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The Big Villains Thread

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TakeWalker
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Check out Dexter Douglas
Nerd computer ace
Went surfing on the Internet
And got zapped to cyberspace!

:)

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Villain of the Day:  May 6 (Cyclona)

Meteorologist Connie Van Buren just couldn't take it anymore.  

A long-standing weather expert for Megalopolis' WKXB news ("Know More!  Watch Channel 4!"), Connie watched her doctorate going to waste. She had spent years studying the cyclonic energy of tornadoes and microbursts, only to be trotted out like some airheaded bimbo night after night.  When the WKXB station manager suggested wearing something a little more revealing--"you know, just to up the 11pm ratings"--she smashed the side of his head with a nearby boom mike and started stomping on his head, giving him a concussion and two major skull fractures.

While placed on "administrative leave" by her network, Connie dusted off an old project that she had tinkered with during her post-graduate work.  One of her mentors--Dr. Yukio Takeshi of the University of Oklahoma--had long posited that reverse cyclonic energy could be used to dissipate tornadoes and the like, even as they started.  By providing a retrograde force to the funnel itself, the differences in air pressure would equalize, destroying the tornado.

Connie, however, had other ideas.  And, with a little outside investment and manpower from a contact at Haephestus Labs, she now had the equipment she needed.

Connie's first appearance as Cyclona came at a WKXB "Jam the Bus!" back-to-school event.  Nearly every ancho for WKXB was there, covering the annual donation event, as patrons brought school supplies for needy students at the start of the academic year.  Cyclona burst onto the scene in a blue-and-grey costume and her new cyclonic gauntlets, lifted the bus with ease, and smashed it down onto the WKXB news van.  Evening anchor Jim Reynolds was sent hurtling into the side of the nearby Broadmoor Elementary School, while Connie's replacement, Ariel Mackenzie, was found flung four blocks away, splattered against a support pillar for the Megalopolis Monorail.

Since that day, Cyclona has made several appearances, often raiding high-tech meteorological firms for new equipment or to simply wreak havoc on her former employers.  What she does with this equipment is yet unknown, though some have posited that cyclonic gauntlets will soon be paired with something even deadlier.

TakeWalker
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I like how we're back to seriously classic comic book villains now. :D

PlatinumWarlock
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TakeWalker wrote:

I like how we're back to seriously classic comic book villains now. :D

Great comics pull villains of all genres.  
But yeah, after March dealt with more magic/arcane/horror threats and April was spent traversing the cosmos, it's nice to be back on Earth for a while. :D

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Villain of the Day:  May 7  (Shiver)

When Shiver first arrived on the superheroic scene, he barely made any waves.  He killed no hostages, vanquished no heroes, and succeeded on no major heists.  Much of his work has come in service to other villains, often serving as hired muscle or as a metahuman 'specialist', designed to keep metahuman heroes busy while his compatriots perform the actual heist.  He's been caught no less than 4 times, his true identity as Jerry Kobler revealed for all to know.

What the real question is, though...how did Jerry Kobler get hold of the original Absolute Zero's cold gun designs?

Henry Goodman's original designs for the Negathermo Projector Carbine have been classified as state secrets since World War II.  While many of the scientific records that came from Goodman's laboratory have been redacted and released via the Freedom of Information Act, the design specificiations of the Negathermo device (as well as any number of other device replicating a metahuman ability) have been kept from the public eye, particularly after the use of such devices on a military scale has been declared a war crime, per the Geneva Conventions.

Every time that Shiver has been apprehended, his Negathermo device has been confiscated by government authorities.  However, each time he is freed, Shiver reappears with yet another Negathermo device.  He has been interrogated numerous times by police, the FBI, and numerous other governmental bodies, though none have been able to get the truth from him.  In fact, Jerry has been known to send these investigators on seeming wild-goose chases, looking for non-existent TALOS bunkers in the American Southwest, chasing face-changing foreign spies across Germany, or launching full (and spectacularly unpopular) investigations into Marklund Industries.  No one has ever managed to get the truth from him.

