Since Pyrepower did a big favor for me the other day (not that kind, fan fiction writers, sorry), I thought I'd do something in return: give her a little more exposure (again, not that kind). So here's my favorite apprentice's secret origin.
Pyrepower got her start a few years back. She lived in Texas. She was on track to be valedictorian at her high school. She had great grades, plans for college, you name it. But she was Stage 2 by then, so of course she was doing better than her peers.
She was going to be the designated driver for her group, who were all going to a big post-football party - pigskin being a very big deal in her town. They went to the party, they had fun. She wasn't really the "party girl" type. The football team was all there, natch, and they were all drinking, natch. They pretty much had their pick of girls, and most of them went upstairs with the girl (or girls) they wanted at the party.
One of Pyre's friends wasn't interested in the attention from one of the jocks, so she asked for a ride home. Pyre said okay, she'd go get the car. They drove away. The jock piled into his car with a few other friends and took off after them - motives uncertain, but probably guessable. On the road, they crashed, and Pyre's car went off the road. She was trapped in the wreck and burned alive, transitioning to Stage 3 in the process. Her friend apparently got out but passed out, and was hospitalized. The jocks were shaken up, but not seriously injured.
Pyre's body was still transforming and healing itself. She woke up in the hospital a few days later. Her friend was on medication and being treated for burns and smoke inhalation. In the meantime, the jock had given a statement to the police that Pyre had been drunk and hit their car instead. The cops bought it - pigskin being a very big deal in their town - and let the guy go without any warning or fine, even though it was clear they'd been drinking.
So our girl is accused of drunk driving, her insurance company refuses to cover anything, her parents are totally upset with her, and her chances at giving the valedictory go up in smoke. She spent 17 agonizing hours recovering from being charred literally to the bone, and she was not happy.
So she goes after the jock and his friends in a big way. This is where I come in. I'd like to say I was coincidentally in the area, but I get a news feed of likely or confirmed Stage 3 transitions and I headed down to see what was going on. I stop her before she burns them alive in their own car, because I'm a nice guy like that.
"He's going to play football!" she screamed at me. "My life was ruined, and he's going back to play football!" Well, this seemed unfair to me, so I had her tell me her story. I checked it out a little bit - trust, but verify, you know? - and told her, fine, we'll come up with something.
So we go back to the jock - well, she goes, and I hitch a ride in shrunken form to observe - and she lays out the deal we worked out. Life for life. She didn't die, neither does he. But it's not fair that he gets off because he's a football dude and she's an academic, so she's gonna give him a choice. Fess up about what really happened that night, or she's going to break his legs so he can't play, and whenever he's healed up, she'll come back and break them again. I credit the movie "Casino" with the idea.
Our boy agreed to the deal and said he'd confess. A few days of nothing and one broken leg later, he realized that keeping his word was a good idea and came clean. Of course there was no going back for Pyrepower at that time, but she wanted nothing more to do with these people anyway. She had a lot of unexpressed anger that was going to take time to bubble up and deal with. I told her that since was 18, she was an adult, and she could do what she liked. If she didn't have job prospects (her impending DUI conviction, and the assault charges, saw to that), I'd offer her on-the-job training. I explained my version of villainy. Professional lawbreaker was a hard sell at first, but she discovered she had a taste for it.
I got her into some therapy for the trauma and the anger management. We picked a code name. I wanted something else, but she said Pyrefly was too goofy. She doesn't believe me when I say the shortened name sounds like "peepee" and is embarrassing. I'm happy to say that she's doing good, she's furthering her studies, and she's not just perpetrating violence and theft all her life. She's a good kid, and I'm proud to have her as an apprentice.
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My short name is Pyre, not PP.
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You're welcome to think whatever makes you happy, kid.
Showing posts with label people of note. Show all posts
Showing posts with label people of note. Show all posts
Thursday, August 14, 2014
Sunday, July 13, 2014
Monsters of Note: the Jersey Devil
Today's Monster of Note is a real monster. People like Father Freak at least have recognizably human motives. But this thing...
The Jersey Devil
Rather than do the usual background stuff, I just want to talk about this thing, because I'm not 100% sure it's human. The traditional "Jersey Devil" was a thing for decades, but this creature has supplanted the old definition in the minds of most people.
The Jersey Devil is a Child of Lilith. The DNA it's left behind tested as human, so there you are. Not that it matters. I don't hesitate to call it a creature, instead of a man. It attacks campers and hikers in the New York and New Jersey areas with unthinking ferocity. It's shown absolutely no signs of self-preservation or any wish to communicate, and attacked park rangers who came too close. It runs from supers, and can somehow sense their presence.
Physical descriptions of the Devil are a mixed bag. Either it has the ability to change shape, or most people are too busy shitting their shorts to get an accurate picture. The most reliable reports come from flying supers who can get a good vantage on the thing. They generally agree that it has a massively exaggerated musculature, claws, fangs, and a snout like a wolf. Sometimes weird, ropy tentacles have entered the description, always coming from the creature's chest - so it might have some sort of extra limbs that aren't visible from the air at a distance.
Naturally the authorities want this thing caught and contained for study. Heroes and villains alike want it gone for their own reasons. There's a standing bounty on information leading to the capture of the beast, and a much larger one for any super (or mundane, but come on) who can actually corral it themselves.
The most successful attempts at capture have involved supers going into the woods in teams and trying to flush it out. There's been an interesting theory proposed, about using a friendly jacker (or chemical means) to de-power a super, send him in alone, and somehow regain his powers at the exact moment the creature is going to strike. Obviously this is a stupid plan, and hard to do, or someone would have pulled it off by now. If you think it sounds daring and fun, take my advice and get your head examined.
The Jersey Devil
Rather than do the usual background stuff, I just want to talk about this thing, because I'm not 100% sure it's human. The traditional "Jersey Devil" was a thing for decades, but this creature has supplanted the old definition in the minds of most people.
The Jersey Devil is a Child of Lilith. The DNA it's left behind tested as human, so there you are. Not that it matters. I don't hesitate to call it a creature, instead of a man. It attacks campers and hikers in the New York and New Jersey areas with unthinking ferocity. It's shown absolutely no signs of self-preservation or any wish to communicate, and attacked park rangers who came too close. It runs from supers, and can somehow sense their presence.
Physical descriptions of the Devil are a mixed bag. Either it has the ability to change shape, or most people are too busy shitting their shorts to get an accurate picture. The most reliable reports come from flying supers who can get a good vantage on the thing. They generally agree that it has a massively exaggerated musculature, claws, fangs, and a snout like a wolf. Sometimes weird, ropy tentacles have entered the description, always coming from the creature's chest - so it might have some sort of extra limbs that aren't visible from the air at a distance.
Naturally the authorities want this thing caught and contained for study. Heroes and villains alike want it gone for their own reasons. There's a standing bounty on information leading to the capture of the beast, and a much larger one for any super (or mundane, but come on) who can actually corral it themselves.
The most successful attempts at capture have involved supers going into the woods in teams and trying to flush it out. There's been an interesting theory proposed, about using a friendly jacker (or chemical means) to de-power a super, send him in alone, and somehow regain his powers at the exact moment the creature is going to strike. Obviously this is a stupid plan, and hard to do, or someone would have pulled it off by now. If you think it sounds daring and fun, take my advice and get your head examined.
Saturday, July 12, 2014
Monsters of Note: the Scarab Guardian
Another African super is our Monster of Note today. He has a bunch of Egyptian names that translate to "scary mofo", but the most common English alias he has is "the Scarab Guardian".
The Scarab Guardian
The stories say that a European grave-robber was trapped in one of the pyramids he was looting - buried thousands of feet under unforgiving stone, pinioned in the lightless void of the realm of the dead, the curse of the Pharaohs gave him a choice. Serve them, or face the judgement of the ancient spirits he had offended. He was transformed into an eternally undead guardian and sentenced to guard the very tombs he had pilfered.
Of course this is all bullshit. The Scarab Guardian is a former villain who operated in Egypt. He was given a better offer by the Egyptian government after his capture, pardoned, and assigned to an Egyptian super-team: the National Historical Preservation Society. He's one of the uncommon "hero monsters", and an example of why personal feelings trump the "hero" and "villain" divide.
Like Beast-Boss in America, his powers include control over animals. Unlike Beast-Boss, he can't empower his animals, but he can physically merge with them and acquire their physical characteristics (in whole or in part). Physically, of course, he's ugly as sin - stark gray skin, glowing red eyes, unnatural bulges in his skin, and a weird scuttling gait due to the way his muscles and bones are structured.
Past
The Guardian started life as "the Scarab", an Egyptian villain. His M.O. was industrial theft around the port of Suez. The Egyptian government has sealed any records of the members of the NHPS's supers, but those in the know tell me he was an Egyptian native, probably born in Cairo from his accent and familiarity with the area, and apparently poor to lower class in his upbringing.
The authorities managed to trap him in a reinforced container along with a member of the NHPS. They had a conversation, and the outcome was that the Scarab came out peacefully, surrendered himself, and spent about a week in the slam before joining his new team.
Position
The Scarab Guardian usually operates solo, but his powers make him an excellent infiltrator, spy, and perimeter alarm system. He can see anywhere his animals can be, and he can shapeshift into anything you might commonly find in the region.
Personality
A big part of the Guardian's motivation is pride in the relics of Egypt and the history of the country. His own comments mark him as an Egyptian nationalist and patriot.
He's actually better adjusted than a lot of Children of Lilith. He avoids endangering people, mundane and super alike, and shows genuine compassion for lost tourists he's located with his powers. He's believed to be a Sunni Muslim, though how devout he is remains unclear.
He harbors a big grudge against Israel for the Six-Day War of 1967, and it's been suggested that his father might have been an Egyptian soldier who was killed during that conflict.
