Introduction
February 7th, 1945
Eight months ago, Allied Forces landed on the beaches of Normandy, France. This event would be remember throughout history as D-Day. To some, that nomenclature might inspire visions of doomsday and destruction, but in fact the name had the specific military purpose of keeping the day and hour of the Normandy attacks a secret.
The Allies weren't the only ones with secrets.
Far from the cold, snow patched shores of France, thousands of kilometers, continents and oceans away, sits the even colder wasteland of Antarctica. Here, in the Nazi claimed territory of New Swabia, work had been underway for years on a project that many party elites were even unaware of. This project, perhaps some sort of Doomsday weapon of some kind, was so tightly kept a secret that few people beyond Adolf Hitler and Heinrich Himmler had any clue to its existence.
And since February 7th, it has remained a secret. The exact fate of the project that had been underway here is unclear, even to Western and Eastern intelligence services.
The only thing that is known is that since 1945, the world has seen the appearance of people with special abilities and powers. The papers, comics, and general public itself, had an easy time coming up with several names for these kinds of people, but the most generally accepted name is Superheroes.
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March 11th, 2045
The end of the Second World War lead to the birth of a new one, the Cold War, a war that should have ended decades ago, but has been kept alive and well through a nearly century long arms race. Nuclear power and weapons, the space race, and other technological advancements have been important focuses, but all have been nearly eclipsed by the struggle to crack the secrets of how Superheroes are made, and how states (and even corporations or nefarious organizations) could manufacture them themselves.
With nearly thirty million superheroes around the world, monumental achievements have been made, from contributions to science and technology, art and literature, peacekeeping, and generally keeping average civilians safe. For the average person today, it's a good time to be alive. The stock market is strong, unemployment rates are low, safety in the workplace is standard, and the average person in wealthier countries enjoys a fairly high standard of living.
America is still a super power, Japan and South Korea have become technological marvels, India a major manufacturer, and Singapore acting as a sort of new Hong Kong, an Asian New York.
Even Communist countries like the USSR and China, who have undergone some political and economic turmoil in past year (with the USSR losing several of its states and satellite states to succession), recovery has been well underway, and their influence in global politics is being felt once again. Despite the fact that the embers of old rivalries are beginning to glow once more, it is an optimistic time to be alive.
Then again... Now more than ever is the race for greater Superheroes underway. The one century anniversary of Germany's surrender in World War Two is approaching, but a question remains to be answered: Has the world learned the lessons of that time?
And for that matter, what should be made of the shadowy government organizations rumored to exist? Operating in ways alleged to be outside of the laws of their own countries? And the corporations, secret societies and villainous groups plotting to enact some dark purposes on unsuspecting innocents?
There are secrets out there, things hiding under the surface of calm waters. You're sure to find answers once you've looked within, but the greatest question is, what will you find....
At the Bottom?
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Setting
Atlas City: Birthplace of Man Made Fusion!
Welcome to Atlas City, North Carolina, the Birthplace of the first Man Made Fusion Reaction! That's right, stepping onto these hallowed grounds, either as a visitor, a new resident, or a life longer, you are stepping into the pages of history itself!
You already know the story, how in 1998, the famous hero, Atlas, helped American and Allied Scientists create the conditions necessary to achieve the FIRST Man Made fusion reaction! This discovery has begun to propel us into a new age of scientific discovery, advancement, and adventure! As you also know, the secret didn't stay secret for long. This mighty achievement was not easy, even for a hero as incredible as Atlas, so it became necessary for the researchers to expand their studies and experiments.
Thus, in 2002, Atlas City was officially incorporated, and new residents have been streaming in ever since! With a population of 873'000 people, Atlas City has been a fast growing Metropolis filled with career opportunities in Fusion Energy, Oil and Gas, Medical Research, Technology and Electronics, Construction, Shipping and Transportation, and of course, Tourism.
World Class hotels, fine restaurants, and gorgeous beaches make Atlas City one of the greatest American cities to live in, or visit. Swimming and surfing, boating, fishing, hiking, shopping, and so much more awaits you! And with a burgeoning economy and housing market, you don't just have to visit Atlas City, you can move here! Houses and apartments of all sizes and price ranges exist, and with plenty of highly prized job opportunities, this is the perfect place to make a life!
Note: We do advise that visitors avoid the Old Industrial and Southwest parts of town. These areas are considered unsafe for tourists or wandering citizens, so we advise caution or avoidance.
Atlas City also acts as a monument to the achievements of both average humans, and of supers, a testament to what we are capable of when we come together as one. The brilliance of our scientists, and the hard work and gifts of Atlas himself, helped us to reach one of humanities greatest scientific achievements. Sadly, Atlas passed away in 2012, leaving behind tremendous contributions to America, and indeed the world. He will be eternally memorialized in this great city. But his story doesn't end there.
Many more secrets remain to be discovered in fusion energy, and Atlas City is still very much at the cutting edge of it. Supers and Non-Supers are in demand for jobs in almost every industry here, whether its following in Atlas's footsteps in fusion research, or helping to build the city in one of hundreds of construction projects, or working in oil extraction. And of course, good work is rewarded with high pay, Atlas City boasting some of the highest wages on the East Coast!
The great legacy Atlas has left behind for all of us continues to inspire supers and average Americans to come together here, to build our bright future! There's high demand for skilled super and non-super workers, in nearly every This is a city where anyone can make their dreams come true, where they can achieve a new American Dream, and where by your skills, and the sweat of your brow, you can find greatness too!
Note: If you witness any Super related crimes, Villains, or suspicious activity, please call 911 and ask for Police or S.I.N.S. Agency (Supers Intelligence for National Security).
Taking place in...
Atlas City our primary setting
A city on the front line of innovation, science, industry, and heroism! A growing community, helping build a better future for everyone!
The Story So Far... Write a Post » as written by 15 authors
Eva's mismatched eyes narrowed near imperceptibly at Albert's spectacle, and though she kept a saccharine smile on her face, she couldn't hide the subtle twitch of her left cheek.
"Ma'am. I believe you're up next," informed one of the stage hands.
"Oh my, that time already then?" She chirped, though she hesitated to stand. Her eyes drifted off the stage to where Cannonade had been standing before a wry grin twisted the corners of her lips. "Oh, nobody wants to hear a droll statement from some boring official like me... why not have the world's greatest 'hero' take the stage and say something instead? I can go afterwards," she insisted, shooing the stage-hand away.
The spent bullet casing was tagged with a holographic as Yue approached, careful not to disturb the rubble.
"Good question...," she trailed off in response to Devon as she traced his line of sight from the door, tapping a metal finger on the chin of her mask. "My guess would be to obscure the evidence but... if that were the goal, why leave anything at all? This place is rather out of the way... especially with the Memorial pending it's a safe to assume they'd have had plenty of time to clean up even without knocking the building down. Curious," she noted thoughtfully, and then turned to see Akiko "trampling" over her crime scene.
She took a step towards the woman, making a choked noise of surprise before she noticed the detritus passing through her body as though it weren't there. Yue still couldn't help but scurry over to supervise closer, though, making noises of obvious discomfort and twitching whenever Akiko would "touch" something that wasn't catalogued. Investigator swooped over, making some very rude noises, mirroring Yue's anxiousness as it watched her pick through the rubble and hurriedly scanning anything new she turned up. Yue made a few gestures on an interface only her HUD could see, and Investigator dropped a handful of capsules no bigger than a thumb onto the pile. They unfurled into tiny centipede-like machines and scurried into the cracks to catalogue everything inside the cavity Akiko uncovered.
Yue jumped visibly as Jemma landed, spinning around and expecting to find trouble. Well... she wasn't wrong at the very least. When her gaze stopped on Jemma she relaxed noticeably.
"You. Are... SO cute," she muttered inside her helmet, unable to stay mad.
"Ma'am. I believe you're up next," informed one of the stage hands.
"Oh my, that time already then?" She chirped, though she hesitated to stand. Her eyes drifted off the stage to where Cannonade had been standing before a wry grin twisted the corners of her lips. "Oh, nobody wants to hear a droll statement from some boring official like me... why not have the world's greatest 'hero' take the stage and say something instead? I can go afterwards," she insisted, shooing the stage-hand away.
THE WAREHOUSE
The spent bullet casing was tagged with a holographic as Yue approached, careful not to disturb the rubble.
"Good question...," she trailed off in response to Devon as she traced his line of sight from the door, tapping a metal finger on the chin of her mask. "My guess would be to obscure the evidence but... if that were the goal, why leave anything at all? This place is rather out of the way... especially with the Memorial pending it's a safe to assume they'd have had plenty of time to clean up even without knocking the building down. Curious," she noted thoughtfully, and then turned to see Akiko "trampling" over her crime scene.
She took a step towards the woman, making a choked noise of surprise before she noticed the detritus passing through her body as though it weren't there. Yue still couldn't help but scurry over to supervise closer, though, making noises of obvious discomfort and twitching whenever Akiko would "touch" something that wasn't catalogued. Investigator swooped over, making some very rude noises, mirroring Yue's anxiousness as it watched her pick through the rubble and hurriedly scanning anything new she turned up. Yue made a few gestures on an interface only her HUD could see, and Investigator dropped a handful of capsules no bigger than a thumb onto the pile. They unfurled into tiny centipede-like machines and scurried into the cracks to catalogue everything inside the cavity Akiko uncovered.
Yue jumped visibly as Jemma landed, spinning around and expecting to find trouble. Well... she wasn't wrong at the very least. When her gaze stopped on Jemma she relaxed noticeably.
"You. Are... SO cute," she muttered inside her helmet, unable to stay mad.
Richard felt a jolt of anxiety and instant terror rock through him as some kind of explosion erupted from the memorial stage. His gaze flashed forward to see what kind of tragedy had occurred, what insidious act had just taken place, only to take in the image of another super standing there, the one who took out the military's big gun on the beach. A wave of relief soon followed after, but ebbed away as a sense of annoyance bubbled up. The way he spoke seemed perhaps a bit too... Grandiose, in some ways. Particularly during a memorial. Maybe he was just trying to reassure the scared public, but it didn't exactly feel that way to Richard.
The White Death had just a moment ago been focused on some nearby heroes who'd seemed to be fainting, or getting sick, probably from nerves. He turned his attention back to the stage, but got distracted from the sight of birds fleeing the scene. 'Crimson Shield's' entrance seemed to have scared them considerably worse than it had Richard, and he wondered if they perhaps could feel any of that annoyance he did. His eyes followed them as they moved away from the stage, inland towards the city, passing over buildings. He watched as they dipped and dove, evading a non-existent danger as they tried to locate safer grounds.
Richard felt a little entranced, taking the moment to just enjoy watching them as they slowed to more of a gingerly glide, disappearing behind buildings, only to reappear as they rose back up into the sky. Back and forth they flew, up and down. He watched as two of them once again disappeared again.
Disappeared into thin air.
It was a brief moment before they had reappeared again, and Richard questioned if he'd even seen it at all, but they looped back around, and once more disappeared in the middle of the air before quickly reappearing again.
There was someone up on that roof.
His eyes darted around again to where the sick heroes had been, then back to the roof.
Richard had no idea how it happened, but it had to be some kind of sniper. As the realization hit him, he turned to George, grabbing the old man by the back of the neck, and pulling him down into a bow.
"Richard! What are you do-"
The old man's words were cut off as a quiet crack, barely audible even to Richard and George themselves, came from the ground just across from them. George and Richard both gazed at the spot, a hole now in the ground, created by a small, super heated bullet of some kind. The old man looked to Richard in shock and determination.
"We're getting you out of here, now." Richard whispered. "Pretend to be sick." He lifted George up and carried him over to the group of supers tending to some of the sick as he pulled his cellphone out, quickly dialing in a number.
Henry's phone rang, and when he picked it up, Richard's voice came through. "We've got a sniper here, get over to George ASAP and keep him safe, I'm dropping him off with a group of supers tending to some sick." After that, he quickly hung up and looked to the group he'd been rushing towards. "Hey, my granddad's sick! Can you guys please look after him while I go get his medicine? I've got a friend coming over to look after him, big guy, can't miss him. Can you look after him in the mean time?" The supers looked terribly confused, but nodded and affirmed they'd take care of him. Richard made doubly sure that George would be in a slightly covered area first, off to the side, near the food vendors, to make sure he couldn't be hit. While there, he stealthily grabbed several bottles of water from unsuspecting merchants.
And from the food vending area, a light fog began to form, carried in by an abrupt cold wind. Richard bolted, hidden in the cover of the fog he created, to the building the sniper had been on top of, hoping and praying he could catch them in time. Once he was inside the building, he quickly made his way to an elevator, taking it to the highest floor he could. While inside, he reached into his suit jacket, and pulled Durendal from his holster. Out from another suit jacket pocket, he produced a silencer, and quickly screwed it onto the barrel of the pistol.
As the elevator reached the highest floor it could, he quickly made his way around the floor until he found a service area, and with it the rooftop service elevator. Richard placed an earpiece into one ear, quickly flickering it to life as he made a quick call out.
"Sairyn, I need eyes in the sky, we've got a sniper on top of the Galliant Office Building, right across from the Memorial. I need you to send a drone up here to try and track this guy before he gets away."
While he waited for a reply, he quickly dumped out several bottles of water onto the floor, stuffing one more full one in a jacket pocket, and holding the other in his left hand.
"He's got some kind of invisibility tech, but I've got an idea in mind." He took a pause before quickly putting out one more message. "Klaus, if you're receiving this, get to the top of the Galliant Building."
The elevator reached the roof, the doors opened, and a thick fog poured out onto the roof from within, quickly beginning to obscure visibility. Richard didn't have his music with him at the moment, but he couldn't help but have a song stuck in his head.
The White Death had just a moment ago been focused on some nearby heroes who'd seemed to be fainting, or getting sick, probably from nerves. He turned his attention back to the stage, but got distracted from the sight of birds fleeing the scene. 'Crimson Shield's' entrance seemed to have scared them considerably worse than it had Richard, and he wondered if they perhaps could feel any of that annoyance he did. His eyes followed them as they moved away from the stage, inland towards the city, passing over buildings. He watched as they dipped and dove, evading a non-existent danger as they tried to locate safer grounds.
Richard felt a little entranced, taking the moment to just enjoy watching them as they slowed to more of a gingerly glide, disappearing behind buildings, only to reappear as they rose back up into the sky. Back and forth they flew, up and down. He watched as two of them once again disappeared again.
Disappeared into thin air.
It was a brief moment before they had reappeared again, and Richard questioned if he'd even seen it at all, but they looped back around, and once more disappeared in the middle of the air before quickly reappearing again.
There was someone up on that roof.
His eyes darted around again to where the sick heroes had been, then back to the roof.
