Worm

by John McCrae

  Shadow Stalker, Sophia Hess (Jailed) - Once a cape with a vigilante bent, Shadow Stalker was caught after having nearly killed a man, pinning him to a wall with her crossbow bolts, and chose to join the Wards as a probationary member rather than be sent to juvenile detention. Capable of shifting herself into a ‘shadow state’, she can pass through walls, is lightweight, and passes these benefits on to her equipment, including shots fired by her crossbow bolts. Was accused of violating probation shortly after arc 10. In reality, Shadow Stalker was one of Taylor’s tormentors while in her civilian guise. See Sophia Hess’ entry for her description.

  As Shadow Stalker (in costume), she wears a heavy black cloak and a black bodysuit with black painted metal plates and mask. Her mask was originally a modified hockey mask, but after joining the wards it modeled a woman’s face with a stern expression. Carries two crossbows, with both lethal and tranquilizer ammunition.

  Chariot (Missing) - Rookie member of the Wards, a tinker specializing in all types of mobility, from suits that move at super speed to devices that grant flight and teleportation. An undercover agent working for Coil, Chariot’s role was known by the Wards, and he remained on the team only so they can feed him incorrect information. Disappeared after the attack on the town hall. His costume was a power suit focused more on mobility than durability and hitting hard, complete with single-wheels at the toe and jets that allowed him to move at blinding speeds.

  Weld (Left Group) – See Irregulars, below.

  Aegis (Deceased) - Powers included flight and an augmented physiology that lacks any weak points. Onetime team leader of the local Wards team. Wore a rust and silver costume with a shield emblem. Perished in the Endbringer arc.

  Browbeat (Changed cities)- Onetime rookie member of the Wards, Browbeat had a very short range telekinesis as well as a form of biokinesis that lets him gradually alter his biology and physique. Moved away and quit the Wards program after the Endbringer arc.

  Gallant (Deceased) - Generates concussive blasts of energy that alter emotions in addition to packing a punch. Boyfriend of Glory Girl. Wore a silver and gunmetal powersuit that was being maintained by Armsmaster. Perished in the Endbringer arc.

  New Wave

  Originally the Brockton Bay Brigade, this group of heroes briefly became the subject of national attention when they unmasked publicly, rechristening themselves New Wave. Advocating superheroes without secrets and full accountability, they attempted to start a movement that stalled when a team member was murdered in her civilian identity. The team consisted of two related nuclear families, who have all become celebrities of a sort, wearing costumes without masks or helmets, each white with an emblem personal to the member.

  Disbanded, though many members remain in Brockton Bay, some operating individually while others have retired from a life as a cape.

  Lady Photon, Sarah Pelham - Arguably leader of New Wave, wife of Manpower, mother to Laserdream and Shielder, sister of Brandish. Known to most as ‘Photon Mom’, to her annoyance. Has the powers of flight, the ability to create a personal forcefield bubble, with various lesser applications, and ‘hard light’ blasts from her hands. Wore a white bodysuit with a starburst motif in an indigo-purple gradient, complete with a tiara.

  Manpower, Neil Pelham (Deceased) - Lady Photon’s husband. Had an electromagnetic augmentation allowing for superstrength and durability. Wore a white and yellow costume with a lightning bolt motif, but perished in the Endbringer arc.

  Laserdream – Eldest child of Lady Photon and Manpower. Has the same powers as her mother, with less facility with forcefields and stronger flight/laser blasts. Wore a white bodysuit with a comet motif in a gradient of ruby red and magenta, with a red hairband and a coquettish sweep of blond hair over one side of her face.

  Shielder (Deceased) - Youngest child of Lady Photon and Manpower. The inverse of his sister, was a very strong forcefield user, with little to no flight and weak laser blasts. Wore a white costume with a blue shield motif, with blue dyed hair. Slain by Leviathan.

  Flashbang, Mark Dallon - Husband to Brandish, father to Glory Girl and Panacea. Could create bouncing light orbs that detonated with concussive or explosive force. Suffered long term head injuries in the Endbringer arc, but was cured by his daughter. Wears a white costume with a green-yellow icon of an exploding grenade, complete with padding and a helmet.

