiting atrocities in Tracus.

the John Smith society: otherwise deemed "the mad science union", the JSS is a think tank of inventors,
geniuses and really f'n smart guys to share and develop their theories and inventions without fear of
persecution. unfounately, they are a 'neutral' party because not only do a number of their experiments
run wild (less often than you think), but their members have a habit of being duped by less than moral
patrons.
MERLIN: technicly part of the JSS, MERLIN is a chaotic online agency of hackers, consspiracy theorists,
and other computer inclined geniuses with too much free time. as stated by their leader Calamity Jane,
MERLIN's goal is to 'crack open the universe, see what makes it tick, go through its pockets for loose
change and then share everything with the world." in short, they believe information should be free,
and have absolutely no problem with who htey shove under the spotlight, be they finanial powers like
Steele Omnitech, terrorist cartels such as the House of Serpents, or even the Freedom League itself.

META-4: the CIA to AEGIS' FBI, Meta-4 is a naional security skunkworks super-agency, keeping Amerca
safe by whatever means necessary, doing this the american public would rather not know about. it may
be grim, and definately gritty, but somebody's got to do the dirty jobs so you don't have to.
- project tyche: META-4's answr to project secure, Tyche's public mission statement is to keep the
american pblic safe rom aliens, mosters and rogue supers. however, Tyche's primary mission isthe
acquisition of advanced technology and resources in the name of national security, ie: hunt down aliens
and steal their technology.
- ANTAG: META-4's 'mad science division', ANTAG explores the boundaries of metahuman research and
super-science by embracing the unconventional, regardless of ethical or moral consequences. as a result
of decades of cleaning up ANTAG's messes AEGIS and META-4 have an interagency betting pool
regarding what headache they have to del with next

Pantheon: founded by Gaia, a former foe of the Centurion, the Pantheon are a commune of
superhumans who fancy themselves as gods of the modern age (or at least, don't mind the perks that
come with such a philosophy), born to lord over and shepherd mortal man like the gods of old.
Presently, the Pantheon is a mostly non-violent organization, using it's powers to work miracles across
the globe in exchange for sacrifices, typically an exorbiant monentary tithe, or assistance in maintaining
the Pantheon's website and 'prayer hotline'. and while many of it's members regard 'mortals' with
disdain, Gaia's philosophy of Noblesse Oblige have kept them from truly abusing their powers, despite
their belief thy are 'above mortal laws'. Gaia herself is a contraversial figure, equally the embodiment of
their humanitarian efforts and their self-proclaimed godhood.

zero latitude: this militant envronmental activist group has been making waves lately, due to the fact
that they're atracting a greater number of super-powered members. while relatively peaceful and
restrained, a great many people on both sides of the issue fear Zero Latitude may head down the same
path as the Psychotic Seven.

Okay, first, a retcon, META-4's "mad science" division is Project Icarus, not ANTAG (who went rogue in
the late 80's), the relevant entry will be modified later.

Project Proteus - A "what book?" offshoot of project icarus, Project Proteus was formed in the wake of
the Grue invasion, when the sheer number of invaders meant a surplus in genetic material for study and
experimentation, and implmentation of those results to create half-grue super-agents, with a blend of
shapeshifting or telepathic powers. Unfortunately, there were unforseen compatibility issues between
grue-based genemods and human brain chemistry, and many Proteus agents find they either have
bestial instincts/urges, or develop a cold aloofness and detachment best described as alien.

AXIS - it's been 65 years, but still there are those who insist that the second world war isn't over, and
that the thousand year reign of the Xth Reich is just around the corner. AXIS is the longest lived and
most organized of the secret groups that still cling to Nazi ideology, subsisting on the support of Count
Reich and Nacht-kreiger (making AXIS a useful puppet of SHADOW). many surviving ubersoldaten (and
legacy villains of such) have belonged to the ranks of AXIS at one time or another, if only tangently. AXIS
can do a lot of damage, but the general consensus amongst the intelligence community is that AXIS is a
joke, or was, until Count Reich blew up Olympiana.

Silber Agency - One of the richest men in the world, Augustus Silber has recently thrown his hat into the
ring of superhuman employment, providing a corporate alternative to the PPS or a less moraly dubious
one to Forgone conclusions. Silber has also bought at least 5 superhero teams, suggesting this will be
the next hobby industry for the obscenely wealthy. Secretly, Silber is a member of the Initiative, and
while metahuman supremacy is as feared by him as his fellow conspiritors, he's a moderating voice on
their inner circle, advocating that they simply need to stay ahead of the curve rather than prepare for a
war.

DEMON - a surprisingly persistant threat to global security, DEMON's success comes from its dual nature
as a terrorist cartel and supernatural cult, but its fortunes are mercurial, with major up and downs since
its inception in the 1920's. DEMON's last major heyday was in the late 1990's, but word is they're
gearing up for something big in the next two years

DEVA International - An asian business concern, DEVA's strength comes from being the first to capitalize
on the Shivan shard phenomena, and being one of the first businesses to deal openly with Macross
Island (and by extension, Farside City). DEVA is also the sponsor organization for Splinter Inc., a
superhuman hiring agency specializing in Shivan focussers. Regarded as a fairly moral corporation, DEVA
has been rumored to have been in talks with the Iron Khanate. DEVA is boycotted by MERLIN and
several members of the John Smith Society, on charges of being "Sellouts".

Institute for Human Advancement - the largest, legally recognized anti-superhuman political group in the
united states, the IHA is nothing less than the mortal enemy of the JADL and other superhuman rights
groups, campaigning constantly for stronger sanctions, spreading anti-supers propaganda, and secretly
bankrolling more than a few anti-supers hate groups (these are frequently brought to light by heroes,
intrepid jouralist and goverment agents, but the IHA is large enough to weather the damage. on the
upshot, the IHA genuinely supports budding superscientists and technological progress, if only to prove
humanity can do just fine without some would-be demigod's orwellian gaze.

Church of the Peacable Kingdom/Millenareans - an evangelical christian movement centered around

former president Reverend Leo Barnett, the church of the Peacable Kingdom are obsessed with the
rapture and end of days iconography. considered a moderate alternative to the Seven Thunders, Barnett
preaches that only those supers who acknowledge they owe their powers to god, or Jokers who
recognize they are the tools of satan have a chance for redemption. despite similar beleifs, PK and the
church of Jesus christ, paragon are mortal enemies, the former accussing the other of idolatry. that
Peacable kingdom does employ a number of superhumans has of course led to claims of hypocrisy,
especially in the wake of barnett's denouncement of Mrs. The Midnight Angel-Ray, formerly one of
Peacable Kingdom's most recognized members

Death's head - Count Reich's cult of omnicidal mania, people often wonder where the hell he keeps
getting so many live recruits, despite the high turnover rate. the answer is that in addition to delusional
neo-nazis and psychotics, many terrorist cabals offer up to the count their most insane or psychotic cast-
offs. in return for these reccomendations, Count Reich.. y'know what, i'll leave his idea of gratitude up to
the gm
Mutant Underground - a humanitarian group dedicated to the safe passage of oppressed superhumans,
with ties to both the tomorrow society and Gene Nation. Mutant underground has claimed
responsibility for several terrorist acts, but in such claims tends to expose evidence of crimes comitted
by their targets, ranging from human experimentation to slavery and even death camps. Ironicly,
Mutant Underground has an undrstanding with the Caliphate of Zulan, in that they are permitted to give
Jokers safe passage out of the country. this incidently, is a point of compromise and contention between
Prince Siraj and the Nur

SCARE - the Special Committee on American Resources and Endeavours, SCARE was from 1952 to the
late 80's the primary agency dealing with american super-agents in government employ. that is, until it
became obvious in the late 80's that SCARE had become little more than a recruiting ground for groups
like PHANTOM or the House of Serpents, and deprived of much of its power. following the revelation of
the card sharks conspiracy in theearly 1990's, SCARE was officially shut down and remaining assests
were folded into AEGIS

The Shadow fists - a splinter group of the Black Hand, the Shadow Fists were originally the american
branch of the Iron Kahn's Assassination corps, before going rogue under the leadership of the second
crimson katana and vietnamese crimelord Kein Phuc, who became the group's de facto leader with the
katana's mounting insanity, which forced kein to shore up the fists numbers by absorbing various street
gangs. as in the prime wild cards reality, the Shadow Fists made a play for controlling organized crime in
the 1980's, but on earth-taken, the mafia was not averse to using superpowered muscle of their own,
and the war ended in stalemate, until the disappearance of Kein phuc in 1989, upon which the shadow
fists disintegrated. Today, the Shadow fists have made a partial recovery, but are a shadow of their
former might. rumor ciculates that they answer to doctor Sin these days, or more specificly, his
supposed granddaughter (yes, Raven got control of the fists as a 'birthday present'. naturally, she wants
nothing to do with them)

Vampire Nation - have made steps towards legitimacy, primarily their american branch, who are
capitalizing on recent depictions of vampires in media as misunderstood and brooding with a distatseful
deitary condition. Dracula and other vampires with more traditional viewpoints just shake their heads
and are bracing for the inevitable backlash, although they do recognize the increase in recognition and
influence, and dragon industries is working on an experimental procedure known as 'sparkleskin'

The Wild Card Virus and You

The Wild Card Virus. one of the turning points of human history, and one of the great scientific
mysteries.

What is hte Wild Card Virus?

The Wild card virus, or Xenotakis-A, as its scientific name, or Forced Evolutionary Virus, to be more
accurate, is a mutagenic retrovirus, that once active, can rewrite a human's entire genetic structure in
moments, with no two people coming out the same way. this unpredictable nature gives the virus it's
common name. the results of the virus are:

1. Ace - the victim of the virus gains superhuman powers, with little to no gross physical mutation. those
aces whose powers are seemingly exremely minor or of limited utility are called 'deuces'.

2. Joker - the victm suffers extreme physical mutation, resulting in a form most people would call
'monstrous'. its also worth noting that a number of Jokers also gain superhuman powers, becoming
'joker-aces'

3. Black Queen - a death sentence. if one's 'card' is the queen, their body cannot handle the radical
mutation, and are killed by their own changing body. this was the original intent of the virus, and its
predicted common outcome until the addition of the...

4. Mulligan - the victim is mutated as per joker or ace, but the virus burns itself out of the body within a
24 hour period, restoring the victim to their normal self.

the Percentage of the Mulligan is 90%, with Joker at 6%, and both Ace and Black Queen at 2%

Who can get the Wild Card Virus, and how?

Sadly, almost any human can catch the virus. while originally airborn, immunologists discovered that the
virus in its latent form today to be transferred by bodily fluids such as blood or sexual transmission.
Super-powered individuals are immune to the virus, and barring certain circumstances, no one can catch
the virus twice.

it is estimated 45% of americans today are latent carriers of the WC virus

Mutancy and the Wild Card Virus

One of the more prickly issues surrounding the virus is how it relates to the condition of mutancy, given
the similar effects on individual (superpowers or deformities) and the tendency for both to manifest
spontaneously in stressful situations. Some, such as the literature spread by Gene Nation, claim that the
two are very similar, implying that the WC virus is responsible for hte growing mutant population.
Others, note that 'flipping the card' tends to be much more spontaneuous and 'dramatic' than mutancy,
which tends to be a gradual process, with subtle and not-so subtle signs manifesing prior to the mutant's
impending breakout. Mutancy also tends to occur around puberty, while the virus can strike at any time.

origin of the Wild Card Virus

Developed on the alien world of Takis, the WC-virus was intended as a potentially war-ending
bioweapon, but was deemed to unpredictable for use without testing. For various reasons, the Takisians
chose to test the weapon on Earth. Luckily for humanity, One Takisian, who we know as Doctor Tachyon,
literally oppsed hte idea, and tried to stop the release of the virus. But, while he was sucessful in
stopping his people from infecting earth all at once, a cannister of the virus survived the resulting crash
and was stolen by the infamous nazi supersoldier Totenkopf, who threaened to use it against the city of
New York.

and, despite the efforts of local superheroes and the airborne adventurer known as Jetboy, the virus
was released.

However, while they were too late to stop the virus, Doctr Tachyon, working with minds such as
Alexander Atom and Doc Steel, had given jetboy the means to minimize the effects of the virus, that
ultimately spared the rest of the world the fate of New york.