Powers
Like Beast-Boss, he can control animals through some sort of radio link to their nervous system. He has to physically contact one animal to bind to it, but those animals can apparently spread the control system like a contagion. This lets him take over whole swarms of animals at a time.
Aside from this, he can physically take on the traits of any animal he touches, partially or totally. He uses this power mostly to emulate the gods and monsters of myth - jackal-headed creatures, for example - for psychological purposes.
Aside from the reconnaissance value of his swarms, and the combat potential of certain animal types, the Scarab Guardian mostly uses his control for terror tactics. There was a story of a gang of tomb-robbers who descended into one particular pyramid. Only one made it out, covered in beetle bites, and he was committed to an insane asylum. No, the rest didn't die - the Scarab Guardian had managed to capture them and hand them over to the authorities. But you didn't read about that part in the papers, which is unofficially how parts of the Egyptian government like it. The more people who decide not to mess with the tombs, the happier everyone is.
Problems
Aside from being one ugly son of a bitch, the Scarab Guardian is somewhat averse to direct sunlight. Like most vampires, the Scarab Guardian's body is photosynthetic and he slips into a hibernation state if he receives enough bright sunlight.
Unlike Beast-Boss, the Guardian doesn't seem to be hurt or distracted if you injure his animals. He does care, though - don't just go around offing every bat you see and not expect him to pay you a visit.
The Scarab Guardian
The stories say that a European grave-robber was trapped in one of the pyramids he was looting - buried thousands of feet under unforgiving stone, pinioned in the lightless void of the realm of the dead, the curse of the Pharaohs gave him a choice. Serve them, or face the judgement of the ancient spirits he had offended. He was transformed into an eternally undead guardian and sentenced to guard the very tombs he had pilfered.
Of course this is all bullshit. The Scarab Guardian is a former villain who operated in Egypt. He was given a better offer by the Egyptian government after his capture, pardoned, and assigned to an Egyptian super-team: the National Historical Preservation Society. He's one of the uncommon "hero monsters", and an example of why personal feelings trump the "hero" and "villain" divide.
Like Beast-Boss in America, his powers include control over animals. Unlike Beast-Boss, he can't empower his animals, but he can physically merge with them and acquire their physical characteristics (in whole or in part). Physically, of course, he's ugly as sin - stark gray skin, glowing red eyes, unnatural bulges in his skin, and a weird scuttling gait due to the way his muscles and bones are structured.
Past
The Guardian started life as "the Scarab", an Egyptian villain. His M.O. was industrial theft around the port of Suez. The Egyptian government has sealed any records of the members of the NHPS's supers, but those in the know tell me he was an Egyptian native, probably born in Cairo from his accent and familiarity with the area, and apparently poor to lower class in his upbringing.
The authorities managed to trap him in a reinforced container along with a member of the NHPS. They had a conversation, and the outcome was that the Scarab came out peacefully, surrendered himself, and spent about a week in the slam before joining his new team.
Position
The Scarab Guardian usually operates solo, but his powers make him an excellent infiltrator, spy, and perimeter alarm system. He can see anywhere his animals can be, and he can shapeshift into anything you might commonly find in the region.
Personality
A big part of the Guardian's motivation is pride in the relics of Egypt and the history of the country. His own comments mark him as an Egyptian nationalist and patriot.
He's actually better adjusted than a lot of Children of Lilith. He avoids endangering people, mundane and super alike, and shows genuine compassion for lost tourists he's located with his powers. He's believed to be a Sunni Muslim, though how devout he is remains unclear.
He harbors a big grudge against Israel for the Six-Day War of 1967, and it's been suggested that his father might have been an Egyptian soldier who was killed during that conflict.
Powers
Like Beast-Boss, he can control animals through some sort of radio link to their nervous system. He has to physically contact one animal to bind to it, but those animals can apparently spread the control system like a contagion. This lets him take over whole swarms of animals at a time.
Aside from this, he can physically take on the traits of any animal he touches, partially or totally. He uses this power mostly to emulate the gods and monsters of myth - jackal-headed creatures, for example - for psychological purposes.
Aside from the reconnaissance value of his swarms, and the combat potential of certain animal types, the Scarab Guardian mostly uses his control for terror tactics. There was a story of a gang of tomb-robbers who descended into one particular pyramid. Only one made it out, covered in beetle bites, and he was committed to an insane asylum. No, the rest didn't die - the Scarab Guardian had managed to capture them and hand them over to the authorities. But you didn't read about that part in the papers, which is unofficially how parts of the Egyptian government like it. The more people who decide not to mess with the tombs, the happier everyone is.
Problems
Aside from being one ugly son of a bitch, the Scarab Guardian is somewhat averse to direct sunlight. Like most vampires, the Scarab Guardian's body is photosynthetic and he slips into a hibernation state if he receives enough bright sunlight.
Unlike Beast-Boss, the Guardian doesn't seem to be hurt or distracted if you injure his animals. He does care, though - don't just go around offing every bat you see and not expect him to pay you a visit.
Friday, July 11, 2014
Monsters of Note: Father Freak
The usual categorization for supers is "heroes, villains, and monsters". That's inaccurate, so here's the low-down:
When a child with super potential is born, they advance to Stage 1. Immediately the mitochondria in their cells starts a process of evolution, trying to bond with the cells and "repair" the body (which in reality has only been delivered, not injured). If they are successful, the child will advance to Stage 2 in a week's time. If they fail, they'll eventually bond, but imperfectly, and this process takes about three weeks. We call the former children "heroes or villains", but the original researchers dubbed them "Children of Eve". We call the latter "monsters", but they are also called "Children of Lilith".
Lilithim are invariably disfigured, grotesque, and inhuman, but they are still supers. Like any other human being, they can make moral decisions and do what they think is right. Since they tend to be rejected by society, they're more likely to be outcasts and misfits. They don't fall into the traditional "villain" role - they are often more destructive, and less social. And then there's some who are real monsters.
A great example is Father Freak. He is sometimes called "the demon of Detroit", and is monstrous both physically and mentally. He holds a twisted Black Mass at the St. Joseph Roman Catholic church, near Lafayette Park, and has destroyed the building's treasured stained glass windows.
Past
Some say he's a former priest, or an ordinary man whose faith was shattered. Either way, it is known that he holds an undying grudge against Christianity, and most benevolent expressions of other religious belief (such as the practice of alms and charitable giving among Muslims).
Personality
Father Freak doesn't seem very tormented, although psychological profiles suggest a deeply-rooted self-loathing and persecution complex. He occupies the St. Joseph church as his home, and is known to be a Stage Five superhuman. He seems content to practice Satanic rituals and other defilement at the church, and the police have proven repeatedly unable to stop him. He isn't destructive enough to prompt the military to approach with sufficient force to pose a real threat to him.
He welcomes guests to the church, provided they make no obvious attempt to worship; he enjoys the company of nonbelievers, the wretched, the outcast, and other kindred spirits.
Powers
Father Freak stands eight feet tall. His "skin" is a deeply black armored chitinous shell and affords him significant protection. Numerous cracks or fissures in the shell, and other orifices such as his eyes and mouth, continuously emit a peculiar silvery light. His vision seems to have compensated by spreading into the infrared and ultraviolet portions of the spectrum. He has six fingers and toes, and an extra joint in each major extremity.
He is capable of generating tremendously strong concussive blasts at range, apparently via some highly energetic interaction with the atmosphere. This power can also be used defensively; if he focuses, he can wrap himself into a nigh-impenetrable shield of force. This combined with his armor and inhumanly fast healing rate make him almost invulnerable. Even without his shield, he has shrugged off rounds from anti-materiel rifles and is known to have walked through a barrage of 20mm rounds from an M197 Gatling gun without breaking stride.
Problems
Father Freak's numerous psychological problems seem centered around his hatred of spirituality and teachings of love or kindness. It is believed that his feelings are based on his development as a Child of Lilith, and that his monstrous form unhinged his mind. If so, reminders of that trauma would probably trigger a very strong response.
When a child with super potential is born, they advance to Stage 1. Immediately the mitochondria in their cells starts a process of evolution, trying to bond with the cells and "repair" the body (which in reality has only been delivered, not injured). If they are successful, the child will advance to Stage 2 in a week's time. If they fail, they'll eventually bond, but imperfectly, and this process takes about three weeks. We call the former children "heroes or villains", but the original researchers dubbed them "Children of Eve". We call the latter "monsters", but they are also called "Children of Lilith".
Lilithim are invariably disfigured, grotesque, and inhuman, but they are still supers. Like any other human being, they can make moral decisions and do what they think is right. Since they tend to be rejected by society, they're more likely to be outcasts and misfits. They don't fall into the traditional "villain" role - they are often more destructive, and less social. And then there's some who are real monsters.
A great example is Father Freak. He is sometimes called "the demon of Detroit", and is monstrous both physically and mentally. He holds a twisted Black Mass at the St. Joseph Roman Catholic church, near Lafayette Park, and has destroyed the building's treasured stained glass windows.
Past
Some say he's a former priest, or an ordinary man whose faith was shattered. Either way, it is known that he holds an undying grudge against Christianity, and most benevolent expressions of other religious belief (such as the practice of alms and charitable giving among Muslims).
Personality
Father Freak doesn't seem very tormented, although psychological profiles suggest a deeply-rooted self-loathing and persecution complex. He occupies the St. Joseph church as his home, and is known to be a Stage Five superhuman. He seems content to practice Satanic rituals and other defilement at the church, and the police have proven repeatedly unable to stop him. He isn't destructive enough to prompt the military to approach with sufficient force to pose a real threat to him.
He welcomes guests to the church, provided they make no obvious attempt to worship; he enjoys the company of nonbelievers, the wretched, the outcast, and other kindred spirits.