Richard had no idea how it happened, but it had to be some kind of sniper. As the realization hit him, he turned to George, grabbing the old man by the back of the neck, and pulling him down into a bow.
"Richard! What are you do-"
The old man's words were cut off as a quiet crack, barely audible even to Richard and George themselves, came from the ground just across from them. George and Richard both gazed at the spot, a hole now in the ground, created by a small, super heated bullet of some kind. The old man looked to Richard in shock and determination.
"We're getting you out of here, now." Richard whispered. "Pretend to be sick." He lifted George up and carried him over to the group of supers tending to some of the sick as he pulled his cellphone out, quickly dialing in a number.
Henry's phone rang, and when he picked it up, Richard's voice came through. "We've got a sniper here, get over to George ASAP and keep him safe, I'm dropping him off with a group of supers tending to some sick." After that, he quickly hung up and looked to the group he'd been rushing towards. "Hey, my granddad's sick! Can you guys please look after him while I go get his medicine? I've got a friend coming over to look after him, big guy, can't miss him. Can you look after him in the mean time?" The supers looked terribly confused, but nodded and affirmed they'd take care of him. Richard made doubly sure that George would be in a slightly covered area first, off to the side, near the food vendors, to make sure he couldn't be hit. While there, he stealthily grabbed several bottles of water from unsuspecting merchants.
And from the food vending area, a light fog began to form, carried in by an abrupt cold wind. Richard bolted, hidden in the cover of the fog he created, to the building the sniper had been on top of, hoping and praying he could catch them in time. Once he was inside the building, he quickly made his way to an elevator, taking it to the highest floor he could. While inside, he reached into his suit jacket, and pulled Durendal from his holster. Out from another suit jacket pocket, he produced a silencer, and quickly screwed it onto the barrel of the pistol.
As the elevator reached the highest floor it could, he quickly made his way around the floor until he found a service area, and with it the rooftop service elevator. Richard placed an earpiece into one ear, quickly flickering it to life as he made a quick call out.
"Sairyn, I need eyes in the sky, we've got a sniper on top of the Galliant Office Building, right across from the Memorial. I need you to send a drone up here to try and track this guy before he gets away."
While he waited for a reply, he quickly dumped out several bottles of water onto the floor, stuffing one more full one in a jacket pocket, and holding the other in his left hand.
"He's got some kind of invisibility tech, but I've got an idea in mind." He took a pause before quickly putting out one more message. "Klaus, if you're receiving this, get to the top of the Galliant Building."
The elevator reached the roof, the doors opened, and a thick fog poured out onto the roof from within, quickly beginning to obscure visibility. Richard didn't have his music with him at the moment, but he couldn't help but have a song stuck in his head.
Henry dug in his pocket, when his phone started to ring. He'd forgotten to silence it, but luckily, the sound of the crowds chattering between speakers designed it to all but those closest to him.
"Hello? What's..." Henry paused, listening to the quick response from Richard. "Uh...that was one of my co-workers. Seems like the boss got sick," he informed his cousins. "I'll be right back!"
He had hoped at least. No rest for the weary it seemed. He looked around the memorial for the medical tent set up and headed there immediately once he spotted it.
"Excuse me, but do y'all have a George Carlisle here?" He inquired of the medical staff once he arrived.
***
Silentium mimed exhaling, an act of habit if anything. A miscalculation. The assumed super next to George...a bodyguard perhaps? Facial recognition scanners gave him no leads on traditional channels. Hyper-computing, he took a deeper dive. Credit cards, military records, anything he could narrow down, using thousands of parameters in mere seconds.
Richard Mackenzie. Canadian. Ex-Special Forces. Heavily classified. Nothing regarding powers or abilities, though he was certain to have them. No matter. No one else was alerted and it seemed only he had moved to act.
No cause for alarm just yet then. If this super were to engage him, were he even able to track him down, he'd be able to assess any danger and respond accordingly. He appeared to gave made several calls after securing the target with medical professionals. The crowd hadn't stirred much, so perhaps only a sparse few had been alerted.
Depending on their power sets, the hunt would still be on. A whole swarm of supers was an unsinkable situation, but a handful? That was a challenge.
"Hello? What's..." Henry paused, listening to the quick response from Richard. "Uh...that was one of my co-workers. Seems like the boss got sick," he informed his cousins. "I'll be right back!"
He had hoped at least. No rest for the weary it seemed. He looked around the memorial for the medical tent set up and headed there immediately once he spotted it.
"Excuse me, but do y'all have a George Carlisle here?" He inquired of the medical staff once he arrived.
***
Silentium mimed exhaling, an act of habit if anything. A miscalculation. The assumed super next to George...a bodyguard perhaps? Facial recognition scanners gave him no leads on traditional channels. Hyper-computing, he took a deeper dive. Credit cards, military records, anything he could narrow down, using thousands of parameters in mere seconds.
Richard Mackenzie. Canadian. Ex-Special Forces. Heavily classified. Nothing regarding powers or abilities, though he was certain to have them. No matter. No one else was alerted and it seemed only he had moved to act.
No cause for alarm just yet then. If this super were to engage him, were he even able to track him down, he'd be able to assess any danger and respond accordingly. He appeared to gave made several calls after securing the target with medical professionals. The crowd hadn't stirred much, so perhaps only a sparse few had been alerted.
Depending on their power sets, the hunt would still be on. A whole swarm of supers was an unsinkable situation, but a handful? That was a challenge.
Devon listened in on the conversation Akiko seemed to have with one of the deceased. By the sounds of it the one she was talking was quite recently deceased and in all likelihood had something to do with the casing he found. "Shinigami, you said something about a bullet to the back of the head. Can you see any exit wounds and how big are they?" He asked trying to figure out what kind of bullet had been used, because no matter what that casing didn't belong to your everyday lead slug. Even if whomever she was talking to remained unwilling to bring some answers to the table knowing the perps preferred ammunition would be a significant clue.
He then turned back to Silver Fang after an amount of pondering. "I'm getting a feeling that knocking down the warehouse was an objective on it's own, for whatever reason. Let's say whomever took down the building needed to retrieve something from the building. Going in like a wrecking ball wouldn't be the best option in that case, you might inadvertently destroy what you were looking for... Or your assassination targets might get enough warning to get out." He reasoned trying to put the pieces of the puzzle together with the person shot in the back of their head, bad clean up and the flattened warehouse.
His thoughts however were swiftly disrupted as something crashed into the ground delivering a certain shape shifting miss onto the pavement. It took a moment or two for Devon to register that what had just fallen from the sky wasn't hostile... At least he assumed Jemma wasn't hostile, from what limited bits he'd gathered about her it was a rather vague line. As he once again relaxed a bit the gun he had drawn in a split second reaction to the impact was lowered and returned to it's corresponding holster. "You might want to make a more subtle entree next time, I thought we were being attacked."
He then turned back to Silver Fang after an amount of pondering. "I'm getting a feeling that knocking down the warehouse was an objective on it's own, for whatever reason. Let's say whomever took down the building needed to retrieve something from the building. Going in like a wrecking ball wouldn't be the best option in that case, you might inadvertently destroy what you were looking for... Or your assassination targets might get enough warning to get out." He reasoned trying to put the pieces of the puzzle together with the person shot in the back of their head, bad clean up and the flattened warehouse.
His thoughts however were swiftly disrupted as something crashed into the ground delivering a certain shape shifting miss onto the pavement. It took a moment or two for Devon to register that what had just fallen from the sky wasn't hostile... At least he assumed Jemma wasn't hostile, from what limited bits he'd gathered about her it was a rather vague line. As he once again relaxed a bit the gun he had drawn in a split second reaction to the impact was lowered and returned to it's corresponding holster. "You might want to make a more subtle entree next time, I thought we were being attacked."
Sheri crossed her arms in thought, watching where the Asian girl had disappeared beneath the collapsed warehouse as a couple of her clones took up poking around the edge of the rubble, looking for anything else that could be found. Her eyes flicked over to Jemma at the sound of her impact, but ahe made no other indication that the shapeshifter's appearance were much of a surprise. Now at their third meeting, Sheri had kind of just started to accept its proclivity to pop up wherever.
"Be more careful with your landings," she chided. "If you disrupt the rubble it could shift and crush anything hiding underneath it."
Her eyes turned back to where she assumed the other girl was. Sheri didn't really care to comment on the woman's claims that she could see dead people; in her experience, it was best to just go along with a Thinker's weirdness. "If it works for them" and what-have-you.
"I don't think this was cleanup," Sheri commented, agreeing with the gunman's theory that it had been its own objective. "More likely the intent was to make a mess, hide whatever they were actually here for. Of course, that assumes they had business with the WFG at all. This whole thing might be a smokescreen to hide something else."
"Did you find anything yet?" Sheri called out to the Sixth Sense girl, leaning over the rubble to try and spot her. "Be real nice of you to share with the class."
"Be more careful with your landings," she chided. "If you disrupt the rubble it could shift and crush anything hiding underneath it."
Her eyes turned back to where she assumed the other girl was. Sheri didn't really care to comment on the woman's claims that she could see dead people; in her experience, it was best to just go along with a Thinker's weirdness. "If it works for them" and what-have-you.
"I don't think this was cleanup," Sheri commented, agreeing with the gunman's theory that it had been its own objective. "More likely the intent was to make a mess, hide whatever they were actually here for. Of course, that assumes they had business with the WFG at all. This whole thing might be a smokescreen to hide something else."
"Did you find anything yet?" Sheri called out to the Sixth Sense girl, leaning over the rubble to try and spot her. "Be real nice of you to share with the class."
"You ain't getting me that easily again," the ghost snickered at Shinigami as she looked down at his feet. He had been rooted to one spot but there was nothing beneath him, a ploy to test a theory he had. She stiffened, the ghost unable to see the annoyance in her face behind her mask.
"Shinigami, you said something about a bullet to the back of the head. Can you see any exit wounds and how big are they?"
"Yeah, let m-" Shinigami responded to Freischütz before being interrupted by a small drone's furious electronic noises of reprimand. Considering how quickly it had descended on her after she had grabbed the vial, she figured it was because she had dug into the remains of the crate. Despite her face being hidden away, Akiko still gave a sheepish smile. Shinigami's Invisibility dropped but she kept the Intangibility in place, just so she wouldn't mess with the crime scene further.
It reactivated when Jemma landed however, Shinigami's body tensing for a possible battle. The ghost also stepped back a few steps, momentarily forgetting his current status as a ghost. Jemma's human form became visible and Shinigami relaxed, recognizing her from the conversation they had before the roach adventure. The ghost also sighed in relief though he had a shit-eating grin on his face, despite his own lack of bravery.
"Even ghosts got something to fear, huh?" he sneered. Shinigami was about to retort when another voice cut through.
"Did you find anything yet? Be real nice of you to share with the class."
"Yeah, sorry!" she exclaimed as she tried to hold up the vial for the rest of them to see. She struggled to raise her hand up however only managing to raise it up to her chest, prying a few fingers away so they could see a vial was in her hand.
"And that's all you're getting," the ghost insisted in an annoyed voice. "Anything else likely got destroyed when the walls came down."
"He says there was something more in the walls though! I'm guessing a secret compartment!" Shinigami called out to which the ghost angrily shouted, "Shut up! That black book is probably nothing more than garbage now anyway!"
"He says it's a black book! Maybe it's in the rubble!" Shinigami shouted again to her scream team before the ghost leaped at her.
"Shinigami, you said something about a bullet to the back of the head. Can you see any exit wounds and how big are they?"
"Yeah, let m-" Shinigami responded to Freischütz before being interrupted by a small drone's furious electronic noises of reprimand. Considering how quickly it had descended on her after she had grabbed the vial, she figured it was because she had dug into the remains of the crate. Despite her face being hidden away, Akiko still gave a sheepish smile. Shinigami's Invisibility dropped but she kept the Intangibility in place, just so she wouldn't mess with the crime scene further.
It reactivated when Jemma landed however, Shinigami's body tensing for a possible battle. The ghost also stepped back a few steps, momentarily forgetting his current status as a ghost. Jemma's human form became visible and Shinigami relaxed, recognizing her from the conversation they had before the roach adventure. The ghost also sighed in relief though he had a shit-eating grin on his face, despite his own lack of bravery.
"Even ghosts got something to fear, huh?" he sneered. Shinigami was about to retort when another voice cut through.
"Did you find anything yet? Be real nice of you to share with the class."
"Yeah, sorry!" she exclaimed as she tried to hold up the vial for the rest of them to see. She struggled to raise her hand up however only managing to raise it up to her chest, prying a few fingers away so they could see a vial was in her hand.
"And that's all you're getting," the ghost insisted in an annoyed voice. "Anything else likely got destroyed when the walls came down."
"He says there was something more in the walls though! I'm guessing a secret compartment!" Shinigami called out to which the ghost angrily shouted, "Shut up! That black book is probably nothing more than garbage now anyway!"
"He says it's a black book! Maybe it's in the rubble!" Shinigami shouted again to her scream team before the ghost leaped at her.
Cannonade sat backstage, PA's running back and forth as Albert's speech concluded. They could feel the rumble of the crowd beyond, the chanting of the crowds, the roar of the megaphone. It was the sound of a people in mourning. A nation scorned. "Cannonade?" A voice commented. Cannonade glanced to the side where a PA and two suited security agents approached. "You're next."
"What about Nahla?" Cannonade asked with a crooked frown.
"Evangeline Richter has relinquished the stage to you," The PA informed. "Do you have your speech ready?"
Cannonade's hands tensed. "I know what to say."
***
The music had ceased, the stage dark as the overflowing sea of amphitheatre attendees awaited the next speaker. Suddenly, the stage lights grew brighter and a red body-suited figure stalked out onto the stage. A steady applause began as Cannonade raised a hand to the crowd, the people reflecting back in the newly polished helmet. The stage was illuminated like a fire in the midst of the grey sea-side horizon.
"Before I begin I would like to thank... the president and applaud the creation of F.I.S.T. I would like to thank Crimson Shield and the Atlas City Heroes for promising to keep Atlas City safe from any tragedies like the one we experienced on the twelfth of March. I'd like to thank the first responders, the health-care workers, and all the amazing people of Atlas City for handling this crisis with such braveness, humanity and love for their fellow citizens. We will never forget the heroes, both super and ordinary, who lost their lives of that day. Their memory will live on. I would like to honour them with a moment of silence."
Cannonade lowered the microphone and dipped their head. The memorial went silent, no voices to be heard. The sound of helicopters overhead, traffic in the distance, and the atlantic's waves crashing beyond consumed the world for a moment.
"We-" Cannonade said, but as soon as they'd begun again they cut themselves off. "...I have been... asked a great many times where I will go following the dissolution of Super Roma PC. The world of super-heroics is one... often fuelled by self interest and corporate greed, but at the end of the day we all have a desire to do good. To help. And rarely is the opportunity to do good so clearly presented."
