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[death tribble]

The Fence

 

The secret member of the group that outsiders did not know was a member of the Thieves Council was Ray Vitriano also known as The Fence by the group but a fence to the Underworld and the police. Ray was the first person to get wind of the possible riches that the Frobisher building contained. He convinced the others that it was an option worth pursuing. He could not say it was the only job that made sense as a number of different factors would sway an argument. All he could do was say this is a possibility. All he had to do was sit back and wait once the group decided to do the job. And here Henry was breaking a rule about getting personally involved. You see Ray knew Genie's uncle and worked with him. Once Cranham found that out Ray's fate was sealed. Killing him would attract the wrong attention but outing him to everyone would destroy the anonymity of the group and expose Ray. Henry played Ray like an expert fisherman, hooking him with the smallest of details and using him to lure the others into the trap. He then laid the booby trap which would lead the police and criminals back to Ray once the group was involved in the raid.

Ray had to flee and is unsure which one of the group grassed him up. The smart money is on Jenny Faceless or Champagne Charlie although Fascino or Omni are also suspect.

[death tribble]

Relay

 

One of the back room operatives was the woman called Relay who could handle a number of different communications channels at once. This enabled the team to have the drop on not only the police, emergency services, private security and even other criminals. She could then divert them elsewhere or advise the team that they had incoming. It annoyed her that several of the team were flamboyant and like to push their luck which threw off timing. She was the one member of the team who was publicly captured as the van was parked in the wrong space and the signals were not only jammed but fed to the police as well so that TV News crews saw her as armed police opened the door of the van and arrested her. The CIA are currently engaged in a long term struggle to get her to work for them, something she has no interest in. She thinks that she was the victim of incompetence and bad luck or the work of a rival rather than a carefully planned operation to take down the entire Council.

 

Next poster can pick a new team. We have 9 so you don't have to post a member of the Thieves Council

Edited November 5, 2023 by death tribble

[Opal]

Team Amerika

 

Conceived when the Soviet fiasco in Afganistan was at it's height, the idea was to create some much-needed propaganda against America's superheroes.  The team that seemed most vulnerable was the Pentagon, so, on a shoestring budget and rushed schedule, a sleeper team was pulled together to pull off crimes in the guise of it's current members.  The attempt failed on multiple levels.  The sleeper agents' training was poor to the point some of them even had obvious accents, and they were not well-matched to the superheroes they were meant to impersonate, using barely-similar powers or kludged together tech that was less than convincing to anyone who'd even seen footage of the originals in action.  Plus the Pentagon roster was always changing.  What's more, as right-thinking communists the members were more concerned with the greater good for the greater number, and hesitated to actually commit crimes that would cause further harm to members of America's crushed proletariat.  So when they did rob a bank they'd make sure it was a big corporate bank and they'd distribute the money to the poor; when they kidnapped a rich man's child, they'd demand he capitulate to a union's demands instead of collect a ransom, and so forth.   When the Soviet Union collapsed, they disbanded and resumed living in their secret sleeper-cell IDs, since America really wasn't that bad a place to live, afterall.  But when the Pentagon finally disbanded, some of them returned to heroeing, this time for real, at least for a while.  Presumably, today, they're all dead/depowered/retired/whatever, but if one were to surface, they might prove more popular than ever.  

 

Obviously, 5 members, each should imitate (however badly) a member of the Pentagon over on the Hero Team Theme thread (though it's always possible one was stuck imitating a member who was already gone by the time they got here)

 

To start:

 