Powers
Father Freak stands eight feet tall. His "skin" is a deeply black armored chitinous shell and affords him significant protection. Numerous cracks or fissures in the shell, and other orifices such as his eyes and mouth, continuously emit a peculiar silvery light. His vision seems to have compensated by spreading into the infrared and ultraviolet portions of the spectrum. He has six fingers and toes, and an extra joint in each major extremity.
He is capable of generating tremendously strong concussive blasts at range, apparently via some highly energetic interaction with the atmosphere. This power can also be used defensively; if he focuses, he can wrap himself into a nigh-impenetrable shield of force. This combined with his armor and inhumanly fast healing rate make him almost invulnerable. Even without his shield, he has shrugged off rounds from anti-materiel rifles and is known to have walked through a barrage of 20mm rounds from an M197 Gatling gun without breaking stride.
Problems
Father Freak's numerous psychological problems seem centered around his hatred of spirituality and teachings of love or kindness. It is believed that his feelings are based on his development as a Child of Lilith, and that his monstrous form unhinged his mind. If so, reminders of that trauma would probably trigger a very strong response.
Thursday, July 10, 2014
Superheroes of Note: Asiri
Due to requests from international readers, I'm going to call attention to the leader of the Lagos Guard, a Nigerian super-team, and their leader.
Asiri
The superheroes and supervillains in Africa operate on a very different dynamic than those in America and Canada. According to my African contacts, they act more like Feudal lords and knights, patrolling a given area of turf and protecting the people who live there. The "hero" and "villain" distinction is a little looser, but mainly comes down to whether you're benevolent or not.
The Lagos Guard are the only heroic super-team operating in the city of Lagos. The city has between 17 and 20 million people and is located on the southwestern coast of Nigeria. It's a port city and is significant to the economy of the entire country. The Lagos Guard was formed to act as the city's super-protectors, and they deal a beat-down to anyone who tries to muscle in.
Asiri is the leader of the Guard. He (or she, nobody's sure, but I'll stick with "he" unless corrected) is a shapeshifter and a pretty powerful Stage 4 Child of Eve. He's an infiltration specialist and apparently has some military and command experience.
Past
According to statements made by Asiri and others, he is a member of the Yoruba people, found in the southwestern Nigerian region. His accented English suggests he was educated in America at some point, and returned to his native home later. His combat doctrine suggests that he spent some time in the Israeli armed forces.
Asiri claims that his "spiritual self" was empowered by his god and that is responsible for the source of his powers. My Lagos contact tells me that his origin story is a variation of Yoruba religious beliefs and essentially the same as several other local supers, so whether he sincerely believes it, or just claims what he does to hold the support of the people in the region, is unknown.
Position
Aside from being the team leader, Asiri is apparently also the team ninja. His shapeshifting powers let him adopt the form of anyone his enemy trusts, or at least will overlook.
In combat, Asiri will either use his powers to emulate an enemy's trusted subordinates and sow confusion, or transform into a monstrous form and fight on the front lines.
Personality
Asiri is a tough, no-nonsense sort of super. His military training, personal life, and education all point to a guy on a mission. His teammates, and commentators who have seen the Guard on action, report that he doesn't really have an "off" switch - he's always doing the job, and always serious.
Powers
Asiri can shift any or all of his body into any reasonably biological form. He can copy anything he's personally familiar with, or invent a shape on the fly. Since his strength, speed, and other physical traits are based on his body's composition, he can adjust his physical abilities as well as his form.
He can gain or lose significant amounts of mass. This isn't a super big deal for Stage 4 - find anyone with a serious enough healing factor, cut off their finger, then ask yourself just how it grew back. Asiri just does it a lot faster than many supers.
It's said that he's a student of psychology, theology, and mythology, and uses his education to construct forms designed to terrify specific targets, or to manipulate them. Specific information is scarce on the ground, for obvious reasons, but it seems plausible.
Problems
Asiri's biggest problem at this point is his disconnect from humanity, especially mundanes. If he has a home life, friends, lovers, or anything else, he's never given any evidence of it. To some villains, this sounds like an advantage - no attachments means no vulnerabilities. In a hero's case, though, it means he's got to come up with his own motives for fighting, and he's unlikely to feel any compassion for people he can't connect to.
As the leader of the Lagos Guard, he has a level of visibility and accountability that makes it possible to track him down, or at least find a date and time where you know he'll have to be.
Asiri
The superheroes and supervillains in Africa operate on a very different dynamic than those in America and Canada. According to my African contacts, they act more like Feudal lords and knights, patrolling a given area of turf and protecting the people who live there. The "hero" and "villain" distinction is a little looser, but mainly comes down to whether you're benevolent or not.
The Lagos Guard are the only heroic super-team operating in the city of Lagos. The city has between 17 and 20 million people and is located on the southwestern coast of Nigeria. It's a port city and is significant to the economy of the entire country. The Lagos Guard was formed to act as the city's super-protectors, and they deal a beat-down to anyone who tries to muscle in.
Asiri is the leader of the Guard. He (or she, nobody's sure, but I'll stick with "he" unless corrected) is a shapeshifter and a pretty powerful Stage 4 Child of Eve. He's an infiltration specialist and apparently has some military and command experience.
Past
According to statements made by Asiri and others, he is a member of the Yoruba people, found in the southwestern Nigerian region. His accented English suggests he was educated in America at some point, and returned to his native home later. His combat doctrine suggests that he spent some time in the Israeli armed forces.
Asiri claims that his "spiritual self" was empowered by his god and that is responsible for the source of his powers. My Lagos contact tells me that his origin story is a variation of Yoruba religious beliefs and essentially the same as several other local supers, so whether he sincerely believes it, or just claims what he does to hold the support of the people in the region, is unknown.
Position
Aside from being the team leader, Asiri is apparently also the team ninja. His shapeshifting powers let him adopt the form of anyone his enemy trusts, or at least will overlook.
In combat, Asiri will either use his powers to emulate an enemy's trusted subordinates and sow confusion, or transform into a monstrous form and fight on the front lines.
Personality
Asiri is a tough, no-nonsense sort of super. His military training, personal life, and education all point to a guy on a mission. His teammates, and commentators who have seen the Guard on action, report that he doesn't really have an "off" switch - he's always doing the job, and always serious.
Powers
Asiri can shift any or all of his body into any reasonably biological form. He can copy anything he's personally familiar with, or invent a shape on the fly. Since his strength, speed, and other physical traits are based on his body's composition, he can adjust his physical abilities as well as his form.
He can gain or lose significant amounts of mass. This isn't a super big deal for Stage 4 - find anyone with a serious enough healing factor, cut off their finger, then ask yourself just how it grew back. Asiri just does it a lot faster than many supers.
It's said that he's a student of psychology, theology, and mythology, and uses his education to construct forms designed to terrify specific targets, or to manipulate them. Specific information is scarce on the ground, for obvious reasons, but it seems plausible.
Problems
Asiri's biggest problem at this point is his disconnect from humanity, especially mundanes. If he has a home life, friends, lovers, or anything else, he's never given any evidence of it. To some villains, this sounds like an advantage - no attachments means no vulnerabilities. In a hero's case, though, it means he's got to come up with his own motives for fighting, and he's unlikely to feel any compassion for people he can't connect to.
As the leader of the Lagos Guard, he has a level of visibility and accountability that makes it possible to track him down, or at least find a date and time where you know he'll have to be.
Wednesday, July 9, 2014
Superheroes of Note: Illumina
Not every hero is a brick or a strong-man. There are some heroes who have a purity of heart, a strength of will, and an indomitable courage.
These are the heroes who, by Odin, piss me off more than anyone else in the world.
Illumina
This lady has been around for only a few years, but she has a scary, scary power. The only thing that keeps her from being the strongest super on the planet, as far as I can tell, is that she doesn't want to be. Instead, she's made it her life's work to help people in need, redeem the "lost" (you and me, folks), and otherwise go around being an interfering busybody.
Past
Illumina claims that she's an angel sent by God to Earth to save the planet, so uh, yeah. I guess that puts her origin story in the book of Genesis. More seriously, nobody's sure about her prior to her advent as a super. The usual suspects have been working to ID her, since she doesn't bother wearing a mask, but there's been no matches yet.
Position
Illumina seems to prefer the team medic role when she works with others. She'll heal anyone who's injured, protect people from attack, that sort of thing. She likes bold, self-sacrificing sorts of moves. When operating solo, she's fully capable of fighting at Stage 4 levels. She's primarily a physical fighter at these times, rather than using energy blasts or force fields.
Personality
She really is the nicest, sweetest girl you'll ever meet. She's got that calm attitude that comes from being able to dish out a beat-down to anyone, but she's pretty non-violent. She gives off that martial artist vibe, so I think someone trained her at some point.
It's pathetically easy to take advantage of her better nature, but she'll always tell you she forgives you, and she doesn't seem to hold it against you. It's weird. I keep waiting for her to just snap. I can't really hate her either, though I really have tried.
Powers
Illumina's primary power is terrifying. She can jack powers from defeated supers - those who have been exhausted and injured - but the jack is permanent. That super goes back down to Stage 0 and stays there. It doesn't always work, but when it does, it never wears off. She apparently can't adopt everyone's powers, so not everyone is vulnerable, but still.
Aside from that, she's able to impose a healing factor on other supers, even mundanes. This is her go-to power for most encounters.
She's picked up a package of secondary abilities over the few years she's been in operation - always from villains who went and actually killed people. I think that's kind of her line that you don't cross, because she can heal anyone who isn't already dead and so probably doesn't care.
Problems
The biggest restraint on Illumina, right now, is Illumina. She's unwilling to siphon powers from people she thinks can be redeemed (which is a lot of people), and she won't hurt anyone unless they're actually hurting someone else at the time.
