"Can we skip the part where you complain about the damages and I direct you to SDN's complaint line?"
Age: 33
Appearance: Even among the staff at the Claremont office, Riley's skin looks pale. In addition to long hours at his workplace computer, Riley can often be found in Claremont's basement R&D lab working on some new device or gizmo. Constantly wearing a helmet in his previous job didn't really help him either. Stubble is usually present on Riley's face in some form or fashion; signs of a hasty shave job done hours before he has to come into the office. His brown eyes are sharp, analytical, and more than a few co-workers have felt as though he's "evaluating" them with his gaze.
Moving down, his SDN uniform is meticulously maintained, although this is usually due to a cleaning system he'd designed in his apartment. The sleeves are usually rolled up to the elbows in case Riley needs to get his hands dirty on a project. His body is fairly well-built and muscular. This is due to him carrying many of his tools and supplies on his person when he used to be a hero. When he was starting out, it wasn't unusual for Riley to carry fifty pounds or more of supplies into the field. Lastly, his body is marred by several different burn marks and electrical scars where his gadgets didn't "work right" during testing.
Role at SDN: Chief Dispatcher/Ex-Hero
Background: Have you ever had a dream that never quite panned out? That's Riley. From a young age, he knew he wanted to be a hero and help people in need. When his Technopathic abilities first began to emerge, this only further solidified his resolve. He'd spend entire weekends in his family's garage taking apart household appliances and transforming them into "gadgets" he'd eventually wield when he became a hero.
What could go wrong? Well... a lot of things actually.
What Riley hadn't counted on was the fact that people really don't like technopaths. The fact that most pop culture vilified technology didn't endear him to most adults, and that would eventually trickle down to his classmates.
Yes. Riley was the "Weird Kid".
The poor guy would eventually lose friends as their parents pulled them away or his early gadgets malfunctioned, leading to public embarrassment. Despite the setbacks, Riley kept pushing on towards his goal. He planned to officially register as a hero after high school and work to change the public's opinion about technopaths!
The final nail in the coffin came during his first year as a hero: The Brave Brigade Incident. When Shroud killed the pilot of Mecha Man Astral, the public decided once and for all that anyone with powers like Shroud's weren't to be trusted. For the next several years, Riley would struggle to find work, and he would even get accosted by civilians while in the middle of a job! (One time, he was mistaken for Shroud while on a job, and heroes had to be called to save HIM)
After several years, Riley decided it was time to change course. Thanks to a connection from a friend, he managed to land a desk job at the Superhero Dispatch Network. Originally, he applied for an R&D position, but suspicion about his powers kept him from the role. He settled for work as a dispatcher. After a year at the dumpster fire that was SDN Burbank, he transferred to the Claremont branch.
Since joining Claremont five years ago, Riley has made a name for himself as a dispatcher. He's built a solid circle of friends and co-workers. The guys down in R&D even let him come down to work on projects from time to time. He's convinced himself that dispatching his where he belongs, but deep down he wonders if he might get a chance to be the hero again...
(Arbitrary Code Execution)
Appearance: In his past life as A.C.E., Riley had constructed a specialized armor that could channel his techopathic abilities. The gauntlets on his arms could sync with and interface with any machine in his vicinity. The armor was made of a special alloy he developed after getting hit one too many times by his inventions backfiring. His boots came with small thrusters to allow for limited flight or a speed boost. Lastly, the helmet had a direct interface that allowed him to manage the "nanobots" that he built near the end of his hero career.
Powers: Riley is a technopath. This grants him the ability to control and manipulate machines with only his mind. He can simply control machines, take them apart, repair them, or break them down to components and make something entirely new! When he was just starting out, Riley would carry a backpack filled with scrap material so he could build tools on the fly. He quickly learned this was a bad idea and began learning how to utilize his surroundings for maximum benefit. As his skills grew, Riley developed more permanent tools to aid him in his hero work. His crowning achievement were the nanobots. A small armada of microscopic robots that he could openly command to build structures for transport, defense, or even to form new weapons!
Likes: - Black Coffee (Stronger the better) - Working in the lab - Drafting Blueprints - Heroes who follow orders - Brainbook
Dislikes: - Shroud. FUCK SHROUD. - Being judged - Disobeying orders - Low-budget tech - SDN Burbank (Screw Mr. Mephisto)
Quirks: - Riley has several "Not SDN approved" modifications installed on his workplace computer to improve performance. Most of them are his design, but one or two he's procured through villain contacts.
- Riley currently holds the Claremont office record for "fastest hack time" on a call at 10.6 seconds. He's held this record for nearly three years an no one's come close to beating it.
- Because his time as A.C.E. was a series of controversies, it always gives Riley a thrill when he overhears a co-worker mention him positively. A.C.E. never quite made it to the big leagues, but at least he HAD a reputation in the Southlands.
- Riley has a small crush on the DTLA hero Brainbook. It's a goal of his to meet her one day and compare notes on building schematics.
- One of Riley's biggest secrets is that he's got a massive playlist of folk music on file at home. He likes to tune it out while doing paperwork, payroll, or when building new gadgets.
- If no one's looking, Riley will use his powers to install and play Galaga on his work computer during slow workdays.
"Christ, how the fuck are we meant to keep with the KPI of "don't break the infrastructure" when you're constantly giving it a go?"
Age: 33
Appearance:
Pale-skinned and lightly ginger, James is lanky in a way that suggests equal parts sleepless nights and too much time hunched over spreadsheets. He burns far too easy in the Californian sun.