Kirill Kuznetsov had been a boy during the Great Patriotic war, but had few memories of it beyond hunger, his family were 'ignorant superstitious peasants' and he lived up to that stigma, seeking out the legendary witch Baba Yaga and gaining a boon from her.  As a boy, he never new hunger again, and grew into a strapping young man, but she cursed one of his eyes to emit a deadly ray so he killed anyone he looked at.  That was his story, the operatives who found and trained him as a super and taught him to control that deadly glare, told him he was a mutant with powers that manifested, quite typically, at puberty - CIA documents referred to him as 'Balor'.   He was assigned to imitate Stripes of the Pentagon, using his deadly eye-beam, which was at least red, and given a balky taser-like gauntlet to imitate Stripes shock attack.  The impersonation went poorly, Kirill was significantly taller and more heavily built than the real Stripes and didn't have a strobing force-field to hide behind, his halting diction was also nothing like that of the natural orator who took so well to the role of team face.  The "Stars" who accompanied him was a failed Olympic gymnast trained up as a stealthy martial artist who employed metal throwing stars, she retired back to her sleeper-cell ID after a few missions when they discovered the real Stars was a boy and relative non-combatant (she could be brought back to impersonate a different member of the Pentagon is someone wants).

 

Some years after the Pentagon disbanded, Kirill, having obtained American citizenship, returned to the super-hero arena as the patriotic 'Red Glare' "Is patriotic!  Is right there in National Anthem!"  Letting his past fade into obscurity.  After a decade or so in that identity he returned to Russia to visit family and was never seen again.

 

[death tribble]

One of the biggest headaches that the Russians had was trying to imitate Proud American. Getting a soldier was not the problem, it was the gadgets and a degree of bad luck. The CIA infiltrated one unit and caused the death of one candidate and used a scientist to sabotage equipment leading to another candidate being maimed. Training accidents accounted for several others and these were genuine accidents as opposed to what the CIA did. Another was killed while posing for publicity shots just before he went on active service. A plane crash got rid of not only the no 1 candidate, his backup and a third who was only along as a favour to the KGB who were concerned that the first two would not work out. Of all things a cerebral haemorrhage did for another whilst a heart attack incapacitated another.

The KGB quietly shelved any mention of it thereafter of the Proud Ameriker project.   

[Quackhell]

Sasha Petrovich had trained in gymnastics from an early age and was highly touted as her first Olympics approached. Unfortunately she suffered a major injury during training. Emotionally devastated by this she was an easy target for recruitment into The Conservatory, a training center for the KGB. The Headmistress molded her into a spy and deadly martial artist. She operated for several years before being chosen for Team Amerika. Initially acting as an imposter for Stars her handlers quickly realized she didn't match her American counterpart. As Sasha returned to her sleeper identity, she became enamored by the American lifestyle. However she would be called upon yet again by Team Amerika this time to double Virginia. She carried out a couple of assignments, but this inadvertently caught the attention of the criminal element who were seeking to eliminate Virginia. She barely survived an encounter with Filipina assassin Arnis who mistook her for Virginia and was attempting to score points with the underworld. She used this opportunity to fake her own death and go into hiding. Team Amerika just chalked this up as yet another failure in this disastrous operation. Sasha would eventually be discovered, not by the KGB, but by a modern iteration of the Culper Ring. She became an operative for them under the codename Odessa.

[death tribble]

Electroplate

 

This was the attempt to mimic Silversmith and it worked much to the surprise of many. The others should have been a lot easier to duplicate or pass off but it proved very difficult. Yuri Rudinka was the first and only person who Team Amerika had as a double for Silversmith. Yuri did as he was told but was not a fanatic party worker or idealist. He was a pragmatist. He could do what was required and could follow orders. But he was not in it for himself. Consequently he survived his run in the team and its dissolution. He also got employment after because he was reliable.

 

Next one means new team

[Sundog]

Spike

 

Dmitriy Yevgenovitch Susov was a dissident and revolutionary in the USSR. He got further than most, managing to actually inflict some damage before the KGB caught up with him, and they didn't bother with a show trial, but just sent him as an expendable test subject to their super-soldier experimentation facility in central Siberia.

To everyone's surprise, Susov came out of the cooking chamber not only alive but with the power to fire spikes of energy from his hands. The KGB was alarmed, and put measures in place to kill him as soon as the scientists were done examining the situation. However, a Team Amerika head heard of the events, and realised that Susov's powers were practically identical to those of Pentagon member Spur.