New York, on the other hand, was changed. hundreds died before the added 'mulligan' could take effect,
hundreds more were visibly mutated into monstrous freaks, and less than 100 men and women gained
super powers. across North america and the world, the virus spread via atmospheric currents, infecting
others, but the devastatinghorror of the black queen aspect was minimized.

The Wild Card Virus and You, part 2

Aliens and the Wild Card Virus

as it was originally designed as an alien biochemical WMD, certain interested parties have researched its
effectiveness on alien life forms. the answer is multipart. as with humanity, aliens who already possess
powers are immune to the virus, and th virus itself only works on 'human' aliens such as the takisians or
Lor. unfortunately, only humans from earth can draw the mulligan. alien humanoids have 90% black
Queen, 9% joker, 1% ace.

Wild cards and the law

Most wild cards are treated no better or worse than other supertypes, while the rampages caused by
mulligansare are treated as cases of temporary insanity, as per Breakout legislation. Jokers were subjec
to harsh discrimination, but through the hard work of the JADL and others, have steadiily clawed their
way back up to being regarded with the same rights and privliges as most other minorities.

Wild Card Strains

In addition to the common form, the wild card virus has shown variations

Xenotakis-b "Trump" - the only known 'cure' for the Wild card virus, Trump works by, for lack of a better
term, 'convincing' the virus in one's cells that the victim drew Mulligan, putting their card into remission.
Unfortunately, not only does the Trump countervirus have a 20% success rate (60% of wild cards revert
to their mutated forms wihtin 24 hours), but a percentage of trump patients die as a result of treatmen,
their bodies unable to take the strain of such dramatic and rapid change. like Xenotakis-a, Trump can
only be administered once

Xenotakis-c "Craps" - variant born from The Sleeper's "Typhoid Croyd" form in 1987, The Craps variant is
noted for its ability to infect those normally immune to the WC virus, IE: other supers or existing Wild
cards. its most notable feature (and the origin of its name) is that the odds for ace, joker or black queen
are 33%. a curious side effect of drawing an ace in this fashion is that one's body can become a
charicature of itself for an undetermined time (ie: you look like you were drawn by liefeld)

Xenotakis-d "Black trump" - the deadliest variant, and some say the true version of the wild card virus,
Black Trump is named for a 90% chance of death via black Queen, 9% joker and 1% ace, as per the virus
as originally designed, although thankfully its virulence upon release is nothing like an outbreak of
xenotakis-a, making it a weapon of choice for several terrorist cartels. use of black trump is regarded as
a war crime by US and international law.

The DNAscent Process - one early variation on the DNAscent process involves infecting the test subject
with a strain of the WC virus (and using the other factors in the process to control hte results).

Mutaphetamine - commonly referred to as Meta or Bluff, Mutaphetamine is based on the mulligan draw
of the wc virus, temporaily granting superpowers by unlocking genetic potential (overdoses that don't
end in death have a habit of causing a full breakout). It was developed by ex-grantco exec Kyle Harrison
during Freedom City's Iron Age. Although Harrison was killed by FORCE Ops, the secrets of
Mutaphetamine eventually came into the hands of Dr. Richard Francks, aka The Alchemist, who since
ww2 has joined up with Gene Nation and now heads the Scions of Caine. Francks is presently testing its
effects on supers by gettting some scions addicted to it. He's liking the results so far, but is proceeding at
a snail's pace lest the Red King find out and and the doctor faces resulting 'unpleasantries'.

Halcyon - the only variation more feared than the black queen by those in the know is the titular drug of
the Halycon cult. not because the mutagen's reputation of a 72% mortality rate (those who survive
become Joker-aces), but because it, after samples were studied by various parties (JSS, Labyrinth, Doc
Steel, jokertown clinic and others), Halcyon is entirely man made, bearing none of the takisian traits that
betray the WC virus' alien nature.

The Calpihate of Zulan

once the iconic middle eastern dicatorship (satirsts argued as to wether the west's perception of the
middle east comes from Zulan or Iraq under Saddam Hussein), Zulan has seen change so dramatic as to
be unrecognizable. Gone is the iron grip of PHANTOM. Gone is the unfettered crime and rabid terrorism.

And very, Very Gone is the oppressive reign of General Ahm Batani.
Sources in the know are still working through exactly what happened. some say Death Mask finally got
around to having him 'replaced'. Conspiracy nuts claim a supposed agent of the Foundation For World
Harmony (Which totally does not exist, remember.) put a bullet between his eyes, others say Batani
tried to ally with Superior, then set off one the infamous Ultiman's earth-shaking Tantrums. these and
many more theories are the talk of the water cooler in intelligence agencies, but the point is he's dead.

And in his death, Batani almost took Zulan with him, in an event already marked in history as the two-
year war.

Zulan's feared Devil Guard were wholly loyal to Batani, and without him holding the leash they went
berserk. the rest of the Zulanese government went after each other like the theives and killers they
were, each scrambling to be king of a burning kingdom. Phantom was poised to assert control, if just
about every other agency started their own covert campaigns to control Zulan's resources. all these and
more in one giant, bloody free-for-all

But, eventually the fighting stopped. Be it by the olive branch of peace, knives carefully thrust in the
dark, or thus seeking power realizing there was little profit.

Today, Zulan is a Caliphate under the rule of Prince Siraj, who has not taken the throne in order to keep
the loyalty both fundamentalist and secularist sides of the population. rumors persist that Siraj is in
power thanks to British intelligence, but after the two year war, Siraj now has no love for Western
machinations. And while not a raving madman like his predecessors, Siraj has several weapons to use
against his enemies.

Of them, the most recognized is that Zulan's religious leader, who is none other than the Nur Al-Allah,
who tried taking over Syria in the late 80's. in addition to his irrestible voice and the support of hes Nur
Sect worshippers, The Nur has ties to several terrorist groups, from al Queda to Gene Nation's middle
east branch.

the second, although in Siraj's mind is his greatest weapon, economics. Siraj is no fool. he knows that Oil
is theregion's greatest export and force on the world market. And, through withholding his supply and
using diplomacy to convince other nations to do the same, Zulan is slowly but surely bringing the
western world to its knees.

what stops foreign powers from marching in and just taking the Oil is Siraj's third weapon, the Righeous
Djinn, whose power is great enough to go toe to toe with even Divinos. Although the true nature of the
Djinn's powers is a closely guarded secret, those who survive his battles claim he takes the strength of
those he's slain. Zulan also has the service of the Sword, an enigmatic assassin with the power of
teleportation a flair for drama, and the final generation of the old regime's Devil Guards, whose
imprinted loyalty is to Zulan.
Siraj's final weapon is an overlooked one: succession. Should Siraj perish, the rank of Caliph will pass to
his brother Abdul, a lecherous, hedonistic and conservative reactionary most agencies nicknamed "the
idiot." If abdul comes to power, he will be uncontrollable and wreak at least as much havoc as Batani
could before he's killed in an equally inevitible (and bloody) civil war between himself and the Nur, and
nobody wants that religous zealot running the show.

but there are other, equally troubling reports from Zulan that have nothing to do with its leadership.
first, Zulan is still a hotbed of terrorist activity (albiet much better concealed than in Batani's time), and
the name that's making most waves is Al-Khayal "the Shadow". Worse, rumors suggest that the God-
Killing Abomination known as Adamant was first found in the Zulan desert, and any number of lost
artifacts may still lie wihin the walls of the lost temple.

Codename: Canifex, Director of AEGIS!

"Seriously, this is a joke, right?"

due to events too long to go into here, AEGIS Director Horatio "Harry" Powers was for a short time
turned into a hamster. Under most circumstances, the directorate would have been filled by Stewart
"Rockstar" Bonham, but, AEGIS has made many enemies in their own government over the years, and
they decided to take the opportunity to drag America's most contraversial agency through the mud.

To this end, they fast-tracked AEGIS super-agent Billy Ray (Codename: Carnifex) from the feild to
complete control of AEGIS, figuring this lecherous, ultraviolent grandstanding maniac would not only run
the agency into the ground, but wouldn't stop until he reached China.

Billy Ray, an AEGIS feild agent since the disbanding of the Freedom League in 1981, who embraced the
'grim and gritty era' with gusto, was probably the least pleased with his promotion, already reeling from
a messy breakup with The Midnight Angel (which involved among other things: a high speed police
chase, a riot at an ecdysiasts convention and a cult of bonobos summoning the Beast of Kilamanjaro).
but, to his credit, he did not shirk responsibility, and tackled the issue with his usual... enthusiasm. that
is too say, he abandoned any and all duties of his position to personally lead as many missions as he
could fit in his schedule. well, after ordering AEGIS Special Director Damantha DuMaurier to make
undoing Director Powers condition her top priority

Despite various early gaffes/international incidents indirectly and directly caused by director Ray's libido
and/or temper, AEGIS was revitalized, displaying the same sense of daring-do and "cowboy diplomacy"
not seen since the early days of AEGIS under Jack Simmons. Among billy Ray's accomplishments

- Breaking up House of Serpents cells and putting a crimp in general Venom's PR campaign

- attempted arrest of Thulian-sponsored hero Lohengrin

- reducing a cchariyt dinner with several heads of state to what CNN referred to as a "drunken Bar
Brawl", includig a fist fight with the Red King, Cassius Mass

- Preventing the neo-nazi terrorist group "Knights of White" from blowing up the St. Louis Arch

- Co-ordinating at least 5 superheo teams in a multi-state-wide manunt after a mass escape from the
Stronghold Maximum Security Super-Prison in Wyoming.

- busting up a PSI-sponsored child slavery/prostitution ring

- containing a zombie outbreak in New Orleans

- Tracking down renegade Ace "Little Fat Boy" (okay, that one... didn't go as smoothly as Billy Ray
hoped), and in the process, Dragging the illegal actions of Project Icarus kicking and screaming into the
public eye

- fixing his relationship with and subsequent quickie marriage to the new Mrs. The Midnight Angel-Ray.
the two are hoping to get a proper wedding done before the year is out.

Luckily for the nerves of... pretty much everyone, Dame DuMaurier was able to restore Director Powers
to human form, who did the only thing he could: Give Billy Ray every commendation he could think of
and throw him under house arrest at a secure AEGIS faciliyt at Niagra Falls, under the supervision of
Mrs. The Midnight Angel-Ray. oh, and to fill out ALL the paperwork he neglected to fill-out during his
tenure.

thus was the end of the reign of Codename: Carnifex, Director of AEGIS!

Thank God.

Secrets of the Loa

off the real world 'fringe religions', voodoo in earth-taken has more or less gone mainstream, no small
part due to the actions of larger than life figures like Siren or Baron Samedi

now, contrary to popular perception, the Loa of Baron Samedi is not an evil deity. amoral, certainly,
rude, lewd and crass, definately, but not evil. Rather, Samedi is, for lack of a better term, disillusioned.
Siren may be all for humans being better and all that, but she used to be a minor goddess, and one
associaed with the sea. most she hears are people asking her for good sailing and catches of fish. of
course she thinks humans are basicly good

Baron Samedi, however, is a people god, the Loa of Death and excess. he's seen the oppression of the
white man, watched as the secrets he'd shown his worshippers be abused, the terrors of the Duvalier
family's rule of Haiti, and other darker aspects of man that lead to his argument that humans are Jerks.

this is the true reason behind the creation of the heroine Siren and the villainous Baron Samedi. their
respective Patroon Loa have a bet/contest regarding the basic nature of humanity, and gave Cassandra
Vale and Simon DuLac a portion of their power for 100 years to see what they do with it. Samedi chose
DuLac as his champion because he KNEW the man would abuse his power, and make it look like he was
the loa himself.

that said, while the bet's less than half done, Samedi has realized that perhaps choosing DuLac as his
champion was a mistake, having underestimated the man's corruption, and the effect of what a
spokesman like that would do for his reputation. But, he can't just take the power back, that's the same
as admitting he lost.

and so in the battered slums of New Orleans, the Loa of death, excess and saying one's mind found
somebody to do a better job at making him look good, a street punk with a talent for Necromancy who
now calls herself HooDoo Mama. Samedi rather enjoys the antics of his new disciple, having said to his
fellow loa "She's like me, but wi' nice big [CENSORED]"

that said, the rest of the Loa have not been idle while Siren and Samedi have their contest. When the
the necromancer Lucas Duvalier violated the nature of the houngan to try and enslave the Loa, the Loa
as a whole (siren and samedi included) made Guilliame LaCroix their true champion, the voudoun
sorceror-preist known as The Baron. Among his duties is the arbitration of Siren and Baron Samedi's
wager.

down in Brazil, the LoA and Orixia have chosen the girl they now call Santa Eliana as their evangelist and
voice, for she channels a different spirit each day

but there are darker sides, as well

First, and most feared by the Loa themselves, is Doc Cimitere, the risen flesh and soul of the late Lucas
Duvalier, who will stop at nothing to control the spirit world, having already wrung his freedom from
death itself.