He dresses like every tech-adjacent consultant, with rolled-up sleeves, slim-fit shirts, different colours of chinos while wearing a pair of square, designer glasses. 6"0 tall and with a face that has caught and broken hearts, James gives off the vibe of someone who makes it look effortless, a certain charm on him at all times with a comeback for anyone and anything, even if he's weathered and a transplant to a new continent.
He looks a little dead inside, even in the sunshine of LA- even if he seems to be an outgoing guy, his face displays someone who is through with American optimism and just deals in results, something that will excite you or piss you off. A classic consultant.
If SDN and the world of Dispatch is the US adaption of The Office, then James is definitely coming from the UK version of The Office, and he absolutely is through with the optimism and excitement of everyone, in favour of just wanting to get shit done. He might be beginning to crack, but what you're seeing is someone who chose business practical, and results over formality.
There’s always a tablet under his arm or a headset around his neck. He moves quickly, talks quickly, and thinks even faster, and by American standards, he's got a lot of colloquialism he hasn't shaken, in spite of consulting in the US for a while.
Face Claim / Voice Actor: Eddie Redmayne
Role at SDN:
Hero Development Consultant.
James is a freelance consultant, but at this point, he's basically a part of the SDN team full time, as there aren't exactly any other networks he could work with, not beyond some weird little startups. With experience of SDN's network on the East Coast and experience from the UK's equivalent branches, James is the critical link between the R&D teams, heroes, dispatchers and management. He crunches numbers, and more often than not, is advising the Branch Management of how to "improve synergy" or "deliver key stakeholder KPIs".
Does this sound like some bullshit? It is!
Day to day, James's job is much more simple. James is the person who if he isn't sitting at the dispatch monitor himself (if short-staffed), is likely the point of contact for the team's professional development, training, and mentoring- and works with not just the Claremont office, but across the LA region, taking his experience of looking after Sophie to basically help heroes where their dispatchers can't. That includes the Phoenix Programme, who he has been particularly involved in- and sees as his ticket in getting closer within SDN, because he's often the one working any angle the branch need to get the former villains involved.
James's job is to make sure the teams operate at their best, even if he isn't really contributing much more than others in actual work- mostly being a glorified middle man that just finds ways to link one member of the team to another. If the Branch Manager and Dispatchers might be the ones calling the shots on heroes, James is in the background, making sure they've got what they need to do their jobs, or at least, able to find someone who can. Given that SDN hasn't found anyone who can do that long term, James is their man until they find a hire for the role, that strangely enough, nobody has been hired for yet. Paying a fat cheque for this service does seem a bit stupid, but James is involved in redundancy, efficiency and other decisions across the network, and so far, he seems to be doing a good job of it. A good consultant never makes himself redundant, after all....
If you bribe him with good tea and a solid pack of biscuits, he will get you what you need by pulling on some levers, but he's fundamentally an outsider- so his view on SDN isn't of company loyalty, but deliverables, results and getting everything running as it should.
Being in Claremont means his role conveniently works out nicely given it gives him the ability to work with his sister- who he's also been a bit of an agent for before, and now gives him an excuse to be somewhere he might not normally be. Being based in LA also gives him a chance towards a permanent role within SDN as a permanent Director within the firm- arguing for his indispensable nature. His long term goal is to climb the management of SDN, rather than dealing in the day-to-day, but time will tell if that ruthless progression is going to change him, or he'll need to adapt to go where he needs to.
Problem is, it's really hard to do that when you have a 9th century, Vinland-originating shieldmaiden and some guy who can spit acid in the way who are also chasing more senior positions.
Background:
Born and raised in Manchester, UK, James was always the analytical one of the two siblings. James was the stereotypical eldest child: clever, wired, academically terrifying, the "responsible one" even when nobody asked him to be. He was always more analyst than athlete- always cleverer, like he had himself directed at something greater. When Sophie manifested her powers and nearly died, James immediately pivoted his ambitions; he wasn’t going to be a hero, but he’d damn well make sure she survived being one. Coming from Moss Side, James spent his youth misspent, and he wouldn't say he was a "hero" from the get go. He wanted nothing more than to just bugger off to uni and find a different life, yet from the moment his sister got powers, he was immediately went from the older sibling always bickering, to wanting immediately wanting to protect her and make sure she did the right thing.
It was like in that moment he had a responsibility to protect her from her own self, knowing the stories of other supes and how easy it would be to slip. A world it turned out, he could actually monetise.
He earned an undergraduate degree in Business Management from the University of Manchester before being recruited by the UK's Superhuman Response Unit- working a side gig as Lightning Girl's fixer, agent and minder. It wasn't always smooth sailing, but between his ability to wrangle problems and her ability to fill them full of voltage, they made a good team- even when they were apart due to work commitments. After five years of optimizing response times and resource allocation and working in SDN's UK branches, he was headhunted by SDN (America) and sponsored on a work visa.
Why move to the US? Well, his sister was on the payroll there, and he was brought in as a reliable hand, knowing how heroes operate and what they need to succeed. And he had the ability to work remotely, so, that was what he did.
James was sponsored on a work visa by SDN, who continued to employ him for projects in Baltimore, Boston, Denver, and now, in Los Angeles, specifically, the smaller branch at Claremont that despite being less of a dumpster fire than the operation in Burbank and the often chaotic Torrance Branch. Sophie's want to live in LA, always a dream of hers was one that James has finally decided to join in with- Sophie being the local and James being lost, it just made sense that SDN needed help and so, he came in and based himself at the office there.
While a specialist for SDN network-wide, James's main activities are turning out to be the Claremont office- and he works with a wide roster of the team, usually coming into contact with everyone.
