SKJAM!

Re: Create a Hero Theme Team! Miriam Donne Used to be known as "Legs" in her youth, when she worked the tap dance circuit. She sure was some hoofer. But she never hit the big time, and settled for a decent married life in the suburbs. Decades passed, and her kids left home, and Mr. Donne passed away. The arthritis and lumbago slowed her down, and there was talk of putting Miriam in a home. But then a package arrived "from an admirer", containing fishnet stockings much as she'd worn in her long-ago career. Miriam tried them on as a lark, but then discovered that while she wears the fishnets, her youthful vigor and pain-free movement return. Further, she's able to run at great speeds, her kicks do steel-bending damage, and Legs can jump three stories up from a standing start. Miriam's learning capoeira to become even more effective in combat.

Re: Create a Villain Theme Team! There are two kinds of personnel assigned to VIPER's secret base in Antarctica. Consummate professionals with drive and dedication, who are psychologically suited to the extreme cold, claustrophobic quarters and months of isolation; and the screwups that the rest of VIPER would like never to see again. Of the latter class, some screwups rapidly improve in their new surroundings, either by having an attitude adjustment or finding a niche that suits them. The rest, well, they're assigned to tasks that their managers hope they can't do too much damage by messing up. One of this last group was Genny Hua, whose sloppy thinking and poor planning skills had somehow never quite managed to get her killed or executed. After demonstrating a lack of ability to handle lab assistant, border guard or kitchen police, Genny found herself on permanent latrine duty. To while away the long hours between duty shifts, Genny took advantage of the fact that she was one of the handful of female agents on the base to sleep with multiple men. At some point, her birth control pills ran out, and Genny forgot to get her prescription refilled. The inevitable happened. Antarcticus Supreme Serpent Hua ("Ant" to just about everyone on base) was the first human child born on the Antarctic continent in millenia. This factoid got a small mention in the VIPER newsletter, but otherwise went unnoticed by the wider world as VIPER doesn't exactly advertise its secret bases. However, there were certain mystics who took notice of the stirring of eldritch forces below the icecap. Antarcticus has been raised by his mother and a number of "uncles" at the VIPER base, which has left the young fellow with some peculiar notions about the world at large and VIPER's place in it. He had, however, been located by DEMON and deemed suitable for their "Infusion" project. A large suicide squad of DEMON agents and Lesser Morbanes attacked the VIPER base, killed Genny and stole Antarcticus long enough to do the infusion ritual. They were completely wiped out by VIPER's retaliation, and Ant was brought back to the base, his new status as yet unguessed. The fire demon codenamed Surtur has taken over Ant's body, and through him seized control of the VIPER base--our heroes will have to get through the agents (though some of them are turnable under the circumstances) and base defenses before they can even start on Surtur, who plans to melt the icecap and free the other abominations trapped within it.

Re: Create a Hero Theme Team! Brom Ainstree was an aspiring actor, and had been since he saw his first horror film as a child. He loved them all, from the experimental silents, through the classic Universal films, to the glitzy modern spectacles. But there are thousands of aspiring actors in Hollywood, and he hadn't been able to crack the movies beyond extra level yet. Good thing he actually had some talent, and could find stage plays willing to hire. Then came a break. One of the low-rent theatrical companies was doing a production of an SF/horror musical, and they tapped Brom to be the understudy of the lead! It was a tough role, with a lot of singing, and the costume was...kind of embarrassing, but if he got the chance, Brom knew he could shine. Sure enough, two weeks into the run, the primary lead called in sick, and an hour before the performance, Brom was hastily getting prepared. It was at this point that he noticed that mice had gotten at the fishnet stockings he'd been fitted for. The harried costume manager suggested checking in the back trunks labeled "stockings" to see if anything would work. By golly, there was an intact pair of fishnets in one trunk! They looked a bit small, but with a little effort, Brom was able to get them on and move on to the makeup stand. Then, magic happened. During Brom's first number, he actually felt the stockings, the whole costume become more comfortable, his voice finding the right notes natural instead of practiced, his movements becoming fluid and elegant. The reviews for that night's performance were enthusiastic indeed. Brom looked in the mirror as he prepared to remove his makeup...only to find that he wasn't wearing any! The character's face was his face! Horrified, he began schucking his costume to get to the hospital. But as the fishnet stockings came off, he felt his face return to normal...covered with makeup. By experimenting, Brom discovered that while wearing the magic fishnets, he can make himself look like any of his favorite movie "monsters" or antagonist characters, complete with as much of their skills and powers as his "special effects budget" can maintain. (He makes a very puny Godzilla.) However, no matter the form he shifts into, it will visibly be wearing fishnet stockings. Now as Horrorshow, Brom helps the Fishnet Five in between bookings. He does not get on well with Xantippe, to absolutely no one's surprise.