Second, although tangental, is the red-clad figure of Bloody Mary, who may be a dark loa, a demon from
hell,or perhaps even a lesser Entropic Master

Gramercy Island

As mentioned, the city of Century Station is under the control of Taurus, serving as the proving grounds
for various Labyrinth projects. Part of the reason Taurus is sinking resources when he'd ordinarily cut
and run is because of the sheer numbers of operations tied to the city.
One such project is the new Gramercy Island Supermax Correctional Facility. Publicly, Gramercy Island is
a state of the art prison complex holding Century's stations criminals (super and nat alike), but in reality
is a joint venture between the Labyrinth and Project Icarus.

Like many Labyrinth projects, Gramercy Island's purpose is multifold. First, it provides a legal source of
income to Labyrinth coffers by serving as a privatized correctional facility. Second, it does honestly keep
some of Century Station's worst from plaguing the city, keeping the crisis from growing worse. third, it
gets a steady supply of regular criminal inmates which the labyrinth can 'sell' to interested cartels, or use
for DNAscent 'research'

While Talos couldn't care less about Taurus' agenda, Gramercy Island is an ideal testing ground for
Foundry technology, specificly robotics, weapons and power dampening methods, which the Labyrinth
showcases for the Foundry in exchange for a percentage of profits. Talos has calculated that if Gramercy
Island's continued rate of success, Taurus will approach the Foundry for deployment in Century Station
itself.

there is one fly in the ointment though.

While the prison is under Labyrinth control and its warden a Foundry Impostor android, Gramercy Island
is presently under AEGIS oversight due to its proximity/relationship with the troubled Century Station,
and as it was only days from going online, and has also picked up the slack of the super-prisons
destroyed in the Breakout. As such, the prison's chief of security is AEGIS agent Jack Ling (Who is totally
not an undercover agent of the Foundation For World Harmony). as Such, Taurus is having to adjust his
operations accordingly. That said, Ling is a valuable asset, patching up holes in the prison's general
security

Operation Argonaut

The Foundry's major project on Gramercy Island, Operation argonaut is the 'in plain sight' testing of the
next generation of their Myrmidion series of security warbots, with light, heavy and assault sub-varieties
seeing use. publicly, these Argonauts are supposed to complement the prison's human security forces,
but already there's talk that said machines will, and I quote, "take our jobs!", a fear not assauged by
Warden Harker's pro-robotics attitude

Gramercy Island itself

located 20 miles off-shore, Gramercy Island is an ugly, upthrust scab of rock, with no natural beaches or
docking areas, with a potent and unpredictable tidal current. only he extrem, southernmost tip of the
isand is relativey calm and feasible for approach by water. as such, all trafic to and from the island is by
air, and strictly monitored.

Due to the extreme density of the island bedrock, the Labyrinth had little choice but to constuct a
primarily above-ground prison complex.

Prison Layout

Gramercy Island is a Fortress, built for keeping people in, and discouraging people from getting in. Ann
electrified razor wire fence runs the length of the entire island coastline, with a 50 foot tall and 15 foot
thick main wall enclosing the prison compound. the prison itself is arranged in a hub-like fashion, with
seperate wings for light ("Alphaville"), medium ("Bedlam") and supermax ("the cage") levels of security,
in addition to three seperate Superbeing Containment wings (all of which have equally stringent levels
of security). only Alphaville and Bedlam have open-air recreation yards. Traffic to and from each wing is
controlled by secured tunnels, which are monitored by "Airlock", the prison's landing pad and
operations centre. depending on the type of emergency, the tunnels can be blacked out, sealed and
flooded with anaesthetic gas, and in case of extreme emergency, Detonated.

past the Airlock are the administration offices and general quarters for the prison staff

at the island's southernmost tip is a heavily fortified docking station, housing the islands patrol boats
and submersibles. ths Docking station is to prevent any unauthorized inbound watercraft from reaching
the island.

Prisoners of Gramercy Island, Part 1

Abatwa - the chosen champion of west african spirits, Abatwa's new powers helped him barely escape
the brutal and bloody civil war that slaughtered the very village he'd sworn to protect. not wanting to
die, he allied with the local warlord, and took a career of supercrime in the US to support his new
master. but, being new to business, abatwa was caught, and sentenced to 7 years for theft. although
certain he can escape, Abatwa intends to sit out his sentence, ashamed to have abused his gift in so
base a manner.

Afterburner - one of the most powerful and notorious fire-based supervillains in the southwest United
States, Afterburner was finally brough down by the Centurions when he came to Century station. sen to
Gramercy Island, Afterburner claimed he'd be free in 30 days, tops. its day 28 of his life behind bars, and
quite a few people are waiting to see if Afterburner wil indeed bust out, or if his words are just hot air.

Antarctica - an ace with powers over cold, Antarctica likes to think beyond her means, making her an
underworld joke.

the Bag Lady - an old, senile sorceress turned homeless vagrant, the Bag Lady is currently doing time for
killing 8 violent gang-bangers. helpless without her sachel, the bag lady is currently in a-block

baron Zanzibar - world renowned bounty hunter, assassin and serial cape-killer, Baron Zanzibar is your
classic 'big game hunter' themed hitman, with a pedigree going back to the russian czars and a lust for
the hunt only sated by going after superheroes

the billionaire - William "Dollar Bill" Randle, one of the richest men in the continental united states, had
the cash, patience and audacity to actually buy his way into the Labyrinth, making it as far as what
Taurus has labelled 'middle management', serving as a one man swiss bank account for supervillains
wishing to do 'business' in Century Station. That is, until he got busted for tax evasion and is serving 20
years. Taurus wants Randle to serve at least a quarter of that sentence as punishment for being so
sloppy with his own books. (that he hasn't spilled Labyrinth secrets is the only reason randle's still alive.)

bluehair - something of a folk hero amongst the criminal underworld, Bluehair's a sweet litle old lady
who also happens to be one of the most successful getaway drivers in the southern united states, due
mostly to hr rare Linkin Gormanzo super-vehicle. Spartacorp is currently springing for appealing her 20
year sentence, as CEO kenneth Kane has implied he wants to base Spartacorp's new SUV line on her
infamous monster roadster.

bughouse - regarded as a 'fearmaster wannabe', Bughouse certainly looks the part, a well-built maniac
dressed like a slasher movie killer and his signature paired chainsaws. however, Bughouse doesn't really
care about fear, instead using his psychic powers to incite violent riots, hoping to cause one greater than
the infamous Jokertown riots of the 1970's.

caligula - a genius mastermind and deranged maniac who really does think he's the infamous roman
emperor, Caligula's attempt to rule the cenury station underworld endind in his arrest and
imprisonment, which he sees as 'exile to his winter palace after a coup', and beliving his 'royal guard' will
be along to rescue him and restore him to his rightful throne any day now, unaware his gang has already
fallen apart without his guidance and charisma. Caligula has also taken correspondence with his mentor,
the 'former emperor Augustus', and August Roman sees potential in this gifted lunatic.

chambara - an iron age vigilante, Chambara's parents were murdered by the Hundred Oni Ninja clan,
and he both swore and took revenge against them using his skill and passion as a martial arts prodigy.
destroying their american operations, Chambara retired from heroics to become part of Xtreme! action
combat Championships, where he rose to superstardom until his bloodlust got the better of him, and
during a public venue slew not only his opponent, but staium security, several police officers and one
superhero before he was brought down. this killing spree has gotten him 50 years without parole, bu
this has no importance to chambara, nor are the bloody tatters of a lucrative career and lawsuits against
his chain of martial arts dojos. no, to chambara, the fight is all

conspiritor - a nefarious superstar of the third world war zones, the Conspiritor has been waging a one-
man war against all governments since he first popped up about ten years ago, before he was caught by
a joint operation between Unison and unknown agents unaffiliated with the so-called Foundation for
world Harmony (which i remind readers does not exist.). currently serving 99 consecutive life sentences,
Conspiritor continues to write his manifestos and somehow publish them online. Conspiritor is kept alive
for fear of making him a martyr, hopes of exploiting his ties to Overthrow, and the fact that he's a
'drinking buddy' of The Radical.

conspiritor - a nefarious superstar of the third world war zones, the Conspiritor has been waging a one-
man war against all governments since he first popped up about ten years ago, before he was caught by
a joint operation between Unison and unknown agents unaffiliated with the so-called Foundation for
world Harmony (which i remind readers does not exist.). currently serving 99 consecutive life sentences,
Conspiritor continues to write his manifestos and somehow publish them online. Conspiritor is kept alive
for fear of making him a martyr, hopes of exploiting his ties to Overthrow, and the fact that he's a
'drinking buddy' of The Radical.

coppertop - a timid yet scientist whose experiments turned him into a brutal, thuggish electrified metal
monster.

cormorant - a rookie supercriminal, Cormorant's ill-timed debut came when he got i an aeriel dogfight
with Red Hawk, whose bad luck broke even as the two armored theives knocked each other out of the
sky. AEGIS is currently looking into exactly where Cormorant got his unique armor. The foundry is
equally curious

crashpad - a veteran career superciminal, Crashpad's force feild reinforced exo-armor's made him a
mainstay in the supercrook community as hired muscle

cryptolo - century station street punk turned master info-criminal. is unaware his ex-partner,
Motherboard, passed along his secret cayman accounts to Freebooter, who in turn told calamity Jane of
Merlin.

curmudgeon - a prototype super-android built by the foundry that escaped and has been wandering the
country thinking itself a homeless man for the past 7 years. Curmudgeon is only vaguely aware of his
origins, and has no intention of being looked at like some kind of science project

The Magnificent Cuttlefish - a combination folk hero/urban legend in the prison, the Cuttlefish was a d-
list loser supercriminal who had himself turned into a creature not unlike captain Kraken, and went on
to a fairly ignble career. what makes him a legend is that cuttlefish was the island's first public escapee,
when he somehow escaped his cell and using a rudimentary jet-pack he'd built in the machine shop,
flew off from the alphaville exercise yard only to plunge from a 6000 foot drop into the island waters
during a tropical storm. some say cuttlefish still haunts the island waters, plotting his revenge against the
prison

cygnus - An alien warlord, Cygnus is a Bhlaze, the same race of energy-based life forms as Century
Station's own Alpha Prime, making him a roughly humanoid shaped mass of energized superheated
plasma. his attempt at global conquest didn't go as smoothly as with other worlds, and he's currently
trapped within a special confinment matrix until he can be safely extridited to Lorspace to stand trial for
his many crimes
demolitia - an embittered yet brilliant mechnical engineer who flushed a romising career down the drain
when she funnelled the profits of her work into the construction of a small fleet of supervehicles to
demolish her hometown in Maine, before being brought to justice. for the record, Kenneth Kane has
expressed interest in hiring her to Spartacorp's work-release program, impressed as he is by her sheer
pettiness.

denizen - an alien bio-weapon, the Denizen is a nigh-unstoppable living engine of destruction by brute
strength, existing only to tear down everythig it sees. coming to earth by pure chance, it took a
combined effort from the freedom League, Sentinels and most of Century Stations heroes to slow its
rampage, before it was 'stopped' with a temporal decelerator, slowing it so immeasurably that the
creature is in stasis (Daedelus estimates it will take 500 years for the creature to finish blinking). the
creature is currently stored on gramarcy island until a way can be found to get rid of it without undoing
the tempral stasis

Diva - a powerful telepath, con artist and gold digger, Cassandra McKay has spent her adult life bending
men's minds to her will by powers, charisma and stunning looks. unfortunately, when she took revenge
after one of her 'entourage' jilted her for another woman, said other woman turned out to be a high-
ranking AEGIS official, and Cassandra went up the river.

epoch - a sworn foe of time travellers and magicians alike, Epoch is a time travelling sorcer of
considrable power, entirely obsessed with a prophecy that claims that he shall rule the world and usher
in a new age of magic, but will be slain by his greatest enemy soon after. Epoch is so obsessed with his
'destiny' that he can't see how far he's fallen, from heights of power to being little more than a jumped
up serial killer.