I made it clear to her during our last run-in that I wasn't about to turn goody-goody for anyone, but I was smart enough to talk that shit after I got out of her trap. I don't know how our next encounter will go, and I don't plan to find out.
She's clearly a nutcase for acting like she's an angel, but that delusion hasn't affected any of her other thought processes.
These are the heroes who, by Odin, piss me off more than anyone else in the world.
Illumina
This lady has been around for only a few years, but she has a scary, scary power. The only thing that keeps her from being the strongest super on the planet, as far as I can tell, is that she doesn't want to be. Instead, she's made it her life's work to help people in need, redeem the "lost" (you and me, folks), and otherwise go around being an interfering busybody.
Past
Illumina claims that she's an angel sent by God to Earth to save the planet, so uh, yeah. I guess that puts her origin story in the book of Genesis. More seriously, nobody's sure about her prior to her advent as a super. The usual suspects have been working to ID her, since she doesn't bother wearing a mask, but there's been no matches yet.
Position
Illumina seems to prefer the team medic role when she works with others. She'll heal anyone who's injured, protect people from attack, that sort of thing. She likes bold, self-sacrificing sorts of moves. When operating solo, she's fully capable of fighting at Stage 4 levels. She's primarily a physical fighter at these times, rather than using energy blasts or force fields.
Personality
She really is the nicest, sweetest girl you'll ever meet. She's got that calm attitude that comes from being able to dish out a beat-down to anyone, but she's pretty non-violent. She gives off that martial artist vibe, so I think someone trained her at some point.
It's pathetically easy to take advantage of her better nature, but she'll always tell you she forgives you, and she doesn't seem to hold it against you. It's weird. I keep waiting for her to just snap. I can't really hate her either, though I really have tried.
Powers
Illumina's primary power is terrifying. She can jack powers from defeated supers - those who have been exhausted and injured - but the jack is permanent. That super goes back down to Stage 0 and stays there. It doesn't always work, but when it does, it never wears off. She apparently can't adopt everyone's powers, so not everyone is vulnerable, but still.
Aside from that, she's able to impose a healing factor on other supers, even mundanes. This is her go-to power for most encounters.
She's picked up a package of secondary abilities over the few years she's been in operation - always from villains who went and actually killed people. I think that's kind of her line that you don't cross, because she can heal anyone who isn't already dead and so probably doesn't care.
Problems
The biggest restraint on Illumina, right now, is Illumina. She's unwilling to siphon powers from people she thinks can be redeemed (which is a lot of people), and she won't hurt anyone unless they're actually hurting someone else at the time.
I made it clear to her during our last run-in that I wasn't about to turn goody-goody for anyone, but I was smart enough to talk that shit after I got out of her trap. I don't know how our next encounter will go, and I don't plan to find out.
She's clearly a nutcase for acting like she's an angel, but that delusion hasn't affected any of her other thought processes.
Apparently she's in a romantic relationship with a Polish super, alias Scrapper, who operates in New York state. He manipulates iron, which is cool, but he's not at her power level. Threatening him to get to her is a possibility, but you better have balls of iron yourself if you try it.
Tuesday, July 8, 2014
Superheroes of Note: Bluescreen
Today's hero is another well-known, well-respected super. Villains hate him, but at least we can trust him to be consistent.
Bluescreen
For anyone who's been living under a rock for the last ten years, Bluescreen is a nationally registered law enforcement officer with ACTION, former astrophysicist, and professional superhero. His eyes glow blue, and a similar light radiates from the interior of his body - nose, mouth, even a faint trace from his skin.
If you watch television, you've seen this guy. Despite the glow, he's the public face of law enforcement's superhuman division these days, what with the American All-Stars collapsing. He also makes guest appearances on shows like "CSI". He's appeared on "Cosmos" with Neil deGrasse Tyson, as a science consultant on superpowers.
Past
His bio claims that he's a former astrophysicist who worked at a radio observatory. One day the facility was struck by something, which he thinks was an alien radio transmission, and the computers and electronics blew out. He claims to have lost consciousness, and when he came around he was glowing. After discovering his powers, he joined the cops out of a sense of civic responsibility.
Position
Bluescreen is the brick on any team he's a part of, thanks to his force fields. He's got a lot of experience in the field since joining up with ACTION. He's pretty intelligent, so they usually put him in command in the field. He's got a knack for diplomacy and conflict resolution, which helps.
He loves any chance to get back into science, so if there's someone else who can take charge, he'll usually step aside and fall into the role of science consultant and adviser.
Personality
Bluescreen is motivated by a sense of duty to society. In a recent interview, he says he was inspired by classic space opera and sci-fi serials depicting heroes who save civilization. As a science fiction fan, he found himself drawn to astronomy and astrophysics from a young age.
He tends to get caught up in his role. He's definitely more flamboyant and larger-than-life when acting as a superhero, when compared to his public statements when not crimefighting. Seriously, the guy talks like a suit when on camera: "The Meyers legislation offers the most promising reduction in recidivism among Stage 2 offenders, which is why I urge the Senate to send it to the subcommittee immediately for consideration." Now compare that to: "Scourge of Seattle! Stand down, or fall down - choose quickly!"
He's definitely a straight shooter. If he says you're going to walk out of the bank in trade for the hostages, you'll walk out. He's been known to put up force fields to keep snipers from shooting villains while talking things out. That said, if you betray his trust, he will screw your life up. Geode found this out the hard way by hurting some hostages. One twelve-minute beatdown later, he was unconscious and Bluescreen didn't have a scratch on him.
Powers
Bluescreen can create and reshape translucent blue force fields around his body. The closer the field is to him, the stronger and more controllable it becomes. The Transhuman Capability Catalog tentatively assigns him as TCC F12, unified electromagnetic force control, but there's definitely some weird shit that he does which isn't electromagnetic.
He's impressively skilled at shaping his fields. We've seen him do any or all of the following things:
Bluescreen typically makes nonlethal attacks, either using field-enhanced strength or compression bubbles. He reserves his force blades for inanimate objects, vehicles, and the like.
Problems
He's a well-known G-man and basically will never have a secret identity ever again thanks to his body's glow.
He's put away a few powerful villains, who I know from personal experience are itching for payback. If they ever team up to take him down, it's going to be a legendary fight.
Bluescreen
For anyone who's been living under a rock for the last ten years, Bluescreen is a nationally registered law enforcement officer with ACTION, former astrophysicist, and professional superhero. His eyes glow blue, and a similar light radiates from the interior of his body - nose, mouth, even a faint trace from his skin.
If you watch television, you've seen this guy. Despite the glow, he's the public face of law enforcement's superhuman division these days, what with the American All-Stars collapsing. He also makes guest appearances on shows like "CSI". He's appeared on "Cosmos" with Neil deGrasse Tyson, as a science consultant on superpowers.
Past
His bio claims that he's a former astrophysicist who worked at a radio observatory. One day the facility was struck by something, which he thinks was an alien radio transmission, and the computers and electronics blew out. He claims to have lost consciousness, and when he came around he was glowing. After discovering his powers, he joined the cops out of a sense of civic responsibility.
Position
Bluescreen is the brick on any team he's a part of, thanks to his force fields. He's got a lot of experience in the field since joining up with ACTION. He's pretty intelligent, so they usually put him in command in the field. He's got a knack for diplomacy and conflict resolution, which helps.
He loves any chance to get back into science, so if there's someone else who can take charge, he'll usually step aside and fall into the role of science consultant and adviser.
Personality
Bluescreen is motivated by a sense of duty to society. In a recent interview, he says he was inspired by classic space opera and sci-fi serials depicting heroes who save civilization. As a science fiction fan, he found himself drawn to astronomy and astrophysics from a young age.
He tends to get caught up in his role. He's definitely more flamboyant and larger-than-life when acting as a superhero, when compared to his public statements when not crimefighting. Seriously, the guy talks like a suit when on camera: "The Meyers legislation offers the most promising reduction in recidivism among Stage 2 offenders, which is why I urge the Senate to send it to the subcommittee immediately for consideration." Now compare that to: "Scourge of Seattle! Stand down, or fall down - choose quickly!"
He's definitely a straight shooter. If he says you're going to walk out of the bank in trade for the hostages, you'll walk out. He's been known to put up force fields to keep snipers from shooting villains while talking things out. That said, if you betray his trust, he will screw your life up. Geode found this out the hard way by hurting some hostages. One twelve-minute beatdown later, he was unconscious and Bluescreen didn't have a scratch on him.
Powers
Bluescreen can create and reshape translucent blue force fields around his body. The closer the field is to him, the stronger and more controllable it becomes. The Transhuman Capability Catalog tentatively assigns him as TCC F12, unified electromagnetic force control, but there's definitely some weird shit that he does which isn't electromagnetic.
He's impressively skilled at shaping his fields. We've seen him do any or all of the following things:
- Flight, by levitating his body via force field.
- Personal armor and defensive barriers to protect himself and others and provide temporary life support.
- Force blades and edged shapes to cut through tough objects.
- "Compression bubbles", consisting of a spherical force field wrapped around a volume of air. The field is shrunk, greatly increasing the pressure inside. When he releases it, the blast of air causes tremendous outward pressure.
Bluescreen typically makes nonlethal attacks, either using field-enhanced strength or compression bubbles. He reserves his force blades for inanimate objects, vehicles, and the like.
Problems
He's a well-known G-man and basically will never have a secret identity ever again thanks to his body's glow.
He's put away a few powerful villains, who I know from personal experience are itching for payback. If they ever team up to take him down, it's going to be a legendary fight.
Monday, July 7, 2014
Superheroes of Note: Mack Atlas
Since I talked about several supervillains of note, some of you wrote in to ask about the heroic side of the equation - in other words, what heroes are out there, and what's "the best of the best"? I know what you really want to know - "is my hero a world-beater or a wimp" - but I'll answer anyway, if only because some of these guys deserve a shout-out.
