by C. C. Ekeke
Spencer Michelman: Spencer Yael Alvorada Michelman is a student at Paso Robles High and the same years as Hugo Malalou. She was a member of the Sensational Six faction, which included Briseis El-Sade, J-Tom, Jordana Buchanan, Lia Kim and Natalie Rodriquez. Of all of those girls, Spencer is the cruelest and most arrogant. Always dressed in designer preppy attire with a provocative edge, Spencer is not afraid to show off her family’s wealth. Spencer also relishes in being the villain, dressing down those she considers beneath her just because she can. One of Spencer’s key roles in the Sensational Six was the dirty work and scheming to take down the group or specifically Brie’s enemies while Brie remained clean. In that regard, Spencer usually came up with the big schemes while Lia and Natalie handled the small steps of those schemes.
Spencer is known to be a bully, and her behavior has rubbed off on some of her other friends, especially Brie. More often than not, she enjoyed insulting Hugo Malalou over his pathetic overtures toward Brie, who also rejected him. Spencer is known to indulge in casual sex with student athletes, always one-night stands. But Spencer is also bisexual, yet ashamed of liking girls. However, she began a secret relationship with close friend Jen Thomas. Still, Spencer refuses to go public with that and continues to sleep with jocks on the side.
Sometime between Monsters Among Men and Generation Next, she and J-Tom briefly broke up, and she began a relationship with a former target of her bullying, Hugo Malalou.
Starchylde: Osaq‘an’druu, aka Starchylde, is a member of the current Extreme Teens roster. She is blessed with flight, superstrength, and energy powers and claims to be an alien. Starchylde’s emerald mane is constantly churning like a smoke cloud. Fans accepted the bizarre façade, knowing Starchylde was a human cosplaying as a fictional alien.
Stars & Stripes: A defunct team of overly patriotic superheroes draped in American flag-styled costumes, one of the first major corporate-sponsored teams. One of its notable members was American Maiden. They operated in the 90s before disbanding in later 2002.
Steinholt: Steinholt is a teen superhero drama loosely based off both Steinholt Superhero Academy and Crownwood Hero Academy. Its now in Season 7.
Sunrider – Sunrider, Bethany Sabins, is the newest member of the Extreme Teens, blessed with the ability to create light-based constructs like her light-based surfboard on which she can travel. Sabins competed in a nationally televised contest for a vacant spot on the Extreme Teams. Once she won, Sabins went on a national mall tour. She also replaced Missy Magnificent as the lead actress in the popular Unbreakable Girl movie franchise.
Superhuman: A superhuman or super is someone either born with superpowers or genetically altered to wield powers beyond that of a normal human. Examples of a super includes someone who possesses superstrength, a bestial mutation or a power of the -kinetic variety (telekinetic, electrokinetic, cryokinetic, etc.). Many superhumans like Presley Lau have harmless or at times useless powers. A smaller percentage like Lord Borealis or Hugo Malalou have combat-ready abilities.
Supernatural: Encompasses supposed phenomena or entities that exceed what is possible within the boundaries of the laws of physics. Types of supernatural beings and magical animals are seen in Norse mythology, Greek and Roman mythology, Asian folklore, Native American folklore, and other traditions. This includes witches, vampires, werewolves, wereshifters, shapeshifters, fae, ghosts, demons, wendigos, Nephilim, angels, and many other beings. The supernatural community makes a huge effort to remain hidden from the outside world, and the Catholic Church employs enforcers called Shepherds to keep it that way if the witch coven in that area fails to do so.
Tania Navarro: Tania works as an Ad Sales Manager at SLOCO Daily in its profitable Ad Sales department. Like most people who work in Ad Sales, she comes off as snobby and entitled, believing herself to be above other SLOCO Daily employees by virtue of her position. Tania is known to suck up to important people within the company, like she did with Quinn Bauer. Aside from making sales pitches to prospective clients, she fetches candy for Packer during meetings and at times will sleep with him.
Taylor von Stratton: Taylor is a student at Paso Robles High on the Bearcats’ Songs Cheerleaders team. She is the same school year as Hugo Malalou and Simon Han. She showed a romantic interest in Hugo early in their sophomore year and befriended him. She is frenemies and rivals with Zoey Mendes, another member of the Songs team. Taylor’s parents come from money, owning at least two or three successful vineyards in Cambria. She and Hugo start hooking up around second semester of their sophomore year. Taylor is genuinely kind and well-liked around school, but is not great at keeping secrets.