Powers:
None. While James is relatively fit, versus most heroes he hasn't got anything "super" about him. Unless you count an exceptionally good talent for Excel. Or being incredibly dry sometimes. This is a running gag.
Likes:
-Brew Co Earl Grey tea (proper stuff, not that American hot water with a bag) -Data visualization tools (and how much he hates how outdated SDN's systems are) -Rainy days (reminds him of home) -Classic British sitcoms -Classic Rock Music, Britpop, 80s Music -Keeping Sophie alive (and being a supportive big brother) -Books on Business Management
Dislikes: -Corporate jargon (despite using it himself) -Heroes who ignore protocol -American coffee -When his sister shows off unnecessarily -Budget cuts -Paperwork that serves no purpose -Being called a "parasite" (whatever that is)
Quirks:
-Speaks with a slight Mancunian accent that gets more pronounced when he's stressed
-Has memorized every single expense and cost centre code for SDN.
-Stress-eats Fisherman's Friends. Sophie brings him boxes of the stuff from the UK on her weekends off, and if you try one, you'll be disgusted.
-Has memorised all of the training modules that he has to teach you and is bored of this
-Comes across as more cynical, and used to the way of work in America- but still relishes in it and the processes of SDN. He's moved a lot, and is clearly fatigued, but sees LA for a traffic clogged, difficult city but doesn't hide behind the good the work does, and the worth he brings to it.
White-haired, Sophie is truly a diva of her own making- she never was like this (having more red-hair like James, and being quieter), but electricity has turned her a little different paired to her now grey eyes. It's a manner that she manages to pull off even out of her costume, looking a bit more gaudy than some with that white hair. She sometimes bleaches her hair with blue tips, if she's feeling the mood to show off a bit. On off days, she's even returned back to her original red-chestnut hair, but once the mask is on, she's all white.
At around 6"2, Sophie is quite the opposite of James. The powers giving her a little bit of height and muscle density, Sophie comes across as an old-school hero, with a silhouette that occupies any doorway or skyline, even if she didn't have electricity in her, being enough for her to mess you up pretty badly. An athlete's physique, a moderate amount of chest, and plenty of shoulders and legs that have come from benching weights James would even gawk at. Sure, she's a stereotype, but then again, with that much electricity in her fingers? She's practically occupied in that. There's a certain kind of beauty to her, with a heart-shaped face and a poise that is contrasted by the strong smell of ozone and burnt toast you almost get when she seemed to be "live".
It would work great, if she didn't sunburn really badly. Powers do not stop that, so she's constantly on Factor 50, and that absolutely takes away that "girl next door" vibe that Sophie seems to give off. Being British in LA is like being Prince Harry in....actually, that is not going anywhere as a reference, so we'll leave it there! Herr British voice becoming more of a "transatlantic" tone, like she's an American from the 1920s.
Her civilian fashion tends toward practical but fancy clothing, from premium t-shirts, leather jackets, gym gear and whatever she feels makes her look good, out of the line of work come on.
Faceclaim: Alice Levine Voice Claim: Hayley Atwell
Role at SDN:
Hero for Dispatch.
Sophie was headhunted and with a move to LA, put in was impossible to say no to. She loved the idea of moving there given her obsession over Hollywood and the lights, and while not in the DTLA dream team, she is knocking on that door, as a figurehead that is no rookie to this line of work, but absolutely to the US and the dreamy vision of superheroes that sometimes ends up a bit more complicated.
Background:
Growing up as James's younger sister, Sophie was quiet, reserved, and while sporty, growing up as the younger sibling to a brother that seemed clever and all wired up. Instead of his nerdy behaviour, she was always into activities like running, football, being outdoorsy, and also liking all girly things that all teenage girls liked. Bit of crochet from her mum too. She still does love it. She was a wallflower, unsure of what she wanted, but well, she'd work it out, but otherwise, a rather normal teen. Brought up with a dad who worked all the time, and a mum who made every end meet in their relatively less-affluent upbringing in Moss Side.
That was, until Sophie was struck by a lightning bolt that sparked out of a fragment of a comet, which just so happened to smack into the park where her and her friends were playing football, aged 15.
(It's a stereotype, but, being the unlucky victim of a celestial body's is one hell of a way to get powers. Especially when it's totally not a rip off from Misfits right?)
Getting a power that way is quite interesting- because instead of dying, she shut off the power an entire hospital down when she came to, being on life support that needed her a lot less than any doctors realised. She healed quickly, but was found that electricity would just shoot out of her.
Often uncontrollably at first, but she was addicted to leeching, then transmitting power. And realising she could fly. And take significantly less amounts of damage than most. It was as if the electricity healed her, fuelled her, and made her more potent than she could ever believe. Sophie had a hunger to go to substations and just sit there and keep sucking up power until she felt like she'd drunk five Red Bulls. And sometimes, blow the power out for thousands.
An electricity based hero then. Sophie discovered that having millions of kilowatts running through her made her a bona-fide powerhouse, and she was fitter, faster, flightier, a blur of ozone-like electricity-crackling. She went to the gym more, and found gains went from little to lots, because her metabolism was frankly broken. She stopped playing football when she realised she basically deflected tackles (and people) and was shocking everyone with static all of the time. Heroes like her were a bit unsporting, so she turned her hobbies to crochet.....and fighting crime, and, making a living out of it. The comet's effects weren't totally understood- but a personality shift felt like it came along with the power too, maybe as it crept to her head and made her want to project a version of control, order, and putting things right, her way.
