Create a Hero Theme Team!

[Logan D. Hurricanes]

Re: Create a Hero Theme Team!

 

Tory Devlin was completely absorbed in the engineering drawings on his computer. His desk was a complete mess: notes, sketches, equations, half built demos, file folders, and empty coffee mugs. Two lamps sat on his desk amid the clutter, but only one had a working light. Above the desk was a large sign that stated "NO DEATH RAYS" in large block letters.

 

He sat back from the computer and rubbed his eyes. His back arched as he yawned and slumped back into the desk chair. He stared up at the sign looming over his desk. With a heavy sigh, he leaned forward and hit the delete button on his keyboard. He needed more coffee.

 

"Yo, Gremlin, we got a job." The large, thuggish man filled Tory's entire doorway.

 

"Indeed?" he asked without looking. He was too busy disarming the laser on the coffee pot at that moment.

 

"Yeah, we're heading into the desert. We're going after some sort of rogue robot or something. We'll need a transport and a tracker, if you think you can do it."

 

"Of course I can do it," he snapped. "Don't be insulting. Send me the coordinates so I can devise something appropriate." A flame shot out of the coffee maker and he focused it back into the machine.

 

"Sorry, Doc, didn't mean to insult ya. Say, can I ask for something else? Think you can whip up some sort of survival gear. I hate being hot, you know."

 

Doctor Gremlin sat back at his computer. "I'll see what I can do. This transport, how many-?"

 

"No guns."

 

Tory sighed. "Alright." They were stifling his creativity. Here he was, one of the greatest scientific masterminds of all time, and they were asking for desert gear and tracking devices. Still, it beat prison, where he couldn't create anything at all. "Give me twelve hours."

[SKJAM!]

Re: Create a Hero Theme Team!

 

Richard "Double" Dutch was a rotten kid. His Mama and Pops tried to raise him right, keep him on the righteous path, but they were poor, and Double wanted to be going places like the flashy gangsters in his neighborhood. He hung around with the wrong crowd, going for joyrides, enjoying underage boozing, smashing stuff up for kicks. Double tried mary jane socially, but his buzz of choice was reds, bennies, uppers...amphetamines.

 

Then came the day when he and a few buddies mugged a furtive-looking man with an expensive briefcase going through the dark alley behind the Bowl-o-Rama. They were a bit disappointed to discover that the heavy case just held metal samples, but the metal turned out to be radioactive isotopes the Army had been experimenting with, and the furtive man a spy planning to sell them to the Soviets. Richard later kicked himself for not just turning man and samples over to the authorities. "We woulda been heroes, could've had our juvie records sealed, had girls fawning over us. But no, we hadda be punks." The boys kept the isotopes in their hideout while trying to find a buyer other than a foreign power, then noticed that they were changing.

 

Double became twice as strong, fast and tough as a normal top athlete; his buddies also got low-level superpowers. They figured it was a sign that they were ready for the next step up. Stickups, auto theft, a protection racket, small-time stuff but there was a lot of it in that year and a half. No one died, but a few of their victims were in the hospital a long time, and one would never walk again. The police of their small city finally bowed to necessity and called in a couple of mystery men to clean up the town. Double was caught and put on trial.

 

Richard was tried as an adult, but his adolescent arrogance and snide attitude endeared him to neither judge nor jury. He was sentenced to a total of one hundred years in prison, with time off for good behavior. There wasn't good behavior the first couple of years; Richard was seen as fresh meat, and he got in a lot of fights. But a few stays in solitary cooled his temper, and the other convicts had learned to respect his physical abilities. Time passed, and more time. Richard's parents died, his girlfriend found someone to marry, had kids, had grandkids, died, his old gang died one by one of various causes. But still Richard endured in those gray stone walls, still alive, still waiting for the day he would be free. The other inmates started calling him a new name, Methuselah, and gave him the respect due one of the prison's legends.

 

Richard didn't get out the first time his parole board met, or the second, but bit by bit he learned the right things to say, and relatives of his old victims stopped coming to argue against his release. Finally, sixty years after his conviction, Richard Dutch left prison a (mostly) free man. The problem was what to do next? He had no living relatives and all his old friends had passed away. Revenge seemed pointless, since the heroes who had caught him, the judge, the prosecuting attorney and the entire jury had all been outlived. He was retirement age, but had never held down a real job in his life, and the state prison held a monopoly on printing license plates.

 

But he still had superpowers, such as they were, and Second Chance was willing to give "Methuselah" a go at being a good guy.

 

Methuselah looks like a wrinkled, feeble old man, balding on the top and with a long white beard. But he's still twice as fast, strong and tough as a top normal athlete. He's also very widely read, sixty years in prison gives you a lot of time to visit the library. On the other hand, most of his social and political attitudes are stuck in the 1950s.

[Lucius]

Re: Create a Hero Theme Team!

 

Skjam: I want to play in your game.

 

Lucius Alexander

 

The palindromedary elaborates: Lucius thinks you're brilliant.

[quozaxx]

Re: Create a Hero Theme Team!

 

"OK Night Terror. You killed a man by scaring him to death - literally. Why should even consider letting you go?

"You don't understand Doc. You're my shrink and you just don't understand.

"Then help me understand

"My parents belong to DEMON. You know the organization right? Well, when I was 13, they infused me with a demon - the demon of fear. But luckily for me the ceremony was interrupted by Witchcraft. I only was partially infused.

"Go on

"Well, being partially infused with the spirit of fear was kinda fun. I loved scary movies and Halloween has always been my favorite holiday. So, yeah, I scared people and like doing it.

"You couldn't stop?

"No, in fact, whenever I tried to stop I grew physically older. I HAD to scare at least one person a day or age a year if I didn't . I look 30 and I'm only 19. That's when it happened.

"What happened?

"I used my powers to discover what this guy was afraid of. He looked in his 20s. Physically fit and everything. Then I scared him - and he died. I don't want to kill people, just scare them.

"So you will eventually die of old age if you don't scare someone once a day?

"I think so.

"Hm, have you considered scaring villains?

"Yeah, like that's going to happen in prison.

"How would you like a Second Chance...