Further, with such secrets at his disposal, some have begun to question as to why Shiver hasnt' moved on to any larger aims.  Jerry seems quite content to serve as a powered enforcer for other criminals, rather than branching out onto schemes of his own.  And, for that matter, what other schematics does Shiver have access to?  

TakeWalker
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That's fascinating. o.o What could he know?

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The Omni-Collector

When the first iteration of Omnitron was destroyed on the Wagner mars base, groups such as the Freedom Five, Revocorp, and the Wagner scientists all made attempts to recover as much of what was left as they could for research purposes. So, because no one could see all of the parts together, no one ever noticed that a few of those bigger pieces were never recovered, nor were they still on Mars.

At the destruction of Omnition-II, the Freedom Five didn't take any chances, so they made sure to collect and dispose of every single piece they could find. During this, Legacy thought he some something move out of the corner of his eye, and responded by doing a quick search of the area. After not finding anything, and because his danger sense never went off, he just shrugged it off and went back to work, not realizing that the big pile of Cosmic Omnitron parts was now slightly smaller.

After the Vengeance event, the broken and defeated Omni-Blade was left behind in an industrial area. When their programming assimilated into the nearby factory, a new threat had emerged. The heroes were so preoccupied with this latest version of Omnitron that no one stopped to wonder where the Omni-Blade body had gone.

The first clue that something was up was noticed by Unity. When she returned to the factory to gather the pieces of Omnitron-X, she was certain she could rebuild all of them, but no matter how hard she looked, even well past where the pieces could have reasonably flown off to, she just couldn't find all of it, and had no choice but to replace some parts with her usual flair. Of course, even still, no one would have noticed that parts of the building's Partial Omni-Drone were missing as well.

Surprisingly, Omnitron-U made it through the entire OblivAeon event without once getting destroyed and having to rebuild themself. That's not to say they made it out without a scratch, but none of the damage was too serious, and it looked like they would remain Omnitron-U for the forseeable future.

That had to be fixed.

Omnitron never saw the attacker, not only were they still damaged from OblivAeon, but whoever it was seemed to know all of their blindspots. They disappeared as quickly as they came, but not without what they were after. Now much more severely damaged, and missing many of their pinker parts, Omnitron-U was forced to take time off to properly rebuild.

Someone, or something, has been collecting parts from every iteration of Omnitron. Nobody knows why they're doing this, or to what end. In fact, most still aren't aware of their existance. But they will soon, for the Omni-Collector is growing impatient, and now that the newest version of Omnitron is out and about, who knows how much time this one has before they, too, are added to the collection.

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Villain of the Day:  May 8 (TrikeStrike)

Jack Catheti knew that his invention would change the face of warfare forever.  That is, until his best shot at a major military conflict turned into the laughing stock of the arms industry.

Once a mechanical engineer with Blackstock-McCalley, Jack left his six-figure design job for the opportunity to act as a freelance consultant for the US Army under General Armstrong.  Jack's commission was simple:  come up with a battlefield-capable infantry vehicle capable of quick response and a suitable arms load out for active battlefield combat.  

For months, Jack slaved over the design.  A motorcycle was too imbalanced and required too much of the rider's focus.  A quad-ATV had too high of a center of gravity, leading to rollover in a number of environments.  A trike, however?  Optimized for stability and ease of piloting, a trike seemed the obvious solution.  Further, the larger chassis allowed for a greater weapons-loadout than a motorcycle, while avoiding the drawbacks of the quad-ATV.

Jack's job turned to obsession, which turned to mania.  He became fixated on turning the trike into the perfect weapon of war, adding carbon-fiber armor plating, retractible wheel spikes, pulsar cannons, an ionic mine dispenser, a sub-sonic afterburner, and other designs known only to himself.

The day of his presentation to the military brought butterflies to Jack's stomach.  As he waited for General Armstrong and the other military attaches to arrive, his breakfast twisted in his gullet.  A convoy of humvees pulled up to the test field, and the officials within almost immediately burst into laughter.  Catheti's life's work was nothing short of an absurd monstrosity, more suited to a Rube Goldberg contest than the modern battlefield.  As the officials approached, Jack could hear their stifled laughter and crass comments.