Cannonade swallowed. "I have accepted a position as the leader of a new multinational superhero venture known as the Brave. Me and my lads are working with the president and the governments of the world to figure out and fight whatever caused this attack. While F.I.S.T. is America's response to this horrible attack, and the Atlas City Heroes are your staunch protectors at home, the Brave will be the ones who resolve this problem. On behalf of myself, the leader of the Brave, and the world at large, I you promise the events of March 12th will never repeat again."
Cannonade leaned into the mic. "God bless America. God bless you all."
"What about Nahla?" Cannonade asked with a crooked frown.
"Evangeline Richter has relinquished the stage to you," The PA informed. "Do you have your speech ready?"
Cannonade's hands tensed. "I know what to say."
***
The music had ceased, the stage dark as the overflowing sea of amphitheatre attendees awaited the next speaker. Suddenly, the stage lights grew brighter and a red body-suited figure stalked out onto the stage. A steady applause began as Cannonade raised a hand to the crowd, the people reflecting back in the newly polished helmet. The stage was illuminated like a fire in the midst of the grey sea-side horizon.
"Before I begin I would like to thank... the president and applaud the creation of F.I.S.T. I would like to thank Crimson Shield and the Atlas City Heroes for promising to keep Atlas City safe from any tragedies like the one we experienced on the twelfth of March. I'd like to thank the first responders, the health-care workers, and all the amazing people of Atlas City for handling this crisis with such braveness, humanity and love for their fellow citizens. We will never forget the heroes, both super and ordinary, who lost their lives of that day. Their memory will live on. I would like to honour them with a moment of silence."
Cannonade lowered the microphone and dipped their head. The memorial went silent, no voices to be heard. The sound of helicopters overhead, traffic in the distance, and the atlantic's waves crashing beyond consumed the world for a moment.
"We-" Cannonade said, but as soon as they'd begun again they cut themselves off. "...I have been... asked a great many times where I will go following the dissolution of Super Roma PC. The world of super-heroics is one... often fuelled by self interest and corporate greed, but at the end of the day we all have a desire to do good. To help. And rarely is the opportunity to do good so clearly presented."
Cannonade swallowed. "I have accepted a position as the leader of a new multinational superhero venture known as the Brave. Me and my lads are working with the president and the governments of the world to figure out and fight whatever caused this attack. While F.I.S.T. is America's response to this horrible attack, and the Atlas City Heroes are your staunch protectors at home, the Brave will be the ones who resolve this problem. On behalf of myself, the leader of the Brave, and the world at large, I you promise the events of March 12th will never repeat again."
Cannonade leaned into the mic. "God bless America. God bless you all."
Vic stopped, tilted her head back, and let out a high-pitched wheeze out of her nostrils. About as thin as her patience. Persistent. All these strangers were so damn persistent. Whether it was paparazzi or the stranger on her doorstep insisting on making her breakfast or STAs or - whatever the hell this one wanted. They all treated her as clumsily as a toddler with the family cat.
"It's closed," she replied, "Staff meeting." Her head lazily tilted back to him. "No, I don't work here." A pause. Vic looked up at the club's sign, looking remarkably unglamorous in the light of day. Her brow furrowed. "I'm... thinking about it."
"It's closed," she replied, "Staff meeting." Her head lazily tilted back to him. "No, I don't work here." A pause. Vic looked up at the club's sign, looking remarkably unglamorous in the light of day. Her brow furrowed. "I'm... thinking about it."
Not far from the heroes, a jet-black BMW van rolled up. It drove slowly, in the shade, as two figures in the front seat observed the situation. Pyromancer sat in the driver's seat, hunched over, the goggles of his gas mask glowing a dim crimson hue. Maeve sat beside him, as his superior in rank. New recruits Spider-Blood and Scourge were tucked away in the back of the van, with the latter's obscene mass taking up much of the space. In each of their hands were a cone of ice cream (two cones for Scourge). Soft, creamy, and whipped into a swirling, classical shape.
"By the Lab Rat, this ensemble rides up somethin' FIERCE!" Scourge grumbled, his bright green, undead form obscured by the drab confines of a massive trenchcoat and hat set, exposing only his yellow, pupil-less eyes through the shadows. Half-eaten, cookies and cream ice cream had started to melt and trickle down the golden brown cones.
Pyromancer's gaze narrowed behind his goggles.
Others had arrived. Two unfamiliar faces behind unfamiliar masks. Pink-haired triplets. A roiling, eldritch, formless mass of black ink. ...Menagerie's Lost Asset? Pyromancer privately wondered. Capture if possible.
It was then that he noticed… her. White tabard. Silver plates that gleamed like pale moonlight. The Queen of the Damned. Slayer of Dark Crow. Champion of 100 Nights. The Dragon of Arizona.
His left hand clenched into his cone, cracking it open and scattering pink, melted globs all over the dashboard. He pulled the car into reverse, as quiet and gentle as he could.
Slowly, he turned towards Maeve, the fear palpable even through those emotionless goggles. "NAHLA's Silver Fang." He turned his attention back forwards, towards the shrinking group of heroes. "Seven of them. Four of us. Can't go in for a direct attack. Risk; Extreme."
"Whaaaaat?" Scourge whined, and nudged himself between Pyromancer and Maeve. "But this is what I'm here for! She's just a twig in an aluminum can, how bad can she be?
"By the Lab Rat, this ensemble rides up somethin' FIERCE!" Scourge grumbled, his bright green, undead form obscured by the drab confines of a massive trenchcoat and hat set, exposing only his yellow, pupil-less eyes through the shadows. Half-eaten, cookies and cream ice cream had started to melt and trickle down the golden brown cones.
Pyromancer's gaze narrowed behind his goggles.
Others had arrived. Two unfamiliar faces behind unfamiliar masks. Pink-haired triplets. A roiling, eldritch, formless mass of black ink. ...Menagerie's Lost Asset? Pyromancer privately wondered. Capture if possible.
It was then that he noticed… her. White tabard. Silver plates that gleamed like pale moonlight. The Queen of the Damned. Slayer of Dark Crow. Champion of 100 Nights. The Dragon of Arizona.
His left hand clenched into his cone, cracking it open and scattering pink, melted globs all over the dashboard. He pulled the car into reverse, as quiet and gentle as he could.
Slowly, he turned towards Maeve, the fear palpable even through those emotionless goggles. "NAHLA's Silver Fang." He turned his attention back forwards, towards the shrinking group of heroes. "Seven of them. Four of us. Can't go in for a direct attack. Risk; Extreme."
"Whaaaaat?" Scourge whined, and nudged himself between Pyromancer and Maeve. "But this is what I'm here for! She's just a twig in an aluminum can, how bad can she be?
"Klaus, if you're receiving this, get to the top of the Galliant Building."
The voice came from the Chrono Dialer having been linked to his phone. Richard sounded worried and Klaus wasn't one to question a man like Richard's tone.
In a flash, he donned his suit and made for the Galliant Building. He had plenty of time to mull over his predicament later. For now, there was work to be done and the distraction was welcome.
"I'm on my way, ETA 2 minutes.
The voice came from the Chrono Dialer having been linked to his phone. Richard sounded worried and Klaus wasn't one to question a man like Richard's tone.
In a flash, he donned his suit and made for the Galliant Building. He had plenty of time to mull over his predicament later. For now, there was work to be done and the distraction was welcome.
"I'm on my way, ETA 2 minutes.
Maeve peered at the demolished warehouse over a carton of orange juice. The one in the gas mask had drawn swiftly when the shapeshifter had landed; a gunman, with quick reflexes. Probably jumpy. The other masked figure seemed to pass straight through solid objects, which could be annoying. The knight's armor suggested a need for protection, which meant they were likely fragile. As for the triplets… Maeve couldn't tell if they had powers or not, but they didn't seem much of a threat. She gently folded the lip of her juice carton, then set it into the cupholder.
"Get the drone out of the boot and bring it around back of the warehouse," she instructed, looking at Spiderblood in the rearview mirror.
"At my signal," she continued, eyes flickering over to Pyromancer, "Release explosions over their heads and by the street. Keep them pinned down."
"And me?" the new one spoke up, sounding almost like a child ready for a new game.
"Hit the knight dead-on. Keep them from regrouping with the others. I'll take the shapeshifter."
With that, Maeve pushed open the door of the car, straightening her black tie as she stepped out of the shade of the trees and approached the heroes with a silence unexpected of someone her size. It was one of the redheads who spotted her first; the other two instantly vanished in bursts of static. Ah.
"Beggin' your pardon," she greeted, her voice sounding raspy as she strained to raise her volume above a polite indoor voice. "But this is private property. May I ask what ye're all doin' here?"
Sheri shot a look toward the man in the gasmask, hand going to the back of her pants where she normally kept her gun, only to find it missing. The memory of its confiscation did choose the most opportune time to present itself… She scanned behind the tall woman in the black suit, spotting a car in the shade by the street. "Real estate representative?" she suggested facetiously, keeping her voice down.
"Get the drone out of the boot and bring it around back of the warehouse," she instructed, looking at Spiderblood in the rearview mirror.
"At my signal," she continued, eyes flickering over to Pyromancer, "Release explosions over their heads and by the street. Keep them pinned down."
"And me?" the new one spoke up, sounding almost like a child ready for a new game.
"Hit the knight dead-on. Keep them from regrouping with the others. I'll take the shapeshifter."
With that, Maeve pushed open the door of the car, straightening her black tie as she stepped out of the shade of the trees and approached the heroes with a silence unexpected of someone her size. It was one of the redheads who spotted her first; the other two instantly vanished in bursts of static. Ah.
"Beggin' your pardon," she greeted, her voice sounding raspy as she strained to raise her volume above a polite indoor voice. "But this is private property. May I ask what ye're all doin' here?"
Sheri shot a look toward the man in the gasmask, hand going to the back of her pants where she normally kept her gun, only to find it missing. The memory of its confiscation did choose the most opportune time to present itself… She scanned behind the tall woman in the black suit, spotting a car in the shade by the street. "Real estate representative?" she suggested facetiously, keeping her voice down.
Nebulae blinked behind his helmet, watching as the woman before him spoke in calm, if irritated sentences. He hummed gently before shrugging and rolling his shoulders. "Well... Hm! I hope you get the job then, yeah?"
A smile spread behind his helmet as he shifted his weight to one side, his hands finding his hips as Nebulae spoke again. His eyes darted to one side of his HUD as the P-AI chirped at him yet again. Movement from somewhere just out of sight, around the corner? A vehicle. The thing was nearly silent, and eerily quiet as it went. "Well... I think someone just left from the establishment. So, if you're goin' to go back in, I suggest goin' in now before you have to chase 'em down, yeah?" He took a step back, nodding at her hand as he went to turn away. "'Ere, I'll hand y' my number if you ever wanna cash in on that drink, yeah?"
He had paused, tapping a pocket on his ... Jacket? Would you call it a jacket? Or was it more of a coat? ... His coat. Nebulae reached in and produced a relatively small card, perhaps like a business card. On it was a cell-number, and a name: Y'mari.
He stepped back then, waving once before quickly taking his leave. "Sorry for botherin' you, jus' curious, like I said!"
Jemma jerked to attention as a voice rasped at the group of them from some distance away. Ink pulsed in her face and hands as she looked over at the- Oh! It was her! The brutal murderess, the slaughtermaster, the hot one! ... Save that thought for later. In the current moment, adrenaline throbbed through her veins, and the world began to slow in that weird way it did when she fought.
Jemma watched her approach all the same, the muscles under her face warping and changing as her tongue became a hallow tube, in which resided a needle of iron and bone. The needle had grooves inlaid upon it, and venom eerily similar to that of a bullet ant filled the grooves. Her hands became armored, talons taking place of her nails as she stared at the eerily tall woman. Her voice worked without her wanting, calling out to the short redhead. "Tall and Irish was at the beach! Do not trust. Threat high. She tore apart many of the small beastlings. With ease" The last word was hissed with a strange sort of... Relish, excitement, maybe even a bit of admiration. Ink rippled along her back as she spoke, and what started as only bone, soon covered itself in flesh, and then in iron and brass, was a wickedly tipped tail. It was as long as the tall woman was tall, and from its tip dripped a black-red venom.
She dropped into an odd stance beside Yue, tail lashing to and fro with unmistakable mistrust, tension building in her muscles as she waited for 'the other boot to drop' as Alex put it. The heart in her form was beginning to pound ever faster, and the want to touch on that cicada-scream was building, but Jemma held off. If they needed aid, she didn't want to cut off that chance. Not yet.
A smile spread behind his helmet as he shifted his weight to one side, his hands finding his hips as Nebulae spoke again. His eyes darted to one side of his HUD as the P-AI chirped at him yet again. Movement from somewhere just out of sight, around the corner? A vehicle. The thing was nearly silent, and eerily quiet as it went. "Well... I think someone just left from the establishment. So, if you're goin' to go back in, I suggest goin' in now before you have to chase 'em down, yeah?" He took a step back, nodding at her hand as he went to turn away. "'Ere, I'll hand y' my number if you ever wanna cash in on that drink, yeah?"
He had paused, tapping a pocket on his ... Jacket? Would you call it a jacket? Or was it more of a coat? ... His coat. Nebulae reached in and produced a relatively small card, perhaps like a business card. On it was a cell-number, and a name: Y'mari.
He stepped back then, waving once before quickly taking his leave. "Sorry for botherin' you, jus' curious, like I said!"
Jemma jerked to attention as a voice rasped at the group of them from some distance away. Ink pulsed in her face and hands as she looked over at the- Oh! It was her! The brutal murderess, the slaughtermaster, the hot one! ... Save that thought for later. In the current moment, adrenaline throbbed through her veins, and the world began to slow in that weird way it did when she fought.
Jemma watched her approach all the same, the muscles under her face warping and changing as her tongue became a hallow tube, in which resided a needle of iron and bone. The needle had grooves inlaid upon it, and venom eerily similar to that of a bullet ant filled the grooves. Her hands became armored, talons taking place of her nails as she stared at the eerily tall woman. Her voice worked without her wanting, calling out to the short redhead. "Tall and Irish was at the beach! Do not trust. Threat high. She tore apart many of the small beastlings. With ease" The last word was hissed with a strange sort of... Relish, excitement, maybe even a bit of admiration. Ink rippled along her back as she spoke, and what started as only bone, soon covered itself in flesh, and then in iron and brass, was a wickedly tipped tail. It was as long as the tall woman was tall, and from its tip dripped a black-red venom.
She dropped into an odd stance beside Yue, tail lashing to and fro with unmistakable mistrust, tension building in her muscles as she waited for 'the other boot to drop' as Alex put it. The heart in her form was beginning to pound ever faster, and the want to touch on that cicada-scream was building, but Jemma held off. If they needed aid, she didn't want to cut off that chance. Not yet.