Her red hair seemed to turn pale white, her bone density and musculature grew as she suddenly went from quiet athletic girl to superpowered woman (mostly through metabolic diversion and those relentless amount of Rocky-grade training montages in the gym), and in time, she found herself trying to navigate putting her powers to good and bad. A few run ins made her realise villainy was not worth the effort- and doing good felt good and came suddenly with attention that she was growing to absolutely adore. It was easy to steal, take what she'd like but realistically, her powers meant she was rewarded for what she did by those she helped. Small at first, but suddenly, being a hero for hire added up.
And the attention she hadn't had as a younger sister, she now absolutely got in spades when she was Lightning Girl, in a costume designed by her brother and designer friend, and able to project all her confidence through it. She could be someone she wasn't, out of the shadow of her brother, the strong, capable, saviour of Moss Side.
And with James's guidance, the two made sure Sophie was in the right place, right time, solving crimes with James running behind the scenes (and the mountains of paperwork it caused the Greater Manchester Police), and Sophie non-lethally shocking the crap out of anyone, recovering stolen property and finding missing people among many things- to really become the hero she wanted to be with all eyes on her now. She had a gift- best use it, she said to herself, and get something from it. Manchester needed a hero, and Sophie was that, among a field of supers with augments, she still stood out as the one that dominated the city. Even while he was at university, Sophie always relied on him, and she then spent time in London working with a local start-up called "PowerServe", rather than SDN that dealt with emerging talents like her. A certain security for response, and Sophie made quite the mark, even if she wasn't the most experienced, or best of heroes in London, she got into the right circles and became a standout.
SDN came calling, and Sophie's skills were what brought her over to the United States, chasing sunshine versus the bleak grey of London. The money was significantly more, and well, the promise of a high level role came calling when it was in LA- the sort of place that really put a hero on the map, and someone like Lightning Girl? Well, she was born to run. Though.....that role turned out not to be DTLA, Claremont called instead due to....reasons that are still unknown to her. Still, better than rainy England (especially for her powers) and she saw it as a stepping stone to something bigger, and despite the eye-watering numbers for an apartment, she's made herself at home as a well-established member of the team.
Being deployed in Claremont was maybe not Sophie's idea of making it "big in LA", with her eyes still turned to the DTLA team and joining in the big leagues, seeing some of the local stuff as below her (and perhaps one of her flaws, that despite being a hero, she's really a bit too progress minded from James's mentoring. Lightning Girl certainly has her eyes upwards- though not being a local is something she'd adapting to, given perhaps she's more "hero for hire" than she grounded. It turns out Lightning Girl can run on 110V just as well as 240V so her powers, thankfully, are unaffected. She still loves what she does and with James just joining her, is looking to move onto the next step and go save the day even more, and maybe, just maybe, even get her dream house in the Hollywood Hills. She's always liked the idea of making it big, and the quiet girl from Manchester becoming a superhero superstar in Los Angeles? Well, so far she's found few things to stop her....
Yet behind the scenes, Sophie still struggles with that image. She's more personally confident, sure, but she's still looking for something and feels like chasing the image, status, becoming the best version of herself, still lacks something. Moving halfway across the world has left her without friends, and the wallflower still wants to be loved, if not found for who she is becoming, as well as the hero she outwardly projects.
Lightning Girl
Appearance:
As Lightning Girl, Sophie wears a skintight white and grey coloured spandex and ballistic cordura costume from neck to ankles (arms/legs in grey, torso in off white), with the grey creating a silvery Lichtenberg scar-like effect across where it contrasts with the off-white, with a pearlescent-like silver cape (not always worn). A bit of yellow stitching across all the seams, and what appears to be a Honey Bee (a symbol of Manchester) is sown into her collar. It's the look of efficiency when paired to a classic carbon-fibre black mask that covers eyes, forehead and nose, with platinum/white hair. It's safe to say that Sophie has relished in her image as this, and has gone from quiet and reserved to maximalist, larger than life and able to light up any environment she walks into.
Literally.
Paired to a pair of grey leather boots that complete the ensemble, a pair of white fingerless gloves that go up to her elbows (and black arm-long rubber gloves she carries with her in a convenient hip-pack to make sure she doesn't shock anyone she carries), Sophie is a beaming, classic hero that absolutely has been honed in on by James and then SDN's marketing team. A little bit of Blonde Blazer, perhaps, but if you're gonna have a classic hero, sometimes simple is best!
Powers:
Able to cast electricity, Sophie is your classic electrokinesis styled hero, flinging bolts of electricity out of her fingers / hands, but equally versatile in being able to use her fists like a tazer, and be significantly more resilient than a normal human being, considerate of the fact she's more or less got electricity supercharging her metabolism constantly. She's effectively an incredibly dense battery (Batgirl was taken, so she worked with the obvious alternative)- that can charge as high as far as she's reasonably able to. Capable of static-based flight- of which she can fly at nearly the speed of sound (when juiced up to roughly an energy from waste's plant entire hourly power output). However, that means being carried / moved by her like being exposed to a static shock from a door (hence why she always carries rubber gloves). All of this means Sophie is relatively powerful for a superhero and is a versatile tool in any Dispatcher's arsenal. A Swiss Army Knife if you will, that turns on the charm, and even if she hasn't got the intellect, she has the talk as an exotic, export of a hero that naturally can do good, and make any chance to make her look good while doing it. She isn't tanky, super fast, super capable, or the cleverest in the room- but she absolutely will give every one of those categories a good go, and probably get hurt trying.