Re: Create a Villain Theme Team! Mike Mathers used to be a fairly typical teenaged boy, perhaps a little behind the times when it came to attitudes towards women. But then he had the misfortune to spout some fairly misogynistic speech just as Opposite Day was touring his school. Mike promptly found himself having to be a girl named Michelle for the next twenty-four hours. Presumably, this was to teach him a valuable life lesson. However, a bizarre set of coincidences and unfortunate events converged on "Michelle", demonstrating that every negative stereotype Mike had ever held or heard about women was in fact true. Even the contradictory ones. Afterwards, he became convinced that women should not be put in charge of *anything*, let alone be allowed to have an equal voice in how things were run. Mike decided to take up the study of magic, hoping to learn how to sway minds or transform his enemies as he'd been transformed, to show them the truth. Perhaps fortunately, he turned out to be unable to learn mind-affecting spells, or those of transformation. What Mike turned out to be good at, though, was elemental magic, especially blasts of all kinds. He's joined the like-minded True Men as Artillery. (The group was looking kind of under-powered, not even able to take on Sapphire solo.)

Re: Create a Villain Theme Team! "I'm known as 'Long' Lankin, because of my skinniness, and after the old murder ballad. If there's a crack in your building's defenses, I can find it and squeeze my way through. And if there isn't a crack, I can find someone in your organization or family to 'seduce' and make that crack for me. Sexual seduction's the most fun, but bribery, blackmail, or just playing on their resentments, they all work too. Once inside, I do my job, usually the messier ones that Lady Spider won't touch, and get out in a hurry. If I'm very lucky, my patsy will take the fall for me, exactly as planned." New team: The True Men Five extremely masculine criminals who believe that society made a dreadful error giving women equal rights...or perhaps any rights at all. While they generally engage in normal supercrime to pay the bills, their ultimate goal is to "restore the natural order" of women being subordinate to men. Their internal disagreements focus around just how patriarchal the "natural order" should be, ranging from "just put them back barefoot and pregnant in the kitchen" to "they need to be treated as property, branded and confined until they learn obedience." Naturally, they are the sworn enemy of all female superheroes (and many female supervillains.) Bulldozer's application for membership is pending.

Re: Create a Hero Theme Team! Does the Arclighter have any powers or special skills?

Re: Create a Hero Theme Team! "Yeah, yeah, I know it's a Jack of Hearts outfit, but my real codename is Page of Cups, said the young woman. "The powers didn't come with a premade costume, and this is what the Dealer had in stock. Now drink this, already, so you'll be in good shape for the cops to take you away. Of course it tastes awful! It's medicine! Magic medicine from an everfull cup, yeah, but it's still not gonna taste like candy. And you're still going to feel the pain until the wounds would have healed by themselves. Just be grateful I bothered to heal you at all." New team! The Golden Oldies Four heroes over the age of 60 (and with Age:60+) who defend the retirement communities of Florida. They may have been powered all along or only gained their abilities in old age. But with criminals targeting the elderly, the Golden Oldies have come out of retirement to defend justice (if a little creakily.)

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?

Re: Anime series as a campaign Plus, our hero crossdresses frequently for plot-related reasons. (The director had originally wanted to do a female Gundam pilot as the main character for the first time ever, but was vetoed. So he came up with this plotline to get as close to his original vision as possible.)

Re: Pink Anime Power-Suit Girl She's Mari (Su) Illustrious Makinami, the new character in the alternate universe retelling of Eva, "Rebuild of Evangelion." I thought her plug suit was green, though.

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.