"... Alrighty." Vic said as she pocketed the business card in the same pocket George's number resided. She watched the strange man take his leave and huffed. "Nobody knows how to pick up a bitch anymore." She slithered her way back into the club and marched up to the meeting room door to give it three loud bangs of her fist. "Hey, is Lab Rat still in?"
Sheri came forth with her own set of theories, however they didn't quite hold up in Devon's mind. Accidentally stumbling upon a WFG stashhouse didn't seem likely, it wasn't like they were dressed in their ridiculous outfits all the time and it would have been hard to distinguish them from the regular populace without surveillance. Then again it could have been someone who saw something fishy going on and decided to investigate, but this really didn't seem like something a private entity could do especially considering the building was brought down by some form of mechanical means as Silver Fang had brought up.
Using this as a smokescreen for something bigger also seemed like a shaky theory, much less a smoke screen this was barely a puff of smoke. Causing a small commotion at the memorial would have been so much more effective at drawing attention away from everywhere else, especially with several important figures being present there.
As Akiko called out to the group that there might be something important hidden among the rubble Devon was about to shift into wraith form when a cold chill crept through his back informing him that it might not be the right moment. Pretending to not notice the gazes from a vehicle in the street he went on with looking through the rubble, his mind occupied with the intentions that had shot him that look full of malice.
It didn't take long for the first entity to make itself known as a towering figure decided to inquire about their reason for being out there. The woman's appearance seemed to cause quite a reaction in the shapeshifter as it shifted into a clearly more aggressive form and called out to Sheri to be very wary of the woman before them. Devon too took a more defensive stance getting ready in case things were to go ugly, however as it stood he was less concerned with the woman who seemed to have the shapeshifter as her main focus and more the other sets of eyes that he could feel burning on his skin.
"This is the site of an official NAHLA investigation, I would request you and your friends to leave the scene as you seem to be neither the property owner or the operator of this facility." Devon called out loud and clear to the woman. It may have been a bit forced to act so authoritative especially after Sheri's evasive answer, but it seemed like the simplest and quickest method to cue the rest in that the one before them wasn't acting alone.
Using this as a smokescreen for something bigger also seemed like a shaky theory, much less a smoke screen this was barely a puff of smoke. Causing a small commotion at the memorial would have been so much more effective at drawing attention away from everywhere else, especially with several important figures being present there.
As Akiko called out to the group that there might be something important hidden among the rubble Devon was about to shift into wraith form when a cold chill crept through his back informing him that it might not be the right moment. Pretending to not notice the gazes from a vehicle in the street he went on with looking through the rubble, his mind occupied with the intentions that had shot him that look full of malice.
It didn't take long for the first entity to make itself known as a towering figure decided to inquire about their reason for being out there. The woman's appearance seemed to cause quite a reaction in the shapeshifter as it shifted into a clearly more aggressive form and called out to Sheri to be very wary of the woman before them. Devon too took a more defensive stance getting ready in case things were to go ugly, however as it stood he was less concerned with the woman who seemed to have the shapeshifter as her main focus and more the other sets of eyes that he could feel burning on his skin.
"This is the site of an official NAHLA investigation, I would request you and your friends to leave the scene as you seem to be neither the property owner or the operator of this facility." Devon called out loud and clear to the woman. It may have been a bit forced to act so authoritative especially after Sheri's evasive answer, but it seemed like the simplest and quickest method to cue the rest in that the one before them wasn't acting alone.
The energy in the ruined warehouse began to change as footsteps approached. Even Shinigami's ghostly companion stopped in its tracks as it turned to see what was causing the unrest. A tall, muscular woman approached. An inquiry was made and then, there was tension in the air. Warnings were called out. She wasn't alone.
"I would say good luck but I'm really hoping you guys don't make it out," the ghost said as it started walking away. Shinigami made no response or movement. She knew what bullets they were looking for and to make a move now might provoke an attack. Intangible was still up. Going Invisible might be a good move but Shinigami didn't want to give her trick up so easily... If it even was a trick at this point. Had they just arrived or were they watching?
Shinigami slowly widened her stance slightly, one hand at her waist where the lanterns emitted a soft glow.
"I would say good luck but I'm really hoping you guys don't make it out," the ghost said as it started walking away. Shinigami made no response or movement. She knew what bullets they were looking for and to make a move now might provoke an attack. Intangible was still up. Going Invisible might be a good move but Shinigami didn't want to give her trick up so easily... If it even was a trick at this point. Had they just arrived or were they watching?
Shinigami slowly widened her stance slightly, one hand at her waist where the lanterns emitted a soft glow.
"This is a crime scene," Yue replied simply, turning towards the new arrivals. Truth be told, she'd had the chilling sensation that they were being watched long before Maeve approached them. The vents on her mask opened momentarily, producing a quiet, but pointed hiss as air was rapidly drawn in. A subtle flicker of crimson electricity crawled its way up her body as she accelerated her perception as a precaution.
Yue held out her hand, and her badge was holographically projected onto it. It wasn't strictly necessary in this circumstance given that she was in full NAHLA regalia, but it was an excuse to have Tracer turn towards Maeve and the others, capture the vehicle's plate number, and run facial recognition silently in one corner of her HUD.
"These recruits are shadowing me on my investigation," she explained.
Sairyn's phone rang, to which he gave a proper sigh before answering.
"Can't you follow simple directions?" He managed before he was assaulted by Richard's commands. He held the phone away from his ear, and rolled his eyes dramatically while Richard said some things... it was the polite thing to do. Apparently. "You've had drone support: I sent a Tracer ahead of you to the memorial. 'The fuck is a Galliant building?" he called to someone in the background.
"It's a big art-deco office tower over by where they're hosting the memorial, silly," Archer's voice answered, over the rough hiss of a cappuccino machine.
"Right. Anyway. Use the app I installed on your phone to direct the AI and stop using made-up words," he instructed, letting the phone float nearby as a new slate materialized to show Tracer's view of the memorial grounds and slowly floated into position next to the other three.
"I don't think y'all told them about the app, love," Archer chided, handing Sairyn a cup, which he accepted slowly.
"I installed an app on your phones so you can interface with the drones. Open it and let it run in the background, just be careful how you word your requests: one of the 'features' of the AI is that it tends to take the most literal translation," he said, sipping the dink noisily. He spit it out suddenly with a noise of disgust. "Are you trying to poison me?!"
"Doll, of course I am!" Archer giggled. "Ain't my fault your handwriting is trash." To which Sairyn answered with a long, awkward pause.
"Stick out your tongue. As far as it goes... Ugh. I forgot you could do that. I'm spoken for," he said, while Archer laughed in the background. "My attention is split three ways right now, you're gonna have to direct the drone yourself," he instructed, as he reached out and tapped one of the slates, slightly adjusting the image of a seemingly innocuous lamp post.
Yue held out her hand, and her badge was holographically projected onto it. It wasn't strictly necessary in this circumstance given that she was in full NAHLA regalia, but it was an excuse to have Tracer turn towards Maeve and the others, capture the vehicle's plate number, and run facial recognition silently in one corner of her HUD.
"These recruits are shadowing me on my investigation," she explained.
ELSEWHERE IN ATLAS CITY
Sairyn's phone rang, to which he gave a proper sigh before answering.
"Can't you follow simple directions?" He managed before he was assaulted by Richard's commands. He held the phone away from his ear, and rolled his eyes dramatically while Richard said some things... it was the polite thing to do. Apparently. "You've had drone support: I sent a Tracer ahead of you to the memorial. 'The fuck is a Galliant building?" he called to someone in the background.
"It's a big art-deco office tower over by where they're hosting the memorial, silly," Archer's voice answered, over the rough hiss of a cappuccino machine.
"Right. Anyway. Use the app I installed on your phone to direct the AI and stop using made-up words," he instructed, letting the phone float nearby as a new slate materialized to show Tracer's view of the memorial grounds and slowly floated into position next to the other three.
"I don't think y'all told them about the app, love," Archer chided, handing Sairyn a cup, which he accepted slowly.
"I installed an app on your phones so you can interface with the drones. Open it and let it run in the background, just be careful how you word your requests: one of the 'features' of the AI is that it tends to take the most literal translation," he said, sipping the dink noisily. He spit it out suddenly with a noise of disgust. "Are you trying to poison me?!"
"Doll, of course I am!" Archer giggled. "Ain't my fault your handwriting is trash." To which Sairyn answered with a long, awkward pause.
"Stick out your tongue. As far as it goes... Ugh. I forgot you could do that. I'm spoken for," he said, while Archer laughed in the background. "My attention is split three ways right now, you're gonna have to direct the drone yourself," he instructed, as he reached out and tapped one of the slates, slightly adjusting the image of a seemingly innocuous lamp post.
Medical Area: The Memorial
Upon hearing the tall man's request, several of the medical staff simply looked at him, blank faced. They were not prepared to tell an absolute stranger about patients they were caring for, and certainly not one that most of them weren't familiar with. Luckily, a hand rose out of the group of people to wave over to Henry. George stood, face grave and stony as he ushered Henry to join him.
Before the cosmic titan could ask anything of his new 'employer', George cast a pointer finger to his lips and led Henry to a part of the tent with fewer people, and less noise. "Thank you for coming Henry. There's been a... Complication today." He looked a little shaken, but not just because of the attempt on his life...
"Someone just tried to assassinate me. Richard has gone to try and catch the sniper, and I guess he hoped you'd be able to serve as protection for me." He looked to Henry and gave him a concerned smile. "For what it's worth, I don't feel quite as in danger with you here now. But we need to stay focused, figure out what to do about this right now."
Stage: The Memorial
As Cannonade finished their rousing speech, the crowd broke out into a raucous chant:
"Can-On-Ade!" Was how it started.
"Crim-Son-Shield!" Was how it was followed.
The two names continued to be chanted for a few moments, before they bled into chants of 'U-S-A', and other proud and patriotic cheers. The President stood, clapping profusely in his fit of enthrallment for the 'heroes of the city'. Victor and Claudia both found themselves clapping as well, though both less inwardly enthused. Claudia looked to Victor, trying to hold back a smirk.
"Looks like that idea just got flushed down the toilet." She teased nodding at Cannonade.
Victor only smiled and gave a slight shrug. "Mmm, I think it may still be too early to say. And at the very least, I still have other candidates I've got lined up." He pointed with his eyes in the direction of the newly rebranded 'Crimson Shield'.
"But... He's working for ACHI. I doubt they're gonna want to let him go."
"Who said anything about them letting him go? Don't forget my area of expertise as well Claudia, I'm a businessman first and foremost. I have a mutually beneficial business arrangement I think Ivetta will be pleased to hear."
Claudia nodded along. Victor probably had the budget afford trying to get the pilot on their payroll, but this all assumed they were willing to work with the government. Time would tell, she supposed.
"By the way Victor, what was all that about the 'Beast of America'?" She questioned, raising a curious eyebrow. "That's some pretty intense choice of wording there, not sure it's what our speech writer's would have come up with."
Victor turned his gaze back to Claudia again, the two of them now resuming their seats, the clapping having come to a close with the next speaker getting prepared. "Our enemies sent Hell itself to our shores. The people are absolutely terrified, and how could they not be? How do you stop being scared of monsters and beasts?"
Claudia stared back and sighed. "By becoming one?" She asked, already expecting the answer.
He chuckled in response before turning his gaze back out to the audience. "Don't worry about the speechwriters. It's going to become politically popular very soon, because for as angry as me, you, the President, or any of these heroes may say we are? None of us are more angry than America and her people."
Whilst heroes, politicians, and businessmen participated in the memorial, off to the side Douglas MacNamara flipped through a few messages on his phone. He looked up long enough to listen to Cannonade's speech, smirking a little to himself before going back to sending a reply text message. 'And a special team run by Super Roma's Number 1 no less. Interesting. Very interesting...' He thought to himself.
'One more thing to keep our eyes on.'
Club Shapeless: Atlas City
The door's of the meeting room opened gently, giving way to the sight of a masked figure standing on the other side.
The Shape.
There was the briefest moment of silence before he granted a bow of his head to Vicki Vortex. "Vicki, pleasure to see you again. Won't you come in?" He said indicating to the meeting room. Kiran was absent currently, but as Maxwell allowed the rocker in, retaking his own seat at the table, he set to work in assisting Miss Vortex in her task.
"Lab Rat isn't here at the moment, as you can see. But what is it you'd like to speak with them about? Perhaps there's some way I can be of assistance."
Roof of the Galliant Building: Atlas City
Richard's mouth swung open about as fast as Sairyn's had.
What was this guy's problem? Richard was about to snap something back at the guy, but bit his tongue on remembering that Sairyn was the one with the drone's that Richard currently needed. It wasn't made any easier though by the inclusion of unrequested software being sneakily put on his phone. Of course, this was ignoring all the data collecting software likely already on the phone when he bought it...
"Alright, alright, I got it. And the thing doesn't like 'made up words'? Is that supposed to be a special 'feature' or something?" He remarked mostly rhetorically. It was a slight dig, Richard found he couldn't help himself in the face of the tinker's choice of wording, which the icy hero found to be somewhat grating.
Richard pulled out his phone and started to get the software running, and once it was operational, he spoke some brief orders. "Uhh... Tracer; fly to the rooftop of the Galliant Building in Atlas City."
He heard some shouting from the other end of his earpiece, something about poison? "Are... You alright? What was that about a... Tongue?" He asked confused.
"I'm sorry, your request for 'tongue' cannot be completed as requested." Tracer chirped through his phone.
"Disregard that Tracer. Please come to the roof of the Galliant Building." He heard Klaus's voice come through the other end as well, and quickly muted his phone so Tracer wouldn't get any more confused.
"Thanks Klaus, see you shortly."
After he felt confident things were settled and that the drone was almost in position, Richard snuck out of the elevator and carefully made his way across the roof, with the thick, cool fog encompassing nearly the whole area. As it spread out over the roof, it began to leave a thin coating of frost on the surfaces it touched, giving them a slight glimmer.
Richard wasn't sure if his plan would work, but since he couldn't see someone that was invisible, he figured seeing something frost covered would at least bridge the disadvantage.
Upon hearing the tall man's request, several of the medical staff simply looked at him, blank faced. They were not prepared to tell an absolute stranger about patients they were caring for, and certainly not one that most of them weren't familiar with. Luckily, a hand rose out of the group of people to wave over to Henry. George stood, face grave and stony as he ushered Henry to join him.
Before the cosmic titan could ask anything of his new 'employer', George cast a pointer finger to his lips and led Henry to a part of the tent with fewer people, and less noise. "Thank you for coming Henry. There's been a... Complication today." He looked a little shaken, but not just because of the attempt on his life...