Thin Shady: Thin Shady was a young superhuman who could stretch his limbs to extraordinary lengths. He was part of a group of young adults/teenagers who worked as fixers for hire. The group had been in operation for almost two years before Presley had met Hugo Malalou. Sometime before Age of Heroes, Vargas, Presley, and their friends had been hired by Morningstar to assist in the framing of Lord Borealis for Titan’s death. He had a friendly, fun-loving personality and got along with Hugo at first. He, along with everyone in his crew besides Presley, got slaughtered by Dynamo when the suit was under Morningstar’s control.
Titan: Known as the Almighty, Big T or the Central Coast Saint, Titan is considered by many as the greatest superhero of all time, even though he was far from the first. His feats and battles have become legendary since he first arrived on the scene in 1991. Titan had the biggest impact on the perception and mass acceptance of superheroes around the world. Born as Amaqjuaq to the Iñupiat tribe in Alaska, he lived a simple life of his people, married young, and had two sons before a defiant Soviet bloc fired off a nuclear bomb at America. The missile struck a northern area where Titan’s tribe was, wiping out everyone in the vicinity. Yet not only did Titan somehow survive, but he gained superpowers as a result. Stricken by grief, Titan flew after the trail of the nuclear bomb and obliterated the military base in Siberia, which had fired upon his home. From there, the US government stepped in, not only training him to use his powers more safely but educating him on the ways of the world as he was around nineteen and had no concept of a world outside of his tribe and Alaska. He was blessed with vast superstrength, superspeed, nigh-invulnerability, enhanced senses, flight, and gamma energy blasts from his fingers.
1992 – 1996 is when Titan’s popularity truly soared, becoming a cultural icon as big as Michael Jordan. Titan also had a growing rogues’ gallery like Lord Borealis, Roman Dragunov, the Lethal Alliance, the alien Vilgamites, and others. During this time, he finally accepted the loss of his family and tribe, allowing himself to fall for a young beautiful reporter named Rebecca Reyes around the mid-1990s. However, it was revealed that she sold out their relationship for a book deal and better network gigs. In late 1995, Titan was one of the first recruits to reboot the Vanguard, which had fallen into irrelevancy. He, Lady Liberty, Sentinel, and others formed the most popular era of the national superhero team everyone called the Sensational Seven. During this time, he had a long-term relationship with Lady Liberty, his peer and teammate. However, due to his past demons and infidelity, that relationship ended in the mid-2000s.
Titan still went on solo missions and faced supervillains alone, but made time for the Vanguard when needed. Aside from his remarkable powers, Titan was known for his kindness, generous nature, and willingness to forgive. This became ever so apparent when he vouched for Lord Borealis’s release after a five-year prison sentence. He also formed a close friendship with the once-ostracized vigilante Geist when most superheroes frowned on his grim and brutal tactics to combat street-level crime in San Miguel. His failures always weighed heavily on Titan, which included the breakdown in his relationship with Lady Liberty and the Chicago Massacre fight against a brainwashed Paragon where tens of thousands died. However, few knew of Titan’s dark side, which came from the overwhelming pressure to be perfect and a role model at all times. This resulted in Titan seeking the pleasure of multiple p
artners even when in a relationship, and using his considerable clout to get his way. That toxic behavior ultimately drove Morningstar, an ex-lover, to murder him.
Tom Fitzpatrick: Tom was one of Greyson’s Hirsch’s teammates on the defunct Heroes Anonymous team and a fellow patient of Hurricane. Tom has the power of teleportation but couldn’t properly control it until he came under Dr. St. Pierre’s therapy sessions. He was charismatic yet overly eager to please. Tom really enjoyed being a hero and helping others. After the team disbanded, he wanted to continue operating as a superhero, but this got him arrested and taken into custody by the OSA.
Tomorrow Man: Tomorrow Man is a corporate-sponsored superhero who operates in San Miguel. He went through various gimmick/alias repackagings before settling on becoming Titan’s heir-apparent. Tomorrow Man has the right powerset and look to be the next Titan, but he comes off as arrogant, self-absorbed, inauthentic, and obnoxious. Despite all his publicity stunts (i.e. pulling a cargo ship up the coast of California) and interviews, most people just don’t care about Tomorrow Man.