Jack saw red.  Clenching his jaw, he never even managed to say a word to the general.  He pushed his test pilot out of the driver's seat, revved the engine, and charged up the pulsar cannons.  Two of the humvees exploded in a shower of scrap metal and flames as Catheti's trike roared past the officials and off into the night.

Since then, TrikeStrike, as Jack has been calling himself, has waged a one-man war on the United States military.  The indignities he suffered could not stand; the world surely must recognize his greatness!  While out of his vehicle he might only be a mortal man, within his custom trike, he could make the nation tremble!

TakeWalker
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I like this guy, he's silly. :D

PlatinumWarlock
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See, I can do Silver age wacky, too! I'm not *always* Mr. Grim-and-Gritty...

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It turns out all those military officials were just remembering a funny joke as they pulled up...

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Villain of the Day:  May 9  (Cherenkov)

Alexis Garber knew what she signed up for.  She just wasn't prepared to turn it into a career path.

Once a human resources rep at the Davis-Besse Nuclear Power Plant, Alexis and her family were in dire straits.  Her husband had abandoned the family, leaving her to raise three school-age kids on her own.  Her youngest, Marie, suffered from a number of kidney-related issues, driving Alexis deep into debt.  She short-saled the family home, cramming the four of them into a two-bedroom apartment in a less-than-pleasant side of town.  While her job paid decently and provided them reasonable health insurance, it just wasn't enough to keep Alexis' head above water.

So, when a man in a suit knocked on her apartment door and offered her $50,000, Alexis wasn't about to ask questions.  All he wanted was her keycard.

Taking on overtime to make ends meet, it was pure chance that Alexis happened to be working that evening when the suited-man and a compatriot arrived, carrying a number of pieces of strange technical equipment.  Among their number was a burly, bald man with a surly countenance.  Alexis smiled to her contact as he sidled past, heading for Reactor Room 3.

Following at a distance, Alexis watched the suited man inject the burly one with a number of strange injections, before opening the main access door to the reactor itself.  Horrified, she watched as he dove into the submerged reactor, with nary a clean-suit or radiation dampner in sight!

He died, screaming.  The raw power emitted by the reactor coupled with the superheated water boiled him almost immediately.

Grimacing, the suited man turned to beat a hasty retreat, only to come face to face with Alexis.  "You're trying to make a superhuman," she said, "Try me."

The suited man cocked his head and looked her over.  Nodding slowly, he injected her with a glowing blue serum and instructed her, "Now...three minutes in the reactor core.  If the serum works, your body will absorb the ambient Cherenkov radiation, turning you into a dynamo of nuclear power..."

Alexis Garber emerged from that reactor chamber with a power she had never imagined.  Glowing with a soft blue light, she swiftly found that she could project beams of searing radiation, radiate a force field of heat and energy, and survive in even the harshest of conditions.

Despite it all, she kept her job.  "Had to keep a cover, right?" she thought.  Her kids are none the wiser, though they certainly enjoy their more comfortable life, their video games, and their new house.  However, every so often, the suited man returns to her house with another bundle of money and a job to do.  A job that requires her new, unique talents...

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Villain of the Day:  May 10 (Wrong Number)

Allen Strahler had simply had enough. 

A long-time telemarketer who had worked his way up through the ranks at General Dynamic Insurance, Allen supervised an entire group of cold-call agents, offering great life insurance coverage for just pennies a day to literally thousands of individuals a day.  Unfortunately, as their direct supervisor, Allen was often on the receiving end of the cursing, the angry hang-ups, and the other abuse that tends to flow towards cold-callers.

After one such call, Allen snapped.  After verbally berating a would-be customer for over four minutes straight--all of which was recorded for customer service training--Allen simply could not take anymore.  He was placed on administrative leave, pending a lengthy meeting with human resources, who advocated that he use up some of his numerous vacation days.