Mack Atlas
This guy is not a hero in the conventional sense - he doesn't fight villains (or anyone else) and he doesn't really stop crimes in progress. That said, he's one of the world's best and most renowned superhumans on the side of law.
Let's just say this right now: Mack is probably the world's strongest man. There is no weight he has been unable to lift so far. Everything he's ever failed at lifting failed because it broke under its own weight, not because he was unable to provide leverage. When properly reinforced, he's been capable of lifting battleships and moving (small) mountains.
Mack works with California's Metahuman Task Force (MTF). The state of California has been a model for superhuman relations, and I wish their program would go nationwide. Basically, the MTF hires supers, then does everything it can to let them focus their powers and ignore the small stuff. MTF members don't pay taxes, get preferred parking, a million other little benefits that basically let them show up and do their stuff.
Past
The MTF worked with Federal and state agencies to bury their employees' pasts, for privacy. So what little is known about Mack is what the man himself has said. He was apparently born and raised in California. He's about 42 chronological years old (based on some savvy analysis of musical tastes and cultural touchstones, done by our late lamented Professor Pulsar) and looks about 20.
Mack is one of the charter members of the MTF. There are no reports of his activities prior to the formation of that group, which is surprising because he's a freakishly built guy and couldn't really hide if he wanted to.
Position
Mack is the MTF's go-to guy for construction, repair, and rescue work. He has decades of experience in lifting heavy stuff and avoiding the secondary effects of doing so, like triggering cave-ins. He's not a combat type by any means and avoids fighting.
When coordinating rescue efforts, Mack usually likes someone else to give the orders, but he'll advise and make suggestions as needed. He wants to be up close to where things need doing, and says that a director of operations should have some distance to be able to see the whole scene.
Personality
He's an outgoing, likable guy who enjoys talking. He's one of the most respected supers on the planet because of his workmanlike attitude and refusal to get sucked into hero-vs-villain struggles, politics, or other similar bullshit.
Mack apparently has a girlfriend, but doesn't talk about her. That said, I am pretty sure that any villain who found her and hurt her would be lucky to be caught by a hero. If that guy got caught by the rest of us, we'd see to it that he deeply regretted doing that shit. Nobody wants Mack to come looking for a fight.
Powers
Mack Atlas is classified by the Transhuman Capability Catalog as TCC Q3. His body has some unknown substance bonded to the cells in a symbiotic relationship. He has incredible amounts of energy and frankly terrifying levels of physical strength and durability. If he's not Stage 5, then he's definitely at the very high end of Stage 4.
He has been known to tank 120mm howitzer shells to the face, and survived a bombardment from an American battleship unscathed (no, they weren't aiming at him deliberately). He's fallen from orbit, had a mountain collapse on him, and derailed a freight train by punching it. Most villains are grateful that he just loves to lift and fix things, because if he got a hold of one of us, that would be the end of that.
Problems
Mack is a very nice guy, and hates to see people get hurt. Villains have threatened civilians to get him to let them escape, and thankfully for them nobody got hurt. He can definitely be manipulated by threatening innocent bystanders.
He's also nearsighted, which is very weird. The super-mutation normally fixes problems like that, but not in his case. His regenerative powers keep trying to grow cells over any contact lenses, so he has to resort to glasses to see clearly. This is by far the most hilarious thing a lot of villains have seen in a long time.
Mack Atlas
This guy is not a hero in the conventional sense - he doesn't fight villains (or anyone else) and he doesn't really stop crimes in progress. That said, he's one of the world's best and most renowned superhumans on the side of law.
Let's just say this right now: Mack is probably the world's strongest man. There is no weight he has been unable to lift so far. Everything he's ever failed at lifting failed because it broke under its own weight, not because he was unable to provide leverage. When properly reinforced, he's been capable of lifting battleships and moving (small) mountains.
Mack works with California's Metahuman Task Force (MTF). The state of California has been a model for superhuman relations, and I wish their program would go nationwide. Basically, the MTF hires supers, then does everything it can to let them focus their powers and ignore the small stuff. MTF members don't pay taxes, get preferred parking, a million other little benefits that basically let them show up and do their stuff.
Past
The MTF worked with Federal and state agencies to bury their employees' pasts, for privacy. So what little is known about Mack is what the man himself has said. He was apparently born and raised in California. He's about 42 chronological years old (based on some savvy analysis of musical tastes and cultural touchstones, done by our late lamented Professor Pulsar) and looks about 20.
Mack is one of the charter members of the MTF. There are no reports of his activities prior to the formation of that group, which is surprising because he's a freakishly built guy and couldn't really hide if he wanted to.
Position
Mack is the MTF's go-to guy for construction, repair, and rescue work. He has decades of experience in lifting heavy stuff and avoiding the secondary effects of doing so, like triggering cave-ins. He's not a combat type by any means and avoids fighting.
When coordinating rescue efforts, Mack usually likes someone else to give the orders, but he'll advise and make suggestions as needed. He wants to be up close to where things need doing, and says that a director of operations should have some distance to be able to see the whole scene.
Personality
He's an outgoing, likable guy who enjoys talking. He's one of the most respected supers on the planet because of his workmanlike attitude and refusal to get sucked into hero-vs-villain struggles, politics, or other similar bullshit.
Mack apparently has a girlfriend, but doesn't talk about her. That said, I am pretty sure that any villain who found her and hurt her would be lucky to be caught by a hero. If that guy got caught by the rest of us, we'd see to it that he deeply regretted doing that shit. Nobody wants Mack to come looking for a fight.
Powers
Mack Atlas is classified by the Transhuman Capability Catalog as TCC Q3. His body has some unknown substance bonded to the cells in a symbiotic relationship. He has incredible amounts of energy and frankly terrifying levels of physical strength and durability. If he's not Stage 5, then he's definitely at the very high end of Stage 4.
He has been known to tank 120mm howitzer shells to the face, and survived a bombardment from an American battleship unscathed (no, they weren't aiming at him deliberately). He's fallen from orbit, had a mountain collapse on him, and derailed a freight train by punching it. Most villains are grateful that he just loves to lift and fix things, because if he got a hold of one of us, that would be the end of that.
Problems
Mack is a very nice guy, and hates to see people get hurt. Villains have threatened civilians to get him to let them escape, and thankfully for them nobody got hurt. He can definitely be manipulated by threatening innocent bystanders.
He's also nearsighted, which is very weird. The super-mutation normally fixes problems like that, but not in his case. His regenerative powers keep trying to grow cells over any contact lenses, so he has to resort to glasses to see clearly. This is by far the most hilarious thing a lot of villains have seen in a long time.
Saturday, June 21, 2014
Supervillains of Note: Singularity
I've talked about Singularity in the past. She retired, or disappeared, a few years ago. Still, her villainous career is long and notable.
Singularity
This lady came from the New York-New Jersey-Connecticut tri-state area, or at least that's where a lot of her activities were focused. She wasn't the first super to claim extraterrestrial heritage, but she was certainly the most convincing. A lot of this was due to her good looks (even for a typical super), her presence, and her charisma. But she made several claims that were backed up by astronomers, who verify she couldn't have possibly known about what she claimed. Why? Because the light from the stellar events she described couldn't have reached Earth by the time she mentioned them.
Past
Singularity was active in the tri-state area from 1985 to 2005. She was a recurring foil for the American All-Stars. Before that, nobody's sure where she came from.
She herself told the following story: she was a farm girl in Iowa, when she was visited by extraterrestrials and taken up in their spaceship. They did certain experiments on her, told her she was "ready" and would be "the first of many", and released her. When she returned home, she claimed her powers were fully manifested.
At first she preached the aliens' message - that Earth was going to be invaded, that the good aliens who had kidnapped her were preparing the planet for the arrival of evil aliens from across the galaxy. She said we had to get ready. Wars had to end, capitalism had to be abolished, socialism had to become the new system of government or the good aliens would judge us unworthy. Obviously, nobody in America in the 80's was interested in hearing that, so she started getting more aggressive.
Position
Singularity tried to round up sympathetic superhumans, but most of them were, frankly, nutters. To her credit, she was pretty good about weeding out the real freaks or the con-men. She would join multiple hero teams early on, trying to convince them of her message, but nobody took her really seriously. Super-biology had been understood for a decade, so claims of empowering aliens seemed unlikely.
She worked solo since then. Her powers made her a formidable brick with energy projection. She could use her energy defensively too, so she didn't really need support from anyone. At the end of her career, experts assessed her (from observation) as being Stage 5 or perhaps even Stage 6.
Personality
Singularity was a driven woman. She never got into villainy for selfish reasons, though she was very good at what she did. She could be bitter about people failing to accept her message, or maybe just frustrated at being called on her bullshit - it really depends on what you think the truth is.
The one thing she was absolutely known for was her charisma and presentation. She had the ability to command an audience, on par with world leaders. She must have studied somewhere, because her rhetorical skills were absolutely top-notch. I've read entire books dedicated to studying her speaking style. She could absolutely have been a world leader herself - between her style and her powers, she could have knocked over any small country of her choice and installed herself.
Over her villainous career, she made several announcements about stellar events - novae, newly discovered variable stars, that sort of thing. A few months later, astronomers would confirm them as light reached the earth. This seriously creeps a lot of people out. Singularity claimed that some of these were alien activities, and that they formed a pattern. Nobody ever noticed a larger pattern, and astronomers typically think she was just using some strange foreknowledge to support her story.
Powers
The Transhuman Capability Catalog assigns Singularity the classification of TCC F12 - control of the unified electromagnetic force. She could do amazing things with her powers, and a lot of people claimed that she was the living incarnation of some of Nikola Tesla's wilder theories about electricity. Director of Research Ben Ford at CERN claimed that electromagnetic physics advanced 5 years after scientists studied one of her crime scenes for 2 hours.