"Someone just tried to assassinate me. Richard has gone to try and catch the sniper, and I guess he hoped you'd be able to serve as protection for me." He looked to Henry and gave him a concerned smile. "For what it's worth, I don't feel quite as in danger with you here now. But we need to stay focused, figure out what to do about this right now."
__________________________________________________________________
Stage: The Memorial
As Cannonade finished their rousing speech, the crowd broke out into a raucous chant:
"Can-On-Ade!" Was how it started.
"Crim-Son-Shield!" Was how it was followed.
The two names continued to be chanted for a few moments, before they bled into chants of 'U-S-A', and other proud and patriotic cheers. The President stood, clapping profusely in his fit of enthrallment for the 'heroes of the city'. Victor and Claudia both found themselves clapping as well, though both less inwardly enthused. Claudia looked to Victor, trying to hold back a smirk.
"Looks like that idea just got flushed down the toilet." She teased nodding at Cannonade.
Victor only smiled and gave a slight shrug. "Mmm, I think it may still be too early to say. And at the very least, I still have other candidates I've got lined up." He pointed with his eyes in the direction of the newly rebranded 'Crimson Shield'.
"But... He's working for ACHI. I doubt they're gonna want to let him go."
"Who said anything about them letting him go? Don't forget my area of expertise as well Claudia, I'm a businessman first and foremost. I have a mutually beneficial business arrangement I think Ivetta will be pleased to hear."
Claudia nodded along. Victor probably had the budget afford trying to get the pilot on their payroll, but this all assumed they were willing to work with the government. Time would tell, she supposed.
"By the way Victor, what was all that about the 'Beast of America'?" She questioned, raising a curious eyebrow. "That's some pretty intense choice of wording there, not sure it's what our speech writer's would have come up with."
Victor turned his gaze back to Claudia again, the two of them now resuming their seats, the clapping having come to a close with the next speaker getting prepared. "Our enemies sent Hell itself to our shores. The people are absolutely terrified, and how could they not be? How do you stop being scared of monsters and beasts?"
Claudia stared back and sighed. "By becoming one?" She asked, already expecting the answer.
He chuckled in response before turning his gaze back out to the audience. "Don't worry about the speechwriters. It's going to become politically popular very soon, because for as angry as me, you, the President, or any of these heroes may say we are? None of us are more angry than America and her people."
Whilst heroes, politicians, and businessmen participated in the memorial, off to the side Douglas MacNamara flipped through a few messages on his phone. He looked up long enough to listen to Cannonade's speech, smirking a little to himself before going back to sending a reply text message. 'And a special team run by Super Roma's Number 1 no less. Interesting. Very interesting...' He thought to himself.
'One more thing to keep our eyes on.'
__________________________________________________________________
Club Shapeless: Atlas City
The door's of the meeting room opened gently, giving way to the sight of a masked figure standing on the other side.
The Shape.
There was the briefest moment of silence before he granted a bow of his head to Vicki Vortex. "Vicki, pleasure to see you again. Won't you come in?" He said indicating to the meeting room. Kiran was absent currently, but as Maxwell allowed the rocker in, retaking his own seat at the table, he set to work in assisting Miss Vortex in her task.
"Lab Rat isn't here at the moment, as you can see. But what is it you'd like to speak with them about? Perhaps there's some way I can be of assistance."
__________________________________________________________________
Roof of the Galliant Building: Atlas City
Richard's mouth swung open about as fast as Sairyn's had.
What was this guy's problem? Richard was about to snap something back at the guy, but bit his tongue on remembering that Sairyn was the one with the drone's that Richard currently needed. It wasn't made any easier though by the inclusion of unrequested software being sneakily put on his phone. Of course, this was ignoring all the data collecting software likely already on the phone when he bought it...
"Alright, alright, I got it. And the thing doesn't like 'made up words'? Is that supposed to be a special 'feature' or something?" He remarked mostly rhetorically. It was a slight dig, Richard found he couldn't help himself in the face of the tinker's choice of wording, which the icy hero found to be somewhat grating.
Richard pulled out his phone and started to get the software running, and once it was operational, he spoke some brief orders. "Uhh... Tracer; fly to the rooftop of the Galliant Building in Atlas City."
He heard some shouting from the other end of his earpiece, something about poison? "Are... You alright? What was that about a... Tongue?" He asked confused.
"I'm sorry, your request for 'tongue' cannot be completed as requested." Tracer chirped through his phone.
"Disregard that Tracer. Please come to the roof of the Galliant Building." He heard Klaus's voice come through the other end as well, and quickly muted his phone so Tracer wouldn't get any more confused.
"Thanks Klaus, see you shortly."
After he felt confident things were settled and that the drone was almost in position, Richard snuck out of the elevator and carefully made his way across the roof, with the thick, cool fog encompassing nearly the whole area. As it spread out over the roof, it began to leave a thin coating of frost on the surfaces it touched, giving them a slight glimmer.
Richard wasn't sure if his plan would work, but since he couldn't see someone that was invisible, he figured seeing something frost covered would at least bridge the disadvantage.
"Shouldn't we get you out of here?" Henry asked, glancing back cautiously. "We're not exactly out in the open, but if this assassin is bold enough to try and kill you in the midst of all these supers, you're probably still at risk."
***
"Ice Manipulation. Or perhaps weather?" a mechanical voice taunted from within the icy fog, emitting form a humanoid outline directly ahead of Richard. "It is no matter. I've dealt with others of your ilk before." the voice continued, now coming from Richard's right. "So who are you to Carlisle, boy? His bodyguard? You must be a recent acquisition of his, then. Nothing in his profile suggests he's employed anything of the sort before. But to the point!"
Richard would see a red dot line up to where his ribcage was, though the direction it was coming from was Richard's left. "How many other supers are in Carlisle's employ? How many are present at the Memorial? Answer quickly and concisely...unless you vastly prefer being left to bleed out on a roof."
***
"Ice Manipulation. Or perhaps weather?" a mechanical voice taunted from within the icy fog, emitting form a humanoid outline directly ahead of Richard. "It is no matter. I've dealt with others of your ilk before." the voice continued, now coming from Richard's right. "So who are you to Carlisle, boy? His bodyguard? You must be a recent acquisition of his, then. Nothing in his profile suggests he's employed anything of the sort before. But to the point!"
Richard would see a red dot line up to where his ribcage was, though the direction it was coming from was Richard's left. "How many other supers are in Carlisle's employ? How many are present at the Memorial? Answer quickly and concisely...unless you vastly prefer being left to bleed out on a roof."
Vic looked up to see herself reflected back in his featureless mask. She caught the immediate interest in her eyes - that was an unusual look for her.
"Shape..." she greeted, how to put this, cautiously entertained by his presence. The last she'd left him, she hadn't considered the possibility of seeing him again. All due to the chances of her risking running into his business partner... it was remarkable they were the reason she was back in this club. She slunk after him into the meeting room at his invitation and took her seat two away from him, just enough to be wary but still appease the lull she felt towards this man.
"Well. If you've got another spare Tinker in your... 'employ'," she began. She shrugged and rested her chin on her knuckles. Then, looking past him, she proceeded with not the whole story, "I dropped something of mine in your basement. Just a personal investment, some memories I want to access and... have separated from a tracking chip." She flicked her eyes over to him and leaned back, walking a pen over to her with two fingers. "Don't freak, the paparazzi aren't about to break down your doors. Yet." She whisked up the pen and her body turned to air in a wave, moving through and reforming from her busted hand through to the pen she held in the other. The pen burst away into particles with her hand then reformed. Her lips twisted into a short-lived smirk. "I've got this disappearing act down." She twirled the pen between her fingers like a drumstick and stuck it between her teeth. She took a second to regard him with that amused curiosity she always wore in his presence.
"Youuuuu... are very liberal with what you let me see." She said, shaking the pen at him. "Screw the fight club, I wonder what OSHA would say about the nine story slaughterhouse under your turf. What makes you so sure that I'm here to keep your secrets?"
"Shape..." she greeted, how to put this, cautiously entertained by his presence. The last she'd left him, she hadn't considered the possibility of seeing him again. All due to the chances of her risking running into his business partner... it was remarkable they were the reason she was back in this club. She slunk after him into the meeting room at his invitation and took her seat two away from him, just enough to be wary but still appease the lull she felt towards this man.
"Well. If you've got another spare Tinker in your... 'employ'," she began. She shrugged and rested her chin on her knuckles. Then, looking past him, she proceeded with not the whole story, "I dropped something of mine in your basement. Just a personal investment, some memories I want to access and... have separated from a tracking chip." She flicked her eyes over to him and leaned back, walking a pen over to her with two fingers. "Don't freak, the paparazzi aren't about to break down your doors. Yet." She whisked up the pen and her body turned to air in a wave, moving through and reforming from her busted hand through to the pen she held in the other. The pen burst away into particles with her hand then reformed. Her lips twisted into a short-lived smirk. "I've got this disappearing act down." She twirled the pen between her fingers like a drumstick and stuck it between her teeth. She took a second to regard him with that amused curiosity she always wore in his presence.
"Youuuuu... are very liberal with what you let me see." She said, shaking the pen at him. "Screw the fight club, I wonder what OSHA would say about the nine story slaughterhouse under your turf. What makes you so sure that I'm here to keep your secrets?"
View All »Arcs
Arcs are bundles of posts that you can organize on your own. They're useful for telling a story that might span long periods of time or space.
Good Morning Atlas City
March 11, 2045 (morning)
Independent Contract
March 11, 2045 (morning) - Soldier Park
Witchfinder Greeting
March 11, 2045 (morning) - Atomic Anne's Diner, Soldier Park
Jericho Hunt
March 11, 2045 (night) - Soldier Park
Moe Stalker
March 11, 2045 (night) - city streets
King of the Quarry
March 11, 2045 (night) - Downtown Shopping Center
Breakfast Conversation
March 11, 2045 (morning) - Sasha's apartment
Shapeless
March 11, 2045 (night) - Club Shapeless events
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Welcome home, Promethean. Here, you can manage your universe.
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By creating Collectibles, you can reward your players with unique items that accentuate their character sheets.
Once an Item has been created, it can be spawned in the IC using /spawn Item Name (case-sensitive, as usual) — this can be followed with /take Item Name to retrieve the item into the current character's inventory.
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Give your Universe life by adding a Mob, which are auto-replenishing NPCs your players can interact with. Useful for some quick hack-and-slash fun!
Mobs can be automated spawns, like rats and bats, or full-on NPCs complete with conversation menus. Use them to enhance your player experience!
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View All » Add Character » 43 Characters to follow in this universe
Newest
Y'mari Abara
"You will not see me. I will sunder you."
Scourge
"Pain and Glory!"
Jamie Kerrow
Spiderblood
Amelia Brunel
"Right on target!"
Niall Khadkani
"If I want, I'll take it. And I... want it all."
Evangeline Richter
NAHLA's Radiant Queen
Gideon Gauss
I have the will that will pave the way!
Ezekiel "Zeke" Walker
"Where there's smoke, there's fire."
Hudson Li
World's best damn mecha pilot
Albrecht von Richthofen
"Z tego powodu latam: aby uciec od ciemno??ci."
Trending
Gideon Gauss
I have the will that will pave the way!
Amelia Brunel
"Right on target!"
Maeve Butler
Calm is a skill.
Sairyn Pendrake
The Arcanist of NAHLA
Silentium
I appreciate the finer things in life...more so than you do life itself
Vicki Vortex
"I'm not here to save the world, I'm here to rock out in its final encore."
Liz Baker
The Alchemist
Y'mari Abara
"You will not see me. I will sunder you."
Kiran Kingsley
The doctor is in, time to make you . . . unforgettable~
Henry Stewart
Can't just be strong for your own sake. Not always.
Most Followed
Sasha Belov
In the motherland, he was called Koschei, the Undying. Now, he's looking for a new name.
Jamie Kerrow
Spiderblood
Niall Khadkani
"If I want, I'll take it. And I... want it all."
Vicki Vortex
"I'm not here to save the world, I'm here to rock out in its final encore."
Sheri Galloway
"I'm not really fond of attention."
Klaus Zeit
Trapped in the past to find his future
Y'mari Abara
"You will not see me. I will sunder you."
Evangeline Richter
NAHLA's Radiant Queen
Yue Bayushi
Queen of the Damned...
Joseph Wright
"There was many a time I wished for something different, something more."
View All » Places
869 posts · 43 characters present · last post 6 days 13 hr ago »
A city on the front line of innovation, science, industry, and heroism! A growing community, helping build a better future for everyone!
Fullscreen Chat » Create Topic » Hadean: Out of Character
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Hadean
by Lord Saethos on Wed Jun 17, 2020 6:28 pm
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on Tue Oct 06, 2020 10:25 pm
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Hadean
Most recent OOC posts in Hadean
Re: Hadean
Department Of Hero Affairs (DOHA):
DOHA is the organization tasked with managing all hero organizations across the United States (both private and government operated). They are composed of several members of the Cabinet, National Security Council, and other relevant civilian and military organizations in the United States. Notably absent from this organization is the Director of National Intelligence, an intentional choice when the DNI was originally established (and before that, when it was only the Director of Central Intelligence that existed). The main reason for keeping the DNI and DCI out has been to ensure privacy and security of American heroes, and to help instill greater public trust in the organizations DOHA administers.
Important People:
- Victor Covistic - Secretary of Defense of the United States of America
- Claudia Burke - Attorney General of the United States of America
Director of National Intelligence (DNI):
The current DNI is Douglas MacNamara, an ambitious man known for his previous career as the Director of SINS, and the generally bipartisan support he receives for his handling of both SINS and the CIA. While the actual work both organizations does is fairly secretive, it's rumored he has pushed for all intelligence organizations to take very "active" roles in American Foreign Policy. However, this still quite often bleeds into domestic policy as well, and the more SINS is wielded as a sword, by MacNamara, the more their influence and sway is felt in the hero community. It's become increasingly common for more and more heroes to be encouraged to join the ranks of intelligence agencies under MacNamara.
The Shadow Pentagon:
The Shadow Pentagon is a rogue division of the Pentagon, one which operates under absolute secrecy and a close knit circle of military members and defense experts, all working together with one simple goal:
Keep America at the top of the food chain, now and forever.
They operate with total independence from the United States government, keeping everything they do entirely secret do to it's illegality. While what they do is illegal, they are absolutely convinced in the righteousness of their cause, so much so that they keep their work hidden from US Intelligence Agencies, the general public, and even the President of the United States (at least most of them).
Important People:
- Colonel Anthony Van Graft: A more subordinate member of the group, brought in due to military experience, and patriotic disposition.
- Senator Frank Stewart: An associate only at the moment, the Shadow Pentagon is choosing to allow him to be involved at arm's length. He has military industrial complex connections, which the SP hopes to utilize to get more equipment and funding for their research projects.