Susov trained with his powers, and a small bomb was placed in the skin behind his neck. Unfortunately for Susov, shortly before he was to debut, Spur was killed in Silversmith's breakdown. The KGB immediately detonated the bomb.

 

New team: The Masters of Silence.

 

These four time-travellers have one ultimate goal: The extinction of the human race. They know of other time-travellers with other goals, and seek to kill them first, but that is only to prevent their interference. They each have their own reasons for this, and don't always see eye to eye on method, but they are all ruthless and dedicated.

[Quackhell]

Tyrannus Tempus

 

An AI construct designed by teen geniuses Justin and Olive Tyme aka the Tyme Twins. Initially it operated as an asset to the young heroes as they had multiple adventures traveling through time. However eventually the program, after viewing humanity in multiple eras in history, came to the conclusion that they were nothing more than a corrupt influence on the universe. It showed it's true intentions and would battle it's heroic creators until it was able to trap the twins in the void between seconds in the time stream. It has multiple robotic forms it can inhabit and control that all have the ability to time travel and has built an army of drones to aid in it's extermination of humankind. 

[death tribble]

Doctor Plesiosaur

 

Humans killed his entire species and almost all the dinosaurs that ever existed. That meteor that wiped out dinosaurs that was caused by humans using temporal physics. The other extinctions of dinosaurs and others ? All human caused. Well now is the time for other species. Humanity has outlived its destiny and now will fade into obscurity.

Just how a marine dinosaur became a master villain let alone a time traveller is anyone's guess. People point fingers at the Mad Intellectual Think Tank but they truthfully deny anything to do with it.

Doctor Plesiosaur is difficult to battle at the best of times because he dwells in water but being able to travel through time as well makes him particularly nasty. When first encountered he can play the dumb beast so it can come as a shock when they find out he can speak and can swim through time.

 

(This just came to me. And I wanted something that could work with an AI)

[BoloOfEarth]

The alien known as Prod Oren uses his cloaked starship, the Adaran, to move the Masters of Silence about the Earth in their quest to end the human race.  He blames humanity for the future destruction of his home planet, Sulumor.  He is stronger than a normal person and is armed with various bits of high technology, including a disruptor pistol.

 

[BoloOfEarth]

Sorry for the two-fer, but I wanted to post a new group to see what people come up with - a less genocidal variation on the current team.

 

The Climatologist has traveled forward and seen how truly horrific mankind's influence has been on the Earth's climate.  Spoiler alert:  even after humankind is wiped out, the planet doesn't just bounce back in a few centuries, or even millennia.  (To be fair, it was actually mankind's attempts to reverse the damage that actually hyper-accelerated it, turning the Earth into a Venus-like blazing hothouse where no life can exist.  Unintended consequences, what can you say?)  The only option is to remove humanity from the equation before they *truly* screw things up beyond repair.  

 

- - - - - - - -

 

New Team:  Divine Right

 

This group of six psychics / oracles / prophets have "seen" the future and feel their technically criminal acts are fully justified based on that future.  (Actually, "those" futures, as each has seen various different snapshots of the future upon which they base their criminal actions.  For instance, one may have seen the growth of a mass-murdering cult, while another may have seen a company causing widespread environmental damage, a third may have seen a local politician who becomes President and starts World War III, etc.)

 

Please have members using different types of divination / prophecy.  (e.g. psychometry, astrology, tarot cards, runecasting, dream interpretation, palmistry, crystal ball visions, visions from God, etc.)  I'd also prefer if their crimes didn't include mass murder, even if they feel that the ends justify the means.

[csyphrett]

Grapher has the unenviable ability of seeing the future in random signs and papers. Even books tell him paths he should avoid as much as possible

CES

[death tribble]

Gypsy Rose Leigh

This man uses a crystal ball to predict the future. Oh ! If only he had lived in Germany he could have advised Hitler (and others) not to kill the Jews and to go after the Communists instead. Leigh is his real name and he really hates the Left. He could have gotten the U-Boats into ideal position to sink British and American shipping. He hates the French and British as well. He realised that the more killing you do the more likely the police will be to capture you. There's also the thing about Statute of Limitations. He is delusional but he is not that stupid. There is always the X Factor which will throw off any endeavour criminal or otherwise but he thinks he has everything covered.