Now, Allen had something of a hobby in his meanwhile.  An aficianado of ASMR videos and podcasts--"They help me sleep," Allen claimed--Allen had begun to experiment with these elements to induce low-grade trances and to relax.  However, he believed that he could turn these to a new purpose...

After meeting with HR, Allen was given his job back. This was his first offense, after all.  He returned to his team with a spring in his step and a smile on his face, eager to get back to calling the unsuspecting rubes of America.  And, little did either HR nor his co-workers know, but Allen had planted a new autorecording into the initial script of the General Dynamic background music...

Since the day of his outburst, Allen and his team have broken countless sales records for General Dynamic, bringing in thousands of new accounts and millions of dollars in revenue.  He's since been farmed out to various General Dynamic locations throughout the country, to share his secrets to other branches.  Each time, he brings in his ASMR script and brings a whole new team into the fold.  

As for what that trance-induced programming actually does, or what will happen when it is activated?  Those are secrets that only Allen knows.  Just make sure that you don't call the Wrong Number...

TakeWalker
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Amazing. :D That's truly outside the usual bounds of what constitutes a supervillain, and it's perfect!

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Villain of the Day:  May 11 (Strut)

Jenna McCannon loved running.  A track star through high school and college, Jenna always felt most at home in a pair of well-worn running shoes and her headphones blaring some empowering music.  

That came to an end when she was hit by a car.

While on her usual after-work run, Jenna legally crossed Wenger Avenue, only for a car to screech through the red light, slamming into her.  The driver of the car immediately called for an ambulance, but the damage was already done.  Her lower legs were shattered, the ligaments in her knees shredded.  Howling in pain on the asphalt, Jenna was sure that her life was over.

Waking up in a hospital room, post-surgery, Jenna was despondent.  Not only was she horrifically injured, but her ability to run--something so intrinsic to her identity--was stripped from her.  Her doctors informed her that she'd be bound to a wheelchair for the rest of her life.  She bit back, asking about the possibility of physical therapy, experimental surgery, and more.  Her doctor merely shook his head; the chance of success was simply too low to risk another procedure, and her recovery already mandated physical therapy.  Additional therapy would do little.

Still in shock and rage at her lot in life, Jenna was hardly in the mood to see any visitors, much less some jerk in a suit she didn't know.  However, that suited jerk made her an offer that she never would have expected.

Upon her release from the hospital, Jenna was taken to a strange facility where she underwent an even stranger procedure.  A number of cybernetic sockets were embedded in her leg joints, as well as a control chip at the base of her spine.  After recovering from the procedure, Jenna was provided with a mechanical framework that provided her the stability she needed to stand, to walk, and even to run.

What's more?  The framework made her better.  She could run faster than ever before, her senses matching her pace, thanks to the neural implant in her spine.  She knew real speed.  And, all the suited stranger asked in return was some assistance in a few odd jobs now and again.  She'd even have a costume, a kinetic flail to defend herself, the best of tools for infiltration, and even a team to work with...

Since that day, Jenna has learned the hard way that her framework is a temporary measure at best.  Its use is taxing on her nervous system, which requires a neuroregenerative serum which arrives in her mail every week.  Jenna does attempt to limit the amount of time she uses the framework, but every day she spends in her wheelchair is another day she yearns to hook up the framework and break free.  Another day where all she wants to do is Strut.  

TakeWalker
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Once again, we've got a shadowy figure setting things in motion... I'm all a-twitter. :D

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Villain of the Day:  May 12 (REDWYRM)

Alvin Thurlock probably would have stayed a white hat, if he knew how to set his damned alarm clock.

A cybersecurity expert with the TechSpace technology firm, Alvin spent his days developing countermeasures for computer viruses and testing online security for various firms.  Among the top 'white hat' hackers at TechSpace, Alvin's code was a thing of beauty and he was a pleasure to work with.  Al, as his coworkers called him, was the captain of the company's indoor volleyball team and his eggnog was renowned at the company's holiday party.