DOHA is the organization tasked with managing all hero organizations across the United States (both private and government operated). They are composed of several members of the Cabinet, National Security Council, and other relevant civilian and military organizations in the United States. Notably absent from this organization is the Director of National Intelligence, an intentional choice when the DNI was originally established (and before that, when it was only the Director of Central Intelligence that existed). The main reason for keeping the DNI and DCI out has been to ensure privacy and security of American heroes, and to help instill greater public trust in the organizations DOHA administers.
Important People:
- Victor Covistic - Secretary of Defense of the United States of America
- Claudia Burke - Attorney General of the United States of America
Director of National Intelligence (DNI):
The current DNI is Douglas MacNamara, an ambitious man known for his previous career as the Director of SINS, and the generally bipartisan support he receives for his handling of both SINS and the CIA. While the actual work both organizations does is fairly secretive, it's rumored he has pushed for all intelligence organizations to take very "active" roles in American Foreign Policy. However, this still quite often bleeds into domestic policy as well, and the more SINS is wielded as a sword, by MacNamara, the more their influence and sway is felt in the hero community. It's become increasingly common for more and more heroes to be encouraged to join the ranks of intelligence agencies under MacNamara.
The Shadow Pentagon:
The Shadow Pentagon is a rogue division of the Pentagon, one which operates under absolute secrecy and a close knit circle of military members and defense experts, all working together with one simple goal:
Keep America at the top of the food chain, now and forever.
They operate with total independence from the United States government, keeping everything they do entirely secret do to it's illegality. While what they do is illegal, they are absolutely convinced in the righteousness of their cause, so much so that they keep their work hidden from US Intelligence Agencies, the general public, and even the President of the United States (at least most of them).
Important People:
- Colonel Anthony Van Graft: A more subordinate member of the group, brought in due to military experience, and patriotic disposition.
- Senator Frank Stewart: An associate only at the moment, the Shadow Pentagon is choosing to allow him to be involved at arm's length. He has military industrial complex connections, which the SP hopes to utilize to get more equipment and funding for their research projects.
Re: Hadean
Hello user! Welcome to the Public Historical for American Monumental Companies and Persons! Also known as PHAMCAP!
The UID you entered is recognized as Sebastian Velazquez! Your last session was logged at 10:04 AM of Tuesday, January 2045!
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[BEGIN EDIT]
Menagerie Pharmaceutical Technologies.
[Editors Note: It should be taken into account that not all information in this article can be 100% accurate.
There's too much that Menagerie is hiding from the public, so my timelines may be off.
I hope this helps you, Chorus. We need to bring these bastards down.]
Menagerie Pharmaceutical Technologies, also called Menagerie Tech, or M. Tech., is a relatively large and well known medical corporation. The corporation was founded in 1997, around the advent of time when super-powered individuals were growing that much more well known and respected.
Menagerie Tech made its name in the field of medical technologies, specifically prosthesis and 'genuine' methods of 'repair and maintenance of super powered individuals and inventions.' Put simply, they specialized in replacement limbs and the healthcare of Supers and Super Owned 'Technologies.' They became extremely popular along the western coast of the United States after a slew of successful, experimental at the time, surgeries that proved to be effective on Supers whose biology would ordinarily be too 'impenetrable' to typical medical tools.
They further received additional funding from a certain few branches of the American military in exchange for the devoted research towards the production of... Enhanced limbs.
It would take years, until about 2011, before Menagerie Tech was one of the first companies to ever produce a proper, high end prosthetic limb. It was at first a hand 'unit' paired with a modifiable firearm. The firearm would lock to the specific hand unit, and at the time would simply engage its' safeties until such a time that the proper 'unit' would register to the firearm. A seemingly useless and benign prosthesis, it was nonetheless an advancement unlike any other of its time.
Menagerie would then join the race for even higher grade prosthetic limbs and organs. Culminating in their greatest achievement in 2038.
Nick-named ‘Icho-Gel’, and otherwise referred to as Product[REDACTED] (A-9A11A4-2) Aliyan Salve.
The product has a as of yet unknown production method, but considering Menagerie Tech’s considerable donations to the American Public and their Supers, most of the populace simply chose to ‘not look a gift horse in the mouth’ as it were.
The product in question is reserved solely for use in Menagerie Tech’s hospitals and clinical units, though it’s widely sought after by the otherwise super-powered crowd, or at least those that are in the ‘know’.
Icho-Gel is marketed as a ‘panacea, or as close as we have ever gotten to making one.’ And has been regarded as a medical achievement akin to penicillin. Ichor-Gel, when applied topically to any wound, has been shown to rapidly increase the body’s base healing process.
What would take months or years to close up, properly heal, scar over, and then slowly fade from the body, would only take mere days to hours with the aid of Ichor-Gel. The product was even shown and proven to work on Super-Powered-Individuals with otherwise impenetrable skin.
Menagerie Tech has not yet released how exactly the gel accomplishes this, but has proven through many clinical trials that the product causes no adverse harm to the body.
A glorious cause, and a hefty sum of profit would fall into Menagerie Tech’s hands as a result of their medical marvel...
Unbeknownst to the public however, was another, more sinister goal in mind. Menagerie Tech was contacted in the year 1998, by an otherwise unknown source- Rumored at the time to be SINS and their Russian equivalents- to devise a means of active, hidden, mass producible, homeland security.
It is unknown at the time how credible these claims can be, but with the disappearances of many low level Superheroes and Villains alike all across the southern and western states, the claims continue to build merit.
That was until relatively recently, when a particularly acclaimed Supervillain by the name of Lab Rat was credited with the kidnapping and illegal experimentation of numerous supers.
Lab Rat has also become a prime suspect in the brief appearance of what the public of the small town of Ipswood Texas were calling "The White Pillar", along with the subsequent disappearance of Ipswood nearly 48 hours after.
Rumors surfaced mere weeks later, of an 'escaped experiement', prowling the area where Ipswood once stood.
[END EDIT]
Log off. I'm done.
Goodbye User!
The UID you entered is recognized as Sebastian Velazquez! Your last session was logged at 10:04 AM of Tuesday, January 2045!
You were editing for the com-
Skip welcome message.
Command acknowledged! Would you like to resume your last session?
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Wonderful! The User should know that their work IS being read and archived by SINS, the-
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Speech-to-Text detected! Would you like-
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Understood! Thank you for your compliance!
[BEGIN EDIT]
Menagerie Pharmaceutical Technologies.
There's too much that Menagerie is hiding from the public, so my timelines may be off.
I hope this helps you, Chorus. We need to bring these bastards down.]
Menagerie Pharmaceutical Technologies, also called Menagerie Tech, or M. Tech., is a relatively large and well known medical corporation. The corporation was founded in 1997, around the advent of time when super-powered individuals were growing that much more well known and respected.
Menagerie Tech made its name in the field of medical technologies, specifically prosthesis and 'genuine' methods of 'repair and maintenance of super powered individuals and inventions.' Put simply, they specialized in replacement limbs and the healthcare of Supers and Super Owned 'Technologies.' They became extremely popular along the western coast of the United States after a slew of successful, experimental at the time, surgeries that proved to be effective on Supers whose biology would ordinarily be too 'impenetrable' to typical medical tools.
They further received additional funding from a certain few branches of the American military in exchange for the devoted research towards the production of... Enhanced limbs.
It would take years, until about 2011, before Menagerie Tech was one of the first companies to ever produce a proper, high end prosthetic limb. It was at first a hand 'unit' paired with a modifiable firearm. The firearm would lock to the specific hand unit, and at the time would simply engage its' safeties until such a time that the proper 'unit' would register to the firearm. A seemingly useless and benign prosthesis, it was nonetheless an advancement unlike any other of its time.
Menagerie would then join the race for even higher grade prosthetic limbs and organs. Culminating in their greatest achievement in 2038.
Nick-named ‘Icho-Gel’, and otherwise referred to as Product
The product has a as of yet unknown production method, but considering Menagerie Tech’s considerable donations to the American Public and their Supers, most of the populace simply chose to ‘not look a gift horse in the mouth’ as it were.
The product in question is reserved solely for use in Menagerie Tech’s hospitals and clinical units, though it’s widely sought after by the otherwise super-powered crowd, or at least those that are in the ‘know’.
Icho-Gel is marketed as a ‘panacea, or as close as we have ever gotten to making one.’ And has been regarded as a medical achievement akin to penicillin. Ichor-Gel, when applied topically to any wound, has been shown to rapidly increase the body’s base healing process.
What would take months or years to close up, properly heal, scar over, and then slowly fade from the body, would only take mere days to hours with the aid of Ichor-Gel. The product was even shown and proven to work on Super-Powered-Individuals with otherwise impenetrable skin.
Menagerie Tech has not yet released how exactly the gel accomplishes this, but has proven through many clinical trials that the product causes no adverse harm to the body.
A glorious cause, and a hefty sum of profit would fall into Menagerie Tech’s hands as a result of their medical marvel...
Unbeknownst to the public however, was another, more sinister goal in mind. Menagerie Tech was contacted in the year 1998, by an otherwise unknown source- Rumored at the time to be SINS and their Russian equivalents- to devise a means of active, hidden, mass producible, homeland security.
It is unknown at the time how credible these claims can be, but with the disappearances of many low level Superheroes and Villains alike all across the southern and western states, the claims continue to build merit.
That was until relatively recently, when a particularly acclaimed Supervillain by the name of Lab Rat was credited with the kidnapping and illegal experimentation of numerous supers.
Lab Rat has also become a prime suspect in the brief appearance of what the public of the small town of Ipswood Texas were calling "The White Pillar", along with the subsequent disappearance of Ipswood nearly 48 hours after.
Rumors surfaced mere weeks later, of an 'escaped experiement', prowling the area where Ipswood once stood.
[END EDIT]
Log off. I'm done.
Goodbye User!
Re: Hadean
City of Lichmore, Massachusetts:
Lichmore Massachusetts was a small coastal city in New England established in the 1600's, during Puritanical settlement of North America. The city's primary source of income was from fishing, but it had grown to be more industrialized over the years too, becoming an important port town for the region. However, during the mid-1800's, soil erosion, increased rain, sea encroachment, and flooding began to deteriorate the town. Buildings were starting to become more derelict, mainland access was becoming more difficult, and sea growth started to across the town, whether it be barnacles on buildings, or bits of seaweed lining the streets, even dead fish piling up in some spots.
And that was before the town really began to suffer. In the late 1910's, the roads to the mainland had practically been washed away, streets began to collapse into the ocean from seismic activity, and the whole city had essentially become a waste pile for the dead and decayed things the sea refused to keep within it. The 1920's saw criminal activity surge in the city, now with a population of 232'000 people. Bootlegging had become a major source of income for the community, and its increasing remoteness made it harder for Prohibition cops to catch anyone there. Most of the enforcement had to happen out at sea, or at the ports of other US cities.
This was not to last long however. By 1928, the city had become overwhelmed by the forces of nature. A mass exodus to leave the city had been going on since 1926, and with barely a few thousand people left in the waterlogged mess, it was essentially a ghost town already in the eyes of the rest of America. When the earthquake toppled the buildings, the roads, the foundations of the city itself, and the hurricanes and floods swallowed it all up or washed it out to sea, no one remained to mourn the loss.
The derelict did not go quietly, but it may as well have, for the sheer lack of anyone to have heard it. Any that remained in the city to die with it were almost as derelict as the mold infested, waterlogged buildings that were a light breeze away from collapse.
Few remember this part in American history, and fewer care. Greater and more important things were always around the corner, things that had persisted far longer, and would continue to do so even longer.
Lichmore Massachusetts was a small coastal city in New England established in the 1600's, during Puritanical settlement of North America. The city's primary source of income was from fishing, but it had grown to be more industrialized over the years too, becoming an important port town for the region. However, during the mid-1800's, soil erosion, increased rain, sea encroachment, and flooding began to deteriorate the town. Buildings were starting to become more derelict, mainland access was becoming more difficult, and sea growth started to across the town, whether it be barnacles on buildings, or bits of seaweed lining the streets, even dead fish piling up in some spots.
And that was before the town really began to suffer. In the late 1910's, the roads to the mainland had practically been washed away, streets began to collapse into the ocean from seismic activity, and the whole city had essentially become a waste pile for the dead and decayed things the sea refused to keep within it. The 1920's saw criminal activity surge in the city, now with a population of 232'000 people. Bootlegging had become a major source of income for the community, and its increasing remoteness made it harder for Prohibition cops to catch anyone there. Most of the enforcement had to happen out at sea, or at the ports of other US cities.
This was not to last long however. By 1928, the city had become overwhelmed by the forces of nature. A mass exodus to leave the city had been going on since 1926, and with barely a few thousand people left in the waterlogged mess, it was essentially a ghost town already in the eyes of the rest of America. When the earthquake toppled the buildings, the roads, the foundations of the city itself, and the hurricanes and floods swallowed it all up or washed it out to sea, no one remained to mourn the loss.
The derelict did not go quietly, but it may as well have, for the sheer lack of anyone to have heard it. Any that remained in the city to die with it were almost as derelict as the mold infested, waterlogged buildings that were a light breeze away from collapse.
Few remember this part in American history, and fewer care. Greater and more important things were always around the corner, things that had persisted far longer, and would continue to do so even longer.
Re: Hadean
Recordings of Dr. Elizabeth Galloway, Head of Biological Defense Research at Vanguard Enterprises, L.L.C. regarding Project Mastima (Archive Volume 1)
File 062628
Recording begins.
File 062628
Recording begins.
-What - what is this? Magnetic tape recordings? Did Dr. Halsey really do this?
-Yes, ma’am. Your predecessor was adamant about keeping records that couldn’t be traced digitally.
-Well that’s- I suppose that makes sense. Even if it is a little… hipster. Where are her earlier recordings?
-I wouldn’t be the one to ask, ma’am.
-Fantastic. Alright then. You can go.
-Yes, ma’am.
-Alright. [clears throat] This is file… what’s the date today? Oh-six-two-six-two-eight. Audio recording by Dr. Elizabeth Galloway, newly appointed head of biological defense research - what the fuck even is that? Making superheros? Christ - at Vanguard Enterprises, Boston. Following the final instructions by my predecessor Dr. Catherine Halsey, I’ve followed up on her reports of seventy-three children she flagged as viable candidates for “Project Mastima”. Mastima? Really? Is that meant to refer to herself, or…
-Anyway, I’ve been having Esquela and Brown look into the addresses she listed. Most of these should be fairly easy to bring in, but some of these others - Miss Zima Kratka and Mister Tan Zexian, for example, will present some difficulty. I don’t know what that woman was thinking, selecting children from the other side of the Curtain.
-I also have some… apprehensions concerning her decision to use children as her subjects. I understand it, logically, the increased genetic flexibility will certainly help with any potential… complications. I think I would prefer to go forward with volunteer trials first, however.