He wears lightweight bulletproof clothing as he does not trust the police to do the right thing.

[Sundog]

The Eyes of God

 

Marcel Perroux is a Catholic priest. Since he can remember, he has been struck on occasion with visions of the future, some of which have come true, and others would have if he had not acted to prevent them. Marcel believes he has been blessed by God.

On the night before his raising to the position of Priest, Marcel had a long, detailed but vague vision. He saw a politician's rise on an anti-church platform, leading the people away from Christianity, and various cathedrals around Europe ablaze...culminating in the destruction of the Vatican.

He has dedicated himself to ensuring this vision does not come true. He has created a nom de guerre as "The Eyes of God" and formed a small, fanatical following, as well as joining Divine Right. But he stands by the laws of God, and while he will bend them occasionally in the right cause, he will not sanction murder or other mortal sins.

Recently, Marcel has begun to wonder if he correctly interpreted that vision. The blaze at Notre Dame was just as he saw it, but the politician is as yet unseen.

Marcel does not get along with Gypsy Rose Leigh due to the other's dislike of the French, but they have worked together in the past on actions they both see as of benefit.

[steriaca]

Zoran The Cursed can read the future by looking at guts. It only works if he is the one who cuts open the victim.  Any animal will do, but humans give better predictions. He never wanted to be a serial killer, but he has to continue, as he needs to know how to stop the Walker Beyond the Worlds. Zoran tries to keep his prediction victims to animals...but sometimes he just needs to study the spilled intestines of a human to fully understand something. 

[Quackhell]

Doomsayer

 

Aamir Kapoor is a conspiracy theorist who claims that through the use of psychoactive drugs and sensory deprivation that he has visions of the future. He has spread his manifesto on the "dark web" which has allowed him to build a network of supporters to his ideas. He and his followers have engaged in stock market manipulation, corporate espionage, industrial sabotage, blackmail, election manipulation etc insisting that it all leads to a better world. His teammates are a bit skeptical as his actions seem random and anarchist, but he assures them only he can see the big picture and all will come clear in the future.

[death tribble]

Taro

 

The woman who calls herself Taro reads Tarot cards. They were not particularly good or bad until she was involved in the machinations of people trying to make the prophecies of Nostradamus come to life.

Yes The Nostradamus Effect. Specifically Nostradama and Nostradrama whose actions somehow enchanted Taro so now she can see the future. This upset her and now she works to undo what future the other group are intending to come to pass. While Nostradama finds this amusing, Nostradrama has taken this as a slight and is looking to put Taro and anyone else out of the picture. 

For reference The Nostradamus Effect is linked below

 

New Team: Meggido's Minions

What happens when two of the biggest Egos in villainy clash ? Absolute Mayhem ! that's what. Meggido managed to tick off Dr Nymax! and did not think there would be any consequences. Now revenge is a dish best served with a degree of planning and preparation and so Dr Nymax! and Visgoth plotted an appropriate humiliation for the overpowered lunatic. They settled on Boston as the location of their surprise. Meggido thought he was launching an attack on The Viridian Bat but found himself walking into an ambush.

Your mission should you choose to accept it is to detail one of Meggido's minions who suddenly found the Boston job to be a complete bust. Any powerset but there is only place for one overpowered thin skinned lunatic (and that is Meggido).

Minimum 6

You could detail a hero group who 'just happened' to be present or the obnoxious surprise that Dr Nymax! launched at Meggido. Said surprise would count as one of the 6. Don't detail Meggido. Civilian and Law Enforcement casualties should be kept to a minimum. And the villains can be captured or killed if they don't escape. The police and the heroes are operating a capture policy

 

[Sundog]

"Little Tommy" Chao

 

Tom Chao was brought up in a Triad, starting as a runner at age 6 and graduating through the organization, taking his actual oaths at 18. It was only shortly after that when things went awry. He was involved in the theft of a container load of confiscated Viper supertech on the docks. Things went wrong, and the cops were on the scene. A stray bullet slammed into a piece of supertech Tommy was hiding behind, and there was a big bang.