  Brandish, Carol Dallon - Flashbang’s wife. Civilian identity is that of a high profile lawyer. Has the ability to create weapons and martial shields out of hard light, and can condense herself into a bouncing sphere of hard light, being effectively invincible and untouchable at the cost of all mobility. Wears a costume of white and orange with a crossed-blade symbol.

  Glory Girl, Victoria Dallon (Incarcerated; Asylum) - Possessed of flight, invincibility, and capable of deadlifting over a ton. She radiates an energy that makes her allies more inclined to like, respect and look up to her, while making her terrifying and intimidating to her enemies. Following the conclusion of the Slaughterhouse Nine arc, Glory Girl was altered by her sister, in both mind and body, and was placed in an asylum for parahumans, where she currently remains.

  Panacea, Amy Dallon (Incarcerated; Birdcage) - An adopted member of the family, the daughter of Marquis. She is possessed of complete control over the biology of those she touches, a fact that has led to her incarceration in the Birdcage, where she’s reunited with her father and is coming to terms with what she did. Panacea has freckles and frizzy brown hair, and at least one tattoo, to commemorate her sister.

  Haven

  A Christian superteam popular in the southern states, recently sent three members to Brockton Bay to pursue the Fallen (see below). Few details have been provided, to date.Halo – Leader. Controls a 5-foot diameter ring that generates forcefields and produces lasers.

  Rosary – Member. A young woman in a pink robe with gold leaf decoration. Can break nonliving material down into fragments, control those leaf-like fragments and reconstitute them into the objects or parts of the object.

  The PRT

  If the Protectorate and Wards are the heroes, the PRT are the unpowered individuals who make that all possible. Their role in things ranges from supporting the heroes with strike teams equipped with special gear to administrators, therapists and public relations.

  Emily Piggot – Onetime director of Brockton Bay’s PRT, spoken of as ‘Piggy’ or ‘Ms. Piggy’ to the junior heroes. Rather obese and unable to exercise vigorously after an old injury, Piggot has take on a more tertiary role in the organization. Not fond of capes, ironically.

  Tagg – Current director of Brockton Bay’s PRT. Ex-military.

  Jessica Yamada – A therapist for junior heroes in the New York, Boston and Brockton Bay areas. Travels for work and stays in hotels in off days, but lives in Boston otherwise.

  Supervillain Teams

  Recent events have driven out more established villain teams. Others have attempted to fill the void, bartering or contesting with the Undersiders for territory.

  The Ambassadors

  Led by Accord, the Ambassadors hail from a smaller territory in Boston. Sporting tailored formalwear and ornate masks with brooches and pins rather than spandex and emblems, the Ambassadors are described a team of heavy hitters that even the Travelers weren’t keen on butting heads with. Led by a Thinker to organize them, they’re something of an elite force. After some losses at the hands of the Slaughterhouse Nine in Boston, they’ve come to Brockton Bay in hopes of joining the Undersider’s alliance.

  Accord – A thinker who is suspected to have intelligence that scales proportionately with the size and complexity of a problem, is a masterful counterattaker fond of elaborate traps, a skilled designer and a cunning policitican. Driven to find order by the rigors of his power, he is ruthless and unyielding when confronting any rulebreakers or anyone who might cause chaos and disorder. A onetime associate of Coil. Accord is short in stature – barely over five feet in height, and wears a neat white suit and a compli
cated mask of overlapping threads of metal that mimics his facial expressions.

  Citrine - One of Accord’s ambassadors, Citrine wears a yellow evening gown with gemstones on her mask and earrings – her namesake.

  Othello – Another of Accord’s ambassadors, Othello wears a black suit and a mask divided between Alabaster and Jet. He is described as having ‘an imaginary friend’ in terms of his power, with no details beyond that.

  The Teeth

  Once a gang in Brockton Bay, they were nearly wiped out by the Slaughterhouse Nine. They re-established themselves as cells in New York and Boston, and have since rebuilt, though turnover has proved high enough that no original members remain – only the name survives. Savage, reckless, willing to do anything for a profit, they aim to oust the Undersiders and use violence to carve out a territory.