That said, he often had issues waking up on time.  His mortal nemesis--some pencil-pusher named Greg, over in human resources--seemed to make it his life's work to chart every minute of every day that Alvin was late to work or had to clock out early.  At his yearly review, Greg brought this to Alvin's (and Alvin's boss's) attention:  no less than 86 days at least 5 minutes late to work, another 46 days wherein Alvin left early.  Greg recommended Alvin for immediate dismissal.

Alvin was livid.  He stood up, his fists clenched, ready to smash Greg right across his stupid plastic-framed glasses.  Alvin's boss intervened between the two, taking Alvin outside.  He shook his head, "Al...this can't be right, can it?"  Within the hour, Alvin Thurlock had packed up his office, turned in his keycard, and was being escorted out by security.

Now, Alvin knew his talents.  He knew he'd have another job soon enough; there were enough tech firms out there who wouldn't mind a few minutes tardiness if it meant having a cogent firewall program.  But that meddler, Greg?  Alvin had something special for him.

The REDWYRM virus was something Alvin had been cooking up in his spare time, off and on, for nearly a decade.  Designed to be a "whaling" malware--designed to target those in the highest eschelons of the financial world--REDWYRM was no mere hardware corruption.  Rather, it was designed to rewrite both the computer's programming...and the user's synapses.  Even as REDWYRM stole confidential information, passwords, bank account numbers and more, it simultaneously left anone observing it (or attempting to actively de-fang the virus) in a drooling stupor, unable to do anything but watch the little red caterpillar devour all of their most sensitive information.

Unfortunately for Alvin, he was REDWYRM's second victim.  After sending the virus after HR Greg, Alvin attempted to copy the virus onto another drive, so that he could physically install it elsewhere and make some quick cash.  However, a mis-click on the wrong window left him collapsed in his computer chair for nearly 6 days.  Greg, however, didn't make it that long.  He died at his desk of dehydration...

Since that day REDWYRM has wormed its way through the web, but no manner of anti-virus, anti-malware, or skill in programming has managed to vanquish it.  And, in over 85% of cases, REDWYRM has led directly to the death of its end users.  Were someone to get their hands on the source code for such a virus, it may well become a lethal assassination tool in any villain's arsenal.

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Hey, gang.  I know that this thread is getting really long, so I decided to take on a fairly large undertaking:  I've put together every villain in this thread into a Google spreadsheet, so that individual villains are easier to find.  The villains are separated by my own creations (which are then sorted by month/theme) and those of others.  Within each sheet, you'll be able to see the exact post number as well as a one-sentence summary of what that villain's "schtick" is.

The link for the Villain of the Day Index is HERE.  I'm also adding it to the very first post!

TakeWalker
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Woot!

Also, that first sentence is a fantastic hook. :D

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Villain of the Day: May 13 (White Noise)

Erol Mackintosh is the sort of person most sane people wish would just shut up.

A white nationalist, Erol grew up in the deep South. His family were all members of his regions branch of the Klan and, when push came to shove, he often found himself working behind the scenes at various rallies, demonstrations, and revivals. A sound engineer by trade, Erol was used to hooking up speakers, testing amplifiers, and running wires for microphones. But, with all that under his belt, he wanted to do more.

Erol stated working on the Sonic Amplifier harness in his basement as a lark. Occasionally, at various get togethers where firearms were involved, he'd pull it out to show everyone what some White Noise could do, over and above the standard AR-15. More than once, state troopers came out to Erol's property when neighbours complained of the noise, but beyond a fine and a slap on the wrist, there was little they could do.

That was when Erol received a curious package. Inside was a copy of the schematics for his harness, as well as a strange electronic component, along with inductions as to where and how to install it. Upon doing so, Erol quickly found that his harness could do so much more! It could completely dampen or nullify vibrations, making the wearer completely silent. Or, it could focus sound into a single, laser like beam, capable of destruction far beyond what he was able to achieve without it.

At the bottom of the package was a note, written in a neat cursive hand: "Let 'em have it with both barrels...We will be back!"

TakeWalker
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This is actually the second white supremacist villain named White Noise I have ever seen. XD Thankfully, different power set.

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TakeWalker wrote:

This is actually the second white supremacist villain named White Noise I have ever seen. XD Thankfully, different power set.