eyespy - a common crminal cyborg, eyespy's cyber-eyes are tricked out with just about every
modification one can think of, from x-ray vision to shooting lasers from his eyes

fat cat - one of century stations more successful criminal financier's and info-brokers, Fat Cat's rumored
origins are numerous, having claimed to be everything from a joker to an alien to a mutant housecat.
but, whatever his background, Fat Cat has his finger on Century station's pulse, and while his rivals have
sent him up the river, he intends to sell them out in turn to secure his freedom

faultline - an incredibly powerful DNAscendent with powers of vibration and geokinesis, Faultline is
utterly addicted to his powers, his career made entirely of destroying famous landmarks or holding cities
for ransom.

firefly - a former Spartacorp janitor, J.D. Thompson stole an experimental battlesuit and swore revenge
when he found out they were firing workers on the verge of pension. since then, he's become
something of a robin hood figure, hitting only spartacorp holdings, stealing their money, but keeping
only enough to live on and maintain his suit. the rest was given to charity, the church (anonymously),
and people he felt had a bum deal, before he was finally arrested. over 60 and having time to think, if he
gets out, Firefly plans to go straight and stick to helping people

flamebait - a computer technician, Simon Strane was also a vitriolic blogger and internet forum troll
before one of the people he outraged decided to bite back by mailing him a bomb. anyone else would
have been killed. simon strane drew his joker-ace, his body erupting in perpetual, steel-melting flames.
his miserable rage given physical form, Flamebait (as quickly dubbed by MERLIN) proceeded to go on a
rampage, swearing to "make them all pay."

galahad - an immortal hero, physical paragon and adventurer, Galahad has almost always been nothing
but a shining paragon of truth and justice. that is, until he was captured and mind-controlled into
thinking he was a supervillain named blackguard. although the mind control broken and proven,
Galahad pled guilty to his 'crimes' at his trial, honestly believing that if he were a true hero, he wouldn't
have been controlled in the first place. his being sent to Gramercy is the result of certain people making
sure that Galahad will spend his term where he can do the most good (Security Cheif ling has put
Galahad in B-block as a trusteee, and is not subject to any power dampeners)

grim harbinger - a self-described 'one man psychic hotline' to the criminal underworld, Harbinger's used
his numerous psi-powers to the benefit of other crooks (with a specialty in precognitions), and this thid
party apprach served him well, until some former clients sold him up the river to save their butts

harrier -an ace, Stuart Suycott's a kid whose first maniestation of his supersonic flight left him with a
lasting fear of heights, his powers stallinng if he goes higher than 500 feet. however, htis low ceiling has
allowed him to develop the precise, ground-hugging acrobatic flight style thats become his trademark.
unfortunately, his attempts at being a high-speed courier got him in trouble and a three-year stint at
gramercy. time will tell if this scares him straight, or of this is the first of many stays in the big house

hazmat - a hazmat cleanup worker, Arliss Core was horribly mutated during a particularly nasty cleanup,
transforming him into a walking, rampaging radioactive inferno driven berserk by constant pain. cutting
a swath of destruction across the southwest before being brought down by a team of AEGIS super-
agents (which included temporary director Billy Ray), and as part of his sentencing, is required to wear a
armored containment suit, which while blocking off his powers, has the side effect of deadening his
pain, making him bitter and incedibly violent. instead of a font of mindless rage

headsman/bloodreaver - a notorious magic-powered serial killer, it was recently confirmed that

headsman's powers indeed come from his enchanted Axe, bloodreaver, but it was also discovered that
bloodreaver is a sentient weapon. in a contraversial descision, Bloodreaver is the first enchanted
weapon to be tried and convicted in a court of law

Kisentite - a rocklike alien and Lorspace Ranger assigned to earth to be partner to Alpha Prime or Star
Knight, Ur-Ku-Si turned out to be as corrupt a cop as they come, extorting a hefty cut from earth and
alien crooks alike. however, when his crimes were exposed, his prodigious strength, fighting ability and
kinetic energy aura were no match for the two heroines.

megasaur - self-proclaimed "God-King of the Lemurian Primordium", whose unsuccessful attempt to

conquer Mexico was thwarted by the Freedom League, and his confinement has resulted in the Initiates
of the Hidden Coil establishing a prescence n Century Station, plotting to have their God-King released.

middleman - once thought an uran legend, the Middleman is a shapeshifting con man who who has
fleeced just about everybody for the past 25 years. Middleman is currently doing solitary life sentence in
C-Block, because there's over 100 inmates out in the rest of hte prison who want to pay back his
'service' with a shiv in the ribs. Security Cheif Ling is also investigating any connection between
middleman and the urban legend called "Mister Zero."

mire - Originaly from Louisiana, Mire (a joker-ace of living mud) eventually made his way north and
became one of the minnesota's most notorious outlaws, and has a grudge with minnesota's new hero,
Rustbelt. however, Mire's turned himself in after a gang bounty hunters tracked down and threatened
his rather extensive family. Mire has made no secret that when he gets out, he will go after those who
dared hurt his family

Prisoners of Gramercy Island 3

Obzelon - a powerful necromancer, Obzelon's MO was to kill magicians and take their dead memories
before he was stopped by the covenant. his imprisonment is to get around whatever necromantic spells
will go off upon his death (such as probable lichdom)

Octagon - the result of a generations long eugenics experiment to induce godlike powers, Octagon has
strength and stamina similar to that of Doc Steele, but each time he dies, he comes back to life with
additional powers.

Pantagruel - demonic looking Joker-ace serial killer and cannibal, styling himself after rabelais' famous
literary monster/gentleman

the prince of Century Station - Carter Downright, wealthy man about town, billionaire playboy
philanthropist, and secret financeer bent on using his staggering wealth to fund numerous superhero
causes. framed for fraud by one of the middleman's schemes, between his reputation and wealth, he
should be out in six months

red raptor - an ultraviolent egomanical grandstanding maniac, Raptor red (superhuman martial artist
with energy clawswas a member of the centurions until he was kicked out for his cruelty and
grandstanding, and wound up in the stir soon after

Redline - An experimental android built by Gordon Technology Unlimited, it was meant for deep space
exploration before it was stolen, and repurposed as a high speed smash and grab artist. disabled by
Calamity Jane and local hero speedmetal, Redline is beeing kept at gramercy until GTU can win their
court case to have said property returned

faultline - a DNAscendant, Faultlines powers of seismic control made him an infamous super-terrorist,
demanding huge cash payoffs in return for not toppling famous landmarks (which he did anyway)

runaway - a mutant street urchin with speed to rival johnny Rocket, Runaway was caught during an
AEGIS raid on a Gene Nation cell. both the scions of caine and tomorrow society (okay, Ultimatum) are
planning to break her out

Scalibius - An archdevil from the chinese hell, Scalibrius the repentant is a Risen devil, a demonic entity
weary of evil and looking to become a force for good, petioning Mister Hoppy to be sent to earth. the
lagomorphic luciferian agreed to this (and has a bet with mister infamy on wether scalibrius can achieve
his redeption), and placed certain rules upon the feind that will protect him from hell's reprisal so long
as he obeys them. For this reason, Scalibrius is currently doing 100 years for shoplifting, which may be
extended to 1000 years for the murders he confessed to after his arrest and questioning by police,
pending cold case investigation. what scalibrius does not know is that he's inspired his former minions,
who are presently looking for ways to bust him out of the joint, without violating the laws of man or hell
in the process

Seamount - aquatic water controlling eco terrorist with ties to zero latitude

Shatterhand - a high ranking member in Gene Nations american network with a destructive touch, sold
up the river by the very same GN cell he'd trained

Prisoners of Gramercy Island, part 4

Solar Scarab - a mystic, light controlling egyptian hero, its small surprise Solar Scarab's career was
marked with frequent run-ins with SHADOW, at least until it became clear he was a raging egomaniac
and sellout, on top of his tendency towards lethal force. but, despite his victories and a crack PR team,
his 15 minutes of fame ran out and he was forced out of the public eye... that is, until he snapped and in
a fit of rage, murdered the next superheroic flavor of the month. sentenced to 20 years for temporary
insanity, and while somewhat remorseful for his actions, intends to bust out of prison and join up with
the pantheon

The Terrible Siphon - horatio grimley. janitor, with a part time job as human guinea pig for less than
ethical concerns. until one of the experiments he was in left him with the power to steal the powers of
other supers. with deusions of grandeur, the newly dubbed siphon, tried to be a criminal mastermind,
but instead touched off a gang war that was one of the worst in the city's history. for his part in events,
siphon got a sentence of 50 years, but having cut a deal with the prison research staff, he'll be out in 5

Savage fury - college student sergio molinari was mutated into a hulking brute by a malfunctioning
physics experiment conducted by his rommate, which got him expelled, disowned, and eventually a
drunken brawl that destroyed the bar and put the newly dubbed Savage fury in Gramercy Island since
the prison's opening. he'll be out in two years, but unfortunately, prison's hardened him and he'll be
going full supervillain from heron out

Spinnerette - a joker with spider-like abilities and countenance, Spinnerette is an amoral, sociopathic
serial killer who thinks herself much like what she resembles

Stalwart - a fallen superhero (FISS package), Stalwart went on a brutal crime-fighting campaign on the
villains behind the ambush that wiped out his team, the ultranauts, although since his capture and
imprisonment he recognizes the disaster was as much his own fault, finally realizing his attitude as a
megalomaniacal control freak. truly repentant and disgraced, he'll make parole in about ten years

Stratosfear - a wind controlling mutant, jared stradler had a psychotic break when his family was killed
by a tornado, prompting a destructive rampage through the american midwest

Triskelion - former interpol agent naomi desjardins was chosen by a secret order of magicians to
become a supernatural protector and monster hunter. and to her credit, she made some of Century
Station's worst neighborhoods safer before she was arrested for vigilantim, resisting arrest and violation
of the CS superhero registration laws (she'll be out in 3 years). Ironicly, the mystic wards used to keep
her powers inactive during her incarceration have tipped her off to the labyrinth's involvement

twilight - a darkness controller, Twilight's made his career as a theif, spy and sabatour for hire, in
addition to his side career as an international art theif. despite interrogation and the advice of his
lawyers, twilight refuses to divulge the location of his 'personal collection'

undine - no relation the Bestiary's femme fatale, Undine's power is to control water and become a living
water elemental. a thrillseeker whose antics have gotten hundreds injured, Undine's first stretch in the
joint is twisting her to a foul temper, and her crimes will be far worse when she gets out

Xenomancer - an alien wizard, Xenomancer claims to be the dark lord of his home reality, who came to
our world to add it to his domains, before getting his butt handed to him by the Demon Rider.
Xenomancer plans to return to his reality and bring back a massive invasion out of pure spite, unaware it
has since been consumed by the Terminus

zeerod quad - a self-duplicating thug for hire

Gramercy Island, part 5: the teams, part 1

the body shots

a 6-pack of super powered street fighters, it's no surprise that the body shots are in the employ of
August Roman's circus maximus, and were the stars of its southwest franchise. then they got it in their
heads to work for the elusive Minotaur, and life was good, until the body shots got arrested, and
Minotaur cut them loose. Roman intends to have his former goons released, and will decide what to do
with them once he figures out what they know

members: Uppercut (DNAscendent, all around stat increase and superhuman fighting skill), Roundhouse
(master martial artist), stranglehold (elastic luchadore), knuckleduster (android), bolchock (cussedly
tough brawler), and haymaker (female powerhouse)

Deathsquad

the combination of two supervillain trios, the deathsquad is a collection of hired guns and killers, who
after a pitched gun battle, found they had much in common and quite willing to work together on behalf
of their 'mysterious benefactor' (whether its Taurus or the minotaur is up to the gm)

members: doubletap (ex house of serpents spec-ops), sixgun (body weapons and multiple arms), the
hong kong kid (gun fu), sabot (battlesuit), flechette (cyborg), pointman (high tech sniper)

Dynosaurs

A team of cloned, gengineered and uplifted vaguely-humanoid dinosaurs, The Dynosaurs were more or
less a PR stunt by the Genesys corporation (a subsidiarty of grant conglomerates), meant to lend heavy
fire support to Century Station police services, who threw the Dynosaurs under the bus after the
disastrous bungling of a hostage situation that left several dozen citizens dead or injured. Genesys
washed their hands of the Affair, and the mutant supersoldiers are now divided over where they go
from here.

members: balthazar (triceratops), desdemona (velociraptor), orlando (apatosaurus), Iago (t-rex), portia
(ankylosaur)

the fearless

a trio of alien freedom fighters against the Stellar Khanate, forced totake refuge on Earth, and had
stolen high tech equipment and matrerials to repair their ship. the reason Alpha prime hasn't had them
deported yet is because they've been very good at covering their origins

members: liberator (martial artist), relentless (immortal laser swordsman), bravo (telepath)

the regulators

not to much a team as a trio of supers sharing an apartment, the regulators wound up walking into a
SHADOW/PHANTOM meeting. several energy blasts later, the trio stood victorious and were arrested
for breaking CS vigilantism laws

'members': Gearz (australian cyborg), Integrity (telepathic tabloid newshound), roger laster (alien
blaster)

workshop

a team of freelance hardware experts who'd set themselves up as an independent alternative to the
foundry for illegal technology services (IE: arms dealing). ironicly, it wasn't the foundry who shut them
down, but a client who got caught and squealed.

members: hairtrigger (gun toting maniac), overdrive (tech genius)archimedes (mad scientist)

The Radical

The blond god of the revolution, Ace of Aces, magnificent marxist and more are the apellations of Tom
Weathers, alias the Radical, ever since his dramatic burst onto the super-powered scene in 1994.
Fighting The Man at every turn in the hopes of bringing about a new golden age.