Tsunami: Margarita Castro aka Tsunami was a member of the Vanguard during its Sensational Seven era between 1996 and 2005. Tsunami started of her life as a pageant queen in Mexico before her powers manifested. She worked for the Mexican government before getting recruited for the Vanguard in late 1995. Tsunami quickly became one of the Vanguard’s most popular members mainly because of her sex appeal and looks, her various posters gracing many teen boys’ walls. She was close friends with Severine and Whiz Kid (whom she dated for a time while on the team). Tsunami was never close friends with Lady Liberty, but they were professional and worked well together. While it was rumored that she had a brief affair with Titan, neither confirmed nor denied the report. Tsunami, Severine, and Lady Liberty were all offered a Playboy cover. While Tsunami accepted the opportunity, Lady Liberty convinced Severine to back out due to the negative exposure. Tsunami did the cover anyway in 2005 and her issue became one of the best-selling Playboys of all time. However, she was summarily fired from the Vanguard due to doing the magazine.
This was the beginning of the end for the Sensational Seven roster. Tsunami officially retired in 2006, marrying a billionaire and having four kids. Tsunami does occasional conventions and autograph signings to keep herself semi-relevant and to keep getting those Vanguard royalty checks.
U2: Yes, that U2. Some of their stage costumes are made by Lady Liberty’s AOPGS shop. While U2 is one of the biggest and most successful rock acts in the world, they are also demon and ghost hunters, with many of their song lyrics coming from their adventures over the years.
The Vanguard: The Vanguard was founded over three decades in the late 1980s by Dr. Stormfire, Skydancer, Leviathan, and Sergeant Victory. They were started as a response to America not having an official national team, even though the Vanguard is based out of California. Although there were other superhero teams like Triumvirate, the Vanguard set the archetype of for superhero teams to come. The roster has changed and shifted several times since its inception, which included the famous Sensational Seven Era, which included the likes of Titan, Lady Liberty, and Sentinel. Regardless, the team remaining committed to their mission: stay ready, protect lives, and stop bad guys. They are currently the most popular superhero team in the world and spawned a huge money-making franchise that includes endorsement deals, movie series, book deals, televisions adaptations, toys, clothing, comic books, and video games. Past members have included American Maiden of Stars & Stripes and Trailblazer (aka President Khan). Most importantly, Vanguard at times acted as an international team, working with foreign countries when natural disasters struck, donating time to charities and helping them with threats that went beyond their own borders.
Vargas: Guillermo Vargas was a sixteen-year-old superhuman type shapeshifter who could change into a giant wolf-like form at will. He was part of a group of young adults/teenagers who worked as fixers for hire. He used to be an enforcer for Los Leos Locos or Triple L gang. The group had been in operation for almost two years, with Vargas joining the group a year before the events in Age of Heroes. Vargas at one point used to date Presley Lau, but the two broke up and remained friends and co-workers. Sometime before Age of Heroes, Vargas, Presley, and their friends had been hired by Morningstar to assist in the framing of Lord Borealis for Titan’s death. He never trusted Hugo, both out of jealousy and being wary toward outsiders. He, along with everyone in his crew besides Presley, got slaughtered by Dynamo when the suit was under Morningstar’s control.
Vendetta: Vendetta is a member of the current Extreme teens roster. Her real name remains unknown, either by choice or OWE’s desire to bolster her femme fatale mystique. She isn’t on social media. She’s bald, her body covered in a dark copper sheen, her eyes dark and pupil-less. Vendetta can shape and stretch her fingers into razor-sharp claws.
Vincent Van Violence: Vincent Van Violence aka V3 is an infamous thug and bruiser with a murderous streak. At over six-foot-eight and known for his vicious punches, V3 is one of the toughest and strongest opponents Aegis has faced in his early career.
Vulcan: Vulcan is a current member of the Vanguard who claims to be the reincarnated son of Zeus. He possesses vast powers that would fit his claim: superstrength, high durability, control over volcanic and seismic activity, limited control over certain creations of his. Vulcan made his first appearance in 2012 during an attempted invasion by a conqueror claiming to be Ares the God of War. With help from the Vanguard, Vulcan defeated this threat. He teamed with the Vanguard a few years before joining the team in 2015.