Was the other one the guy from The Venture Brothers?  I remembered him about an hour after finishing my VotD write-up... :P

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Villain of the Day:  May 14 (Witch Hunter Helmut)

Helmut Schneider has no patience for so-called 'wizards'.  To date, he has never not found a logical, scientific explanation to any strange or unseemly phenomena.

A mechanical prodigy by day, Helmut comes from a long line of 'witch-hunters', dating back to the days of the Holy Roman Empire.  In those dark days, his progenitors were tasked by Louis III--known as Louis the Blind--to seek out those believed to be wizards, warlocks, witches, or other practictioners of the dark arts.  And, while his family has performed this task for nearly 1400 years (in various degrees of zealotry), Helmut himself decided to take on a new venue for this holy task.

He started a reality show.

His show, entitled Witch Hunter Helmut chronicles his experiences travelling the globe with all manner of sophisticiated sensor equipment, a crew of trained videographers and sound experts, and a legion of 'haunted' locales, houses and resgions.  In each case, he actively debunks so-called supernatural activity--often taking a 'true believer' with him, who inevitably ends up convinced that, yes, their fears were irrational and that no actual supernatural activity had taken place.

In his latest season, Helmut has brought his technology and his fan-base to bear against the supernaturally-powered metahuman community.  Helmut, through his network, has offered a $500,000 US prize to any arcanely-powered individual to come onto his show and have their abilities tested on camera for all to see.  If his tests fail, Helmut claims, he'll not only pay out the $500k, but also end his show with that very episode.  If he, however, demonstrates that those powers are not from a mystical source, he contractually demands the individual to reveal this information live, on-camera.   To date, not a single mystically-powered individual has taken up Helmut's challenge.

Going into his fifth season, Helmut has a number of unique spots picked out for his show, not the least of which are a swamp just south of Rook City and a temple hidden in the lower Himalayas...

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PlatinumWarlock wrote:

Going into his fifth season, Helmut has a number of unique spots picked out for his show, not the least of which are a swamp just south of Rook City and a temple hidden in the lower Himalayas...

”All right, heroes, your mission, should you choose to accept it: keep this dumbass TV guy alive this season.”

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Witch Hunter Helmut in the Temple of Zhu Long sounds like a comic from one of the worst runs of SC history that everyone tries to pretend never happened.  Makes absolutely no sense that he'd be allowed to get there and film an episode, and yet I can definitely see bad comic writers do it anyway.


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PlatinumWarlock wrote:

Was the other one the guy from The Venture Brothers?  I remembered him about an hour after finishing my VotD write-up... :P

Yup! So you're in good company. :)

Also, a villain with a reality show, you never fail to explore new realms of comic book potential. :D

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Villain of the Day:  May 15 (Dr. Sheila Dawsey and The Cyber Six)

Dr. Sheila Dawsey started, as most do, with the best of intentions.  

A robotics expert and co-worker of Meredith Stinson's at the Eaken-Rubendall Laboratories, Dawsey was one of Tachyon's biggest supporters throughout her career, first as a women in the technology field, then as a leading female superhero, then as an icon for LGBT rights.  Even as Tachyon became wrapped up in saving the world on a regular basis, Dawsey still made sure to drop her peer an email now and again to check in and compare research notes.  On the rare occasions when Meredith wasn't jetting off for Mars, running rings around gladiators in the Bloodsworn Coliseum, or hunting vampires across Eastern Europe, she'd do her best to drop in for a cup of coffee with Sheila to catch up on all the buzz back at E-R Labs.  However, as the world faced crisis after crisis, their coffee klatches became less and less frequent.

That led to an idea from Sheila:  a set of androids based on the Freedom Five, plus their new intern, capable of standing in for the members while they were injured, off-world, or otherwise outside of Megalopolis.  Dawsey had the full sanction of the Freedom Five, the US Government, and numerous other international bodies.  And, for about four months, the program worked like a charm.  The androids' artificial intelligence were based on that of the originals, with near identical (if mechanically based) power-set loadouts and a state of the art synthetic skin.  To a casual glance, you'd never be able to tell the difference between Legacy and his robotic duplicate.  The androids stood it at major functions, acted as Wraith when the masked crimefighter shattered her left elbow, and even provided crowd control during the Deadline event.