Problems
Well, obviously she's not around any more, so either she got killed off (and if so, that's scary - think about who could take out someone that powerful?), got tired of playing Princess Alien Invasion, or something. Some people think it was all just an act, and that she was trolling the world at large until she could retire.
She repeatedly tackled the American All-Stars, and there was never a clear motive for it. My personal reason, shared by a few veteran villains, is that she was playing on their no-kill policy to deliberately power herself up through trauma.
The scariest explanation is that she got powerful enough to tackle her evil alien invaders, and went off to fight them. Well in that case, did she succeed, or did she fail? Leave the lights on tonight, kids!
That's it for Supervillains of Note, at least for now! Please write in with any questions you'd like answered, and we'll be back on with our usual content in the coming days.
Singularity
This lady came from the New York-New Jersey-Connecticut tri-state area, or at least that's where a lot of her activities were focused. She wasn't the first super to claim extraterrestrial heritage, but she was certainly the most convincing. A lot of this was due to her good looks (even for a typical super), her presence, and her charisma. But she made several claims that were backed up by astronomers, who verify she couldn't have possibly known about what she claimed. Why? Because the light from the stellar events she described couldn't have reached Earth by the time she mentioned them.
Past
Singularity was active in the tri-state area from 1985 to 2005. She was a recurring foil for the American All-Stars. Before that, nobody's sure where she came from.
She herself told the following story: she was a farm girl in Iowa, when she was visited by extraterrestrials and taken up in their spaceship. They did certain experiments on her, told her she was "ready" and would be "the first of many", and released her. When she returned home, she claimed her powers were fully manifested.
At first she preached the aliens' message - that Earth was going to be invaded, that the good aliens who had kidnapped her were preparing the planet for the arrival of evil aliens from across the galaxy. She said we had to get ready. Wars had to end, capitalism had to be abolished, socialism had to become the new system of government or the good aliens would judge us unworthy. Obviously, nobody in America in the 80's was interested in hearing that, so she started getting more aggressive.
Position
Singularity tried to round up sympathetic superhumans, but most of them were, frankly, nutters. To her credit, she was pretty good about weeding out the real freaks or the con-men. She would join multiple hero teams early on, trying to convince them of her message, but nobody took her really seriously. Super-biology had been understood for a decade, so claims of empowering aliens seemed unlikely.
She worked solo since then. Her powers made her a formidable brick with energy projection. She could use her energy defensively too, so she didn't really need support from anyone. At the end of her career, experts assessed her (from observation) as being Stage 5 or perhaps even Stage 6.
Personality
Singularity was a driven woman. She never got into villainy for selfish reasons, though she was very good at what she did. She could be bitter about people failing to accept her message, or maybe just frustrated at being called on her bullshit - it really depends on what you think the truth is.
The one thing she was absolutely known for was her charisma and presentation. She had the ability to command an audience, on par with world leaders. She must have studied somewhere, because her rhetorical skills were absolutely top-notch. I've read entire books dedicated to studying her speaking style. She could absolutely have been a world leader herself - between her style and her powers, she could have knocked over any small country of her choice and installed herself.
Over her villainous career, she made several announcements about stellar events - novae, newly discovered variable stars, that sort of thing. A few months later, astronomers would confirm them as light reached the earth. This seriously creeps a lot of people out. Singularity claimed that some of these were alien activities, and that they formed a pattern. Nobody ever noticed a larger pattern, and astronomers typically think she was just using some strange foreknowledge to support her story.
Powers
The Transhuman Capability Catalog assigns Singularity the classification of TCC F12 - control of the unified electromagnetic force. She could do amazing things with her powers, and a lot of people claimed that she was the living incarnation of some of Nikola Tesla's wilder theories about electricity. Director of Research Ben Ford at CERN claimed that electromagnetic physics advanced 5 years after scientists studied one of her crime scenes for 2 hours.
Problems
Well, obviously she's not around any more, so either she got killed off (and if so, that's scary - think about who could take out someone that powerful?), got tired of playing Princess Alien Invasion, or something. Some people think it was all just an act, and that she was trolling the world at large until she could retire.
She repeatedly tackled the American All-Stars, and there was never a clear motive for it. My personal reason, shared by a few veteran villains, is that she was playing on their no-kill policy to deliberately power herself up through trauma.
The scariest explanation is that she got powerful enough to tackle her evil alien invaders, and went off to fight them. Well in that case, did she succeed, or did she fail? Leave the lights on tonight, kids!
That's it for Supervillains of Note, at least for now! Please write in with any questions you'd like answered, and we'll be back on with our usual content in the coming days.
Friday, June 20, 2014
Supervillains of Note: Beast-Boss
Today's supervillain has one of the most interesting M.O.'s I have ever seen.
Beast-Boss
This guy has a small army of animals that do his bidding, and he can establish mental control over any animal he can reach. I don't mean like trained parrots and crap like that, I mean like bears the size of a car, or really deadly falcons dropping grenades, or cockroach spies. This dude is seriously scary, and he can screw you up from the next state over if you aren't careful.
Beast-Boss is best known for attacking zoos around the country, especially ones with rare animals. He breaks them out, takes them over, and uses them to do other crimes. It's like real-life Poke'mon, apparently - I think he wants one of everything. PETA seriously hates this guy.
Past
Beast-Boss is a former military super, one of the many people who were investigated by the United State's Department of Intelligence under the Stargate Project. He was a patriotic boy from Alabama who signed up for the Army. When they did their standard blood screenings and saw he was Stage 2, they pushed him into the advanced program immediately.
Somewhere along the line, he decided he didn't like what they were doing, and he went out on his own. He got a bucket load of training before he and the Army parted ways, which makes him a difficult villain for anyone to deal with. You saw "Ocean's Eleven", right? Those guys used their paratrooper skills to do crimes. Beast-Boss is like that, and he's got his own army to boot.
Position
Beast-Boss used to be a member of the Bad Ol' Boys, a villain team from the south. The acronym "BOB" is intentional, and yes, I checked, they think it's hilarious. They were big on anti-government tactics and never stole from poor people. Contrary to rumor, none of the Boys were particularly racist. They liked the idea of Southern chivalry.
Beast-Boss's job was running interference. He'd sabotage police vehicles, take down helicopters, cut power lines, and otherwise cause disruptions for anyone who might mess with a BOB operation. His pets could bring in spare weapons for the rest of the group or attack the cops. Police stopped using horses and bloodhounds when BOB was in town, because Beast-Boss could always get to them.
Personality
Beast-Boss is a good ol' boy in the best sense of the term. He's polite, well-mannered, and reasonably intelligent. He told me once that he'd rejected the name "Beastmaster" (based on the movie, natch) because he didn't want the implications of a Southern man with "master" in the name. I think "Boss" sounds more blue-collar anyway, which is about right.
The one thing you absolutely do not do is mess with any of the man's animals. He can feel their physical sensations as well as their pain, and if you hurt them, you hurt him. He genuinely cares about the animals he controls. He's pretty good about keeping them all fed and taken care of. He donates a portion of his income to animal rights groups - anonymously, so they can't return money they knew was donated by a villain.
Powers
Beast-Boss is classified in the Transhuman Capability Catalog as TCC S6/7, because of his control over his pets' nervous systems. He can "infect" animals with a system of control. Biologists dissected one of his dead animals once, and claimed that he was producing organic nano-machines which bonded with their brains. Creepy, if you asked me. I prefer not to think about it, especially if he's able to infect humans too. If he can, he'd be unstoppable.
Aside from control, he's able to empower some of his animals, basically turning them into Stage 2 supers themselves. They get stronger, faster, tougher, and bigger. You think I was joking about bears the size of cars? Forget it, that's real.
Problems
The biggest problem Beast-Boss has is his animals. Sure, they are tough even when not enhanced, but he feels what they do. Enough painful feedback has been known to incapacitate him. He also needs to be in touch range to take control of an animal, limiting his influence.
Beast-Boss
This guy has a small army of animals that do his bidding, and he can establish mental control over any animal he can reach. I don't mean like trained parrots and crap like that, I mean like bears the size of a car, or really deadly falcons dropping grenades, or cockroach spies. This dude is seriously scary, and he can screw you up from the next state over if you aren't careful.
Beast-Boss is best known for attacking zoos around the country, especially ones with rare animals. He breaks them out, takes them over, and uses them to do other crimes. It's like real-life Poke'mon, apparently - I think he wants one of everything. PETA seriously hates this guy.
Past
Beast-Boss is a former military super, one of the many people who were investigated by the United State's Department of Intelligence under the Stargate Project. He was a patriotic boy from Alabama who signed up for the Army. When they did their standard blood screenings and saw he was Stage 2, they pushed him into the advanced program immediately.
Somewhere along the line, he decided he didn't like what they were doing, and he went out on his own. He got a bucket load of training before he and the Army parted ways, which makes him a difficult villain for anyone to deal with. You saw "Ocean's Eleven", right? Those guys used their paratrooper skills to do crimes. Beast-Boss is like that, and he's got his own army to boot.
Position
Beast-Boss used to be a member of the Bad Ol' Boys, a villain team from the south. The acronym "BOB" is intentional, and yes, I checked, they think it's hilarious. They were big on anti-government tactics and never stole from poor people. Contrary to rumor, none of the Boys were particularly racist. They liked the idea of Southern chivalry.
Beast-Boss's job was running interference. He'd sabotage police vehicles, take down helicopters, cut power lines, and otherwise cause disruptions for anyone who might mess with a BOB operation. His pets could bring in spare weapons for the rest of the group or attack the cops. Police stopped using horses and bloodhounds when BOB was in town, because Beast-Boss could always get to them.