TLDR: Electrokinesis: Launches bolts, arcs, and fields of electricity Static Flight: Propels herself with directed bursts; not effortless, but fast Superhuman Physique: Enhanced strength, reflexes, and durability due to electric overcharge Shock Strikes: Punches like a living taser EMP Bursts: Can short out tech (though James hates when she does this)
Likes: -The warm buzz of getting zapped by a transformer of high voltage electricity (we really, really do not want to talk about the fact she seems almost a bit *too* eager to get zapped) -Earl Grey Tea (like James, but more obsessed in that she'll physically fly back home to get it, even if the commute is at least several hours) -Indie / Electronica / Synthwave -The smell of ozone -Thunderstorms (see above) -Sitting on the Hollywood Sign -Social interaction (as Lightning Girl) -Crochet (she has made endless amounts of stuff in the office while sitting waiting to be deployed)
Dislikes: -Rubber Matting (it feels very uncomfortable to walk on) -Water and Fire Foam/Powder (really messes around with her ability to fling bolts) -American Coffee -Her brother telling her to calm down -Swimming (skin reacts all funny to it) -Social interaction (as Sophie)
Quirks:
-Sophie's powers rely heavily on keeping electrical charge- and while having a base level of "bioelectricity" in her body, that means she'll always have power from eating and drinking, she'll need to crank herself up. Whilst not a "villainous" trait, Sophie will hang off power lines, transformers and such to keep her powers topped up, and she has to be careful not to accidentally destroy infrastructure that's hooked up to it, because she is basically a data centre's worth of energy. She'll physically be exhausted if she hasn't gotten power from one in a while and a bit low. Thankfully, a plug socket is usually not far away, and if not that, she'll usually be able to "make do". If it makes current, or could make a current, she'll use it. Nobody quite knows what the limit of what she can take is, and everyone agrees- it's probably best not to find out...
-She's a walking powerbank. An ability that was once poorly used, she's learned how to set her mind to exactly the right frequency to charge phones, laptops and other devices. This is a fun trick at bars because she can literally point her finger at phones and charge them.
-Sophie glows white when using her powers, particularly when she's on "charge". Her eyes turn a pale white.
-Sophie rain with a passion- it affects her skin (shorting her out), but also reduces her potency (not entirely given the costume, but it still pisses her off). Lightning storms though, do absolutely flip that notion and massively outweigh the negatives of rain.
-Lightning Girl has a fairly popular series of social media accounts- she's pretty enough to be into modelling work on the side, but also doesn't like the idea of going all the way down that rabbit hole as her alter ego. Her personal, non hero self is a bit more shy.
-Speaking of which- her personality is a rather mixed bag. Similar to James, Sophie is sometimes dry, but finds that like her split personality as a hero, she's reserved when in a more personal setting. There's this feeling of insecurity, uncertainty almost- she's moved halfway across the world, but she still misses home, and somehow, despite smiling for camera, has a lot to get used to in the sunny coastal state, even though she still wants to be in DTLA, and seems a little too focussed on that right now- forcing herself to be in that position and believe in the dream anyone of her capability might have. She's an outsider- and has still got to make friends, still got to learn how America works, and find out who Sophie is a bit more, not just the persona she's hiding behind.
"The suffocating beauty of shadows is all man should know."
Age: 32
Appearance: A white haired, dark-eyed man with a stern attitude and an outfit straight from a renaissance fair. His words on it? It makes him look cooler. He's never seen without his red scarf, expensive shoes, and his permanent frown. He stands a modest 6'0", though occasionally he wears boots that bump him up by an inch or two.
He dons a few battle scars on his torso, neck, and arms.
Role at SDN: Phoenix Program
Background:
A two and a half generation immigrant; Vergil is half-Japanese, half-American. Growing up, he was only taught how to speak English and is mostly estranged from his own culture outside of random factoids and tidbits his mother tells him. In harsher terms, he only happens to be Japanese--most of his mannerisms, accent, and swagger are distinctly American. He tries his best to represent his family regardless.
Somewhat outcasted growing up due to his oddball status, he never quite fit in with his peers. Too boisterous for some, too quiet for others. He lived a banal childhood until he reached 20.
During his time in college, he developed a keen interest in chemistry--specifically drugs. Money was beginning to become a problem, his parents weren't much help (they had their own financial issues), so in his eyes? Becoming a dealer was an easy paycheck. He had all the supplies, all the equipment at his college lab, and he had knowledge. Creating a bit of crack was easier than most people thought, after all, and it'd be no issue for someone like him.
Vergil studied chemistry on the side and trafficked drugs on main; he had a hand in a few drug rings, though they never lasted too long and he was starting to get sick of splitting pay between distributors. He decided to pick up the slack himself, going out on his own as a dealer. It'd be easier that way, right? He'd get more money too.
... Right?
His first deal went terrible. His drugs were top quality--made him a bigger target, and the criminals he sold to were more than happy to 'bargain' (aka hold him at gunpoint) for a better price. He needed a new strategy and badly.
He picked up a new persona: Eclipse, a masked drug dealer with a scary voice, scary eyes, and killer blades. His first set of villain gear was a rough approximation of what he has now, instead of armor, a bullet proof vest; instead of a metal mask, a hockey mask that he picked up at a Spirit Halloween. He learned to carry a knife or two when dealing.
If his clients wanted to play dirty, than so be it. He'd play dirty too. Any 'bargainers' were found with their throats slit behind dumpsters.
Word started to spread about 'Eclipse' and his top quality drugs--not laced, no chemical substitutes; the purest drugs you could get on the street. Red Ring picked Vergil up as their personal drug dealer; he couldn't say no, not when the largest crime syndicate wanted him. He'd supply them with only the best... only the best drugs. In exchange, they took care of his money issue, granted him new gear, and provided chemicals from time-to-time.
