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[i](Entries will unlock as the game progresses)[/i]

[hider= A Brief History of Superheroism] 

[b]1917-18[/b] - Hippolyta, Princess of the Amazons, intervenes in the First World War and helps bring an end to the violence. The Amazon warrior becomes a legend among the soldiery. Knowledge of her presence is dismissed by most government officials and ranking officers, but she is fatefully witnessed by one young German soldier who would go on to form the Third Reich. Upon attaining power, he would become obsessed with acquiring superhuman and mystical weapons. 

[b]1941-47[/b] - In order to combat the Axis' use of metahuman operatives, the Allies contact Hippolyta once more. Now a queen, she forms a group of superhumans and mystery men to combat the Axis. The Blackhawk squadron fights the Axis in the air while Hippolyta's operatives undertake clandestine missions against Hitler's forces. Their efforts greatly aid the war effort, but many of the operatives perish during the war and the survivors disappear once the World War ends and the Cold War begins to loom over the horizon.

[b]1984-90[/b] - Scientists begin to observe the inexplicable growth of the metahuman population from its previous nadir. The CIA and the KGB begin acquiring metahuman assets to prosecute the Cold War. A team of American metahumans and talented soldiers, informally dubbed the "Justice Society of America", performs several black ops missions for the US against the Soviets. Shortly after the Fall of the Berlin Wall, classified info about the JSA including the use of teenaged operatives such as Wildcat, is almost leaked to the public. The President shuts down the project and the surviving members of the JSA are given new identities to retire into obscurity. Their adventures are fictionalized into comic books and cartoons as a cover for the operations. 

[b]2017-22[/b] - Superman reveals himself to the public with the dramatic rescue of a crashing airplane. Costumed heroes and villains soon begin appearing more and more commonly, and national attention is drawn to the activity of mystery men vigilantes such as the Batman. Due to philosophical and personal differences, the two heroes have their famous duel in Gotham's Crime Alley but later reconcile and form the Justice League with Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, the Flash, Aquaman, and Martian Manhunter to combat the White Martian Invasion. The Justice League soon attracts many new numbers and steadily grows in prestige and acclaim.

[b]2047-52[/b] - The Legion of Doom launches their worldwide E-Day assault, a coordinated campaign of terror attacks and invasions with a massive force attacking from space led by Sinestro. The alien force is repulsed but the Legion of Doom topples over a third of the world's governments, with many more on the brink of collapse. The Justice League reforms into the Justice League United with official charter from the United Nations. The Second Cold War ensues as the Legionary-led nations of the Shiruta Pact clash with Atlantis, Themyscira and the other members of the Meta Entente while also undermining other nations. Past decades have seen even more rapid growth in the metahuman population, with many normal members of populace beginning to fear and resent the metahumans. [/hider] 

[hider=Metahumans] 
[hider= The Metagene] 
It is commonly believed that beings known as Metahumans have lived among humanity since the dawn of the Earth. Metahuman itself is a catch all term for all humanoid beings who display superhuman abilities. They may gain this ability through supernatural means or scientific augmentations as well as being born with innate powers or mutations. The metagene is not fully understood and it is unknown how it interacts with magic, but the reemergence of mystical traits and abilities along with other superpowers suggests a connection and researchers hypothesize that it has contributed to the development of the Atlantean races, the Homo Magi, and other genetic deviations from mainstream humanity such as mutants like the Killer Croc. Those without such physically obvious changes can exhibit powers at any age from birth to adulthood, though it seems the age of puberty is when most metahumans commonly express a power. The metagene is also thought to be the reason why metas such as Mister Freeze, Poison Ivy, Clayface, and even the Flash survived horrific accidents and gained abilities instead of simply perishing. In fact, the emerging theory is that such severe physical or psychological trauma can actually activate latent metagene-carriers into metahumans. 

Some scientists believe the metagene may also be responsible for those who possess naturally superior cognitive or physical skills far beyond normal human achievement such as the assassin Deadshot or the hero Mister Terrific. It is true that low to mid-level genius IQs are common among costumed heroes and villains, though whether this is due to the metagene or the rigors of costumed life is difficult to quantify. Current estimates project that 12-15% of the population of Earth are superhumans or are latent, though the vast majority will likely never express powers and individual power levels vary greatly. And though the metagene is dominant, it appears that if it remains latent and unexpressed, it will subside in future generations. The superhuman population estimate includes augmented transhumans, supernatural beings, extraterrestrial lifeforms, genetic chimeras, engineered superhumans, uplifted sapient lifeforms, artificial intelligences, and those who use chemical enhancements like Venom or Miralco in addition to standard metahumans or mutants. It is unknown how many geniuses and savants can be included in this percentage but masked mystery men are usually counted as metahumans by the general populace despite their ostensible lack of powers and all superhumans are called metahumans in common parlance despite their categorization. 

Metahumans seem to have many natural advantages over normal people. When injured they will heal faster, and their resistance to pain, fatigue, or sickness is much greater. Their lifespans are longer on average and they age slower. They are not all necessarily stronger than humans but they are more often than not much more naturally physically fit than the average human. Studies suggest that metahumans are more naturally prone to aggression than humans are as when it comes to fight or flight responses, the average meta will often elect to fight in spite of lopsided odds. These same studies suggest metas are more naturally promiscuous and fertile than normal humans as seen by the explosive exponential growth of the metahuman population in the past few decades. Due to all these factors, many in society fear that someday metahumans may eclipse humans entirely, and the recent conflicts have only exacerbated these fears. 