 

OK that's 6 - that's between 5 and 7: Next group:

 

“Great Grandpa! Great Grandpa!”

“Jimmy! Oh how have you’ve grown!

“Great Grandpa, my daddy says you know about a group of heroes hardly anyone’s ever hear of. Is that true?

“Oh, yes Jimmy let me tell you about it. Back during the last days of World War II, super heroes were just starting to emerge, and back then almost every main hero had a sidekick.

Well, these sidekicks had a special bond between them, and they called their little group The Sidekick Associates.

I know, a little corny.

Anyways, these sidekicks fought side by side with their main heroes. They often joked about their names having an “and” in front of them. But they never got the same recognition as the main heroes.

After the war ended these duos spread across the globe. They fought plum into the 1960s. They never did many newsworthy things, but they were heroes none-the-less, and the sidekicks kept in touch.

By the mid 1960s. The sidekicks branched off from their predecessors, changed their names, and became heroes on their own. They changed their costumes and everything. I wouldn’t be surprised if you recognize their solo hero names. People forgot who they used to be, and the group still kept in touch.

By the 1980s, all the “main heroes” retired. Age does that to people. Those main heroes eventually died out, but the sidekicks kept vigilant, until about the 1990s. Age caught up with them too. They retired, but they still kept in touch.

Oh, they are still alive today. I think the youngest one is in their upper 70s. The newer heroes still seek them out for advice and for information, but they usually just reminisce about the old days now when they talk to each other. “

“Great Grandpa that’s great who were they?

“Let me see there are 5 of them. I guess you want the main hero his powers, the sidekick’s name and his powers, and what they changed their name into when they went solo - I suppose”

“Please Great Grandpa.

“OK, let me see, there was…..

[Hermit]

Re: Create a Hero Theme Team!

 

OK that's 6 - that's between 5 and 7: Next group:

 

“Great Grandpa! Great Grandpa!”

“Jimmy! Oh how have you’ve grown!

“Great Grandpa, my daddy says you know about a group of heroes hardly anyone’s ever hear of. Is that true?

“Oh, yes Jimmy let me tell you about it. Back during the last days of World War II, super heroes were just starting to emerge, and back then almost every main hero had a sidekick.

Well, these sidekicks had a special bond between them, and they called their little group The Sidekick Associates.

I know, a little corny.

Anyways, these sidekicks fought side by side with their main heroes. They often joked about their names having an “and” in front of them. But they never got the same recognition as the main heroes.

After the war ended these duos spread across the globe. They fought plum into the 1960s. They never did many newsworthy things, but they were heroes none-the-less, and the sidekicks kept in touch.

By the mid 1960s. The sidekicks branched off from their predecessors, changed their names, and became heroes on their own. They changed their costumes and everything. I wouldn’t be surprised if you recognize their solo hero names. People forgot who they used to be, and the group still kept in touch.

By the 1980s, all the “main heroes” retired. Age does that to people. Those main heroes eventually died out, but the sidekicks kept vigilant, until about the 1990s. Age caught up with them too. They retired, but they still kept in touch.

Oh, they are still alive today. I think the youngest one is in their upper 70s. The newer heroes still seek them out for advice and for information, but they usually just reminisce about the old days now when they talk to each other. “

“Great Grandpa that’s great who were they?

“Let me see there are 5 of them. I guess you want the main hero his powers, the sidekick’s name and his powers, and what they changed their name into when they went solo - I suppose”

“Please Great Grandpa.

“OK, let me see, there was…..

 

My name is Quentin Reeves. I am 84 years young, and I have no intention of going gently into that good night. I have lived through many battles, one of which earned me the right to be considered of "the Greatest Generation" though I can tell you, I always thought we were a bit over idolized there. Plenty of folks did NOT want to fight, did not want to leave America, and would have given anything to stay bored. In retrospect, with the horrors I've seen, I can't say I blame them. Still, when I was fifteen, convinced that those older than me just didn't get it, as all teenagers were and are, and probably will be, I was quite eager to punch ole Adolph in the eye and didn't think it through what war might mean, might cost, and how many good men might die. I was, and still am in some ways, a bit selfish.

 

See that boy? That's David Quintin Reeves. Nope, can't blame them for giving him it as a middle name. David's solid, and kids are cruel. Right now he's trying to decide if he wants to play some more basketball with his friends or come over here and talk to his great grandfather. I suppose I shouldn't call him 'boy' any more. He's eighteen now, which is older than I was when I gained my power. How did I get my power?

 

Simple answer is, I was hit by lightning.

OH, here comes David now. Good kid. I appreciate him coming by to pay his respects. Hey, he looks guilty for taking so long. I chat with him a bit, pat his hand, ask him how he's doing. I also notice him eying that pretty red headed girl across the street. I embarrass him by asking if he's asked her out yet.

 

Perk of being old, we get to embarrass young folk and get away with it. He stammers a bit, mentioning things. Her name is Dedra, or 'Dee Dee' for short. I wave, and say "Good morning young lady" . Poor David looks like he could just die. Then he looks panicky when she starts to come over. I try to be supportive

"She's not going to be interested in your stones if you act like you don't have any," I dispense my wisdom.

"Jesus, Great Grandpa..." Kids act like they invented the facepalm. They have no idea. I chastise him for language.

I'm old, I get to be two faced like that.

Heh.

Sides, all is forgiven when I set the two up to talk among themselves and feign taking a nap. She seems to find me sweet, and the two talk under the porch.

 

It begins to rain, hard. Hard enough that David suggests she stay a bit longer with him where it is dry. Smart boy. They'll be snuggling in no time.

 

What? I meddle, old folks do that too.

 

Where was I? Oh yeah, how I got my powers. The more complex answer is I did the right thing and got tapped on the shoulder for it. I know, I'm supposed to say 'I found a mysterious rock' or 'Nazis threw me into chemicals' but the truth is, all I did was rush to save Captain Thunder. Oh, now him you might recognize. Big strong flying guy, with a 'THUNDER PUNCH!'. You knew it was a Thunder Punch because he said it every time he threw it. When I was young, I thought that was the neatest thing. I wasn't alone. Kids in the states used to go around screaming "THUNDER PUNCH!" like it was a battle cry. Now, in retrospect, I suppose it was kind of retarded. Pardon me.. I meant 'kind of special'. Sides, the old man was good, a true hero even if I would one day learn he was only human and could be fooled. Which is why, when I saw him outcold, in the rain, and his enemies were searching for him, I decided to risk being seen by those hunting him and get him to safety.