Personality
Beast-Boss is a good ol' boy in the best sense of the term. He's polite, well-mannered, and reasonably intelligent. He told me once that he'd rejected the name "Beastmaster" (based on the movie, natch) because he didn't want the implications of a Southern man with "master" in the name. I think "Boss" sounds more blue-collar anyway, which is about right.
The one thing you absolutely do not do is mess with any of the man's animals. He can feel their physical sensations as well as their pain, and if you hurt them, you hurt him. He genuinely cares about the animals he controls. He's pretty good about keeping them all fed and taken care of. He donates a portion of his income to animal rights groups - anonymously, so they can't return money they knew was donated by a villain.
Powers
Beast-Boss is classified in the Transhuman Capability Catalog as TCC S6/7, because of his control over his pets' nervous systems. He can "infect" animals with a system of control. Biologists dissected one of his dead animals once, and claimed that he was producing organic nano-machines which bonded with their brains. Creepy, if you asked me. I prefer not to think about it, especially if he's able to infect humans too. If he can, he'd be unstoppable.
Aside from control, he's able to empower some of his animals, basically turning them into Stage 2 supers themselves. They get stronger, faster, tougher, and bigger. You think I was joking about bears the size of cars? Forget it, that's real.
Problems
The biggest problem Beast-Boss has is his animals. Sure, they are tough even when not enhanced, but he feels what they do. Enough painful feedback has been known to incapacitate him. He also needs to be in touch range to take control of an animal, limiting his influence.
Thursday, June 19, 2014
Supervillains of Note: Mountain Man
Today's "Supervillains of Note" takes us back to America, and someone who's provoked a lot of political discussion.
Mountain Man
Mountain Man is the alias of Jeremiah Hendricks, tax protester and all-around weirdo. He's Stage 4 and pretty tough. His power is control of rock. He lives in a cabin surrounded by rock on all sides, and he uses his stone control powers to move it to different places around the Appalachian Mountains. One day there'll be nothing, the next day, there's a big wooden cabin, dogs under the porch, the whole works.
Mountain Man doesn't believe the U.S. Government has the right to collect taxes, and by Odin, he means not to pay a dime. He's got a point in some respects - as a super, he has almost no need for the services government is supposed to provide for that money - but most villains I know acknowledge the 16th Amendment, we just don't give a shit. So there you are.
He's got a lot of other ideas about who really did 9/11, the JFK assassination, and so on. He endorses a lot of the weirder theories from groups like Wavelength, like the Killclone theory and ancient astronauts seeding super-powered potential in early humans. So far he doesn't have any proof of what he says. Many people listen to him because he's a super and they think that gives him some sort of inside information. For that matter, he could totally be right about half of what he says.
Mountain Man brews his own "super-moonshine", which will probably flat-out kill a regular human being and knocks a Stage 4 on his ass. I make my own mead at home, natch, so I appreciate a guy who takes the time to account for the super-metabolism.
Overall, a great guy to know about, because he's a departure from the "wreck-it-and-run" villain you might all think you have to be. He knows what he wants, he's not afraid to get it, and he thumbs his nose at the Man the whole way.
Past
Hendricks got his powers when he was young. He was involved in an avalanche or cave-in while exploring the mountains at an early age (specifics differ, even when he tells the story). He walked out of the hills covered in rock, and didn't return to normal for two days. Since then he was on the receiving end, and later the giving, of a fair amount of bullying at school. His dad took him out and home-schooled him for the rest of his adolescence. His mother died early, from what I'm told. He has no living siblings.
Position
Mountain Man is a solo villain. He drinks a lot, he hunts, he wanders the mountains, he entertains visitors. He's friendly if you're friendly, but mostly he just does his thing all day.
He is at the center of a few online communities. He posts regularly, reads fan mail, does all that stuff. He could probably start a cult if he wanted to, but mostly he prefers politics to religion. He gets a fair amount of attention on sites like Quatloos and Libertarian-leaning forums.
Personality
Did you see an old show called "Grizzly Adams"? He's a lot like that guy. He's got a big thick beard, a big smile, and he's just generally a big guy. He acts like the big guy - always friendly, unless you push him, and then he turns super-dangerous. He's semi-immortal and he knows it, so he's living life his way.
Powers
He can merge with solid stone to armor up, and he can move or throw or shape stone. His ability to move his cabin (or anything else) through mountains is pretty much the main reason the Feds haven't been able to shut him down. Obviously he's got the usual Stage 4 power platter.
The Transhuman Capability Catalog assigns him TCC E2 - control over elemental earth.
Problems
Mountain Man doesn't have too many problems that he isn't causing himself. His strident political views are probably the major reason the Feds want him. He does make a lot of good points about government taxation of supers, and a lot of villains are on board with his views. His outlandish ideas in other areas don't always endear him to people who might be allies, but that's life.
Mountain Man
Mountain Man is the alias of Jeremiah Hendricks, tax protester and all-around weirdo. He's Stage 4 and pretty tough. His power is control of rock. He lives in a cabin surrounded by rock on all sides, and he uses his stone control powers to move it to different places around the Appalachian Mountains. One day there'll be nothing, the next day, there's a big wooden cabin, dogs under the porch, the whole works.
Mountain Man doesn't believe the U.S. Government has the right to collect taxes, and by Odin, he means not to pay a dime. He's got a point in some respects - as a super, he has almost no need for the services government is supposed to provide for that money - but most villains I know acknowledge the 16th Amendment, we just don't give a shit. So there you are.
He's got a lot of other ideas about who really did 9/11, the JFK assassination, and so on. He endorses a lot of the weirder theories from groups like Wavelength, like the Killclone theory and ancient astronauts seeding super-powered potential in early humans. So far he doesn't have any proof of what he says. Many people listen to him because he's a super and they think that gives him some sort of inside information. For that matter, he could totally be right about half of what he says.
Mountain Man brews his own "super-moonshine", which will probably flat-out kill a regular human being and knocks a Stage 4 on his ass. I make my own mead at home, natch, so I appreciate a guy who takes the time to account for the super-metabolism.
Overall, a great guy to know about, because he's a departure from the "wreck-it-and-run" villain you might all think you have to be. He knows what he wants, he's not afraid to get it, and he thumbs his nose at the Man the whole way.
Past
Hendricks got his powers when he was young. He was involved in an avalanche or cave-in while exploring the mountains at an early age (specifics differ, even when he tells the story). He walked out of the hills covered in rock, and didn't return to normal for two days. Since then he was on the receiving end, and later the giving, of a fair amount of bullying at school. His dad took him out and home-schooled him for the rest of his adolescence. His mother died early, from what I'm told. He has no living siblings.
Position
Mountain Man is a solo villain. He drinks a lot, he hunts, he wanders the mountains, he entertains visitors. He's friendly if you're friendly, but mostly he just does his thing all day.
He is at the center of a few online communities. He posts regularly, reads fan mail, does all that stuff. He could probably start a cult if he wanted to, but mostly he prefers politics to religion. He gets a fair amount of attention on sites like Quatloos and Libertarian-leaning forums.
Personality
Did you see an old show called "Grizzly Adams"? He's a lot like that guy. He's got a big thick beard, a big smile, and he's just generally a big guy. He acts like the big guy - always friendly, unless you push him, and then he turns super-dangerous. He's semi-immortal and he knows it, so he's living life his way.
Powers
He can merge with solid stone to armor up, and he can move or throw or shape stone. His ability to move his cabin (or anything else) through mountains is pretty much the main reason the Feds haven't been able to shut him down. Obviously he's got the usual Stage 4 power platter.
The Transhuman Capability Catalog assigns him TCC E2 - control over elemental earth.
Problems
Mountain Man doesn't have too many problems that he isn't causing himself. His strident political views are probably the major reason the Feds want him. He does make a lot of good points about government taxation of supers, and a lot of villains are on board with his views. His outlandish ideas in other areas don't always endear him to people who might be allies, but that's life.
Wednesday, June 18, 2014
Supervillains of Note: Faduma
Today's supervillain of note is Faduma, who operates out of Somalia.
Faduma
First, let's just get this out of the way. Faduma is a super-vampire queen who's building an army to be leader of her country! How cool is that?
So before any of you noobs roll up on her and start with "I vant to suck your blood", she will cut you. Seriously, don't even say that shit. I will hear about it, and then I will leave town and disappear, because she will have heard that I wrote about her and send some scary scary people after my ass. If you ever, ever, ever meet this woman - and you won't, trust me, unless you're super-awesome - be respectful.
Past
Faduma doesn't talk about her past, and neither do I. All anyone knows is the alias she uses now, which as far as I know is a reference to the story of Muhammad. Let's also be really clear. This Faduma does not claim in any way to be the historical Fatimah, it's more like a tribute. Any Muslim readers can write in to tell me more about this, I have no idea.
People in the know tell me she's either ethnic Somali or speaks Somali well enough to pass for one.
Position
Faduma is basically a warlord in the southern part of Somalia. She has several kids, a husband, and several thousand very loyal followers. There's many more people in that part of the world who listen to her, and many who fear her, but basically she's like the governor of her own state and aiming to be president.
Personality
This is one driven lady. The credible stories about her tell us that she cuts herself and literally bleeds for her people, that she's personally fed thousands and cured many of their diseases. She takes prisoners when she needs them, and kills trespassers on her land the rest of the time. She's fair, but really strict.
Faduma is well known in political circles for her repeated calls for justice. She doesn't want international aid in Somalia - just the opposite. She wants groups like the UN to get out. She intends to take over the whole country and run it fairly. She promises the rule of law, but come on, she's a freaking super-powered vampire. You think anyone's going to run in the elections against her?
Powers
Faduma is classified in the Transhuman Capability Catalog as TCC Q11, a true vampire. She's not undead (as far as we know). She's not mutated into one of the Q11 variants, which means that she's unaffected by sunlight (aside from getting sleepy) or running water or other vampire weaknesses. Not a whole lot will hurt her.