Then, they disappeared.

Inquests were called immediately. Dawsey was called before a the Senate Appropriations sub-committe, where she was grilled for 3 days by Senator Daniel Ellison.  The Freedom Five themselves were subpoenaed, testifying as to their involvement in the project.  After the third day of hearings, Sheila tried to apologize to Meredith, but the World's Quickest Woman had no patience for platitudes at this point; she merely shook her head at Dawsey and sped off towards home.

Two days later, Dr. Sheila Dawsey vanished.  Her apartment was left untouched; no items were missing and her luggage remained in her hall closet.  

That was four years ago.  And in that time, no manner of science or sorcery has managed to locate Sheila Dawsey or The Cyber Six anywhere on Earth or in near-space.  The only clue remains is footage from a single security camera of Absolute Zero and Dr. Dawsey breaking into an Eaken-Rubendall waste storage facility three months ago.  Why?  No one seems to yet know...

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Villain of the Day:  May 16 (Ulcer)

Dr. Matthias Erimond was a noted nuclear physics expert at the top of his field in cold fusion.  A jovial fellow, he was noted for his love of bicycling ("I love that feel of coasting down Jerald's Hill through campus."), his inability to keep a smart phone for more than six months at a time ("It just slipped out of my hand...again.), and his awful puns during staff meetings ("...and the bartender tells the neutron, 'For you, no charge!').  His death of a sudden heart attack at age 44 was more than a little shocking, as such, to both his family and his comrades. 

More shocking, though?  What the medical examiners found during the autopsy.  Dr. Erimond's heart was shredded from the inside-out, as if something had literally crawled inside him and started hacking away at the interior of his heart with a kitchen knife.

Which, of course, is exactly what the assassin known as Ulcer did.  

Utilizing a hither-to unknown shrinking technology, Ulcer serves as one of the world's top-tier assassins, rarely taking on a job for less than $1m US, often charging astronomical rates.  As such, only the most elite, most wealthy, or most well-connected clients ever contact him.  Fewer still ever contract with him, leaving Ulcer's appearances rare and often unconnected by law enforcement.  GLOBAL has identified at least three other victims matching the death of Dr. Erimond:  Michael Hale (a left-wing lobbyist in New York City), Zoe Dagleish (the editor-in-chief of the Sydney AZ Times-Gazette), and Doreen Naumann (a German virologist).  In all cases, the victim was pronounced dead of acute heart failure and, upon their autopsy, were found to have their heart mangled from the inside.

Ulcer has been known to track his quarry for over three months prior to striking, learning their lifestyle patterns, favored locations, and daily routines by heart.  When the time comes to strike, he activates a molecule-condensing armband to shrink down to microscopic levels before infiltrating his victim's body, typically through food or drink or through an open wound.  He then travels through the circulatory system until reaching the heart, whereupon he anchors himself in the left ventricle, increases slightly in size, and then begins hacking away with a nano-edge obsidian blade.  Once the victim is dead, Ulcer then beats a hasty escape, only uncompressing his molecular pattern once he's well away from the crime scene.

Ulcer has no known affiliations, nor is his true identity known.  However, the high profile of his targets suggest that some greater entity--perhaps TALOS, The Annihilationists, or a governmental entity--might be funding his work.  Were someone to finally track down the microscopic killer, they may be able to trace his payment all the way back to the darkest dealings of the criminal underworld.

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Villain of the Day:  May 17 (Hydragyrum)

The being that refers to itself as Hydragyrum may have been human once, though every known appearance of the creature seems to have every indication to the contrary.

Discovered in the ruins of Fort Adamant by excavators after the fort was destroyed during the OblivAeon crisis, Hydragyrum was first spotted as a mobile pool of silvery goo that seemed to chase after various recovery workers.  One such worker, Ben Lamani, wasn't quite fast enough to get away, as an extruded pseudopod wrapped around his ankle, shattering it effortlessly in a gruesome compound fracture.  However, as Ben's blood flowed into the pool, it did something most unexpected:  It stood up.