This is what he tells himself, and anyone who listens. but the reality is that The Radical has become
thevery thing he hates, a brutal terrorist and force of destruction, latching himself to any guerilla army
that meets his approval, only to ultimately slaughter them to a man if they fail to keep up with his high
standards. thus the Radical criss-crosses the globe, looking for the next revolution, often committing
thevery same atrocities he protests, claiming "you can't make an omlette without breaking eggs."

Radical himself is a danger enough, having a seemingly endless array of powers ranging from
superhuman strength to shapeshifting to teleportation, on top of being a brilliant biochemist and master
martial artist. but more chilling is his almost inhuman charisma, to inspire fanatical devotion and resolve
in his followers.

if Radical has a weakness it is his life time travelling companion, Sprout, his alleged daughter, powerless
and retarded, a few group have abducted her thinking they could control radical this way, but Sprout is
Radical's chain of morality and Sanity, and any time she'd come close to harm triggered Radical's most
brutal rampages

Radical is also fastidious, despite his obession with early 1970's american counterculture, taking nothing
harder than a rare cigarette or watered down beer, and is incredibly paranoid and violent if he suspects
attempts to drug/poison him.

Radical's most recent american appearance was at the head a massive anti-Unitrol protest/armed mob,
before the arrival of the Tic-Toc Doc and and a delegation of his counter-clock Culure, most notably the
resurfacing of the Doc's new bodyguards, the lost aces Starshine (missing/presumed dead in 1988, after
leaving earth to help Dr. Tachyon.) and Moonchild (Missing in 1993). Radical, vehemently screaming his
the beleif the two were impostors of 'lost friends' fought both to a standstill before fleeing the scene in
a burst of light. the Doc and his companions left soon after, with Moonchild dragging Starshine back in
the bus/time machine before he had chance to comment.

Radical has since been sighted in the People's Paradise of Lugendu, an African dictatorship arisen in
northern Somalia, across the red Sea from Zulan, and all signs are pointing to a coming war between the
two nations.
as for any confusion regarding the above post about radical to those having read Suicide Kings, Radical
still has the starshine and moonchild powers. however, the friends of Mark "Cap'n Trips" meadows were
friends of the Tic-Toc Doc, and since his return to earth, has used a device similar to the infamous
realizer ray to bring these two departed freinds back into independent existence as friends, companions
and bodyguards

if the events of suicide kings come to pass, the Doc will similarly bring to being those freinds of Mark
who abandon Radical (radical, however, will not lose the moonchild or starshine powers)

Das Ubersoldaten
or those wacky nazis

y'know what, rattling off a bunch of npcs is pretty boring. so instead, its time to look at whatwas
considered by much of the world to have been the largest collection of supervillains on the planet, aka
the nazi ubersoldaten.

Now, the most common mistake made by armchair historians is an understandable one. that is,
between men such as Schwartzenritter, Wilhelm Kantor, count reich, kal-zed and several others, it does
seem rather dubious that a pudgy little (possibly syphiliptic) mortal like der fuhrer could have held the
reins of power for as long as he did without somebody bossing him around from behind the curtain.

what people forget is that while a mediocre tactician, Hitler was a politician, and first and foremost, a
'people person'. he was charismatic, ruthless and manipulative, and made sure to keep his would be
masters at each other's throats rather than his own. As confirmed by Doctor Tomorrow, Hitler was also
incredibly paranoid, the result of so many people coming back in time to try and kill him before he came
to power.

of the uber soldaten, only three were relatively trusted.

the first, ironicly enough, was superior, or Ubermensch, as known back then. he frankly scared the hell
out of adolf until he realized that for all his godlike power, kal-zed was just a brutal, thuggish spoiled
brat of a man-child, like so many of the early brown-shirts. Hitler promised him rule in the event of his
death, and earthly pleasures in the meantime, and the Ultiman was content to be the fuhrer's
bodyguard
the second was doktor ernst thule, whose almost slavish devotion to the fuhrer has been confirmed by
several sources that the popular theory is that thule was a closeted homosexual. hitler himself couldn't
stand the repulsive toad of a sycophant, but found him useful enough to put in position to block of
other, more ambitious occultists (IE: Kantor)

finally, there was the ubersoldanen liason, a civilian psychiatrist turned contractor named Pan rudo, who
while little more than a glorified errand boy and messenger to his superiors, kept der fuhrer abreast of
their various plots and manias, and used his own knack for headgames to keep them focussed on each
other or alied heroes. that is, until rudo jumped ship and defected, rather than wind up like the rest of
the other liasons. this experience amongst so many self-proclaimed demigods is what led rudo to
eventually join the Card Sharks.

as for the rest of the 'major players', what follows are my summations of der fuhrer's thoughts about
them

Schwatzenritter - mein gott, the rod up that man's ass must have a rod up it's ass...and the man's still
talking. i don't beleive it, he actually makes world domination sound boring! at least his devotion to
precision means only another 5 minutes of this

Feuerzahn - okay, seriously, whose bright idea was it to ally us with a goddamn fire-breathing dragon? i
don't care if its a 'scorched earth' plan, i know enough fairy tales to know it can't be trusted. mark my
words, this is a disaster waiting to happen.

see hexe & dagon - Dagon is a thug in a loincloth, but i can deal with thugs. that woman on the other
hand, she just creeps me out

Ludwig von mass - also creepy as hell, no matter how good his advice

Wilhelm Kantor - the only one of my occult staff who doesn't feel like they crawled out from under a
cloud of brimstone, and has something resembling intelligence and genuine competence. definately up
to something. as long as he's in africa and away from me, i don't mind

the science team (drs. geistmann, frankenstein, zeroitstein, et all) - look, not all of us are geniuses, we
have no idea what you're talking about. just skip to the end and tell us how it kills english and americans
in words we can understand, ja? is that too much to ask?

it is my sad duty to inform y'all that in the days to come, i will stop providing updates for earth-taken

this is for several reasons. partly because of computer issues, partly a sense of dissatisfaction from the
sudden drop-off in responses
but mostly because having finally gotten wild cards and halt evil-doer, i have a bunch of ideas

that, and earth-taken was a mostly off the cuff deal, and i want something a bit more thought out for it's
replacement, Earth-K (which will be much like earth taken, but a bit better thought out)

but, before i hit the cosmic reset button, i will be spamming out tidbits, such as

- Due to the prescence of Macross Island, many galactic powers are taking notice and trying to court
earth as 'neutral territory', powers interested in earth include but are not limited to...

- The Network, which has a slightly more antagonistic relation with earth, as several macross islanders
are in breach of contract. The Network would have taken retribution, but it turns out earth has some
REALLY good lawyers, and said contracts are being renegotiated.

- takis - almost 20 years after the Blaisewar, Takis has finally begun to stop acting a bunch of arrogant
xenophobic douchebags (which they still are, they're just trying to be less so), and joined the galactic
community. the Takisian ambassador to Earth is Princess Illiyana Tachyon-Jenkins of House Ilkazaam.
The Takisian Embassy is Located in New York's Jokertown, within walking distance of the Blythe van
rassaeler Clinic. Illiyana is as brilliant, arrogant, and melodramatic as her great grandfather, but luckily,
she shares his compassion

- the Tsavrong - nobody expected diplomacy from these guys, but it turns out the Tsavrong and the Grue
hate each other with the fury of a thousand suns, and they're willing to 'play nice' with earth in light of
mutual emnity. this doesn't fool anybody, but diplomacy is the art of smiling politely while sharpening
your knives, so for now the tsavrong stay, since wiping out their embassy just gives them reason to
invade

whyfore the master villains?

The Iron Khan, Death Mask, Kreuzritter, the Czar, and many more. some of the world's deadliest and
most evil men to walk the earth. these villains are public figures who cannot easily fake their deaths,
unlike villains such as overshadow, the atomic Brain or Doctor Destroyer, and much argument can be
made that humanity as a whole would be much better off if somebody had the sense to put a bullet
between their eyes.

that these villains are still around isn't for lack of effort

Case in point: one of ruritania's sources of income is 'tourism', or rather a cottage industry of various
intelligence networks sending assorted death squads in for a shot of killing Death Mask. Death Mask
persists because he is considerably paranoid about his survival, and uses a series of decoys from actors
to clones to body doubles to androids and in one case, a flock of ducks in a death mask suit. this, and
leaking intelligence to governments that without him, Ruritania would likely collapse into civil war and
destabilize europe

on a lesser scale are men like the iron Khan, who are discrete enough that despite evidence to the
contrary, they do not rock the political boat. continuing the example, the Khanate is bordered by china,
North Korea and russia. the khan's moves are restrained by the knowledge all three countries could
crush his own if he gave them reason (IE: nuclear retaliation), but is comforted that the scramble to
claim his secrets by the same keep them from taking the first move

Other villains, such as the Czar, don't have the luxury of politics, but make up for it with incredible,
godlike power. czar's is such that he can fight someone like Divinos to a relative standstill. the russian
government has tried to get Battle Czar to do the deed for them, counting on his more pragmatic
approach. What they failed to account for is that BC and the monster that was once Blzaing Star used to
be the bestof freinds, and with his growing disillusionment, Battle Czar has realized that said psychotic
despot may be a crucial ally in his own plans. the fact that the burning protectorate is an irradiated,
anarchic hellhole with very little political value also helps

similarly, Kreuzritter made his position very clear when the Psychotic Seven invaded Thule to get to him,
revealing a scale to his powers magnitudes greater than beleived, when he nullified Aquarius' watery
form, threw what experts agreed to have been a minature sun at Manhattan Project, and very nearly
put Jack Union in orbit. Covenant analysts have come to the conclusion that the Thulian monarch's
powers are tied to the island nation he rose from the depths, and so long as he is within its borders, he
is more or less invincible. Kreuzritter differs from Czar in that he too can play the political game,
maintaining the image of an 'enlightened despot', who mixes vicious 'reprisals' against his enemies with
actual diplomacy, such as Thule's recent alliance with New Atlantis (the cause of the Psychotic Seven's
attack on him, by the way)

but powerful and proteced as they are, every armor has chinks, and villains can be struck down. And
examle of this is notorious mad scientist, Mr. Matthews, whose corporate headquarters was attacked by
members of Zero Latitude. Although he survived the attack, Matthews was in critical condition and
control of his company has for now passed to his 'son', Montgomery Ursus Matthews. that 'Monty' is a
10 foot tall talking mutant grizzly bear, is beside the point, demonstrating that even if a villain is taken
down, there's always somebody to take their place.

Where Are They Now: American Hero

Cleopatra - also known as pop tart, cleonida simpson's a teleporter whose party-girl lifestyle has led her
to the wrong side of the law, first as a supervillain moll, and has recently been tied to the pantheon

dragon Girl/Huntress - the stuffie summoner is expected to start attending Claremont Academy in the
Fall

Drummer Boy - the ever contraversial Joker-Ace rockstar has been making a name for both himself and
his band Joker Plague (they play both hard rock and most forms of metal). rumor has it he's seeing one
of Hell's Belles.