Re: Create a Villain Theme Team! First love can go drastically wrong in so many ways. For Josephine Misdomer, it happened in this fashion. Jo and her boyfriend Cameron, a fellow who played guitar pretty decently, had been swapping spit for a couple of weeks after a few months of buildup. But now Cameron wanted to "go all the way" and Jo wasn't ready for that yet. He kept pushing and pushing, and finally she told him it was over. But Cameron didn't seem to understand the concept of "over". He followed her everywhere over the next few days, pleading with her to take him back, saying that he couldn't live without her. Turned out this was true. He wrote one last despairing song and took his own life. (The song later became a minor hit on the emo circuit.) Jo was a little upset, but also thought it was kind of cool to have a guy so into her that he'd commit suicide for her sake. Her next relationship went very similarly, a little too similarly for the cops. They identified unknown chemical compounds inside the boy's body, and made Jo get some tests done. It turned out that all her bodily fluids carried similar compounds. Jo was Addictive, anyone who came in direct contact with her bodily fluids would over a short time become "addicted" to her, needing a "fix" every day or suffering horrible withdrawal symptoms. Jo quickly realized the implications of this, and also that the authorities would never, ever let her go unless she left town before they were ready. So she did. A string of ruined lives later, Addictive was contacted by the Corruption, which offered her a good deal. The Backer's scientists have developed a synthetic drug that ameliorates the withdrawal symptoms, allowing her addicts to function without her for longer periods of time. And now? "Yes, I'm starting with Golden Boar because the profile you drew up suggests that he's the most vulnerable to my preferred techniques; I should have him eating out of my hand in no time, and that will give me access to my real target on the Exiles, that Schoolgirl Hero. Trust me, by the time I'm done, that prim and innocent girl will be begging to star in "naughty tentacle" movies if that will get her a fix. I may want the group's help on Elegance, though--I know making a demon fall should be a piece of cake, but I've never dealt with demonic physiology before and the effects of my formula may be unpredictable."

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.

Re: Pink Anime Power-Suit Girl Cheating a bit, but Polly Esther of Samurai Pizza Cats... http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://animefan25.tripod.com/images/SPC/Polly_flute.jpg&imgrefurl=http://animefan25.tripod.com/spc_pix.htm&usg=__ZKDOhDktS3w5SuRgGBfxJUuEgSQ=&h=453&w=318&sz=28&hl=en&start=3&zoom=1&itbs=1&tbnid=sL6lGUnzilbXAM:&tbnh=127&tbnw=89&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dpolly%2Besther%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DG%26tbs%3Disch:1 http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://images.absoluteanime.com/samurai_pizza_cats/-polly.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.absoluteanime.com/samurai_pizza_cats/polly.htm&usg=__L0hF8jgYJbpBZF_ex-EM1xLFSoU=&h=238&w=150&sz=7&hl=en&start=4&zoom=1&itbs=1&tbnid=smdCDZ2PuDrU3M:&tbnh=109&tbnw=69&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dpolly%2Besther%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DG%26tbs%3Disch:1

Re: Create a Hero Theme Team! Tori Day liked being the only girl in the Chess Club most of the time, but every so often the intense interest of the male members got to be a bit much to stand, and at those times she hung around Room 507. It had an interesting mix of people, and usually there was at least one other woman so Tori didn't have to feel like the center of male attention. Then came the day of the device, and Tori barely noticed something missing before she was suddenly in an empty room. Tim popped in moments later, and then Jake arrived to explain they'd somehow moved a day into the future. Tori absently noted that both young men looked far more handsome than she remembered. It took a while for Tori to figure out what her powers were, but now she joins the others as Pawn. She can teleport short distances, but only in an "L" shape, and can brush against someone as she passes them (en passant) to deliver a nasty neuroshock. If she can complete seven movement actions in combat without getting knocked out, Pawn becomes "queened" for the next Turn, with 360 degree telescopic vision, and the ability to deliver neuroshocks at range with no range penalty.

Re: Create a Villain Theme Team! The Winter Baron is Kay Swanson ("like Sir Kay from King Arthur! It's not just a girl's name!") from International Falls, Minnesota. He's tall, blond, quite muscular, and has a faux-Viking look to his armor. His favored weapon is a large battleaxe, but he backs it up with devices that suck the heat out of the air around him and other objects. (it's relatively short range.) He's defended well against both cold and heat attacks. As you might have noticed, his weak point is attacks on his masculinity, which is why he works out constantly, takes muscle-bulking supplements, and acts especially macho. He was kicked out of SCA for nearly killing someone who just wouldn't stop teasing him about the name.

Re: Create a Villain Theme Team! The Hound is an enormous mastiff that is black when seen in daylight, with curiously intelligent-looking green eyes. But at the falling of night, an eerie green-white glow limns its fur, and its eyes glow blood red. No one has ever seen the Hound sleep, though it often lies down during the day while watching, always watching. At night, the Hound hunts its master's prey, relentless and tireless. Its howl is deep and resonant, as though from three throats at once.