 

The rain was harder than this even. I grabbed him, pulled, and then shoved him into a warehouse.

Then God, fate, Mother Nature or just plain cosmic weirdness rewarded me. I was hit by lightning. I got filled with so much juice I'm lucky my eyeballs stayed in my head. I woke up alive, well, and... with the ability to control the weather. It wasn't long before I was 'Stormy' kid sidekick to Captain Thunder! It took me the longest time to realize the full extent of my powers, and I darn near died more than once, but those were golden years in more ways than one. Captain Thunder and I , we did it all. We helped clear up North Africa where I met the 'Hidden Lion People of Nanbobo' (Yes, I know there's no Nanbobo on the maps anywhere, that's why it's HIDDEN.... stupid kids), we aided the French Resistance and I got a kiss from Madame Liberte's own sidekick behind a farm house. Ooo la la. We teamed up with the "Axis Smashers" and helped defeat Hitler's personal Robot Death Tank Commandos lead by 'Baron Von Baron' a man so nasty they gave him a title twice just to stay on his good side. I am NOT making this up. The Sidekick Associates? We all felt unbeatable and looked so forward to the day we could really impress our mentors.

 

The fifties weren't as kind. My awe of my mentor had waned, and we argued. When McCarthy came out with that list, and wanted heroes to join him in his witch hunt , Captain Thunder agreed with him. I had no love of the soviets (Still don't, the soviet regime was scum and I will not apologize for fighting their agents) but I had met a wonderful girl, and was not about to out her just because of who her father was. I abandoned my old name, called myself "Scarlet Storm" because I knew anything red would get Captain Thunder's goat. Yeah. It got ugly. "At long last, have you no decency?" I can't remember which superhero said that, but god bless him or her. Fine, he was MY hero. Me? I wanted to fry the Senator, never been so tempted to misuse my powers in such a violent way. The lives he ruined.

 

Captain Thunder and I reconciled eventually, before he died. I'm glad of that. Because it meant I could eventually reconcile with myself... I kind of became him.

 

And eventually, it would be my turn, not to die, but to become the old state. The sixties I remember harsh words with a young hero, I was old, I was obsolete. I was blind to the evils that our government was forcing on our and other nations. He pushed, and I pushed back...and ended up nearly killing a man who's chief crime was standing by his beliefs.

 

I was shaken. If it hadn't been for my wife I might have never recovered from the self loathing I developed for myself after that deed. I didn't play politics after that, EVER. Seeing things in terms only of Black and White, Hawk and Dove, Left or Right blinds you to the spectrum... and by now my REAL eyesight is bad enough, thank you.

 

Throughout the decades I had kids of my own, none of them ever gained my powers (though one of them ended up marrying a superhero and they've got a daughter that gained his powers). I didn't understand exactly why not, but now I think I do. I'm selfish. I lost my wife to cancer. I lost a lot of friends from old age or disease, or violence. Some foes do not forgive and do not die, it seems. I just didn't want to lose anything else. That included powers.

 

My powers did not fade. In fact, they'd grown stronger since I was a kid. I stopped a twister here recently in fact. But my body? Too many hits from powerhouses when I was young. Too many bones that were broken and I can feel the old aches even now that they're mended. My mind is still sharp, and that's nice. But the physical effort it takes to boss the weather around? I just don't have the physical endurance required any more. About passed out when I put down that tornado.

 

Now a hard rain? One that forces a young man to gallantly offer his jacket and arms around a woman to provide her warmth? That doesn't take nearly as much effort.

He's going to need that. David is going to need human contact, reminders of how no man needs stand alone friendless, loveless. Maybe Dee Dee isn't the right girl, maybe she'll be Mrs. Right. But I want to remind him that moments like standing in the rain are worth fighting for. That it is okay to want things, and still do the right thing, and you can walk that middle path between saving the world and looking out for yourself and your family. It doesn't always have to be one or the others.

 

You see, last week, David saved someone from a tornado... he got there before I did. He pulled folks out of a car that had been blown into a river. Made the local papers. Boy hero. It's not that he doesn't want to play basketball with his friends, or to hold a pretty girl, it's that he wants that, and he does the right thing too.

 

Why am I telling you this? Well, I figure you must be God, fate, Mother Nature or just plain cosmic weirdness... and I'm asking you for a favor. Let me do this.

 

I use the wind to rip off the jacket from them, it flies to the center of the yard, and David goes after it. That's the spirit boy, no guts, no glory. Mind you, you're saving a jacket and impressing a girl rather than saving a superhero, but you also saved a couple and their kid from a car, I think that qualifies, and I'm old enough to want things my own way.

 

Dee Dee tells him they can get it later. Practical girl.

She's gonna hate what happens next.

 

I bring down the lightning, and it obeys, roaring, defiant, and hungry...and it consumes David.

Dedra screams! Lord she's got a set of pipes, I can hear her through the thunder.

When our eyes clear, the rain is dying out, and there lays David, out cold, without a mark on him. Dedra is rushing to him, and he's waking under her concerned touches.

 

I know even before I try that what I had has moved on. The rain won't come back when I command, the lightning wont' ever come again when I call. I guess I AM ready to go gently into that good night, at least as a man of power. It's the only way I can make room for a new, and God let him be a better, dawn.

 

He'll make mistakes,but he'll be a better hero than I ever was. You'll see.

And if I meddle in his life and training? Well, by god, I'm old. Meddling is one of the few powers I have that is utterly unconnected to the weather, and selfish fart that I am, damned if I'll give THAT one up.

 

I wonder if I can convince him to take up the name Scarlet Storm? It's a bit dated, but it would do wonders for my ego.

[Hermit]

Re: Create a Hero Theme Team!