Holly Roller - a mississippi baptist preacher, the right Reverend Thaddeus Wintergreen is a
compassionate soul and shares the philosophy of the Church of Jesus Christ, Joker that the Lord giveth
and taketh away, as evidence by his tremendous girth, the result of both the wild card, and, the good
reverend allows, that cornbread, ribs, and deep-fried catfish might have helped a little.

Johnathan Hive - blogger and rookie freelance journalist Johnathan tipton-clarke has had a reluctant
turn towards supervillainy, when he was unmasked as THE Bee-keeper late last month by troublemakers
Inc., and then helped them and the FCPD bust the alien seductress Miss Martian, who had used Hive and
other 'no-name' supers to support her happy hedonistic lifestyle as both harem and henchman. since
being given the nickname 'bugsy', Hive is now part of Troublemakers Inc., and is helping them transition
into a heroes-for-hire detective agency

King Cobalt - the self proclaimed super-lucha, King Cobalt's (name STILL unknown, despite best efforts of
telepaths) secret was found out, and he's currently enrolled in Claremont Academy. Dreams of starting
his own super-wrestling federation, but in his studies, is starting to develop a fascination with history.

Co-Incidently, King Cobalt bears striking resemblence to the Masked Maniac, a deranged mexican
supervillain who first burst onto the scene by fighting the Centurion for no reason in 1938, and has
periodicly fought various heroes, monsters and villains throughout the 20th century. incidently, Doctor
Tomorrow is going to give a guest lecture and feild trip about time travel next semester...

the maharajah - much like in the crinoverse, triple amputee Raj Chaturvedi runs a successful resteraunt
& night club in Los Dios. Rajis always interested in testing the limits of his fabric controlling powers, and
is an active charity volunteer (rumor has it he's working his way up to playiong one side of a civil war re-
enactment)

Simoon - Daughter of Isis and The King, Aliyah Malik has recently found out she really is a demigoddess
following an encounter with Horus. of course, while others would be proud, Simoon is only more
embarassed to be counted among the gods of The Pantheon

Toad Man - one of the b-list heroes of vibora bay, buford calhoun makes the most of his ability to
become a giant toad. an orphan, when he was little, he says, his uncle used to tell him he'd been born a
toad, until Rayford found him and magicked him into a boy. Buford heard about the wild card when he
got older, though, and doesn't think he believes that any more. What Buford (and a lot of other mytics,
btw) don't know is that he's one of the lost princes of Faerie, and is destined to be one of the seven
heroes who will overthrow the Dark Undermaster.

American hero, part 2

Blrr - literally runs (okay, skates) her own delivery service out of Los Dios.

Curveball - while a career in baseball is out of the question, Kate Brandt is a valued member of Vanguard
for cool, quick thinking and skill as much as her superhuman throwing ability. enough such that Prophet
is pushing to give curveball her own hand-picked feild team

Gardener - the plant controlling Jerusha Carter is a member of Vanguard, understandably being assigned
to disaster releif missions

Hardhat - a construction worker registered with the Paragon Professionals Agency, T.T. taszycki's energy
girder constructs make him a popular contractor in both Millenium city and his hometown of
Falconcrest. is one of the few supers outside of the freedom league that Doctor Metropolis seems to
regard as a "friend".

Jamal "stuntman" Norwood - A los Dios actor with a strange mix of invulnrability and regeneration,
Jamal likes to think himself the next will smith or denzel washington. however, his own ego keeps him
from seeing that however skilled an actor he may be, he has the charisma of a plank of wood, and thus
what movies he does get a lead role in are b-grade, at best.

Jetman - nobody's quite sure how, but this stick-in-the-mud inventor from Philidelphia has recently
made the move to millenium city as the official sidekick/straight man of the Fearsome Foxbat. Jetman
however, considers himself to be the larcenous loonie's arch-enemy, and the only 'hero' to take foxbat
seriously

Rustbelt - a recent graduate of the Tomorrow Academy, Wally gunderson's set up shop as a local hero in
minnesota, and while petitioning for freedom league membership, has also contemplated joining the
tomorrow society full time

Spasm - Paul Blackwell parlayed his deuce of causing sneezing (and other embarassing biological
reactions) into an 'ambush tv' show not unlike Punk'd. that is, until the other Spasm, the supervillain and
sometime heel wrestler came after him for 'stealing his name'. luckily, some heroes were on site to
(reluctantly) save paul's live, and he made another career move by offering to play the role of Spasm

American Hero, part 3

The Amazing Bubbles - the b-list Freedom City heroine was recently outed as former supermodel
Michelle Pond, after a dramatic battle with Superior, former archfoe of Centurion himself, pushed her
energy absorption/redirection powers to their limit and left her drained of both energy and her
signature corpulence (she still won, by the way). the newly svelte ex-model is presently a guest at
freedom Hall. Neither miss pond, nor the freedom league could be reached for comment

Brave Hawk - a native american hero from arizona with iron age leanings, brave hawk's known not so
much for his strength or flight, but for making contraversial, inflammatory statements. rumor has it he's
a glory hound, who plays 'the race card' if things don't go his way

Candle - a pyrokinetic performance artist who uses his powers as his medium, Candle is considerably
more powerful than his act lets on, and while not a member, is an advocate of the Pantheon.

Diver - a hawaiian-born Joker-ace, Diver is an oceanographer for the ASTRO Labs branch facility in Vibora
Bay.

Jade Blossom - Haley Mok is following in the steps of Phenom, using some amateur crime-fighting to
jumpstart her real careers of acting and modelling

Joe Twitch - his hyper reflexes keeping him from holding down a real job, Joe Twitch has turned to
supercrime as a professional henchman. he's also one of Splotch's favorite 'informants'

Matryoshka - the russian themed duplicator was dealt a nasty blow this year, when he was mutated
further, turning him into a gigantic, superstrong mutant bear, and went berserk, although thankfully he
was returned to normal. he is currently undergoing examination at the Jokertown clinic, and evidence
suggests his condition is a result of xenotakis-c 'craps'

Rosa Loteria - is a promising young magician, focussing her craft through the antique Loteria deck given
to her by her grandmother. recognizing her inexperience, Rosa is presently seeking out a mentor in the
mystic arts. Unfortunately, she's Drawn the attention of The Pact's Empress, who want's rosa's magic for
herself (thankfully, Rosa is for now beneath the notice of Silas The Elder).

Tiffani - desperate to help her family escape poverty, young megan Mcknee's power to become living
diamond almost led her to a life of crime, but after an encounter with Bowman, has been enrolled in
Claremont Academy. tends to get caught up in whoop-ant's 'get rich quick' schemes

Wild Fox - also known as the american kitsune, Andrew Yamauchi was quite disappointed to learn his
powers of illusion didnn't translate to electronic media, but he is in popular demand with the Los Dios
Valleywood industry, not only for live stunt shows and cirque du soleil, but has begun working with a
special effects company to get real performances out of greenscreen sets

okay, that's enoug wild cards for now, i'll cover others later

in the mean time, here's some elements of Halt evil doer 2.0 that i missed

cities
---

Falconcrest - is pretty much chicago by any other name, and it is a crime-infested cesspool, such that
black wing can get a bit... 'territorial'when he thinks a new crime fighter will end up doing more harm
than good

Freehold - sister metropolis to the illustrious freedom city, Freehold has a freindly rivalray to their
southern counterpart, although the recent move of Castle Mass to new york city has hurt, Freehold is
home to the Rosemont centre and Paranormal Studies Institute.

New Amsterdam - rose to prominence in the 50's and 60's as many of New York's upper middle to upper
class left the big apple to distance themselves from the establishment of Jokertown. as such, New
Amsterdam has a perception of being snooty and holier than thou (a perception that has gradually
changed due to the activities of Divinos, and ironicly enough, Spartacorp)

Los Dios - in a major retcon of earlier postings, Los Dios refers to the re-integrated city of San Francisco
bay area (including san fran, berkely, oakland, silicon valley, etc), after it was levelled in The Big One of
1995.

Countries
---

High lemuria - continue to be a bunch of stuck up condescending knobs, now forced to deal with the
nations past their border due to the fact that their nearest neighbor is the alien colony of Macross.
against his better judgment, Lemurian leader Tyranos has granted clemency to the Sorceress morwen,
and has appointed her ambassador to genesis island. High lemuria has also seen a rise in serpent men
activity, who point out that 'lemuria' is their ancestral homeland

Nestoria - former home of the infamous red leopard, Nestoria has long been stigmatized by its
neighbors due to the perception of the ruling Quartarmaine family as a 'colonial power'. nearly torn
apart by civil war, Dakana has been forced to step in with their support of the current regency. however,
Nestoria's troubles may only just beginning, as other neighbors are looking to invade and plunder the
tiny nation's resources, such as lugendu, and Unitra

New Atlantis - while the matter of succession of leadership is still deadlocked, New Atlantis has had
some turn of fortune, primarily a lucrative trade agreement with the Kingdom of Thule. a treaty
brokered, ironicly enough, by monarch-in-exile aquarius.

Olymipiana - while destroyed by the forces of Count Reich, most recently it was Discovered a portion of
the populace in fact survived, catapaulted by mytic rites to the so-called 'lost word'. little has been
revealed, but declassified documents suggest the olympians actually wound up in that realm's past
along with 'refugees' of other great disasters, and that olympiana is now ruled by King Heironymous
Bloat the 5th, who has petitioned the UN for aid in cleansing their ancestral island home of radiation and
other damages, that his subjects be re-united with the world they lost.
Paragons

Alpha Male - the media saavy emotion sponge has taken Freehold by storm, upsaging hometown hero
Splotch at every turn. ironicly, Alpha Male John C Wright III is one of Splotch's biggest fans, and is
increasingly uncomforable with their 'rivalry'

Answer - continues to be a huge pain in the butt for any public figure with a secret, Tom Anwar is a
good, and mostly honest man. he can be harsh and critical, but he's fair, and will not be silenced. most
recently won a peabody award for his expose on the Church of Humanity

Arbiter - is recovering from a nervous breakdown brought on by the Orkus Invasion and arrival of the
Macross, both of which overloaded his precognative senses.

blueshift - the pre-eminent superfast courier, blueshift's Patron "Mr. Doe" is none other than Mister
Zero, who couldn't pass up the opportunity the clandestine courier presented to his lust for information

bodyshop - a third party contractor for the world crime league

burning man - a pathetic yet destructive joker-ace operating out of falconcrest, Burning Man is both a
foe of black wing, yet considers the crime fighter something of a freind

calamity jane - a product of Project icarus, and founder/leader of Merlin, having a freindly rivalry with
any young geek whose genius rivals her own

Chud - feared predator of the new york sewer system, Chud 's claimed the tunnels beneath Jokertown
as its territory

Crybaby & lullaby - have recently come to Freedom City as the latest leg of their travels. Foreshadow has
taken personal interest in tracking the pair down after the pair inadvertantly incited and quelled a riot at
one of White Knights hate rallys

'Dire' Straits - a gun for hire in Falconcrest, timothy's trying to save up what money he can to afford
passage to Zulan, in hopes of breaking his curse

Empress - the arcane assassin, as mentioned above, has begun to grow obssessed with rookie magician
rosa loteria, wanting her magic deck for herself, unstasfied with her recently claiming the enchanted
tarot deck of zavier Zodiac.

Enigma - he thought it was just the initiative he was dealing with ex-jounalist turned conspiracy hunter
bakari fuara has recently become aware of the labyrinth's true existence and and some idea of its
influence. it's nod done wonders for his nerves
Epicuris - hard partying front man for the Pantheon's operations in the american southwest, frequently
jet-setting between los dios and vegas

felicia dumont - professional demon-killer, freind and foe to both Lucien drake and Thomas Rhymer

Ghost - offered a chance to be lain to rest by Thomas Rhymer, the ghost of Phil kinsey refused his
eternal reward in order to save his daughter from The House that Hate built. his existence is now tied to
that infernal manse, and seeing him usually means its active in the area.