He spent a few years working for Red Ring in college until he was ratted out by a classmate for misuse of lab chemicals. Caught red-handed cooking crack in college, he fled the scene, smuggled as many goddamn chems and lab equipment he could, and left to work with Red Ring full time. No more college studies, no more papers, no more snitching classmates, just pure drugs.
Over the years, he started developing his own personal drug, something to make him even stronger, more useful to the syndicate that took him in. Gulping down a chem cocktail, he developed Umbrakinesis after nearly dying to his own drug. He could barely move without being consumed by shadows, shadows, shadows... every thing was turning dark.
And it was then Shroud that taught him to control his powers.
And it was then, his dream was fulfilled. He was fully in Shroud and Red Ring's debt--they made his suit, provided him with chemicals, gave him a steady cashflow, taught him everything there is about his own power. He became another standard Shroud lackey--manifesting from the shadows to kill off dissenters and potential enemies, though he still made drugs on the side.
Eventually he was caught after heroes were called in during a shoddy assassination and put in custody. Now 32 and with Red Ring gone and Shroud either dead or in custody, he was moved to SDN Claremont to prevent him from reconnecting with the remnants of Red Ring and put in the Phoenix Program for rehabilitation.
TL;DR: Drug dealer learns self-defense after killing muggers. Drugs so good he gets picked up by RR & becomes a Shroud Lackey after developing shadow powers from his own special drug.
Eclipse
Appearance: Dressed in dark armor, Eclipse covers his face with a mask. The eye sockets glow red, the mouthpiece is a voice filter, and his arms both fitted with metal gauntlets. Two large blades are strapped around his forearms.
There is an extra compartment in his forearm guards--a shooting mechanism that contains throwing knives; by flicking his wrists upward, Eclipse is capable of arming himself with throwing knifes should his larger blades be lost or damaged.
Powers: Umbrakinesis / Darkness Solidification / Shadowportation Eclipse can freely manipulate shadows, particularly his own. He is capable of using his own shadow as a weapon and recon tool by manipulating it's properties (elongating, shortening, solidifying, etc). Offensively, his shadow can be used a rope to strangle or restrain enemies.
He teleport from shadow-to-shadow, though this part of his power takes intense concentration and forces him to be still. It's not something he can do on the fly, which is why he prefers to either be alone when teleporting through shadows or to kill every enemy in the same room before escaping. Regardless, he uses this part of his power frequently to 'keep everything quiet'--it's the only reason he hasn't been busted for wearing armor.
His greatest weakness is the light. If it's directly shined on him, his powers will become weaker and downright useless. Additionally, his powers are more limited in Phoenix Program as he is unable to create more of his 'darkness' drug to maintain his power's strength.
Crimes (If Villain): Drug trafficking & distribution, embezzlement, first and second degree murder, aiding and abetting.
As a studying chemist, he used his knowledge of chemicals and his college's equipment to produce and distribute various drugs to various villains. He sees the Phoenix Program as an easy out and paycheck. Though, compared to others within the Phoenix Program, he's much better at following orders and 'behaving'. He believes that if the higher-ups think he's on way to redemption, they'll let him develop his drugs again (for the hero's benefit, obviously but if villains paid better, than so be it).
Likes: - Sharp edges - His armor and blades - Red Ring & Shroud
Dislikes: - People who ostracize/bully others - Christmas - Guns (it's not as cool as stabbing people with shadow blades!)
Quirks: - With extra money from his drug deals, he bought a plot of land far off in Europe to 'support tree growth' or something like that. Nowadays, he just uses it as an excuse to call himself an 'edge lord' as the piece of land was located at the edge of a fishing town. - He tries to avoid the light whenever he stands--typically positions himself off in corners or near obvious shadows. - Always carries cash. Always.
"Maybe you should use a better fuckin’ lock next time."
Age: 25 Appearance:
Standing at 5’4”, fairly lithe considering a lifetime of moving quickly, and a head of generally unkept red-gold hair, Myla wears a nearly perpetual scowl about her face as though the day is, nearly always, going bad. Not one to wear an outfit while on the job, she prefers patterned shirts, jeans, and sneakers to anything else, though will maybe add a plain jacket or sweater every now and again.
Role at SDN: Phoenix Program Background:
Born in Northern California, Myla’s early life was pretty typical for any kid her age. She went to school, ran around afterwards, made friends, made enemies, and generally was out-and-about more often than not. She found herself in scrap yards, lumber yards, parking lots, found herself in a number of places she generally shouldn’t have been, and was never quite alone in any of these locations. There was something inherently fun about seeing if she could get into those places, to see if she could beat a system designed to work against her, and often times the little kids figured out a way here, an oversight there. They got into a good deal of trouble then, but with a dad as a lawyer there was never a serious enough instance where the young girl found herself in real trouble. No, instead she found herself doing family-mandated “community service”, working at whatever place Myla had broken into, and through that she found even newer ways to break-in next time.
Myla started experiencing changes earlier than other girls, some things that made her angry at them with the teasing, the attention, some things that no-one else really found out, like her powers. She broke the new electronic locks at school pretty easily, stealing from them on the way to the bathroom during class for instance, and the amount of camera malfunctions seemed to skyrocket during her time there. Myla would also start getting into fights, anger spilling out at the bullies, in one instance nearly ripping the earings out of a girls ears with her powers. The girl couldn’t say whether or not it’d been powers, though, considering how much she was crying, and Myla got expelled more than once from it.