Re: Create a Hero Theme Team! Hiram Harding was a talented baseball player in 1941, though he was still on a farm team. He was adequate at throwing, pretty good at fielding, darn good at batting, and one of the best at running. But then came Pearl Harbor, and being a patriotic red-blooded American, Hiram volunteered for the Army. His career as a soldier wasn't particularly noteworthy, but towards the end of the war, Hiram caught some shrapnel in his legs. Hiram could still walk with the help of canes, but his career as a baseball player was over. Out of pity, and because employing a veteran was good publicity, the manager of his old team hired Hiram on as an assistant coach. Hiram turned out to be a good coach, and after a few years was head coach for the team. He got married and had a passel of kids. Over time, Hiram moved from small-time teams to larger market ones, and better salaries. Towards the end of his career, he even finally got to coach a major league team for a couple of years. Retirement didn't go well for Hiram. His beloved wife passed away, his legs worsened until he had to use a wheelchair, and senility crept into his brain. By the time of the family picnic, Grandpa Harding was there mostly by courtesy, and the daughter who was supposed to be caretaking him for the day just parked his chair down by the lake and went off to gossip. He could only watch, barely comphrehending, as the wave washed over him. Hiram was restored by the strange phenomenon. He looks as he did in his fifties, but his health and vigor are as they were back in the 1940s, his legs completely healed. His mind became sharp again, though he is missing most memories of the decade just prior to his rejuvenation. Coach Harding carries a baseball bat as a weapon, but his greatest ability is being able to give useful instruction to others, allowing them to hit harder, run faster, throw better, and generally be more effective at whatever it is they do.

Re: Create a Villain Theme Team! Three men with thuggish expressions on their faces belying their expensive suits watched a small restaurant on the edge of Chinatown. Despite its small size, the restaurant was clearly a favorite of the wealthier locals, and until about an hour ago, there had been a line to get in. Now it was just about closing time. The best-dressed of the men sneered. "This will be easy, guys. It's just one street over from Don Vizzini's territory, so the tongs probably won't squawk too hard about us providing protection--and we all know the Chinese are pushovers for the rackets. Now, remember that we're going to be asking for a higher percentage than what Don Vizzini actually wants, so we can skim off the cream and get ready for the day it's time to take the don out. Follow me." The men pushed their way into the Happy Buddah restaurant past an outgoing customer, silencing his complaint with icy stares. Inside, the place was no larger than it looked, and the decor was much like any other Chinese restaurant, but it sure smelled good. A young woman in a waitress cheongsam said, "Sorry, sirs, we are cl--eck!" The biggest of the men had grabbed her arm. "We ain't exactly customers, sweetheart. We're more like, uh, insurance salesmen. Your boss in?" "Yes, most honored guest," came a voice from the kitchen door. I am Hsien Lo, known as 'Smiling Hsien.'" It was easy to see how the tall Chinese man had gotten his nickname. He had a blissful smile, not unlike that of the Buddah on the outside sign. "you say sell insurance?" "Yeah, that's right, Chinaman. You got a nice place here, be a shame if anything happened to it." Hsien's smile did not fade. "I see. All same as in old country. But you look hungry. I cook you good meal, then we talk business." The waitress directed the men to a clean table, then efficiently prepared their places. The cook began working, and the delicious smell increased. The best-dressed man thought better of it after a minute or two. "Hey, you ain't thinking of poisoning us, is you? Cause the boss won't be happy, and neither will I." Hsien continued to beam beatifically. "I swear on the honor of my ancestors, and on my hands, that I will not serve you anything poisonous." He seemed sincere, so when the food came, the biggest man tucked in, and after a few minutes when he didn't die, so did the others. It was delicious! Half the dishes were things none of the visitors had ever seen before, but all were delectable. "Man, this is good stuff," said the third man. "But y'know, an hour after eating Chinese food, I'm hungry again." "Hahaha, you are used to eating Americanized crap," said Hsien as he continued to cook. "I have studied under true masters, whose teachings go back to the First Dynasty. In China, food is also considered medicine, and the greatest chefs of our people were assigned to the Emperor, to observe his health and tailor meals to his best interest." As the visitors cleared each plate, the waitress replaced it with fresh food. This had been going on for quite some time, and the men were beginning to feel uncomfortably full. "I'm stuffed," said the best-dressed man, attempting to put down his chopsticks. "I couldn't eat another bi--the hell!?" His hand had extended to another dish, the chopsticks had picked up more food, and he was stuffing it in his mouth. The man attempted to spit it out, but he couldn't stop chewing and swallowing. One by one, the men realized that they couldn't stop eating. "What have you done to us?" Hsien still smiled, but now there was steel in his eyes. "Oh so delicious food has ancient secret recipe, overrides your voluntary nerve impulses. You will not stop eating. Oh, Ming-Ming, it is time to serve...dessert." The men attempted to stand up and leave the table, but their hands still reached out to shovel food into their mouths. The waitress disappeared in the back of the restaurant, then returned with a large pail of kitchen scraps. Fish heads, banana peels, discarded grease, all were poured onto the table. The men whimpered as they continued to stuff themselves. Sometime later, Hsien's phone rang. "Happy Buddah Restaurant, closed for the ni--ah, Don Vizzini! How's the liver? Good, good...remember, you need to stay on the medicinal diet for at least four months to prevent a reoccurance. Oh, the salesmen? Yes, they had a most excellent meal. Ate up every bite. Yes, it was very painful towards the end. No, not a drop of poison, all perfectly natural ingredients. It's a pleasure doing business with you, too, Don Vizzini." Hsien Lo has studied the ancient art of Chinese cuisine, as he said. What he did not tell his visitors is that these same top chefs were also trained in the art of assassination by cooking. In addition to his "all-you-can-eat special", Smiling Hsien knows which two ingredients in separate dishes will combine into a chemical that induces heart attacks, and if he really wants to drag out an execution, can create delicious non-poisonous food that has no nutritive value whatsoever, causing the victim to starve to death on a full stomach.