Recording Ends.
File 120328
Recording Begins
File 120328
Recording Begins
-Fuck it all to fucking fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck!!
-Volunteer trials were a fucking disaster. One hundred and forty-three either dead or crippled beyond hope of physical or psychological recovery. At least no one’s left to point the finger at us. Jesus Christ, six months of work down the fucking drain.
-I suppose it’s not all a complete loss. Our trials into the study of pre-existing powers bore some surprising fruit - one Mr. Jon Gerry, aka the convicted villain Supernova, had his superpowers removed successfully. Now it’s just a matter of figuring out which method worked, and whether it’s repeatable. And whether those powers can be transferred into another subject.
-As for Dr. Halsey’s children… Well, I suppose that decision’s been made for me. I’ll authorize for them to be. Well, “adopted” isn’t entirely inaccurate, but.... [clears throat]
Recording Ends.
File 011929
Recording Begins
File 011929
Recording Begins
-This is Project Mastima file oh-one-one-nine-two-nine. Dr. Elizabeth Galloway recording.
-The last of the children arrived today. I’ve ordered full medical diagnostics for all of them. Some of them were in uh. [clears throat] Not great. I’ve arranged for the next two months to be dedicated to medical treatment and physical training drills. I want them as healthy as I can get before we start tests.
-Another thing, those up top want me to give the kids new names. Make them harder to track down, I guess. [short laugh] Not that anyone’s looking for them. Dr. Halsey already made sure of that. No families, no birthdays on record, and now no names? May as well tattoo “expendable resource” across their foreheads while we’re at it.
Recording Ends.
File 031329
Recording Begins
File 031329
Recording Begins
-Mastima file oh-three-one-three-two-nine. Dr. Galloway recording.
-Trials started today. Of the seven kids who were tested today, three never made it out of the room, and one had to be… put down. [clears throat] I’ve been trying to maintain distance from them these past couple months but it’s, it’s-
-God damn it, they’re just kids. They’re just fucking kids.
Recording Ends.
File 032329
Recording Begins
File 032329
Recording Begins
-Mastima file oh-three-two-three-two-nine, Dr. Galloway recording.
-Initial trials ended yesterday. Despite Dr. Halsey’s… let’s say “optimism” concerning the use of prepubescents to limit mortality, we still lost half our initial sample population. Thirty-seven out of the original seventy-three subjects died due to extreme trauma during the trial, or were forcibly terminated by security personnel following… spontaneous, aggressive genetic mutation.
-I’ve ordered a week off for recovery, both by my staff and our remaining sample size. After that, we’ll get to work measuring the scope of our survivors’ new abilities.
Recording Ends.
File 032529
Recording Begins
File 032529
Recording Begins
-It was brought to my attention by a caretaker that one of our subjects, Mr… Gilbert Allan, is refusing to eat. I remember this one, his powers turned much of the equipment in lab five to dust. Apparently it made him too afraid to touch anything.
-I resolved the situation through the use of a placebo; I gave him a pair of gloves, and told him they’d been especially designed to resist the effects of his ability. It took a bit of convincing, but he’s managed to wear them without issue, and has resumed eating.
-I’ll keep this incident in mind. I may be able to apply similar placebo effects if the powers of our other subjects prove too much to handle otherwise.
Recording Ends.
File 041329
Recording Begins
File 041329
Recording Begins
-Project Mastima file oh-four-one-three-two-nine. Dr. Elizabeth Galloway recording.
-Initial assessments were completed today. Overall I am… shockingly optimistic. Results… were varied, but many vastly surpassed initial estimates. A handful in particular, namely Mr. Gilbert Allan, Miss Suchin Mookjai, and Mr. Tan Zexian showed remarkable aptitude for their new abilities. Gilbert was a surprise; I wouldn’t have expected him to gain control of his abilities so quickly.
-Others will require… special attention, for the potential danger their abilities could pose if they had such a mind. Miss Ursula Kohler’s ability to influence others with her voice in particular… concerns me. I think I’ll look into countermeasures for that.
-I was disappointed with Miss Zima Kratka. Her display in the initial trials led me to believe she would be one of our best subjects, but her performance during her assessment was comparatively underwhelming. Perhaps she’s reluctant to embrace her newfound talents? Unfortunately I don’t have the time to pay special attention to every one of them, so if she would rather underperform… I suppose that’s her prerogative.
Recording Ends.
File 041629
Recording Begins
File 041629
Recording Begins
-Mastima file oh-four-one-six-two-nine. Dr. Elizabeth Galloway recording.
-I’ve reconsidered the suggestion concerning names. In light of… events concerning our old buddies across the curtain which have transpired in the past and may yet transpire in the future, I feel it may benefit to give these kids a sense of unity. A shared name is a powerful thing, after all, so I announced this morning that they would all be given new names, to signify their “second birth” as supers. Reception was… mixed, but they’re young enough that they’ll bounce back.
-There… are fewer of them than yesterday. On review of their assessments, and pending further medical examination, I’ve reached the conclusion that twelve of them are unfit to continue in this project. Those that are left, these twenty-four remaining members of Dr. Halsey’s chosen children- No, my children. I should at least offer them that degree of accountability. My children. They need to feel like they belong here. If I convince them to think of each other as their siblings, of me as their mother…
-I’m still thinking about those who turned into.. Whatever those were, during the initial trials. Tests following the trials showed many of the remaining subjects were still genetically unstable - the twelve I’ve authorized to have removed from the program are at the greatest risk, but the threat is still there with the others. Hopefully this decision concerning their names will help them feel more at home here, and lower the stress on their psyche.
-Not that that’ll matter much, if they’re cleared for field duty. “A new weapon to protect the world, safer than any bomb.” Yeah, right.
Recording Ends.
Re: Hadean
Important Organizations:
S.I.N.S. (Supers Intelligence for National Security):
SINS is a simple organization to understand, if you understand American military and "intelligence" agencies. Part FBI, part NSA, and a great deal of CIA, SINS keeps track of Supers that don't "conform" to the expectations the state has for them. Vigilantes, villains, and supers that just cause too many problems for Uncle Sam. That's what they take care of. Everything they do is perfectly legal, and moral, so long as it benefits America, and so long as they aren't caught. Of course, that's mostly rumors and conjecture, conspiracy theories talked about by tin hat wearers on the internet. At the end of the day, they keep America safe from supers. At any cost.
National American Hero League Association (NAHLA):
This is THE Hero Organization to be a part of, the absolute cream of the crop, the best that America can possibly dish up. Patriots, dogooders, Good Samaritans, this is the US Marine Corps of superheroes. Of course, it is government sponsored, so registration is required, but it comes with big perks, both financial, and in terms of fame and glory. Some argue that it can be "elitist", and crazies say they're just supermuscle for the government or corporations, but don't pay that any mind. They're almost all good people, who've saved countless lives, and come to the aid in nearly every disaster since the 1940's. Many have laid down their lives, and are forever remembered in the NAHLA Halls of Fame and Heroism.
Witchfinder Generals:
A listed terrorist group, mainly domestic and operating in the United States. Their membership has fallen in the past few decades, but they have been known for murder and other crimes against Supers. This is strange in that many of the members are themselves supers, but the philosophy they subscribe to is that supers are unnatural, demonic beings, and must be rid from the Earth. They tend to dress in slightly modernized Puritanical Settler attire, sporting even the old style of hats often portrayed for that time.
Atlas City Heroes Incorporated (ACHI):
The ACHI was the first private hero organization formed in Atlas City, and has been here ever since! Originally it included Atlas as one of its founding members, but with his passing others have had to carry the torch. Sadly, the organization had originally had more philanthropically minded members, which meant finances were limited. Add to that various issues with infighting, and the organization today is mostly a shell of its former glory, having been surpassed by newer, or much larger and better funded, hero organizations. A few members remain, even one or two of the originals, and they continue to try to keep it's glory and history alive. While it can still afford to...
People's Alliance of Heroic Communist Transformationalists (PAHCT):
As the name may imply, this is an international organization of supers hailing from nations with Communist and/or Socialist governments, or major allies of such countries. The phrase "Transformationalists" essentially means Supers helping to transform the world into a more just, Communist one, where all men, women, and others are equal and free from the oppression of Capitalism and the Bourgeois. Largely headed by the Soviet Union and China, this organization has constantly been at odds with American and other Western hero organizations, though little more than a few sporadic fist fights have ever occurred between these groups. Personal grudges and animosities aren't considered good reasons to start full scale wars, not in the eyes of the Communists, or Capitalists.
The Union:
A criminal organization that previously held sway in various parts of the world (sometimes great, sometimes weak). The Union was supposed to have collapsed earlier this year, but rumors of other criminal organizations potentially having taken on their mantel have begun to surface. Verifying any of this is next to impossible as all traces of them seem to be non-existent, but what is clear is that they are dangerous, and should be treated as such.
Unknown Soldiers (Unconfirmed Existence):
Rumors and speculation abound of strange groups of soldiers being spotted in various locations around the world, some have been spotted in all black, others in blue or white, or similar colors. They may be two groups, and no connections have been made between them. There has also been nothing of note to identify them with to this point, beyond the colors and their secrecy. This could be pure fantasy, but for some it may be useful to keep it in mind anyways, if for no other reason than to stay safe.
S.I.N.S. (Supers Intelligence for National Security):
SINS is a simple organization to understand, if you understand American military and "intelligence" agencies. Part FBI, part NSA, and a great deal of CIA, SINS keeps track of Supers that don't "conform" to the expectations the state has for them. Vigilantes, villains, and supers that just cause too many problems for Uncle Sam. That's what they take care of. Everything they do is perfectly legal, and moral, so long as it benefits America, and so long as they aren't caught. Of course, that's mostly rumors and conjecture, conspiracy theories talked about by tin hat wearers on the internet. At the end of the day, they keep America safe from supers. At any cost.
National American Hero League Association (NAHLA):
This is THE Hero Organization to be a part of, the absolute cream of the crop, the best that America can possibly dish up. Patriots, dogooders, Good Samaritans, this is the US Marine Corps of superheroes. Of course, it is government sponsored, so registration is required, but it comes with big perks, both financial, and in terms of fame and glory. Some argue that it can be "elitist", and crazies say they're just supermuscle for the government or corporations, but don't pay that any mind. They're almost all good people, who've saved countless lives, and come to the aid in nearly every disaster since the 1940's. Many have laid down their lives, and are forever remembered in the NAHLA Halls of Fame and Heroism.
Witchfinder Generals:
A listed terrorist group, mainly domestic and operating in the United States. Their membership has fallen in the past few decades, but they have been known for murder and other crimes against Supers. This is strange in that many of the members are themselves supers, but the philosophy they subscribe to is that supers are unnatural, demonic beings, and must be rid from the Earth. They tend to dress in slightly modernized Puritanical Settler attire, sporting even the old style of hats often portrayed for that time.
Atlas City Heroes Incorporated (ACHI):
The ACHI was the first private hero organization formed in Atlas City, and has been here ever since! Originally it included Atlas as one of its founding members, but with his passing others have had to carry the torch. Sadly, the organization had originally had more philanthropically minded members, which meant finances were limited. Add to that various issues with infighting, and the organization today is mostly a shell of its former glory, having been surpassed by newer, or much larger and better funded, hero organizations. A few members remain, even one or two of the originals, and they continue to try to keep it's glory and history alive. While it can still afford to...
People's Alliance of Heroic Communist Transformationalists (PAHCT):
As the name may imply, this is an international organization of supers hailing from nations with Communist and/or Socialist governments, or major allies of such countries. The phrase "Transformationalists" essentially means Supers helping to transform the world into a more just, Communist one, where all men, women, and others are equal and free from the oppression of Capitalism and the Bourgeois. Largely headed by the Soviet Union and China, this organization has constantly been at odds with American and other Western hero organizations, though little more than a few sporadic fist fights have ever occurred between these groups. Personal grudges and animosities aren't considered good reasons to start full scale wars, not in the eyes of the Communists, or Capitalists.
The Union:
A criminal organization that previously held sway in various parts of the world (sometimes great, sometimes weak). The Union was supposed to have collapsed earlier this year, but rumors of other criminal organizations potentially having taken on their mantel have begun to surface. Verifying any of this is next to impossible as all traces of them seem to be non-existent, but what is clear is that they are dangerous, and should be treated as such.
Unknown Soldiers (Unconfirmed Existence):
Rumors and speculation abound of strange groups of soldiers being spotted in various locations around the world, some have been spotted in all black, others in blue or white, or similar colors. They may be two groups, and no connections have been made between them. There has also been nothing of note to identify them with to this point, beyond the colors and their secrecy. This could be pure fantasy, but for some it may be useful to keep it in mind anyways, if for no other reason than to stay safe.
Re: Hadean
Supers and The Law:
Being a Super, while still controversial today (despite Supers having no control over their condition), has no real legal limitations to it. Supers are able to live normal lives just like anyone else, sometimes slightly more interesting and exciting given their special gifts.
However, being a "hero" or "heroine" is much more legally complicated. As far as the law concerned, any Supers who wish to carry out acts of heroism MUST be part of a LEGALLY recognized organization. This is broken down into several types of organizations.
Government Organizations: Organizations like this include the police, the military, S.I.N.S. (Supers Intelligence for National Security), Intelligence Agencies, search and rescue, medical services, and fire services.
Government Sponsored Hero Organizations: Most national governments in the world sponsor their own Hero organizations (some sponsor more than one even!). These organizations require that their members be given very specific, government mandated and regulated training. Heroes in these organizations may take part in crime fighting and rescue operations, but only if they have successfully obtained their training in these programs. Most members of these organizations must have their identities registered with the government, but their secret identities still remain hidden from the public (for safety and security concerns).
Privately Operated Hero Organizations: These organizations are similar to government Sponsored Hero Organizations, save for the fact these organizations are privately owned and operated. As a result, the owners and members often take on direct legal liability for anything negligent or illegal that one of their Supers does. The draw to some of these organizations is that while they do offer lower pay in some cases, they do offer higher levels of privacy and anonymity. The Supers that join must still participate and pass the government regulated training programs, but it allows them to also participate in crime fighting and rescue operations, when the government gives them permission.
Note: These organizations are NOT required to give the identities of their Supers to the government, however they ARE required to collect their identities and personal information, and they CAN be required to present it to the government in the case of criminal misconduct and investigations. In other words, a subpoena from the courts can force these companies to reveal the identities of supers involved in a legal suit.
International Hero Organizations: These are hero organizations registered, trained, and legally capable of operating in more than one country. These types of organizations are tricky, particularly as some straddle a fine line with the law at times, but they exist largely to participate in major, global scale emergencies. Some of these are government operated (either between different governments, or through international bodies like the UN), and others are privately operated.