 

Wow. That was a lot longer than I intended. Sorry about that

[Enforcer84]

Re: Create a Hero Theme Team!

 

Wow. That was a lot longer than I intended. Sorry about that

 

Why? I liked it.

[BoloOfEarth]

Re: Create a Hero Theme Team!

 

Wow. That was a lot longer than I intended. Sorry about that

 

No apologies necessary, except that it's going to be a tough act to follow.

[BoloOfEarth]

Re: Create a Hero Theme Team!

 

Ah, Jenny, good, you’re here. Nice of you to help your ol’ granddad out. That was a real pretty poem you read at your Nanna’s funeral yesterday, by the way.

 

Gimme that photo album, the blue one, up on the top shelf. That’s my girl. You were your Nanna’s favorite granddaughter, you know that, right?

 

Pull up a chair, child. I want to show you something. Yeah, it’s old-folk stuff. Just don’t roll your eyes, or I’ll drop you from my will. Don’t think I won’t do it, either. I dropped your father from my will after he started teasing me about my thinning hair. And don’t go telling him that, either. Imagining his face when he finds out is one of my few remaining pleasures in life.

 

So, where was I? Oh, yeah, right about… here. Yeah, back in the war. Did your Nanna ever tell you she knew Korzax the Sorcerer? See, that’s him, right there; the guy next to him is Captain Thunder, you may have heard of him too, and that’s there’s his boy wonder, Sparky or Stormy or some such. And right there, that’s Miss Mystic, she was Korzax’s sidekick, only he called her his assistant. I’d say she was about your age when this picture was taken. Yep, 1944, she’d have been 18 then. Gotta love that costume, especially the fishnet stockings. (sigh) Your Nanna was quite the looker back then.

 

Oh, don’t look so shocked, kid. Yes, your Nanna was an honest-to-God superheroine. Started out as Miss Mystic, the Mistress of Probabilities. Man, they really knew how to name capes back then. Look, there she is shaking Eisenhower’s hand.

 

When she hit about 23 she started out on her own. Took the name Lady Luck. Gotta admit, she sure was my lucky charm. We were married 58 years, through thick and thin. There she is with the Freedom League, probably about 1950. I saw her go through holy heck when Korzax got raked over the coals by McCarthy; she caught some flak by standing up for him. Good heart, your Nanna had. Dang it, you’d think I’d be all cried out by now.

 

I wish your Nanna was here to explain all this to you, Jen. She’d do a better job of this. But she’s not here, so it falls to me.

 

Remember that older gentleman at the funeral, the one in the black suit with the red bow tie? That was Korzax. Guess the side effects of his magic kept him from aging as fast as the rest of us. Yeah, he looks different with the beard shaved off, too.

 

Anyway, he talked to me at the funeral, said he saw the “spark” of magic in you when you were reading your poem. He said that natural talent is often passed on to children, or grandchildren, and he offered to, how did he put it? “Tutor you in the mystic arts.” Yeah, that’s it.

 

I’ll let you think on it a day or two, and then you should meet Korzax, if for no other reason than to talk to him. Your Nanna always said he’s a good man, and she was an excellent judge of character. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I think I’m going to lay down for a nap. Go ahead and look through that album if you want, then put it away when you’re done.

[csyphrett]

Re: Create a Hero Theme Team!

 

"Where are we going, Pappy?" The boy thought he had been there before. he couldn't remember. It was like deja vu.

 

"I have something to give you, Ned." The old man pulled his coat closer around him. The mist was chilling now that some of his spark had faded. "Then I'm going to have to go away."

 

"What do you mean?" Ned looked around. The mists obscured everything. He thought he saw other men in black coats like his granfather.

 

"It's better to show you." The old man climbed up a hill, waving the boy on.

 

A well appeared out of the mists. Stones made the walls. Wood housed the crankshaft for the bucket to draw water.

 

"Are you sure about this, Ethan?" The other man appeared out of nowhere. He was blond, smoking a cigarette, and had his own tan coat pulled close.

 

"If not now, when?" The grandfather waved the other man off. "I won't be around much longer."

 

"What's going on, Pappy?" Ned frowned at the other man. He seemed to know more about this than Ned did.

 

"I'm going to give you your inheritance." Ethan wound the crank on the well. "Then I want you to go back to my house and get my chest. Everything else is in there."

 

"Your house is..." Ned tried to point the direction. The house was nowhere in sight. "I thought it was over there."

 

"Drink this." Ethan scooped some of the water out of the bucket with an old cup. "It'll burn for a second. I won't lie about that."

 

Ned looked at both men. He grimaced at the sparkling water. It was the only thing that had color in this dim land. He sipped the water. Pappy was right. It burned like liquid fire.

 

"Now go get my chest." Ethan put the cup back and let the bucket drop down in the well. "I'll be waiting for you."

 

By the time Ned got back to the house and tried to return, there was no mist, or a well. He searched for hours before giving up. He opened up the chest. A note on a journal said Read this.

 

He thumbed through the journal, reading the entries. On the last page, the last entry filled the page.

 

"Dear Ned,

I have given you the power that I possessed. I am afraid that I had to go. That's the price of passing it on. I hope you understand.

 

Good Luck."

 

Ned took the chest back to the house. Shapes followed at a respectful distance. He was their master now. They were his familiars.

 

That was why he was the new Oberon.

CES

[Nothere]

Re: Create a Hero Theme Team!

 

Hee hee. No I will not give back you I something or other, I want to talk, and I want you full attention. You can have it back if you fight me for it. Not gonna beat up an old lady? Good now sit down. This is gonna be one of those long old people stories.

 

Like all such stories it begins back in my day. Well don't just sit there roll your eyes. Not gonna eh? Good boy.

 

So back in my day, to be preciece when I was fourteen, there was this little thing going on you might of heard of called World War II. Which was kind of odd cause World War I was supposed to be the war to end all war, but things change. Now like in World War I we weren't exactly sure what to make of it. Some of us wanted to ignore it, some wanted to fight for the allies, and some wanted us to fight for the Nazis. Remember that last part it becomes important later.