  Butcher XIV, Quarrel – The fourteenth in her line, Butcher was once Quarrel, before challenging the leader. Since the original Butcher was killed by a subordinate, both the accrued powers (only a fraction) and consciousnesses of the previous Butchers have been passed on to the one who kills them, the combined voices driving the subject mad if they do not follow the proper procedure of challenging the leader. As such, Quarrel gained a share of thirteen sets of powers on top of her own – the ability to make any attack strike its target, provided they are in range. Is a tall Asian woman with a costume described as stylized samurai armor, festooned with barbed blades, and a string of skulls at one shoulder. Uses enhanced strength to carry a gatling gun that would normally require a turret mount.

  The Fallen

  Based in Southern states, the Fallen are a gang of alleged Endbringer-worshippers, though many surmise this is simply a way of garnering attention. Most members tend toward vandalism and petty theft, with only the more prominent, higher-up members actually committing murder or trying higher-end crimes. Allegedly commit incest to better their chances at giving birth to more capes.

  Valefor - Styled his costume after the Simurgh, to provoke the residents of Brockton Bay who recently suffered a great deal in the aftermath of an Endbringer attack, with mask of a woman’s face, black tattoos around his lips and a white costume with a corset and feathers. Is described as having a dangerous gaze relating to his stranger power.

  Eligos – As Valefor did, altered his costume to style himself after Behemoth. A wind manipulator that creates shearing blades of wind that grow as they travel and can boomerang back to him.

  The Pure

  One of two groups that entered play when Empire Eighty-Eight dissolved. Led by Purity, second hand to Kaiser, the Empire’s previous leader. The Pure maintain, or even exaggerate Kaiser’s ‘civilized’ approach. The Pure remain vehement racists and are exceedingly dangerous to those who stand in their way, and have recently left Brockton Bay.

  Purity, Kayden Anders – Leader of the Pure, was Kaiser’s enforcer and right hand man. She is also Kaiser’s ex-wife, single mother to Aster, the child she had with Kaiser, and is in the process of adopting Theo, Kaiser’s son by another woman. Purity falls into the category of ‘flying artillery’, with the ability to create kinetically charged light to move through the air at high speeds while generating light blasts that can level buildings. Formed and took command of the Pure. A mousy woman in her civilian persona, Purity wears a white bodysuit that glows softly with light when her powers are in effect, and has hair and eyes that glow to a blinding degree, giving her a great deal of presence.

  Night, Dorothy Schmidt – Can transform into an inhuman creature with enhanced speed and strength and a nigh-invincible exterior, but only when unobserved by conventional sight. Heals entirely on transformation. Fog’s wife and Purity’s staunch follower. Night wears a black costume with a hood and an array of tools that allow her to blind an enemy, from a cloak embedded with hooks to snare to flashbangs and smoke grenades. Has a liking for high heels, a parallel to the insectile limbs she walks on in her other form.

  Fog, Geoff Schmidt - Has the ability to partially or wholly become a living mist, with solidity varying depending on his wishes and the ability to erode living matter. Can deliver horrific internal damage should a subject inhale the mist that comprises his other form. Night’s husband and Purity’s follower. Wears a costume similar to Night’s, albeit without the accouterments, all in gray.

  Crusader, Justin – Can create ghostly replicas of himself that can float and can pass through body armor and walls. These replicas can lift him into the air, giving him a limited form of flight.

  Theo Anders – Kaiser’s son, last seen in Purity’s custody.

  Fenrir’s Chosen

  Founded by Hookwolf after Kaiser’s passing, Fenrir’s Chosen (The Chosen for short) are comprised of the more violent, hostile and aggressive wing of the old Empire Eighty-Eight. Their squads are seizing supplies that the local authorities are attempting to distribute to those who have remained in Brockton Bay following the Endbringer event.

  Menja - Current leader of the group. Menja lost her twin sister in the Endbringer attack, and now uses Fenja’s shield to complement her own favored spear. Menja has the ability to grow to great heights while simultaneously reducing the severity of incoming damage by a proportionate amount. Menja is a tall blonde who styles herself after a norse valkyrie, with ornate armor marked with wings, covering about as much skin as it reveals.

  Stormtiger – A contestant in the same underground fighting tournaments as Hookwolf, Stormtiger has aerokinesis, the ability to manipulate the air around him. He has two known special techniques: the ability to compress air into claw shaped forms around his hands and detonate it explosively, and the ability to use his aerokinesis to carry scents to his nose, giving him the ability to sniff out opponents. Goes shirtless, with loose fitting pants and chains, and a white tiger mask.