Re: Create a Hero Theme Team! Call him a Nazi, he won't even frown; "nazi, schmatzi" says Werner von Braun There was a time where, if a young German scientist wanted to get ahead in his field, he had to join the Nazi party. Such was the case with the man now known as Doktor Zeit. He didn't hesitate to join the Party when it was asked of him--it was the price of getting to do your research, everyone knew that, and only a few fools with silly moral qualms refused. Doktor Zeit (his real name is classified) was assigned to one of the work groups attempting to create a time machine for the German government. Over a few years, after World War Two had started, the young scientist noticed a pattern. Bits and pieces of the prototype time machines would go missing or get smashed, notes would vanish or be burned, wires got crossed. Once in a while the Gestapo would accuse one of the project workers of sabotage and there would be an execution, but the small 'accidents' kept happening. Doktor Zeit came up with a hypothesis, and built a device to test it. Sure enough, his crude stasis generator was triggered that same night by a visitor to the laboratory. He swiftly spotted the visitor's two shoulder patches, one an American flag with too many stars, and the other a stylized hourglass. Doktor Zeit asked the trespasser, "There isn't going to be a German time machine, is there?" Head shake. "If I came with you, would I be able to work on your time machine?" A long pause, then a nod. Doktor Zeit vanished that night, and that iteration of the Nazi time machine never got finished. Don't call him hypocritical, just say that he's apolitical; "Once ze rockets are up, who cares where zey come down? Zat's not my department," says Werner von Braun. Doktor Zeit was actually moved only a few years ahead, and dropped off towards the beginning of Project Hourglass. He's at least partially responsible for their time machine technology and other equipment. He's been skipped around a few times since then, which makes his age difficult to determine. Physically, he's 63. Zeit is primarily concerned with working in the Hourglass research laboratory, but is called into the field every so often to fix agents' broken equipment or to analyze unknown technology the Time Rangers have found. The Doktor is almost comically amoral and cold-blooded, able to propose the most appalling suggestions with a straight face, although they are to be fair always logical options based on the situation at hand. He seems primarily interested in advancing his research at any cost, with perhaps preserving the lives of agents as a distant afterthought, and preserving the timeline not relevant at all.

Re: Create a Villain Theme Team! Clay Plame is normally known by the moniker Zooman. Thanks to a mystical blessing in his youth, Zooman can turn into a generic version of any extant Earth animal, or a human/animal hybrid form. Being in general a good guy, Clay uses his abilities primarily to fight crime. But he has a weakness--ponies. Well, ponies, dogs, roosters, football teams...Clay's a gambling addict. A while ago, he had a streak of very bad luck with the horses, greyhounds and other things he'd bet on, and racked up a serious debt. Clay came up with a plan--with the help of a buddy, he became an *entrant* in various horse and dog races, and a couple of cockfights. By betting heavily on the dark horse candidate (himself), Clay was able to get a bunch of cash fast and pay off the biggest markers. So far so good, but a little dishonest. But then Clay got an angry visitor. A legbreaker for a local bookie, he'd noticed the pattern, and realized what Zooman was up to. The thug was willing to keep quiet about what he knew...for a price. But while he was an experienced intimidator, the thug was new to blackmail, and pushed the wrong buttons when he was alone with his victim. Zooman has convinced himself that it was an accident, that he didn't mean to hit that hard with tiger claws, but the blackmailer was still dead when Zooman's vision cleared. Thinking fast, Zooman ate the evidence, then cleaned the scene. Turning into a variety of animals is very versatile in these matters. But a week later, the envelope came, with the photographs, and an explanation of Clay's new reality. In Hidden Agenda, Clay is Werewolf. He only does wolf transformations, and pretends to be a classic movie werewolf, vulnerability to silver and all. His alternate costume comes with a special mask that "translates" as markings on his wolf face, which keeps people from noticing how similar it is to Zooman's wolf form. He'll sometimes resort to his other animal transformations, but only if he's alone and knows he's unobserved.