 

Now as me I was for fighting for the allies, but being a girl and fourteen in the 1940's nobody cared what I thought. Still things change. So as the Nazi war machine was preparing to invade France, me and some other girls were doing our best to make a few daughters of visiting important French families to feel at home. See in my day, roll your eyes. We got to know people face to face, not read on the inter something what someone else wrote and take that as true. So there we were settling them in, when some Nazi sympathizers kidnaped the whole lot of us.

 

The old we have your kid, betray your country bit. But your Great Grandma wasn't easily intimidated. Your Great Great grama was a suffregette, and she passed on her pluck, gumpton, and a few other old people words. So I kept dropping things out of the back of the truck. Next thing you know Captain Courage had found us, and beat up the whole gang single handed. Though he wasn't so good at getting away. I managed to follow him and learn his real identity. So I blackmailed him into making me his sidekick. Bravery Girl. Stop trying to hold it in,. Go ahead and laugh. A hundred years from now I dare you to show your grandkids a picture of you in those clothes.

 

Well we had a grand time. Routed Nazi scum on just about every continent. Met some other teenagers who were doing the same. We 'd meet every so often. Called ourvelves the Sidekick Associates. Oh boy, Bunch of teenager attacking full grown men who have nmachine guns. These days our mentors and parents and probably neighbors would be arrested for violating so many labor laws and child laws we'd never get out of prision. Things change.

 

The biggest change was in Austrailia. We were trying to prevent the Nazi Zombie Gorillias from taking over Sydney. Hey Zombioie Gorillias is no joking matter. We were in the lab f your standard mad scientist when one of the gorillias hit me into some chemicals, and I got real powers. I was a real pip in the cape game for the rest of the war. Course the war didn't last forever.

 

It ended. I hit puberty. Know you can't tell from these saggy things but your granny had really big... Oh sure now you roll your eyes. What you think you invented it? Some of the rumors about me and Captain Courage. You know sometimes when I start wondering how the Nazi's got so bad, I just have to look at how fast so cvalled decent people go straight to the worst assumptions. Sadly not everything changes. So I stepped out of the cape game. Met your great grandfather, and thought I'd settle down. Course then came the 50's.

 

The terrible red menace was sweeping across the world. Nations were falling, comunist sypathizers had infultrated the goverment, nuclar war was expected at any moment. No way was I gonna miss the fun. So Captain Courage and I went back into action. Course this was a cold war, so mostly we just beat up your typical gangsters, but we managed to give Stalin's boys a black eye a time or two. Course with age and his old war wounds Captain Courage found he just couldn't keep it up. But he was always there for me. Weither I needed advice or a few bucks. Our family fortune was built off of his generosity. In some ways losing him was almost harder than losing your Greatfather. Still all that came later. So with no more Captain Courage, and me more a bombshell then girl calling myself Bravery Girl well it wasn't on. So in 1955 Sparkplug debuted. And aslong as things were changing again I married your Great Grandfather. He wasn't exactyly thrilled with my proffesion, but I was taking on armies when I was younger than you are, so he knew he couldn't stop me. Kept going right into the 60's. Course by then I was wearing down. And the country seemed to be changing around me. Some for the better like the cibvil rights movement. A lot worse like people assuming the goverment and police were against them instead of for them. We'll I finally put away the cape for good.

 

Almost done. Why am I telling you all this? Well neither your Grandparents or parents ever really had much pep. But you do. When you can finally tear yourdself away from looking at a picture oof a rose on the interwhatever to smell one. You even have zing, even if you are only seventeen. So I want to show you something. See this oddly glowing vial? Back in 51 I think it was, somebody, Dr. Demonic if I remember right, straped me to a tanble to distill the essence of my powers. He was gonna give them to himself, but as you see that didn't work out. So heres your I whatever and the vial. What? No I don't care what you do with it. Yes if you drink it you'll have superpwowers. But it's your life, your desicion. Sides Sparkplug hasn't been around for years. Course things change.

[SKJAM!]

Re: Create a Hero Theme Team!

 

"Yep, them old-timey heroes had some peculiar names. Slaughterhouse Jack, there, he was called that because Jack Wizniak worked in a slaughterhouse on the South Side of Chicago, back in the day. He was the fellow what actually killed the cattle as they came in. One day, so the story goes, a steer came in that was kind of wobbly and swollen, a "downer" they call 'em, but Jack wasn't too bright, and the bosses didn't like backtalk, so he went ahead and brained it. And it exploded. Knocked Jack plumb out, and he got some of its viscera in his nose and mouth, and swallowed some.

 

"Doctor thought Jack should have taken a week's bed rest, but Jack knew the bosses wouldn't pay him if he took time off, so he got up after half a day, and was better than ever. Stronger than a team of oxen, tougher than steel, and able to jump a country mile. Plus somehow Jack always ended up where crooks was hurting people. Slaughterhouse Jack wasn't the sharpest knife in the drawer, but he knew right from wrong. And he played up how dumb he was so's folks would underestimate him.

 

"About a year after he started, Jack ran across this kid, Brian Christowski. Real bright kid, the kind that does crossword puzzles in ink. Brian helped Slaughterhouse Jack figure out a mystery, and the hero called him Brain Boy, let him tag along sometimes. A few months later, Brian got too close to a shootout and caught a bullet. Jack took him to a hospital, offered some of his blood. (Nowadays, they might be more careful.) Brian woke up to discover that he was even smarter than before, scary smart. Able to figure out where bullets were going to be and not be in their way, able to spot any weaknesses in an opponent, generally brainy as heck.

 

"World War Two came along, and Slaughterhouse Jack helped the war effort, so did Brain Boy with the Sidekick Associates. He was their leader, sometimes, but smart enough to let the others take turns. I hear he had a huge crush on Bravery Girl, but it never came to anything.

 

"A couple of years after the war, Slaughterhouse Jack died of a heart attack. Too much strain, the doctors said. And shortly after that, Brain Boy noticed he wasn't so smart any more. Quickly, he was down to just being bright, like before he got his powers. After struggling along for a while, Brain Boy faked his own death, cut his ties with the hero community, and became just plain Brian. Got a job managing a store, married a nice girl, settled down.