In time, they started to leave her alone though, and she continued on with her escapades out in town. A lot of companies had switched to electronic locks, thinking they were the future, and a lot of the time Myla found them easy to break, to trip and open up, to reset to the default all-one password. She took a few joyrides in the cars, too, giving just enough power to open the door but not enough to absolutely scramble the computer, and was caught pretty easily from it. Juvy came from that, though it wasn’t proven that she had any powers, and when Myla got out from it after a year she just had more ideas on what exactly she could do.
After her time there, Myla started to work on her repertoire, using a few little connections to find better scores compared to anything else. There was something still inherently alluring about breaking that system, breaking those attempts at keeping her out, and Myla wanted to see exactly how far she could push things. She took on jobs over the course of a few years, growing to be a local notoriety as far as who the police wanted to find, finding that spike with the accidental pacemaker-deletion of a US Senator while she was trying to open his electronic safe from the room over. The man’s health monitor did survive, however, and Myla made her way out with only a portion the score, but at least was intact.
She would be contracted though to break into a data center, however, to steal a particularly valuable set of design documents for a new model of predictive AI, one that had been kept in physical form to prevent more remote sorts of thievery. This would go absolutely belly-up, though, as halfway in the woman tripped the alarm, panicked, and while trying to open a dead-bolted door absolutely fried $30 billion worth of data center. That landed her well and truly in prison, which also would land her in the Phoenix Program.
Myla’s more a physical fighter, as her powers are generally limited to producing a very strong magnetic field at close range, though she’s armed herself with some decidedly non-powered tools to even the playing field. One of these, a bag-mounted and concealed Vision Deleter, is slung over her shoulder most days, same as a collapsable, metal baton she charges up.
Crimes:
Φ Corporate Sabotage, Grand Theft, Battery, Breaking and Entering, Drug Possession, Trespassing Φ
The Phoenix Program, thus far, has proven to solely be a job - nothing Myla’s seen has convinced her that it’s a reform program, nor has it pushed her to be a better person. It’s been a set of eyes over her shoulder, a voice in her ear, all while keeping her out of prison in exchange for the low price of removing a few small fries from the street. Myla isn’t against reform, but until it gives her a better job than the one she had before, or a better mindset, then reform isn’t in her mind.
Likes:
Φ “Arts and Crafts” Φ Cappuccino Φ Cats
Dislikes:
Φ Stupid friggin “Hero Names” - Hers was chosen by Marketing Φ NPC-Energy Heroes Φ Lock-picking. She’s still working on that skill Φ Black Coffee
Quirks:
Φ Kleptomaniac Φ Never wears anything metal - Never Φ Uses Timex Datalink 150 with VHF receiver modification / text-only transmitter. Newer technology gets weird sometimes
Appearance: With reddish-brown hair and eyes described as 'looking into the sunset itself', Marisol is anything but average. Standing just over six and a half feet tall, she towers above the more averagely sized people around her. She comes from a pretty wealthy family, so she is rarely seen wearing anything but the finest clothing. Sometimes too fine, like 'Why are you wearing that we're having tea at a downtown cafe not meeting the president' fine.
Role at SDN: Hero
Background: Marisol was born with an unknown disease that was the only known case of its kind. Her father, an incredibly wealthy man, spared no expense at trying to cure her. But in the end, it was simply no use. Marisol was bound to a wheelchair never to know a 'normal' life. The sickness threatened to end her life before she even turned 18, and through her life it left her skin pale and sapped the color from her hair leaving it white, practically turning her into a ghost. Fortunately, the universe had a different fate in mind for her.
One day Marisol was watching a meteor shower late at night, it was a big event and everybody was gathered at the lake to watch. There was however, a call to evacuate from the area as apparently a particularly large meteor was coming, and satellites had detected it wasn't going to simply burn up like the rest. It was coming right for the crowd that was gathered, and so heroes arrived to help everybody clear out. Ever the rebellious spirit however, Marisol was far further down by the water than anyone else, and being in a wheelchair made it particularly difficult to return. And somehow, someway, nobody was able to find her before the worst happened.
The meteor crashed into the lake, and nobody was harmed, but Marisol had gone missing completely. There was a week long manhunt for her, before she was found simply laying in the sand unconscious, in a place that had been looked over many times. OF course, she didn't simply reappear as before.
Now with color returned to her hair and skin, she awoke to find herself with incredible strength, and superhuman abilities far beyond anything she had ever known. She feeds off the power of the sun... though how a meteor crashing made this happen is a complete mystery.
Solaris
Appearance: Solaris, unlike a typical hero, wears armor like a knight straight out of fantasy. She wields a sword and shield and can channel her powers through both.
Powers: The power of the sun gives Solaris super-human strength, the ability to fly, and she can channel solar light in just about any way she can think of. While she is capable of burning things with this power, 'fire' isn't necessarily her power. Her light can be used in many ways, healing the injuries of her allies, lifting the morale of others, or indeed, blasting someone with enough of it to turn them to ash. Even she doesn't know the limits of her power, as she purposely holds herself back for fear of what her full power might do. 'Flying too close to the sun' and all that. She is known to fly across the city leaving a streak of sunlight behind her, which has become known as the 'Shooting Star' so that people know she is there, protecting them.
Likes: - The Sun - Dramatic Entrances - Super Hero Landings
Dislikes: - The Moon (Mostly a joke, she'll mention it but actually doesn't care) - Lunara (Her Nemesis... who now works with her.) - Crime and Villainy (She's pretty 'generic hero' mindset a lot of the time.)
