[center][h1][b]The Hounds Initiative[/b][/h1][/center]

[center]Three years after the horrifying fall of the once great superhero, Trueheart, in his catastrophic turn to a darker path which resulted in the chaotic destruction of much of Montreal back in 2009, Agent Roy Vega of the Department of Numan Conduct and Control (DNCC) proposed a daring new initiative called The Hounds Initiative. This controversial behavioral experiment was based on the philosophical writings of Malcolm Grey and his colloquially named "Grey Scale" theory, which described people - especially numans - as not simply good or evil but rather existing on an infinite spectrum between those extremes. Vega aimed to prove that even the worst villains could be redeemed.

The Hounds Initiative recruited incarcerated supervillains, offering them a chance to escape prison and serve as government-sponsored bounty hunters tracking down their former allies. Vega hoped that by turning these villains against their old compatriots, they would be reformed. However, saddled with some of the most dangerous criminals or so claimed the DNCC could find, Vega and his team have already faced extreme challenges. Less than a year in, the public had dubbed the villains "Hell's Renegades" and many questioned the safety and ethics of the program, calling for its termination.

But Vega held out hope. Promised one full year to transform these former villains into heroes, he clung to the belief that Malcolm Grey was right - no one was beyond redemption. Though the destructive monsters who had ravaged the public in the past now seemed irredeemable, Vega believed he could lead them back to the light and vindicate Grey's philosophy. The Hounds Initiative was his chance to prove that with guidance, even the darkest souls could brighten.[/center]