Re: Create a Hero Theme Team! Tyrant King is an intelligent Tyrannosaurus Rex from a timeline where dinosaurs never went entirely extinct. He doesn't much miss that timeline, however, as he was the only intelligent T-Rex there; he was artificially enhanced by reptiloid scientists to become a sentient war machine for their military. However, with his heightened intelligence, Tyrant King developed a rudimentary ethical sense, and realized his masters were unethical. When the Time Rangers happened by, TK was able to communicate that he wanted to leave, and despite a few members' qualms, they took him along. Despite his name, Tyrant King is a gentle soul with a strong ethical code. Just don't get in his way if he's decided you're past redemption, or if you're attacking without provocation. With his quick mind, TK is far better at tactics than the average dinosaur.

Re: Create a Hero Theme Team! Umm, you seem to have forgotten to paste in your writeup of the last member of LOG. And another group of time travelers?

Re: Create a Hero Theme Team! Dick Goodrich is the Human Blimp. While the ability to grow to 30 meters tall (no stops inbetween) is pretty impressive, Dick can also fly while expanded, albeit at only 20 knots. The Human Blimp's specialty is rescue work and airlifts--he has also been known to help out with construction if it's for a worthy cause. Despite his size and visibility, Dick's a fairly private person and tends to dress to the point of concealment when he's not full-size. He'd much rather you pay attention to the causes he supports.

Re: Create a Villain Theme Team! Jarl Jotunheim was, until quite recently, the victim of bullying himself. In addition to his odd-sounding name, Jarl was short for his age, a little asthmatic, and scrawny. The bullies found him an easy target, and Jarl's parents were unsympathetic. They believed (or so they said) that suffering made you stronger, and that you just had to stand up for yourself to stop being bullied. Things changed last summer when Jarl was sent to his uncle's farm while his mom and dad "worked out some issues." The fresh air and exercise cleared up Jarl's asthma, and he started packing on muscle. (Not much in the way of height, though.) Better from Jarl's point of view, when he snooped into his uncle's toolshed, he found a stash of ray guns behind a hidden panel. He took one and tried it out in the back forty. It was a shrink ray! Neat! He could use this on those bullies, cut them down to size! But he realized that a gun wouldn't get past security, probably, and was way too easily taken away. He asked if he could borrow his uncle's workshop for a while, and over a month, worked out a way of turning the gun's vital components into a sleeve he could wear under a normal shirt, with the power source concealed in his armpit. At this point, Jarl's uncle demanded to see what he'd been working on, and froze him with another ray gun when he refused. Much to Jarl's relief, when he thawed out, his uncle wasn't angry. Seems that he, Jarl's father and mother, and a few others had worked as minions for a villainous gadgeteer genius back in the day. Said genius had specialized in various rays, and when the heroes arrested the villain, Jarl's uncle had bugged out with a armful of prototype guns. He'd decided against a solo criminal career and gone into farming, keeping the guns as a hold-out "just in case." Impressed by Jarl's redesign of the shrink ray, he's agreed to let the boy keep it, and if Jarl can show his mastery of the effects, will see about letting him have some of the other guns as well. Back at school, Jarl used the ray to ambush a couple of the bullies who'd made his life miserable and beat the snot out of them. He found he enjoyed the sense of power this gave him, and slid down the slippery slope as he picked less and less deserving targets. Jarl's pretty much accepted that he's now a bully himself. Jarl's shrink ray halves the size of the victim, reducing their strength and durability proportionately. It lasts about ten minutes, long enough for a really good beating. So far, Jarl's been able to bluff that this is a natural ability of his; he's looking for ways to boost the ray's power so that the victims are even smaller, and it lasts longer. He calls himself Giant now.