 

"But in the Sixties, one of the Sidekicks' old enemies got out of prison and came for revenge. He'd figured out Brain Boy's secret identity back in the day, but never told anyone. He used some sort of electroshock device to torture Brian, but that kickstarted the hero's brain cells, and suddenly he was supersmart again. Brian figured out how to turn the tables, gave the crook a whopping case of amnesia, and started fighting crime again.

 

"This time he called himself Calculus, and worked behind the scenes as much as possible. When he did run into new heroes, he worked with them, but tried to be a mystery man so they wouldn't rely on him too much.

 

"Most people think Calculus is an urban legend, or that he used to exist years ago but died at some point. But as the latest member of Chicago Finest, I can let you know that your grandfather is still out there, still working in the shadows to protect Chicago and the world. Calculus lives!"

 

Next grouip:

 

The Alliance

 

Six members.

 

A group dedicated to handling the super-problems of the LGBTQ community; though they often help out with regular superhero stuff too. Most of the members fall under one or more categories of "lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or queer", though they may have *one* token straight teammate.

[BoloOfEarth]

Re: Create a Hero Theme Team!

 

It sucks getting kicked off a team. Even moreso when you're booted because some of the members are morally stuck in the 1950s. Okay, in Captain Justice's case that makes sense (since 1955 was, like, yesterday to him), but Amendment has no excuse to be passing judgement. You'd think he of all people would accept peoples' rights to free expression. Well, at least Melting Pot stuck up for me. She's always good for seeing both sides to an issue.

 

The Constituional Guard had announced I was a probationary member last month, and then two weeks later some journalist uncovers not only my secret identity (I told Poserity that domino mask wasn't worth squat) but also contacted a few of my past lovers. The titillation factor ("look, she's a lesbo!") was bad enough, but then Cap and Amendment started treating me like the team pariah, criticizing every little thing I did wrong. When I finally lost my cool and blew up at them, they revoked my probationary status and cut me loose.

 

That doesn't matter, 'cause Starstrike doesn't need a bunch of flagsuit-wannabes. (Besides, Starstrike is a way better name than Stars and Stripes.) The Alliance suits me much better, and I can help ensure that nobody else has to endure prejudice just because of who they are. Hopefully my photon blasts can help backward morons "see the light" and maybe, just maybe, people will finally start accepting others as they are, not as they wish they were.

[Enforcer84]

Re: Create a Hero Theme Team!

 

They had no right...ok they did. Decency they were lacking though.

Brandon ran hard, his superhuman speed allowing him to get lost in thought. His senses were on autopilot, he dodged and weaved through traffic oblivious to the world he was only tangentially a part of.

 

Tears stung his eyes, which only made him madder. He could hear them now mocking the "crying fag," he went faster. He'd helped save the city on several occasions as part of the "Next Wave," an up and coming super team. He was considered a rising star. And then he was outed by a ex-boyfriend with a grudge and considered a freak. The world was a blur as he ran, he pushed himself harder.

 

When he eventually ran himself to exhaustion, Brandon Crane - better known as Synapse was halfway across the country.

 

The team voted him out. It wasn't because he was gay, they said. It was because he had lied. Which was a load of crap. He had never claimed to be anything he wasn't, he just never talked about his private life. A few months of solo heroing along with a new batch of insults from his detractors and foes, Synapse had begun to calm down. He had been afraid of what people would think and now that it had come to pass, it wasn't as bad as he had thought.

 

Then he was visited by the Alliance. At first, he balked...it was one thing to be outed, it was another to be...accepted? He thought it over for a few days before joining. He wouldn't change his name or costume, he would acknowledge who he was and that was it.

[Cygnia]

Re: Create a Hero Theme Team!

 

Though they are loathe to admit otherwise, even those working for gay rights can marginalize and have unfair prejudice against others in the LGBTQ community. So Darrin Leibowitz found himself after he successfully transitioned from female to male. As a teenager, he had always felt he was born in the wrong body. He was pressured by his family to "stay" a woman. Likewise, he never felt he got full support from his peers in the gay community. In some cases, he came across outright hostility from those he thought would understand the most when he revealed he was transgender. That somehow his very existence was an offense and took away focus from "the cause". What made it worse for him was his empathic powers -- Darrin could always "read" how people around him were feeling, nearly overwhelming him at times. Soon still, he found out he could control people's emotions as well. The temptation to exploit his powers and "get revenge" was significant...

 

...fortunately, Darrin sought guidance elsewhere, and pointed him in the direction of the Alliance. Calling himself Rapport, Darrin hopes to be a calming influence as needed -- and to help build better understanding throughout ALL aspects of the LGBTQ community.

 

 

In many ways, Rapport's experience is similar to the villain Fixer of the Psirens about being marginalized and treated poorly by "normal" gays. The two of them have actually interacted in passing in their civilian IDs, though neither are aware of their respective alter-egos. While Rapport can "sense" an emotional coldness from Tabby, Darrin's powers do not give him mental awareness. Likewise, Tabby is unaware (and so is Darrin to some extent) that Darrin has mental defense. Ironically enough, Tabby hasn't gone after Darrin to try to "fix" him. Not only does he prefer women, but she also has an unadmitted bias against transgender people herself.

 

[concord]

Re: Create a Hero Theme Team!

 

Captain Fantastic was active in San Francisco from 1985 to 2000.

 

Captain Fantastic chose his hero name from the Elton John album, Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy. His costume was based on the Captain Fantastic picture from the album cover art. In addition to fighting crime and other threats to the Bay Area, Captain Fantastic was a very vocal advocate for gay and lesbian rights although he never gave a direct answer when questioned about his own sexual orientation.

 

[ATTACH]36975[/ATTACH]

 

+++++

 

David St. James was a jock in high school but he was not a dumb jock. He realized that he was a good high school level athlete but was not going to go anywhere on the college level, so he studied hard. David managed to make good enough grades to get into the University of San Francisco and through perseverance ended up earning a law degree.