- An from Dr. Emil Hamilton's seminal study, [i]The Metahuman Thesis[/i]
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[hider= Justice League United] 

[hider= Justice League United Structure]
The Justice League has never been more powerful, and is now closer to a nation than just being a superhero organization. It has absorbed virtually every other superhero team into its roster and boasts thousands of members, with more joining everyday as new metahumans arise or graduates of Titan academy join their ranks. There is a Hall of Justice in every major city in every allied nation and the new Watchtower has often been hailed the 8th wonder of the world. The JLU has entire fleets of spacecraft, armies of support troops, a robust clandestine network, a massive economic support and trade base, an intricate web of political connections, and a cutting edge scientific division. The League's activities are directed by the Founders Council, a dozen or so individuals who have been part of the League since it's early day. 

The original trinity have long passed on their mantles to their successors but remain the heart of the League and its operations. Membership in the JLU is akin to being part of a union or guild, and full-fledged Leaguers have the right to petition the Founders Council on certain manners and are afforded certain privileges and protections, such as a vote in referendums. A hero can join the JLU as a full-fledged Leaguer right from the start, but the typical path is to enter Titan Academy as a cadet, enter an apprenticeship with a Leaguer as an upperclassman, and then graduate into the JLU as a full Leaguer. 

Each Hall of Justice is run by one senior member with a dedicated team to each city, all with their own support teams. Each Hall also has its own diplomatic attaches, research labs, medical centers, and peacekeeper barracks. Every Hall also has a direct zeta-pad connection to the Watchtower in orbit around Earth. The Watchtower is the core of the League's operations, monitoring situations around the planet and the solar system 24/7 with a dedicated control staff coordinating the League's activities. At least one Leaguer is on monitor duty at all times. 

There are several quick reaction forces of heroes and their troops ready to deploy on a moment's notice with the Blackhawk Squadron as air support. STAR Labs provides scientific research and technical support for the League and bands of Atlanteans, Amazons, Green Lanterns, and many others commonly ally with the Justice League to provide assistance and coordinate on missions. The JLU's ground forces, known as the Justice Battalions, are made up of both general infantry units with standardized equipment who support Leaguers in battle and specialist units that are trained and led by individual Leaguers. The Justice Battalions assist the League with crowd control, patrol, fire support and other roles depending on their unit and their leader.
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[hider= Legion of Doom]

[hider= Legion of Doom Hierarchy]
The Legion has no singular leader but is overseen by a high council of criminal emperors, the Council of Light. The council collaborates on the activities of the actual Legion of Doom and also act as the executive body of the Shiruta Pact as a whole, though each villain's fiefdom is his or hers to rule, and each alter ego statesman of the Shiruta Pact officially denies any connection to the Legion of Doom. Though there is some variation, the system of government is generally akin to feudalism. Each overlord has control of a vast region with their own hierarchy of underbosses beneath them, and so on until one reaches rank-and-file Legionaries. In order to become a Legionnaire and receive the protections and compensation that this implies, one has to prove themselves as a henchman. Once they achieve this, they can sign into the Pact. Children of Legionaries and promising students often undergo training through HIVE Academy. 

The overlords and their underbosses all have their own armies and their own cadres of superhuman retainers and followers. The Legion of Doom itself is made up of the overlords and their operatives as well as independent bands of rogues and like-minded villains all across the world. Their headquarters, the Fortress of Doom, is a formidable base that has never been found by the JLU and is rumored to be hidden in a separate dimension. The Legion has a scientific and clandestine base to rival the Justice League and the overlords have many economic shadow partners such as Lexcorp, though this has never been proven and is vehemently denied by Lex Luthor. The Legion's constituent nations assist each other in their wars and conflicts as they will, each overlord with their own resources and specialized capabilities. The Shiruta Pact is a mighty coalition in the United Nations, and has used this official recognition to expand their spheres of influence even further.  

The Legion's overlords have instituted a modern age nobility, and superhuman dynasties are now the dominant political factions of the Shiruta Pact. Conscription of their citizens is common and the Legion has been known to elevate loyal followers into their upper echelons by gifting them Legionnaire status. The Legion's western affiliates are highly active, much more militarized and organized than before. Joker and the other Gotham crime lords have revived the city's underworld and the Central City Rogues have grown in number and power despite the best efforts of the JLU's Central City Hall and its leader the current Flash. Despite the overall decline in organized crime in industrialized nations, crime in developing states has risen exponentially and the percentage of crime that is attributed to Legionaries or their allies has come to dominate all other groups and criminal organizations.  

From narcotics to weapons smuggling, contract killing, and human trafficking, the Legion of Doom has fingers in every pie and is said to have spies and operatives in many governments. In terms of geopolitical influence, the Legion and the leaders of the Shiruta Pact will soon eclipse the Soviet Union and the Axis Powers at their height. However, despite their shared power, the Legionaries aren't all united. The highest overlords and influential Legionnaires are both rivals and allies, and each is fighting for their own interests, some even see their fellows as more of a threat than the League itself. And more than a few desire to have supreme control of the Legion as its sole master. 
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