Tommy found himself permanently reduced to six inches in height. But his mass remained the same, and he was able to conduct feats of strength like carrying a car around. He was also very tough, his density making him basically immune to bullets or most hand-held weapons.

His problem is, he's comparatively slow. Even leaping doesn't get him very far. So he usually teams up with another brick to throw him at the enemy - he's been called the "human hand grenade".

He also blames the Triad for his condition, and has cut ties with them. They view his oaths as binding for life, and are actively trying to kill him.

Tommy primarily works as a mercenary, and was doing so for Meggido in Boston. 

[death tribble]

Two Blade Harrigan

 

Harrigan was a martial artist and knifeman employed as an assassin. He was brought in to cover escape routes and kill whatever losers The Viridian Bat brought in for his latest caper. They were certainly not expecting The Sludge That Would Not Cry which proved to be immune to most weapons. The combat drew in the police, SWAT and superpowered vigilantes. Harrigan vowed he would not be taken by the police but being devoured by an enormous grinning gelatinous mountain is not really much of a consolation.

[steriaca]

The One Man Gang  was Marvin Jones, a small time mutant who can duplicate himself, and that is about it. He couldn't even duplicate everything he carried or his clothing. Meggido provided him with light armor and weapons. One by one, each of his 11 duplicates died. It is unknown if the true Melvin was among them, but nobody has seen The One Man Gang ever after the incident. 

[steriaca]

Who here is excited by Pride & Prejudice, the upcoming book about IHA (and maybe "project genocide")?

[Quackhell]

Iron Cossack

 

No one is sure where Meggido dug up this Cold War relic from as the nigh-indestructible powerhouse was last seen battling the Tsar's Guard in St Petersburg in 1983. He managed to fight his way out of the initial conflict, but then found himself in a battle with the Celtic Crusader and Youth Force members Tektonik and Stage Fright. He was last seen escaping into Massachusetts Bay and has yet to resurface.

[death tribble]

HellBane

 

The result of a botched DEMON operation HellBane is a large demonic looking individual who was the primary brick for the operation. His job was combat and carrying things. He had a score to settle with The Viridian Bat and so was eager for a chance to get his hands on the superthief mastermind. Things did not start to go wrong until they hit the safe house which The Bat and his minions were supposed to be in and then all the life signs disappeared. And then as they looked to make their way out the group was confronted by The Sludge That Would Not Cry, a grinning gelatinous mass and one of Dr Nymax's! creations. HellBane had an inbuilt reluctance to tangle with any of the mad scientist's schemes as he had come off second best against Diabolicus when the latter was the genius's bodyguard. The group tried to flee but also ran into law enforcement and superpowered vigilantes. Unfortunately The Sludge also wanted to play and HellBane ended up being partly swallowed in what the media said was just 'Yuck!'. Heroes and police managed to eventually haul the villain out barely conscious while his opponent liquified and escaped through storm drains and sewers. HellBane will now not eat anything that resembles a jelly.

 

That is 5. The next person can post a villain and a new team if they so wish. Otherwise we go up to 9 at the very most.

[Sundog]

Beam

 

Actually an experiment by Argent, Beam is a clone of a clone of the Golden Age hero Summer Sun. He's actually significantly more powerful than his original progenitor, partially due to a bunch of Argent cybernetics and augmentation, but his intelligence has suffered badly from clonal degradation, leaving him, to be honest, dumb as a post. He mostly got along by going along with whatever villain he was currently working for and not thinking, ever since Argent gave him up as a bad idea.

Sadly, while he could have actually harmed The Sludge That Would Not Cry, he ran into the mercenary for hire Semtex. The explosives expert left Beam's mangled remains for the rest of the team to find.

 

[steriaca]

Ok Sundog, you got the next team.