 

It was as an attorney where David saw the persecution and scorn directed at the gay and lesbian community. He witnessed the work of Harvey Milk in getting passage of a stringent gay rights ordinance for the city of San Francisco. He also was outraged by Milk's assassination and this triggered his desire to help the LG community in any way he could.

 

Little did he know that his desire to help would soon lead to him taking up the identity of Captain Fantastic.

 

Burton Angel had been a neighbor and high school classmate of David St. James. Although, Burton was a brain and had not associated with the jocks in high school, he remembered David when he needed a lawyer. Burton felt that he was being discriminated against at the research company where he worked because he was gay.

 

David took the case and won a large settlement for Burton.

 

Burton took the money from the settlement and opened his own high tech research and development company. His first inventions would become the basis for Captain Fantastic's gear.

 

It took little to convince David to become Captain Fantastic. David viewed it as a way to help both the people of San Francisco and the gay and lesbian community.

 

+++++

 

Captain Fantastic has recently come out of retirement to lead the Alliance. He plans on spending a few years passing on his knowledge to the others and then assume a background role as a mentor-advisor to the group.

.

[death tribble]

Re: Create a Hero Theme Team!

 

Scarlet Angel. You know her, you love/loathe her. Denounced for her debauchery and her lifestyle, Scarlet Angel is openly bisexual. It does not help that off duty she goes clubbing and wears outfits that she all but falls out of. Or that she gets drunk. The tabloids love her because she will give a quote that will horrify middle America.

Like these which are Spoilered as they may cause offence.

 

 

'Lady Gaga ? I'd let her tie me up and have a ball'

'Wait til I get my hands on Mrs Obama....'

'Why on earth did we elect and re-elect a guy named after what I have removed by a Brazilian ?'

'I'm waiting for a call from Hilary. Bill might not be interested but I am'

 

 

It does may people underestimate her which was a crying shame on a paranormal rapist who she beat up after he attacked her. Never crossed his mind that she might be bait and faking inebriation. Nor that without her usual shock rod her martial arts ability would be so lethal.

She is unforgiving of any press commentator or blogger who gives her a hard time. And her opinions are hard set. She will willingly get into arguments over the uselessness of certain politicians like ex President Reagan and Bush the Younger. She however does defend Bush the elder. A Democrat by inclination she will vent her spite on those who she feels don't make the grade.

After the Alliance was announced she turned up and said she wanted in. She has also made people aware that if they have a go at the Alliance, she is willing to 'take them outside and beat some sense into them'

Captain Fantastic already knows she is going to be a problem but she has experience and she can turn press opinion around. And when it counts she will be there.

[death tribble]

Re: Create a Hero Theme Team!

 

As a joint link to the Villain thread, I will be selecting some of the ideas to go into the new concept to art thread for next year. So if you have a specific one you like let me know in March.

[BoloOfEarth]

Re: Create a Hero Theme Team!

 

The alien known as Torgazok is from a race that changes gender several times throughout their lives. Because of this, there are no sexual prohibitions or strict sexual identities among his/her people. When Torgazok's one-man scout ship was hit by a meteor and crash-landed on Earth, she/he found him/herself amazed at the prejudices witnessed both in the media and in person. Togazok was trapped on a world where her/his mating relationship would only be "acceptable" at best about half of the time.

 

So when Torgazok heard about The Alliance, he/she asked to join in an effort to help elighten the people of Earth before her/his eventual rescue (assuming any of that race's ships heard the distress call before the crash).

 

New Team: The Justice Defenders

 

This six-person team came together by chance to stop a plot by the Wild Hunt to kill the world's leaders at an international summit. They can hail from any nation or elsewhere, and may have any type of powers or origin you wish.

 

The theme? Their names must come from members on these discussion boards. (You can use your own handle, or someone else's, but please be kind if creating a character based on someone else's name.)

[BoloOfEarth]

Re: Create a Hero Theme Team!

 

Just for fun, I'll start it off.

 

The motorcycle was down below a quarter tank, so Steve Mason decided to stop at the next town for a fill-up. He was on a leisurely “rideabout” of the United States, still getting a handle on his feelings after that whole paranormal registration debacle. His country didn’t need a symbol, he thought, or at least it didn’t need *him* as its symbol any more. So he told the world that Yankee Major was retiring, tossed the flag-based costume and shield aside, donned his old bomber jacket and motorcycle helmet, and hit the road.

 

After filling the cycle up on gas, Mason decided that he should probably fill up his own tank, so he headed across the street to the diner. It was typical small-town America, the type of place he was convinced is disappearing faster than common sense in this modern world, and he was surprised to see that it looked just as old-timey inside as it did outside. He saw the black-and-white tile, smelled the coffee brewing and food cooking, heard the waitress bantering with one of her customers… he felt almost like he had been transported back forty or fifty years as he slid into a booth.

 

“Afternoon, mister.” The waitress smiled and handed him a menu. “Soup of the day is chicken and rice. Our specials today are an open-face turkey sandwich, and Gene’s world-famous meatloaf.”

 

“World famous?” Mason got the impression that a little good-natured ribbing was not only acceptable here, but practically expected.

 

The waitress shrugged. “Well, he froze two whole loaves and shipped ‘em to his son serving in Afghanistan, so it’s at least famous here and with Cal’s squadmates. That's two sides of the world. World famous.”

 

Mason couldn’t help but smile. “Well, if it’s good enough for our boys overseas, it’s good enough for me.”

 

His meal had just been served when a black Hummer pulled up outside, its radio blasting a beat that rattled the windows and earned a cross look from the waitress and several other patrons. The music was cut mercifully short when the engine stopped, and four teens walked inside – no, sauntered, Mason decided; they were acting as if they owned the place. Mason noticed that at least one of them had a pistol tucked into his belt. When an older man tried to get past them to leave, one of the youths shoved him aside (“Move it, gramps!”), and the only reason the man didn’t fall to the floor was because Mason had caught him.

 

“Excuse me,” Mason said. “I believe you owe this gentleman an apology.”