Some countries have different approaches to allowing IHO's to handle crises, for America they tend to require the IHO be trained with American standards of Hero training. Additionally for America, they generally require that Supers from a US Government Sponsored or Private American Hero Organization, to work with the IHO, essentially to "babysit" them, or in actuality to ensure they aren't enemy spies working against the US.
Due to this, many IHO's try to incorporate or register themselves in the US to help ease the international legal tensions, though another way to mitigate this is to register in countries considered allies of America. Alternatively, some IHO's register in the USSR, China, or another nation that might be allied to one of these states, or lead by a Communist government.
Vigilantism, Good Samaritans, and Heroism Outside of the Law:
Put simply, any Super (or Non-Super for that matter) that tries to carry out acts of heroism is at serious risk of legal repercussions. Firstly, Vigilantism is illegal period. Supers and Non-Supers cannot ever fight crime without being part of a registered Hero Organization. Things like Citizens Arrests, or working with a Crime Watch organization, is typically legal, however causing serious damage to property, injuries, or death doing either of these will still be punished to the full extent of the law.
Supers and Non-Supers that "take the law into their own hands" will be treated just like the criminals they try to fight.
When it comes to trying to save people, however, the law is a little trickier. Supers and Non-Supers that try to carry out "Good Samaritan" acts can still be charged with negligence and endangerment. For example, saving someone from a burning building, pulling someone out of a car crash, etc. Supers and Non-Supers CANNOT intervene in these dangerous situations without training. If they do so, they could be charged with Reckless Endangerment, even if no one is injured or killed. If anyone is killed or injured, the punishment will be much stricter.
Luckily, Supers and Non-Supers CAN take Good Samaritan training programs! Not only is First Aid training available, but so is fire rescue, car accident scene rescue, earthquake rescue, and much more. With this training, Supers and Non-Supers can carry out acts of heroism when such a time arises, and they can do it safely and with respect to the law.
Note: This training is available to the general public. Supers and Non-Supers do not need to join any organization to receive this training, however it only applies to Rescues and Good Samaritan acts. It does NOT include crime fighting. To fight crime, Supers and Non-Supers MUST join a registered organization.
Super Registration Laws:
Currently, there is no law that exists that requires Supers to be registered in any way. The only time Supers must be registered is when they join Hero organizations, and the only time they need to be registered with the government is when they join organizations sponsored by the government.
However, there has always been a movement of civilians that have pushed for mandatory registration for ALL Supers. So far, no such law has been passed in most Western Nations, but the desire among politicians, corporations, and even regular civilians, to have such laws passed still exists. Whether or not this could ever happen is debatable, but at this moment, most Western governments have not made an effort to pass such laws.
Being a Super, while still controversial today (despite Supers having no control over their condition), has no real legal limitations to it. Supers are able to live normal lives just like anyone else, sometimes slightly more interesting and exciting given their special gifts.
However, being a "hero" or "heroine" is much more legally complicated. As far as the law concerned, any Supers who wish to carry out acts of heroism MUST be part of a LEGALLY recognized organization. This is broken down into several types of organizations.
__________________________________________________________________________________
Government Organizations: Organizations like this include the police, the military, S.I.N.S. (Supers Intelligence for National Security), Intelligence Agencies, search and rescue, medical services, and fire services.
__________________________________________________________________________________
Government Sponsored Hero Organizations: Most national governments in the world sponsor their own Hero organizations (some sponsor more than one even!). These organizations require that their members be given very specific, government mandated and regulated training. Heroes in these organizations may take part in crime fighting and rescue operations, but only if they have successfully obtained their training in these programs. Most members of these organizations must have their identities registered with the government, but their secret identities still remain hidden from the public (for safety and security concerns).
__________________________________________________________________________________
Privately Operated Hero Organizations: These organizations are similar to government Sponsored Hero Organizations, save for the fact these organizations are privately owned and operated. As a result, the owners and members often take on direct legal liability for anything negligent or illegal that one of their Supers does. The draw to some of these organizations is that while they do offer lower pay in some cases, they do offer higher levels of privacy and anonymity. The Supers that join must still participate and pass the government regulated training programs, but it allows them to also participate in crime fighting and rescue operations, when the government gives them permission.
Note: These organizations are NOT required to give the identities of their Supers to the government, however they ARE required to collect their identities and personal information, and they CAN be required to present it to the government in the case of criminal misconduct and investigations. In other words, a subpoena from the courts can force these companies to reveal the identities of supers involved in a legal suit.
__________________________________________________________________________________
International Hero Organizations: These are hero organizations registered, trained, and legally capable of operating in more than one country. These types of organizations are tricky, particularly as some straddle a fine line with the law at times, but they exist largely to participate in major, global scale emergencies. Some of these are government operated (either between different governments, or through international bodies like the UN), and others are privately operated.
Some countries have different approaches to allowing IHO's to handle crises, for America they tend to require the IHO be trained with American standards of Hero training. Additionally for America, they generally require that Supers from a US Government Sponsored or Private American Hero Organization, to work with the IHO, essentially to "babysit" them, or in actuality to ensure they aren't enemy spies working against the US.
Due to this, many IHO's try to incorporate or register themselves in the US to help ease the international legal tensions, though another way to mitigate this is to register in countries considered allies of America. Alternatively, some IHO's register in the USSR, China, or another nation that might be allied to one of these states, or lead by a Communist government.
__________________________________________________________________________________
Vigilantism, Good Samaritans, and Heroism Outside of the Law:
Put simply, any Super (or Non-Super for that matter) that tries to carry out acts of heroism is at serious risk of legal repercussions. Firstly, Vigilantism is illegal period. Supers and Non-Supers cannot ever fight crime without being part of a registered Hero Organization. Things like Citizens Arrests, or working with a Crime Watch organization, is typically legal, however causing serious damage to property, injuries, or death doing either of these will still be punished to the full extent of the law.
Supers and Non-Supers that "take the law into their own hands" will be treated just like the criminals they try to fight.
When it comes to trying to save people, however, the law is a little trickier. Supers and Non-Supers that try to carry out "Good Samaritan" acts can still be charged with negligence and endangerment. For example, saving someone from a burning building, pulling someone out of a car crash, etc. Supers and Non-Supers CANNOT intervene in these dangerous situations without training. If they do so, they could be charged with Reckless Endangerment, even if no one is injured or killed. If anyone is killed or injured, the punishment will be much stricter.
Luckily, Supers and Non-Supers CAN take Good Samaritan training programs! Not only is First Aid training available, but so is fire rescue, car accident scene rescue, earthquake rescue, and much more. With this training, Supers and Non-Supers can carry out acts of heroism when such a time arises, and they can do it safely and with respect to the law.
Note: This training is available to the general public. Supers and Non-Supers do not need to join any organization to receive this training, however it only applies to Rescues and Good Samaritan acts. It does NOT include crime fighting. To fight crime, Supers and Non-Supers MUST join a registered organization.
__________________________________________________________________________________
Super Registration Laws:
Currently, there is no law that exists that requires Supers to be registered in any way. The only time Supers must be registered is when they join Hero organizations, and the only time they need to be registered with the government is when they join organizations sponsored by the government.
However, there has always been a movement of civilians that have pushed for mandatory registration for ALL Supers. So far, no such law has been passed in most Western Nations, but the desire among politicians, corporations, and even regular civilians, to have such laws passed still exists. Whether or not this could ever happen is debatable, but at this moment, most Western governments have not made an effort to pass such laws.
Re: Hadean
How Powers Work:
From what scientific study has produced so far, the way in which the powers of supers work is tied into atomic and subatomic particles. While much of these studies have had to lean on hypothesis at this point, it's clear that the effects these powers produce is largely based on a manipulation of particles, possibly through some unknown type of energy. What can be observed is that certain powers (for example fire creation) involves no use of fuels, either already existing ones or a fuel that exists within supers. Fire can simply, at face value, appear out of thin air.
Of course, that would imply a non-scientific origin perhaps, but other studies have led to evidence that suggests the existence of either particles or an energy that allows supers to manipulate other atomic and subatomic particles. This is still only a hypothesis, as it has so far been impossible to detect this with current scientific instruments and measurements.
Other things like biological or chemical changes have been considered, but these fields of study have so far shown very little. Some evidence might lead to supers having certain shared genetic traits, but if this is true, it has not yet been discovered where these traits came from, and whether they cause the powers, or are caused by the powers, or if the powers and the genes are created by some sort of "point of origin" (which raises a multitude of other hypotheses as well, including multiverse theories).
Finally, there is the hypothesis that powers work through more supernatural means, though even that has opened up its very own field of hypotheticals, and of course, pseudo-science.
Important Note: As far as scientific studies have illustrated, the powers supers today demonstrate have not been documented at any point in time before World War 2. This leads to the conclusion that some event in WW2 is what led to the existence of these powers. Some have speculated the atomic bombs used on Japan may be the origin, others have suggested strange Nazi science and occultism, and others still suggest more supernatural events that took place at the time.
There are rumors of some powered beings from another world, or immortals who have existed since long before World War 2, of monsters and legendary creatures. As far as science can show, these are all rumors, speculation, myths, and legends. Some, at worst, are mere conspiracy theories. Until evidence can surface to support any of these claims, they cannot be given any merit.
Power Origins:
The powers of supers have a variety of identified "origins", points at which powers demonstrate themselves in supers, but the main five are as follows:
Birth: A super is born with their powers.
Trauma: Some severe, traumatic event results in the appearance of a super's powers.
Random/Chance: A super is not born with their powers, but they at some point "activate" in a super, with no identifiable origin or reason for activation. In other words; "They went to bed normal, but woke up as a Super".
Anomalous Incident (Speculative): Some supers report having been involved in an incident that defies the laws of nature and science, some supernatural or science fiction event outside the norms of our world. This is, at this point, speculative as it relies on the self-reporting of supers. It is possible these origins are true, but without further evidence, it cannot be accepted conclusively, making it a speculative origin only for the time being.
Other (Sometimes Speculative): Similar to anomalous incidents, but generally more grounded in reality. Some claiming to be the result of government experiments, or created by malicious corporations, or some kind of construct of powerful Supervillains. Some claims go so far as to suggest they are aliens, beings from other worlds, other galaxies, even other universes. Like anomalous incidents, without further evidence, many of these cannot be accepted conclusively and must be assumed as speculative origins for the time being.
From what scientific study has produced so far, the way in which the powers of supers work is tied into atomic and subatomic particles. While much of these studies have had to lean on hypothesis at this point, it's clear that the effects these powers produce is largely based on a manipulation of particles, possibly through some unknown type of energy. What can be observed is that certain powers (for example fire creation) involves no use of fuels, either already existing ones or a fuel that exists within supers. Fire can simply, at face value, appear out of thin air.
Of course, that would imply a non-scientific origin perhaps, but other studies have led to evidence that suggests the existence of either particles or an energy that allows supers to manipulate other atomic and subatomic particles. This is still only a hypothesis, as it has so far been impossible to detect this with current scientific instruments and measurements.
Other things like biological or chemical changes have been considered, but these fields of study have so far shown very little. Some evidence might lead to supers having certain shared genetic traits, but if this is true, it has not yet been discovered where these traits came from, and whether they cause the powers, or are caused by the powers, or if the powers and the genes are created by some sort of "point of origin" (which raises a multitude of other hypotheses as well, including multiverse theories).
Finally, there is the hypothesis that powers work through more supernatural means, though even that has opened up its very own field of hypotheticals, and of course, pseudo-science.
Important Note: As far as scientific studies have illustrated, the powers supers today demonstrate have not been documented at any point in time before World War 2. This leads to the conclusion that some event in WW2 is what led to the existence of these powers. Some have speculated the atomic bombs used on Japan may be the origin, others have suggested strange Nazi science and occultism, and others still suggest more supernatural events that took place at the time.
There are rumors of some powered beings from another world, or immortals who have existed since long before World War 2, of monsters and legendary creatures. As far as science can show, these are all rumors, speculation, myths, and legends. Some, at worst, are mere conspiracy theories. Until evidence can surface to support any of these claims, they cannot be given any merit.
Power Origins:
The powers of supers have a variety of identified "origins", points at which powers demonstrate themselves in supers, but the main five are as follows:
Birth: A super is born with their powers.
Trauma: Some severe, traumatic event results in the appearance of a super's powers.
Random/Chance: A super is not born with their powers, but they at some point "activate" in a super, with no identifiable origin or reason for activation. In other words; "They went to bed normal, but woke up as a Super".
Anomalous Incident (Speculative): Some supers report having been involved in an incident that defies the laws of nature and science, some supernatural or science fiction event outside the norms of our world. This is, at this point, speculative as it relies on the self-reporting of supers. It is possible these origins are true, but without further evidence, it cannot be accepted conclusively, making it a speculative origin only for the time being.
Other (Sometimes Speculative): Similar to anomalous incidents, but generally more grounded in reality. Some claiming to be the result of government experiments, or created by malicious corporations, or some kind of construct of powerful Supervillains. Some claims go so far as to suggest they are aliens, beings from other worlds, other galaxies, even other universes. Like anomalous incidents, without further evidence, many of these cannot be accepted conclusively and must be assumed as speculative origins for the time being.
Re: Hadean
Power Classifications:
Based on some of the Power Classifications of the Worm IP: Power Classifications - Worm Wiki
More will be added, subtracted, or edited from this list to fit with the mechanics of the Hadean universe.
Mover: An ability that enhances mobility.
Shaker: An ability with an area of effect.
Brute: An ability that grants enhanced strength or durability.
Breaker: An ability that allows the super to shift into another state
Master: An ability that allows a super to control others or create minions.
Tinker: An ability that allows a super to create or alter devices with futuristic technology.
Blaster: A ranged, offensive ability.
Thinker: An ability that focuses on information gathering.
Striker: An ability that is melee-ranged or touch-based.
Changer: An ability that allows the super to alter their form or appearance.
Trump: An ability that allows the super to manipulate powers in some capacity.
Stranger: An ability that focuses on stealth or infiltration.
Based on some of the Power Classifications of the Worm IP: Power Classifications - Worm Wiki
More will be added, subtracted, or edited from this list to fit with the mechanics of the Hadean universe.
Mover: An ability that enhances mobility.
Shaker: An ability with an area of effect.
Brute: An ability that grants enhanced strength or durability.
Breaker: An ability that allows the super to shift into another state
Master: An ability that allows a super to control others or create minions.
Tinker: An ability that allows a super to create or alter devices with futuristic technology.
Blaster: A ranged, offensive ability.
Thinker: An ability that focuses on information gathering.
Striker: An ability that is melee-ranged or touch-based.
Changer: An ability that allows the super to alter their form or appearance.
Trump: An ability that allows the super to manipulate powers in some capacity.
Stranger: An ability that focuses on stealth or infiltration.