The Warguard: The Warguard is the reserve/training squad for superheroes hoping to make it into the Vanguard one day. Morningstar was a member of this team when she got recruited, as were Johnny Truelove and Polymer.
Warmonger: Warmonger is a thug and henchman who works for the highest bidder. He is a cyborg armed with the latest high-tech weaponry and armor. He encountered Hugo in Generation Next when trying to steal Dynamo tech from one of Ramon Dempsey’s many storehouses.
Wyldcat: Danneel Wyndham-Wallace is a British superhero of English and Indian descent with feline superpowers of enhanced strength, speed, senses, agility, and stamina with razor-sharp claws elongating from her fingers. She operated out of the UK between most of the 2010 until she got recruited by the Vanguard in 2016 as part of their drive to include more international members. She had a volatile on-and-off relationship with Titan until the latter’s demise in Age of Heroes. Wyldcat has used alcohol and narcotics to numb her pain after the truth about Titan’s killer was revealed.
Whiz Kid: Whiz Kid aka Anton Zubarev is a retired hero and former member of the Vanguard during the Sensational Seven era. He was one of the fastest speedsters who ever lived. Whiz Kid left the Vanguard in 2007 to go solo. But after losses to Blur in two consecutive speed races, Whiz Kid finally retired.
Zelda Ortiz: Zelda is the daughter of Betty Ortiz aka Lady Liberty. She lives with her mother in the same neighborhood and street as Hugo Malalou and his family. At first, she comes off as sullen and standoffish. But when she opens up, she is sweet and loyal. Zelda knows of Hugo’s secret and offers her blunt but honest advice.
LOCATIONS and ORGANIZATIONS
Almeida Bay: This is the new bay/peninsula created during the 1987 SLO County earthquake. After some construction and reinforcement, Almeida Bay was born. Once the city of El Marquez was established, the peninsula became a haven and shopping mecca for San Miguel’s uber wealthy.
Almeida Bay Register: This more local paper is published out of El Marquez, located on Almeida Bay. It’s more local in its news coverage, focusing on the Central Coast, including Santa Maria and Santa Barbara County.
Apple Farm: Once a single restaurant, Apple Farm blossomed into a chain of comfort food diners all around SLO County and Santa Barbara County. When people want to eat at Apple Farm, they will say, “Let’s Apple Farm it.” Apple Farm is one of Hugo’s favorite places to eat.
Arroyo Gr
ande, California: Arroyo Grande is the second largest suburb in San Miguel, thanks in part to absorbing the cities of Pismo Beach, Shell Beach, Grover Beach, and Oceano. The city of Halcyon remained independent but became a suburb of Arroyo Grande. After Quinn was rehired by SLOCO Daily and given a substantial raise, she purchased a condo in the Arroyo Grande area. This city is also the location of the Five Cities Promenade mall and Arroyo Grande High School.
Atascadero, California: The third largest suburb in San Miguel and has the largest population of supers per capita in San Miguel. Its high school, Atascadero High, is a sports rival of Paso High students, who call them “A-trash-cadero.”
Avila Beach, California: A prominent coastal suburb of San Miguel. Avila has two piers, the Avila Beach Pier and Port San Luis Pier. Avila also houses the Port of San Miguel, the largest shipping port in the Central Coast.
Avngr: a mobile app that can track social media posts of a superhero and pinpoints their location.
Baywood Park: This is a clothing line made of recyclable goods that originated out of SLO County. After gaining traction throughout the West coast and Southwest, Baywood Park is building popularity in the Northeast US.
Baywood-Los Osos, California: This is another seaside suburb of San Miguel just south of Morro Bay. The city is surrounded by state parks, state reserves, and wild life refuges. It’s also a location for the Salto Institute Research station.
Beach Bum Burger: Beach Bum Burger is a popular chain of fast-food restaurants located mainly in SLO County, Santa Barbara, and Ventura County. Locations are starting to open up in LA and San Francisco counties. This is Hugo’s and Simon’s favorite burger joint to eat at.
Carmelo’s Italian Cuisine: A five-star Italian restaurant in Pablo Robles. Quinn does a review of the restaurant after it opens. Spencer and her family are regulars at Carmelo’s.