The House that Hate Built - also known as the mansion of nightmares, the house is a predator/parasite
upon the cities of man, making it one of Dr Metropolis' deadlier foes. its feedings have become stymied
by the prescence of the ghost, who lends aid and hints to those caught in the games of The House. The
House is also one of the few creatures that can bypass the wards around Castle Mass, and the tomorrow
Society have exorcised it each time it tries to prey on students

Glyph - the faceless servant/librarian of Silas the elder is not a unique creature. nor is he even silas'
servant. the reality is Glyph, and beings like him, are the servants of Tomen The Archivist, last of the
alphans and only sane man amidst the terminus. Silas' occult brokerage is a reliable font of knowledge
and information, and so Glyph stays close to harvest as much as he can for his true master

gourmand - the finnish foodie paranormal continues to tour the finest eateries on earth, and has
recently based her operations on macross, unable to resist the allure of truly alien cuisine

Paragons, part 2

Icon - famed tomb raider and 'divine channeller', Dr. Sylvia browning is an expert in 'lost mythologies'
and is a member of Pandora. her current projects include the origins of the temple of the living gods, the
ruins of hearthstone island (and thus the validity of the Pantheon's divine claims), and of course,
anything pertaining to the so-called 'crown of ages'. Icon has also expressed interest in the Sekhmet
Stone embedded in John Fortune, and some of the rumored side effects of prolonged shivan shard use

Impostor - the 'supreme infiltrator' is a rising star in the criminal underworld, and after a chance
encounter, has become the arch-nemesis of the similarly talented detective, Mister Nobody

Jacob Castle - his hero-hating screeds and vitriolic rhetoric cover up a deeper hurt for castle. he wasn't
just an expert, he was The Fanboy, an invaluable info-broker for 'rookie' heroes of Freedom City. Then
he drew his Wild card, and began to burn alive... slowly. fearing the black queen, he was rushed to the
hospital by his heroic freinds, and the trump was administered in time to save his life. when he regained
consciousness, Jacob was furious, not only had they ruined his moment of glory, but his identity was
now public, ruining his info-broker career, and starting his new one as a hero hater.

Logar - the energy symbiote remains elusive as ever, jumping from host to host, taking their motives as
its own, and showing an interest in speedsters, particularly johnny rocket

Luminary - New Mexico's light controlling paragon and Vanguard poster boy, Luminary's origin is still a
mystery, but clues are coming forth, such as memory of smooth jazz, tropical flowers and a beach. at the
same time, other origins are ruled out. but while he's curious about his past, Luminary has no qualms
about his identity. he's a hero and he likes it that way

Man-A-kin - an Ace (although some would argue deuce), Man-i-kin's heroic career is on hold after being
found out by foreshadow, and sent to study at claremont academy.

Mindbender - one of the most dangerous supervillains on the planet, Mindbender is a Psi on par with
heavyweights such as Menton or Iron Angel. rumors of her origins abound, that she's the daughter of
the similarly talented Motivator, that she IS Motivator, who somehow became a Jumper before her
reported demise, and even stranger tales. What is known (if you beleive in things like the FWH) is that
mindbender is obsessed with creating new supers as 'the next stage of human evolution', and has
engineered several 'origin disasters', such as the Wild Card outbreak in Evanston Wyoming, which
unleashed the monstous powerhouse known as Rampage on the world.

Mr. Zero - is starting to evolve past being an underworld rumor, and several intelligence agencies are
scrambling to find what data they can

Naga - has since risen to prominence as High Preist of the Hidden Coil, and currently is petitioning that
the Pantheon recognize and release Megasaur as one of their own

Necropolitan - is rapidly moving up the most wanted list of several occult-based agenciues, good and
bad. some have stated the very real fear that the necropolitan is the herald of an Entropic master. there
is one light of hope, however, in its most famous sighting, The Necropolitan cut a swath of destruction
through new york's jokertown, before it was 'exorcised' by Father Squid (church of Jesus christ, Joker).
Squid, having no arcane or clerical powers to speak of, apparently sent the creature screaming back into
the Dark on faith alone.

Network - the telepathic tycoon, marshall collins has recently set up operations on Macross island,
viewing the alien minds as a new challenge. he's already earned a great deal of respect, having been
part of the human legal team that's taken on The Network.

Nightstalker - one of the vigilantes trying to rid falconcrest of its corruption

Otherkin - While it does little to help her case, Racheal Carson has learned some important facts about
her origin, Courtesy of Ackroyd & creighton investigations. first, that her condition is genetic. second,
that the reason she was abused was because her mother had been caught in bed with "two other men",
third, that her real father was famed Ace J.J. flash, or rather Mark "Cap'n Trips" Meadows, and she
inheirited his Ace. this means the creature sighted at rachael's initial breakout may be her equivalent to
Monster. Ackroyd has informed dr. rosemont and Vomstahl that Otherkin meeting The Radical or the
Tic-Toc Doc would probably be, and I quote "Bad."

We interrupt this thread for an important post-crossover event summary

Summer of Death

Thgis past Summer, Sepulchre, one of the 5 greatest supernatural threats to walk the earth, made his
most ambitious play for power yet, when he tried to enact a ritual that would all him to usurp the gods
and demons alike and rule the afterlife in all its forms, from the depths of tartarus to the heights of
valhalla.

As heros and villains alike dealt with a plague of the walking dead (and demons, and angels, and...), a
loose collection of magicly-inclined heroes travelled to Sepulchre's palace in the Inferno, to disrupt the
centrepeice of this profane ritual, the channeller known as Cameo

there was much fighting across two-page spreads, and several d-through b-listers were killed.

but the good news is sepulchre's plot was overturned, and the Master of the Malignant Arts was
remanded to the "care" of the dark lords he'd overthrown. also, most of the people killed in the event
were brought back to life

along with a few people that weren't

As sepulchre was defeated, Cameo felt a number of deceased souls return to life, those whose lives had
been cut short by violent or tragic ends, both heroic and villainous.

while many of the returnees are still unknown a few have been positively identified:

Nick "Will O'The Wisp Williams" - the ace investigator (and long-time favorite of Cameo's channellings)
was the first known resurrectee, appearing at Cameo's side. he only vaguely recalls his post mortem
relationship with her, but its clear he's attracted to her.

Titan Man - the self same hero whose good intentions brought about the unmasking massacre has
gotten a second chance, which he almost blew in a 'suicide by cape' rampage. titan man is currently
undergoing psychiatric evaluation at the rosemont centre

Mackie Messer - the vibratory ace terrorist/serial killer is back, and has resumed a career as a psycho-
for-hire

Crypt Kicker - was sepulchre's right hand minion. since the event, however, Crypt Kicker's been reported
with House of Serpents
Lady Starbright - the once beloved heroine is back to life, but presently powerless. the galactic
guardsmen intend to rectify that

Donar - the infamous ubersoldaten has returned, albiet...changed, now an entity of living lightning and
elemental fury

bora - former member of Eurostar, nearly tore up london before she was stopped by britannia.

these and others have come back. we'll keep you updated as the post-event aftmath develops

Paragons, part 3

Panacea - One of the leading experts in superhuman medicine, Dr. Riviera's Panacea Clinic is considered
the european equivalent of the Jokertown Clinic or rosemont centre. Dr. Riviera is also Vanguard's
medical consultant.

Super-Patriot - introduced towards the end of the Bush administration, Super-Patriot is a god amongst
men, and has only grown as a national icon since the start of President Obama's term, fighting valiantly
against the Orkus invasion and other threats/disasters to american soil. He's weathered the exposure of
his identity (Lt. Kyle Griffin, of Branson missouri), some say he's a walking propaganda peice (true,
mostly because its how his powers work). others say he's centurion reborn (false). a popular rumor is
that he's gay (bisexual, actually.), and most people who meet him are surprised at how genuinely nice
the man is. As for his other secret, well, its something even he hasn't realized, but will ruin him all the
same. For this reason the Covenant keeps a close watch on him.

Peacemaker - despite her growing beleif in the Nur Sect, Fatima Yassim has chosen not to emigrate to
zulan, feeling her gift is needed most in her native palestine, and disagrees with the sect's views on
jokers (Fatima agrees they were cursed by the devil, but that their defomities are a trick to make them
lose faith, not a sign of their lack of it)

Phenom - the internationally famous super-celebutante has extended her 15 minutes of fame into a
probable hour, when at a charity blood drive at the Jokertown Clinic, she was finally tested for the
metagene (a carefgful trap laid by her critics and rivals). well, to everyone's surprise, the test came back
positive. having empiricly crushed her most persistant rumor, Phenom is riding a new wave of
popularity, while the papparazzi now scrambles to figure out just what her powers really are.

Pontifex - one of the counsellors at the Rosemont centre, Clio Bianchi is also one of the clinic's de facto
public face, downplaying her ties to the carbonadi family

Prometheus - Nikolas Kollos is still alive and active, despite a few token attempts by Dr. Prometheus. the
reasons are threefold. first, he's too "small-time", putting him beneath the doctor's notice. Second, is
that Nick's precognition has kept hem a step ahead of the attempts (barely), and finally, great as his ego
is, Dr. Prometheus has FAR more important things to do with his time than to chase down every little
grudge, and has even done the mental gymnastics to convince himself this minor precognative has
named himself "in tribute" to the good doctor

Doc Prophet - the latest scion of the famed prophet family, Dr. Jeremiah Prophet is the founder and
head of the Vanguard Committee, appointed by UN Secretary J.C. Jaywardene.

Proteus - the infamous shapeshifting terrorist follows its own agenda, but is presently waffling between
Gene Nation and the Pantheon

Proxy - the duplicating daredevil criminal is presently 'on tour', with plans to fight/seduce the 'big
names' of the costumed crimefighter set (she's already crossed black wing off her list)

Raindance - is a legacy heroine, the Daughter of Canadian heroine Mother raven.

Rampage - one of Mindbender's success in creating her super-army, Rampage is her pawn of choice
when her plans call for generalized mass destruction in a particular area. She also leaves her pet
monster 'off the leash' fairly often, to obscure her use of him behind his destructive wake

Ravana - is one of southeast asia's most feared supercriminals, due to his clt following, the gruesome
state of his victims and his staggering array of powers. Ravana was forced to abandon his territory in
india after a 'humbling' encounter with the Pantheon, and asa result will gleefully aid any who oppose
them.

Red Tide - a relative newcomer to the eco-terrorist set, Red Tide, powers are indeed supernatural, the
gift of the goddess Siren in response to Baron Samedi empowering Hoodoo Mama. Siren had hoped to
win their wager with another worthy champion, but as Red Tide's crimes grow, Samedi can only point
and laugh at her folly

The Pantheon

origins

As with many things of great import in the world of Freedom, the Pantheon started humbly. Stephanie
Crane, a gifted student of history, theology and philosophy turned vagabond, so disillusioned with the
world but knowing it could be better. She'sd tried countless religions, switched beteween gurus and
spiritual movements like the tides, but no answer revealed itself to her. to Stephanie, her world was
condemned to banality until she learned of dig in Sri Lanka. from all appearances, the dig site had
uncovered grecian artifacts, indicating that Alexander the Great's empire extended even further than
realized, or at the very least, had used dedicated scouting parties. this was a project the historian in her
refused to pass up. moreso, there was something about the dig, of the ancient ruins that called to her
with a siren's song.

but whatever ansers she sought to find were dashed when agents of SHADOW attacked the site. the
truth of the ruin was that the ancient expedition was led by one of Overshadow's earliest incarnations,
who'd led his troops alongside and past Alexander in pursuit of a source of inccredible power. power,
Overshadow realized, that had gone untouched though to modern times, as if still waiting for him. and
so his minions descended upon the small villiage like locusts.

but screcly as the attack had begun, an earthquake struck, sundering the ruins and startling the
SHADOW soldiers. in addition, the earth swallowed stephanie in an instant

and just as swiftly, gave second birth to the one now called Gaia.

she emerged from the soil with a body of living stone, her hair flowing granite and her eyes were
glittering emeralds. the earth itself responded to her will, and she smote the SHADOW army with the
fury of a goddess, before restoring the village and valley to pristine conditions. the villagers gathered
about her, and the woman once known as stephanie recieved her first inkling of what it was to be
worshipped. But her display was too great, too beyond her her initial ability, and so her spirit receded
into the earth to rest, leaving her body a lifeless statue.

In her death-like slumber, Stephanie recieved a vision. She percieved a colossal well, from whence silver
waters flowed across the world in streams, each stream ending at a person, to whom they bestowed
great power. Stephanie looked upon her own stream, and felt its power grow with every villager who
gathered before her statue above. She knew the truth now, that she was herself a goddess, unable to
bear the faith of false gods, and that countless other superbeings were themselves equally divine but
unaware in a world that preached soulless science and banal beauracracy, so deprived of rightfully
deserved worship.