Quirks: - She glows when using her power. At extreme levels of power, her hair and eyes glow gold. - She also glows when she is nervous, anxious, or even embarassed. - She can accidentally burn things by staring too long. Literally 'staring a hole into something' like shining a light through a magnifying glass. - Despite some of her powers having burning-effects, she is not herself immune to being burned.
[Redacted]
-Due to a history as a super villain, her identity has been completely redacted from public record for her own safety. Currently all that is known is that after being defeated by her nemesis Solaris, she was forced into the Phoenix program for rehabilitation, rather than being permanently locked up. Speculation suggests this was because Solaris herself believed she could be redeemed, and because in all her time of being a super villain... she never actually committed any crimes that weren't directed at other villains and criminals. The thought process being 'we can turn this into something good'
Role at SDN: Phoenix Program
Lunara
Appearance: Lunara wears armor much like her nemesis Solaris, though much less. She wields a crescent scythe. She has pale silver hair, black eyeliner that isn't actually makeup, it's permanent, and her eyes match the silver of her hair. On her forehead glows a lunar symbol, the meaning of which is unkonwn.
Powers: The power of the moon gives Lunara super-human speed and the ability to disappear completely in dark spaces. She can also fly, though it's less flying and more like jumping really high and then gliding down, as she cannot simply fly from one location to the next directly. She is capable of deflecting many types of attacks as if they simply bounce off her completely. This is especially true for attacks from powers such as light, fire, or rays of any particular energy.
Likes: - The Moon - Darkness (In a totally non-edgy way) - Late Night Insomnia
Dislikes: - The Sun (Not a Joke, she fucking hates that thing) - Solaris (Her Nemesis... who she now works with, indirectly.) - Generic Hero Personalities (She can't stand do gooders who do good for good doing sake.)
Quirks: - She glows when using her power. Her hair and eyes gain a white-silver glow, and the symbol on her forehead glows the more power she uses. - The more she uses her power, the dimmer her symbol gets, which is pretty much a direct indicator of how much power she has left. - She was the leader of one of the most notorious night-gangs around, yet they never actually did anything actively villainous... they mostly just had open gang wars with other gangs. - She can on occasion be found humming or singing when she thinks nobody is around or listening.
Appearance: Not the tallest person around, she typically wears thick leather boots to make up the difference, though it does little to help. She has a fit toned body, with pale skin beyond what any person should have. Her eyes are green, sometimes glowing with the essence of death. The most notable feature however is her fair, which starts out as normal hair but fades into blue fire. The more power she currently has, the longer and bigger the fire gets.
Role at SDN: Phoenix Program
Background: Not a whole lot is known about her before her death, as she has not divulged any information and it's difficult to try and figure anything out about a ghost.
What is known is that she gained a large following both in the civilian population and the villain world where she would hold concerts specifically for those she deemed to be beaten down by the world. This mostly meant villains and other criminal entities.
She does not resemble any known deceased musicians, so it's hard to figure out who she used to be... but most don't care, they only care who she is now.
During a previous concert in which her powers grew out of hand, there was a city-wide lockdown and multiple heroes were sent to deal with her. A new SDN invention was ultimately used to trap her, canceling the effects of her power and freeing the masses from her control. That being said... many did not follow her because they were being controlled, but rather because they wanted to. Her powers simply turn fans into zealots.
With the ability to capture her again should she turn to villainy once more, a deal was struck for her to join the SDN Phoenix Program in return for her release. So now SDN has their very own ghost.
Siren
Appearance: As a Ghost, she does not have any difference between her everyday appearance, and her working appearance when she is with SDN.
Powers: Her powers as a Ghost and Musician are two separate skillsets.
As a Ghost, she is capable of turning invisible, passing through solid objects such as walls, and flying wherever she wants. She is also capable of possessing weak-willed people, taking control of their bodies. However, anyone she does this to will have her glowing eyes which is a pretty obvious giveaway. The air around her tends to also have an unnatural chill to it, but nothing that would be too strong.
As a Musician, she can summon a guitar at will, which when played emits her power to all who hear it, which is a main source of indoctrination. It can also be used to cause sonic blasts that range from shattering ear drums to shattering glass. There are stories about her literally melting faces... it is unknown if this is true or not. Her voice is also capable of enchanting weak-willed people to do her bidding, going as far as falling in love with her, obsessing over her, or even to the point they would die for her.
The more people adore her (Forced or otherwise) the stronger she gets.
Crimes: Forming a Villain Gang, Performing Unsanctioned Concerts, Inciting Rebellion Against The Government, Inciting City-Wide Riots, Controlling the Will of the Masses Against Their Wishes (Or Possibly Aligning With Their Wishes, Unclear), Inciting Infighting of Heroes Through Mind Control, Intent of Regicide (Target Unknown?), Regular Destruction of Property, Uncountable Charges of Assault, Banned From 37 Music Stores... in one city, Possibly Crimes Against God (Yet To Be Determined).
Likes: List some things your character likes - Music (Duh?) - Halloween (Every day is Halloween) - Pranks (What's the point of being a ghost if you don't use your powers to scare people?)
Dislikes: - Churches, Graveyards, and Otherwise Holy Sites. - Undead (Not ghosts, but like, ghouls, zombies, skeletons, gives her the ick) - Music Haters (She respects all forms of music regardless of personal taste. Except Nightcore. That shit's just speeding up/pitching up an existing song.)
Quirks: - Her hair doesn't burn to the touch, as it is spirit fire. But it sure makes for a good prank when people think it's actual fire. - She creates her own band with her powers, including other needed instruments and backup vocals. - She doesn't sleep, or eat, or drink, she's already dead.