  Cricket – Like Stormtiger, she was a onetime combatant in the underground fighting tournaments. Cricket is a young woman with vastly accelerated reflexes and the ability to generate and hear subsonic noises. She can use these noises to disorient and induce vertigo in her foes or use staccato blasts as a form of radar. She favors kama as a weapon – short scythes that can each be held in one hand. Covered in small scars, she wears a metal cage over her face and keeps her hair short.

  Rune - The youngest member of Empire Eighty-Eight at present, a teenage girl, Rune can touch an object to attune to it, after which point she has the ability to telekinetically manipulate it. These objects can weigh several tons each. Rune wears a robe in black and red.

  Othala – Can grant powers with a touch, drawing them from a limited, rather basic subset, including enhanced speed, strength, invincibility and flight. Othala wears a red bodysuit with a rune at the chest.

  Victor – Has the ability to steal learned skills and talents through proximity to others. Victor retains these talents indefinitely, while his victims may recover some of what was lost over weeks, months or years. An exceedingly accomplished martial artist, orator, singer, musician, dancer, fencer, gunman, sniper, pilot, driver, chess player, go player and computer hacker, among other things. Victor wears a black-painted breastplate with a v-neck, a blood red shirt and black slacks. Since his identity was revealed, he’s decided not to wear a mask.

  Hookwolf (Left Group) - See his entry in the Slaughterhouse Nine, below.

  Slaughterhouse Nine

  The result of amoral monsters getting powers and banding together. The Slaughterhouse Nine roam from city to city in North America, commiting sensationalist and depraved acts of violence on anyone who gets in their way. The exact capabilities of the group are unknown as group turnover tends to be high and they tend to leave too much carnage and little in the way of evidence or records in their wake.

  Jack Slash – Leader. The man who will set the end of the world in motion, according to Dinah Alcott. Has the ability to extend the effective cutting edge of held knives and blades to horrendous distance, while maintaining consistent cutting power. Using this ability, he can cut through crowds or slice an
enemy’s throat at any range. A capable reader of people and manager of sociopaths and other monsters, Jack Slash has managed to maintain command of the group for some time, despite a somewhat underwhelming power. He dresses rather casually and maintains a trimmed beard, and wears a belt with various knives.

  Bonesaw – If Jack Slash is the leader, the child Bonesaw is the figurehead of the group. A medical tinker, her power allows her to work with biology and the physical form, creating hybrid capes, performing plastic surgery in minutes, reviving the recently dead, transplanting limbs and creating virulent plagues and diseases. She has outfitted much of the group with safeguards and protection, including sheaths to protect vital organs, a ‘pain switch’ to allow them to ignore pain and more. Bonesaw is a cheerful young girl (no older than fourteen) with tight blonde curls, wearing no regular costume but a durable apron filled with surgical implements and pre-prepared vials.

  Hookwolf - A onetime contestant in underground Parahuman fighting tournaments, he found his way into Empire Eighty Eight after murdering a stadium manager, then formed a splinter group after Kaiser’s death. His journey has led him to the Slaughterhouse Nine. A ‘caniform metalstorm’, Hookwolf is a powerful shapeshifter with the ability to replace parts of his body with shapes comprised of blades, hooks and needle points, all violently shuffling amongst one another. His favored form is a quadruped ‘wolf’, thus his name.

  Crawler (Turned to Glass) - An inhuman monster, Crawler is arguably the ‘brute’ of the group. A regenerator, Crawler becomes permanently stronger every time he heals, often gaining non-human attributes/augmentations in the healed tissue. He eventually became a massive creature, six legged with acid spit, tentacles and eyeballs dotting his armor plated body. Turned to glass by a bombing run utilizing some of Bakuda’s weaponry.

  Mannequin, Alan Gramme (Turned to Glass) – Once known as Sphere, a tinker working on sustainable energy and living spaces in hostile environments, including ocean-borne cities and a moon base. Was attacked by the Simurgh, saw his wife and child die, and snapped. Butchered himself and sealed the parts in an impervious, doll-like shell, with ball joints and chains separating the sections and a loadout of various retracting blades, gases and guns. Turned to glass by a bombing run utilizing some of Bakuda’s weaponry.