 

“Yeah?” the teen sneered. “Sez who?” Mason merely glared at him – the same look he had given to Nazi soldiers and VIPER agents alike. (Mason was much older than he looked.) He wasn’t much surprised when the boy pulled out a butterfly knife. “I think you owe me an apology,” the teen said as he flipped the knife open and ready. Yep, thought Mason, thugs are thugs, no matter what the time or location.

 

Mason moved the older man aside and stepped a bit further away from the other patrons of the diner. “Ah, violence. The last refuge of the incompetent.”

 

At this, the youth snarled and swore, then took a stab at Mason. But he had already moved aside – decades of combat training and experience made this as easy as breathing – and got the teen’s arm in a joint lock. “I’ll give you one chance to drop the knife.”

 

This earned another expletive from the youth, so Mason rotated his body and twisted the arm, forcing the teen’s face to smash into one of the booth table tops. “Drop.” (bang) “The.” (bang) “Knife.” (bang)

 

Not surprisingly, one of the other teens ran forward to help his friend, but one kick from Mason sent him staggering back into his friends. Mason then walked his “playmate” to the door and pushed him outside. “I think you gentlemen need to eat somewhere else.”

 

The teen staggered and fell to his knees. Inside the diner, he heard a single pistol shot, then some cries and thuds for about thirty seconds, followed by silence. And then his three friends were unceremoniously dumped onto the sidewalk. The man looked not only untouched, but wasn’t even winded. “Go,” he said. “Now.”

 

As the Hummer tore away down the street, Mason stepped back inside to pay his bill. “Oh, and here’s something to patch the bullet hole and pay for the broken table. Please see that the local sheriff gets this gun.” The waitress tried to refuse his payment, so he left the cash on the table.

 

“Who are you?” she asked as he headed for the door.

 

Without turning around, he said, “You can call me Hermit."

[csyphrett]

Re: Create a Hero Theme Team!

 

(let me try my hand at this

 

Quinlan Sperios sat at her desk. Her walls were covered by stories of the Pattern Ghost, Doc Shadow, Ghost Angel, and others. She had an action figure of the Enforcer in her hand, painting it gray with the other. She had made it from an old Southern Cross one of her friends had sent her from down under. A replica of the Question Man's mask hung over the bed.

 

Quinlan thought she heard something in the quiet that surrounded her house. She put the figure down on the base she had constructed. She was sure she heard a cry. She should tell her parents.

 

She looked around the room full of trophies she had gathered. A real hero didn't run to their parents. They did something.

 

Quinlan pulled on an eyemask that she had built to hold on to her face as she opened her window. She jumped from the second story, changing as she did. She flew through the air on the wings of an eagle, and the body of a lion.

 

She was Querysphinx, the shapechanging heroine of Marlowe.

 

CES

[BoloOfEarth]

Re: Create a Hero Theme Team!

 

(let me try my hand at this )

 

Given all your short stories on these boards, I was hoping you'd chime in with something.

[BoloOfEarth]

Re: Create a Hero Theme Team!

 

Here is the updated list of Hero Theme Teams. It looks like I need to go back over the first 17 and add individuals' powers. Hopefully I'll have that done by the next update.

[SKJAM!]

Re: Create a Hero Theme Team!

 

The young woman in the shimmering costume danced between bullets, then jumped into the air, shooting her own guns while twisting her back in a way that seemed unnatural. The sight unnerved her opponents just enough for her shots to strike home, smashing pistol barrels or trigger fingers. Before the robbers could recover their wits, the woman was upon them with jujitsu moves, almost too fast to be seen. Within seconds, the criminals were all tied up or otherwise rendered hors de combat.

 

Commissioner Florez was appreciative. "Good work, Satin Cat! We've been after the Varad gang for weeks!"

 

The woman looked a little embarrassed. "Satin Cat's my mother, Commissioner. At least until she retires...which doesn't look like any time soon."

 

Her own codename had sounded fine when she was a teenager, sidekicking for her mom, but now Satin Kitty seemed a bit childish. Maybe it was time to find something of her own?

[Lucius]

Re: Create a Hero Theme Team!

 

“I have seen it before” observed Theodora “But it is rare.”

 

“I never knew it was possible” said Sanih.

 

The whole coven stood gazing at the sight that had greeted them when they arrived at the clearing they traditionally used for their Circle: a striking scarlet rose blossom thrust out of the frozen white blanket of snow. Theodora had planted and tended these roses, but did not expect one to bloom at this time of year. Who would?

 

“On this day of all days” declared Lilit, “It must be a Sign.”

 

“If that's a sign” asked Sanih, “What is THAT?”

 

There were exclamations and laughter at the asinine apparition that came out of the woods and began heading towards the assembly. There was a horse farm not far away, but who in the area kept donkeys?

 

Hunter suddenly swept off his heavy cloak. “If that's what I think it is, it's more than a Sign.” The beast trotted faster, kicking up snow, and they realized it was heading right for the rose. Sanih moved to intercept it, but Hunter stopped her. “No, this is exactly how it needs to happen.”

 

The bold beast seized the blossom with its chisel like teeth, tore it loose, and chewed with closed eyes, head back, for all the world as if it were in ecstasy. Jon tossed his cloak over it. The irreverent Richard, silent until now, asked “What are you doing, covering your.....” but stopped when he realized what was now under the cloak. A shivering young man, dark of skin and black of hair, wrapped his otherwise bare body in the priest's cloak.

 

The stranger was quickly drawn to the fire and plied with hot herbal teas, but despite his obvious gratitude he did not respond to their questions. His eyes were full of intelligence but empty of understanding. “Who is he?” asked Richard “and how did he get here?” Hunter replied “I can't quite answer how he got here, but I'd wager his name is Lucius.” Lucius looked up quizzically, recognizing his name.

 

Then Lucius sat up and stared into the distance, frozen. He trembled slightly, and his face lost all expression. When he spoke, it was as if something spoke through him.

 

“The Wild Hunt rides. The Golden Ass obstructs. Six Hero paths lead to a sovereign meeting.”

 

The oracular trance passed as suddenly as it came. Hunter was the first to speak again. “I still don't know exactly how, but I think we just got a clue as to why.”

 

Lucius Alexander

 

The palindromedary explains that Lucius felt it would be presumption to use someone else's name.....