And thus on the seventh Day, Stephanie crane truly died, and Gaia was born a third time, having
transcended the barriers between mortal, heroic and divine.

The road ahead was not an easy one. As will all gods, she faced opposition, not only from SHADOW's
attempts at reprisal, and others who sought to abuse their power like mindless beasts, such as
Ragnarok, but also the so-called heroes. the only one who came close was the Centurion, who refused
any notion of divinity in himself despite his sympathy for Gaia's quest for a better world.

She was among those who attended Centurion's memorial, unexpected and uninvited, but not
unwelcome. She paid her respects and attended the ceremony in peace. when given a chance to speak,
she said what so many were saying: that the centurion was a god amongst men, and that his example
would inspire men to be greater than themselves.

Afterwards, she departed, saying simply "this world is not yet ready for gods. i shall sleep, and perhaps it
shall be ready then," before sinking ito the earth and returning to her sri lankan shrine to slumber.

Years passed, with not a trace of Gaia. that is, until recently. it began slowly, rumors of a cult that
splintered off from the Pinacle Path, or small 'miracles' performed across the globe.similar yet
unconnected reports of metahumans gaining a newfound sense of superiority.

then came The Prayer.

A pirate broadcast interrupted every television and radio signal in the world, while a similar video was
made availible for download across the internet. it began with the words of a little girl praying for her
father's rescue from being a political prisoner of the United states. a moment of silence, followed by a
woman's voice announcing "we hear your prayer, and reward your faith."

the broadcast changed to live footage of three metahumans assualting the prison, and after a short,
bloody battle, over before even the Freedom League could react as they extracted the girl's father.

the broadcast changed again, and displayed an island rising from the indian ocean. the cameraman, now
clearly a superhuman, descended to the island, greated by a towering woman made of living stone.

Gaia had returned.

"We are the Pantheon," she announced to the world as the broadcast ended, "Worship us, and your
prayers will be answered."

In the monts following, the Pantheon's ranks have swelled, Gaia's island, now called Hearthstone, has
opened its doors to hero and villain alike, a paradisial commune for the superpowered.

The Pantheon Today

As expected, the Pantheon is a veritable powderkeg. Presently, the Pantheon is a mostly non-violent
organization, using it's powers to work miracles across the globe in exchange for sacrifices, typically an
exorbiant monentary tithe, or assistance in maintaining the Pantheon's website and 'prayer hotline'. and
while many of it's members regard 'mortals' with disdain, Gaia's philosophy of Noblesse Oblige have
kept them from truly abusing their powers, despite their belief thy are 'above mortal laws'. Gaia herself
is a contraversial figure, equally the embodiment of their humanitarian efforts and their self-proclaimed
godhood.

Hearthstone itself is a tropical paradise, and part of the Pantheon's income comes from serving as a
vacation spot for the super-powered, offering modern amenities amidst the ancient city they'd restored
from lost ruins. internationally, the Pantheon comes and go as they please, and while unwelcome in
nations such as Zulan or Thule, the Pantheon has established some prescence in troubled Nestoria and
has recently won the right to preach openly on Genesis island. since absorbing the egyptian Sect of The
Living Gods, the Pantheon has opened their first (official) american 'embassy' in Las Vegas.

Is the Pantheon Right?

For the most part, no. most of the Pantheon's membership consist of otherwise ordinary superhumans,
being no more divine than you or I. But, while Gaia's conclusions may be wrong, there is some truth in
her beleifs. Gaia has indeed grown more powerful as her worship spreads, as have other rising stars in
her commune, leading to the recognition by groups such as the Pact and Covenant that while most of
the Pantheon are not the gods they claim to be, Gaia and a few others are more or less the real deal.

Divinity and worship

this of course leads to the question of whether or not gods need worship, prayers or sacrifices, and if so,
how can beings such as Horus or Athena remain so powerful, despite the death of their religions
centuries ago?

the answer is another yes and no question. Gods can derive sustenance from prayers and the like, the
same way most infants rely on their mothers milk. as the deity in question grows older, they learn to
properly sustain themselves on the cosmic energies of the universe (among other methods), and
worship, while not as nourishing as in their youth, provides even an experienced deity with a heady
rush.thus, to return to Athena for example, While she no longer craves prayer as her brother Ares,
secretly relishes the figurative 'high' she gets from public appearances (which, to her credit, she
considers a great ans secret embarassment, and fears the PR machinations of Taurus may unwittingly
turn the already hedonistic Olympus into a cosmic opium den)

paragons characters, part 4

Father Sebastian Rojas - in his quest to control the demon, Rojas has recently taken a different tack,
attempting to understand the beast, from its origins to its nature. this quest has led him north to
Mexico, and crossing paths with not only the Covenant and Pact, but the attentions of El Diablo Conejo
(mr. Hoppy) itself.

17 - another 'satisfied customer' of Mr. Infamy.

Silas the Elder - the arcane equivalent of Sidney Greenstreet in The Maltese Falcon, Silas is an occult
kingpin, dealing in knowledge, 'consultation' and artifacts. a powerful figure within The Pact, much of its
ill repute stems from his influence. but however malign, he does good business with any who come to
him, be it Seven seeking an ancestress' diaries, or Una wishing to broker an alliance with Bres the
beautiful. the only exceptions are brimstone, whose betrayal of silas in times past has led to Silas
scuttling carefully made plans to get his pudgy fingers on the covenant's secrets
Ugly Jake - a super powered enforcer of the new york mafia, Ugly Jake is presently 'on loan' to one of the
Freedom City families

The Unity - following a tense standoff between themselves and the tomorrow society, The Unity has
scaled back their plans of assimilation for now, concentrating on learning more about the superhuman
world.

Valkyrie - Vanessa Ashe, Founder and CEO of Worldtree technologies is a founding member of both
Vanguard's Alpha team, and UNISON's Valkyrie Squadron (UNISON's answer to the Power Corps).
Vanessa is also, to her shame, neice to Dominic Ashe, leader of Overthrow, and is bent on crushing her
uncle's terrorist organization.

Vector - another member of Vanguard's alpha team, ex olympic snowboarder Travis Hawk is even more
of a show-off and gloryhound, now that he's reached the ripe old age of 27. worse, he has a bit of an
inferiority complex about not being the fastest man alive, leading to ugly rivalries with other speedsters,
and once getting punched in the face by Speed Demon of the Sentinels

Vom Stahl - in addition to his duties as the rosemont centre's head of security, Vom Stahl has a second
job as a part time teacher at the tomorrow society. being appearently in his mid 40's, Vom Stahl's tried
to push his feelings about otherkin/racheal carson towards the parternal side, arguing to other feelings
that she's young enough to be his daughter. vom stahl is also a regular at Troll's floating poker game

Valkyrie Squadron

While UNISON enjoys the services of Vanguard's super-agents, Colonel Ellis would rather not become
reliant on them. To that end, she greenlit Valkyrie Squadron, the brainchild of Dr Vanessa Ashe,
Vanguard's resident armored Genius, and her norwegian counterpart, Major Ingrid Hammarskjold (also
a power armor pilot codenamed Valkyrie).

simply put, Valkyrie Squadron is an experimental powered armor corps, designed for fast response and
variable utility, providing not just close air support for UNISON operations, but emergency medical
support and rescue. What makes Valkyrie different from other UNISON PA squads is that their armors
are significantly more powerful than standard, making the squadron roughly equivalent to the
mercenary Power Corps [GM's note: for valkyrie operatives, use Power corps stats)

Canadian heroine Avro Arrow has been assigned to Valkyrie Squadron as their feild commander and
trainer. her reports to colonel Ellis are promising, but take issue with Dr. Ashe's insistance that Valkrie is
an all-female unit

So, sometime last week i finally got my hands on Autumn Arbor, and am gradually making my way
through it in peicemeal fashion.
so, to start, let's look at three of the book's 'Other locations'

Hybreedoia - the hidden city-state of the Hybreed Society has, as stated in autumn Arbor, has been
trying to shed their isolationist policies, but its slow going, as many Hybreed were furious upon learning
how their Queen spent years in captivity and violation. as such, most of Hybreedoia's allies are other
such 'hidden lands', such as Utopia and Aerie. the Hybreed also maintain peaceful relations with their
neighbors, Shamballa Vale (who defended them against the bloody hunts of the Iron Kahn), and ironicly
enough, Javangari, the servants of none other than Doctor Destroyer (the hybreed count on their
correct presumption that Destroyer considers them beneath his notice)

Geodonia - have recently been forced to recognize the sovereignty of Terra King and his morlocks, and
while the Geodonian ruling council would want nothing more than to pitch the maimed lord into a
magma stream, they recognize his genius and preserver artifacts may be their key to taking firey
revenge on the hated Hybreed. Geodonia has also been periodicly shaken by the literally earth-shaping
events of the surface, such as the raisings of Thule and Hearthstone, and have added those human
realms to the list of those who shall be destroyed first (ironicly, expeditions to beneath hearthstone has
led to the start of a Gaia cult)

Pax Wyvernia - the tyrannical Lord Wyverncrest has been forced to scale back his aims of world
domination, due to the recent ending of the Genesis Island Civil War. Wyverncrest rightly fears that if
the Red King were to learn his involvement in the war's beginnings, then all of Gene Nation would
dedicate themselves to wiping all trace of Pax wyvernia from existence. Wyverncrest is now scrambling
for any means of defending himself to the point that he's even considered finding someone to ally
himself with (and thus will be forced to pick a side in the SHADOW/PHANTOM war).

MARS
Mightiest of Planets

Fourth planet in the Solar System, Mars has long captured the fancy of human imagination. even after
the discovery that the Red Planet is little more than a 'dead' world

and with good reason.

in ages past, Mars once teemed with life, and a greater focus of arcane power than the earth, primarily
because in this forgotten era, Mars was home to gods, or to be technical, the point where the
extradimensional beings known as the Rha'Zaketh first entered our reality, their mere prscence enough
to irrepably warp and empower the ley lines of mars, and thus when they were defeated, this build up
of arcane might ravaged the surface, desolating mars beyond ancient recognition.

But, while the Preservers were successful in defeating their great enemy, life persists on Mars. as,
fittingly enough, does war, however cold

the Rha'zaketh and Preservers are gone, but their remaining servitor races maintain a prescence. the
Menzati Technomancers, who in time past tried to continue the Preserver experiments, maintain a
hidden underground arcology as their base of operations in the Solar System, both to observe the
superbeings of earth, and to await the arrival of the Purge warfleet. at least, that was before they
encountered their 'neighbors'

The Titans of Mars

Aeons old, the Titans of mars are vaguely humanoid, 12 feet tall and hairless, their features insectile and
their bodies made of living crystal. the differences between male and female titans are few, cheifly in
coloration (males are red, females are orange).

but however humanoid their bodies, the minds of the titans are alien, nigh incomprehensible to
humanity, communicating by telepathy alone, their bodies so saturated with magic that they only speak
to cast their spells.

if there is some basic common ground between human and titan, its that Titan culture seems to mirror
that of ancient egypt, if only in dress and architcture, suggesting the two cultures may have affected
each other in the past.

for the most part, the Titans cared little for the menzati, instead choosing silent veneration of their lost
and forgotten gods, until the latter half of the 20th century, as humanity began to experiment in space
travel, and more importantly, there came spacefaring superhumans. from then on, the Titans have
grown ever more interested in earth, and a series of minor conflicts between themselves and the
menzati outpost arose since then, often drawing in humans one way or another.

then came

Mars Base Sara

as mentioned before, the aliens of Macross Island have been gradually sharing their science and
technology with the rest of the earth. and through this co-operation, human dreams of space
exploration have been reignited.

Mars Base Sara is one result of this new drive, a UN-sponsored arcology complex, intended to test the
reverse engineered technologies of Macross Island without putting major population centres at risk
if/when something goes wrong

Wanting any possible edge against the Purge, the Menzati quietly approve and encourage this
endeavour.
The Titans, on the other hand, are now in active debate, arguing over what to do with humanity,
cognizant of the potential threat earthlings pose, and the thought of superhumans setting foot on mars
is enough to incite frenzied panic in their ruling council.

any superheroes assigned to Sara Base will most likely have to broker peace with the titans and menzati,
or face the ignition of a war of the worlds.