The important things to know about vampires: they are photosynthetic during the day, like a plant, and hematophagic at night, which means they can subsist on blood. They still can eat and drink, but either sunlight or blood (depending on time) is a big part of their diet. The other thing about vampires is that they can create supers by blood transfusion, because their super-mutation is still contagious and can be passed on. Faduma has created dozens, or hundreds, or maybe even thousands of loyal vampire subjects, so getting to her would be a very difficult proposition.
Problems
Personal problems first. I am absolutely sure she's screwed up in a few different ways. I mean, she cuts herself about a thousand times a day.
That aside, she's on everyone's Most Wanted list in Somalia, because she's a competitor to the existing power blocs. She's an internationally wanted terrorist for attacking UN troops and the like. Plus, she's bought everything short of a nuke from the international arms market, and I wouldn't even put that past her. So she's got lots of enemies in high places.
I don't know what's scarier to think about: that people like the CIA or the Russians have just let her go about her business without trying to take her out, or the idea that they have tried and just couldn't do it. Either way, definitely a supervillain to be aware of!
Faduma
First, let's just get this out of the way. Faduma is a super-vampire queen who's building an army to be leader of her country! How cool is that?
So before any of you noobs roll up on her and start with "I vant to suck your blood", she will cut you. Seriously, don't even say that shit. I will hear about it, and then I will leave town and disappear, because she will have heard that I wrote about her and send some scary scary people after my ass. If you ever, ever, ever meet this woman - and you won't, trust me, unless you're super-awesome - be respectful.
Past
Faduma doesn't talk about her past, and neither do I. All anyone knows is the alias she uses now, which as far as I know is a reference to the story of Muhammad. Let's also be really clear. This Faduma does not claim in any way to be the historical Fatimah, it's more like a tribute. Any Muslim readers can write in to tell me more about this, I have no idea.
People in the know tell me she's either ethnic Somali or speaks Somali well enough to pass for one.
Position
Faduma is basically a warlord in the southern part of Somalia. She has several kids, a husband, and several thousand very loyal followers. There's many more people in that part of the world who listen to her, and many who fear her, but basically she's like the governor of her own state and aiming to be president.
Personality
This is one driven lady. The credible stories about her tell us that she cuts herself and literally bleeds for her people, that she's personally fed thousands and cured many of their diseases. She takes prisoners when she needs them, and kills trespassers on her land the rest of the time. She's fair, but really strict.
Faduma is well known in political circles for her repeated calls for justice. She doesn't want international aid in Somalia - just the opposite. She wants groups like the UN to get out. She intends to take over the whole country and run it fairly. She promises the rule of law, but come on, she's a freaking super-powered vampire. You think anyone's going to run in the elections against her?
Powers
Faduma is classified in the Transhuman Capability Catalog as TCC Q11, a true vampire. She's not undead (as far as we know). She's not mutated into one of the Q11 variants, which means that she's unaffected by sunlight (aside from getting sleepy) or running water or other vampire weaknesses. Not a whole lot will hurt her.
The important things to know about vampires: they are photosynthetic during the day, like a plant, and hematophagic at night, which means they can subsist on blood. They still can eat and drink, but either sunlight or blood (depending on time) is a big part of their diet. The other thing about vampires is that they can create supers by blood transfusion, because their super-mutation is still contagious and can be passed on. Faduma has created dozens, or hundreds, or maybe even thousands of loyal vampire subjects, so getting to her would be a very difficult proposition.
Problems
Personal problems first. I am absolutely sure she's screwed up in a few different ways. I mean, she cuts herself about a thousand times a day.
That aside, she's on everyone's Most Wanted list in Somalia, because she's a competitor to the existing power blocs. She's an internationally wanted terrorist for attacking UN troops and the like. Plus, she's bought everything short of a nuke from the international arms market, and I wouldn't even put that past her. So she's got lots of enemies in high places.
I don't know what's scarier to think about: that people like the CIA or the Russians have just let her go about her business without trying to take her out, or the idea that they have tried and just couldn't do it. Either way, definitely a supervillain to be aware of!
Tuesday, June 17, 2014
Supervillains of Note: Saki
Welcome to a feature I call "Supervillains of Note". This will attempt to showcase villains I look up to, or at least that aspiring villains should be aware of. Over the years I've met a lot of amazing people in this field. I want to share some of their stories - without breaking any confidences, naturally.
Saki
Saki is a supervillain, ethnically Japanese. She shows up in America from time to time to annoy and harass law-and-order hero types.
Saki looks about 13. She dresses in what a Japanophile friend of mine describes as "Sweet Lolita fashion" (frilly pink dresses, bows, ruffles, parasols, the works). She speaks accented English and says "cutesy" things from time to time, but she has a temper.
Her signature power is the "megaton punch" - knocking heroes for dozens or hundreds of yards with a single blow. She acts like a walking, talking anime character, and she plays up her youth and girly appearance for all it's worth.
The thing is, Saki's an internationally wanted terrorist. She's been on the FBI's list since the 1970s, and while she can seem like a sweetheart, she's not the sugary confection she pretends to be.
Past
I'm not telling you everything I know (or have heard) about Saki's past, but it's obvious that she advanced to Stage 4 at a very early age. She's young, like "little kid" young, and all of you should know just what kind of trauma it takes to advance to Stage 3, much less 4. I feel bad for her.
Back in the '70s, she was implicated in threats to America's nuclear arsenal. She was also tied to attacks on the country's money reserves, like Fort Knox. She hasn't done anything like that since the '80s.
Position
Saki mostly works solo. She used to do team-ups in the past, back when she was wearing black tactical suits (how the hell did she get any in her size anyway?) These days she doesn't associate with other villains, except as a grandstanding outsider who will butt in on an ongoing super-battle or something.
Personality
Saki's cutesy, fluffy personality is a lot different from what she used to be like. If you read old FBI reports, you'd get the feeling that she was a stone cold killer back in the day. What she is now sort of feels fake, but it's hard to tell - mostly because her bouncing around and over-the-top temper tantrums and hugs and stuff would seem fake to anyone. Ultimately Saki is a mystery to anyone who doesn't fully know her yet. She definitely wants to play up the "kid villain" thing, though, so most in-the-know villains humor her in public. If you meet her, play along.
She hasn't killed anyone in the last 20 years, that anyone knows of. Prior to that, there were some M.P.s at Army bases and the like, but no civilians.
Powers
Saki is classified in the Transhuman Capability Catalog as TCC F5 - gravity control. Several heroes who've been punched out by her reported feeling suddenly heavier, or frozen and unable to move for a moment, so that she could wind up and hit them. Her parasol has blocked chunks of concrete, bullets, and cars, which is obviously not a normal thing. She might manipulate the Higgs field, which provides mass to objects, letting her control density and inertia.
Problems
That girl has got a screwed-up head, let me tell you. I think she's getting better, and I won't say why, but for a long time she had some serious anger issues in general and resentment issues in particular against America. I think she's working those out by bench-pressing American heroes. If you're nice to her, though, she's nice back. She can be awfully adorable when she tries.
Saki
Saki is a supervillain, ethnically Japanese. She shows up in America from time to time to annoy and harass law-and-order hero types.
Saki looks about 13. She dresses in what a Japanophile friend of mine describes as "Sweet Lolita fashion" (frilly pink dresses, bows, ruffles, parasols, the works). She speaks accented English and says "cutesy" things from time to time, but she has a temper.
Her signature power is the "megaton punch" - knocking heroes for dozens or hundreds of yards with a single blow. She acts like a walking, talking anime character, and she plays up her youth and girly appearance for all it's worth.
The thing is, Saki's an internationally wanted terrorist. She's been on the FBI's list since the 1970s, and while she can seem like a sweetheart, she's not the sugary confection she pretends to be.
Past
I'm not telling you everything I know (or have heard) about Saki's past, but it's obvious that she advanced to Stage 4 at a very early age. She's young, like "little kid" young, and all of you should know just what kind of trauma it takes to advance to Stage 3, much less 4. I feel bad for her.
Back in the '70s, she was implicated in threats to America's nuclear arsenal. She was also tied to attacks on the country's money reserves, like Fort Knox. She hasn't done anything like that since the '80s.
Position
Saki mostly works solo. She used to do team-ups in the past, back when she was wearing black tactical suits (how the hell did she get any in her size anyway?) These days she doesn't associate with other villains, except as a grandstanding outsider who will butt in on an ongoing super-battle or something.
Personality
Saki's cutesy, fluffy personality is a lot different from what she used to be like. If you read old FBI reports, you'd get the feeling that she was a stone cold killer back in the day. What she is now sort of feels fake, but it's hard to tell - mostly because her bouncing around and over-the-top temper tantrums and hugs and stuff would seem fake to anyone. Ultimately Saki is a mystery to anyone who doesn't fully know her yet. She definitely wants to play up the "kid villain" thing, though, so most in-the-know villains humor her in public. If you meet her, play along.
She hasn't killed anyone in the last 20 years, that anyone knows of. Prior to that, there were some M.P.s at Army bases and the like, but no civilians.
Powers
Saki is classified in the Transhuman Capability Catalog as TCC F5 - gravity control. Several heroes who've been punched out by her reported feeling suddenly heavier, or frozen and unable to move for a moment, so that she could wind up and hit them. Her parasol has blocked chunks of concrete, bullets, and cars, which is obviously not a normal thing. She might manipulate the Higgs field, which provides mass to objects, letting her control density and inertia.
Problems
That girl has got a screwed-up head, let me tell you. I think she's getting better, and I won't say why, but for a long time she had some serious anger issues in general and resentment issues in particular against America. I think she's working those out by bench-pressing American heroes. If you're nice to her, though, she's nice back. She can be awfully adorable when she tries.
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