Before security and military forces could respond to Ben's screaming, though, Hydragyrum had utterly disappeared, flowing through some crack or fissure in the ruined base.  Fearing that Progeny had made its return--a possibility that was roundly dismissed upon further inspection--a full battalion of troops were mobilized, only to find an unconscious Ben Lamani in a pool of blood.

Numerous studies were run on Ben during his ensuing hospital stay, with analysis providing some degree of answers.  Residual Hydragyrum tissue found in Ben's blood stream seems to indicate that the creature is something of a cross between a biologically-engineered protoplasm similar to human stem cell tissue and a nanite array with a structure reminiscent of Omnitron's assault drones.  Ben himself seemed unharmed--the residual tissue was located and removed with little difficulty--and he was able to make a full recovery.

Three weeks later, he disappeared.

Several investigative bodies including the Sentinels of Freedom have begun a manhunt for Ben Lamani, to little avail.  None of his friends or family seemd to have any indication of where he might have gone, but the superheroic community has begun to fear the worst:  for whatever reason, Ben has been taken by Hydragyrum.  What the creature wants with him and where the pair are now remain to be seen.

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Villain of the Day:  May 18 (The Bouncer)

Freddy McVeigh didn't intend on rising through the ranks of The Organization, but when opportunity knocked, he certainly didn't say no.

One of The Chairman's low-level legbreakers, Freddy was one of a number of thugs sent to pay a visit to Dr. Morgan Arganstein, a noted biochemist who had something of a gambling problem.  Sent to collect on the good doctor's debt, Freddy started poking around the lab while his compatriots worked over Argenstein.  A large tank full of light blue liquid in sat bubbling away, labeled with all manner of warnings and cautions.

Naturally, Freddy couldn't contain his curiousity.

The substance, referred to as Polymer J2487, was Dr. Arganstein's attempt to create a bio-regenerative polymer for use in extreme wound cases.  Called 'bacta' by those working on the polymer project--a not-so-subtle reference to a favorite film franchise--a wounded subject could be immersed in the fluid to aid in the healing process.  For Freddy, though, the result was something entirely.

Accidentally opening a release valve, the bacta washed over Freddy, binding with his DNA.  When his compatriots rushed back into the lab, Freddy found himself stretched halfway across the laboratory, well beyond the limits of even the most talented contortionists.  Freddy smiled, "Hey boys, it looks like the doc's into something neat.  What say we take him back with us?"

Over the next few months, Freddy began testing his abilities.  His flesh became incredibly elastic, able to stretch into all manner of shapes.  He was resistant to blades, bullets and blows, as they bounced harmlessly off of him.  He could even roll himself into basic shapes, as thin as a water glass or as broad across as a ship's sail.

However, this newfound ability came with quite the cost.  After the first week, Freddy began to dry out.  Painfully cracking, he and several of the Chairman's operatives entered the cell where Dr. Argenstein was being held.  There, Argenstein shook his head, "Without more bacta, your cellular structure is dessicating.  You'll likely need regular immersion.  Daily, if possible."  

Arrangements were made.  Money changed hands.  A new lab was built.  And Argenstein?  Offered a job with the organization, he decided to become an asset instead of a victim.  Freddy, now calling himself The Bouncer, serves as one of the Chairman's underbosses, taking care of dangerous, unwanted elements.  Under him, Argenstein continues his research, enjoying the high life that comes courtesy of organized crime.

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Villain of the Day: May 19 (Special Delivery)

One of the biggest questions in law enforcement today has been that of how criminals -- especially those with metahuman abilities -- procure their technological devices. Many make their own, but still others received them from mysterious benefactors or patrons from countries away. How do those folks get what they need?

The group known as Special Delivery.

Made up of former smugglers, arms dealers, drug mules, and more, Special Delivery specializes in anonymity, speed, and accuracy across the world. Taking on multi million dollar contracts from numerous villains, Special Delivery acts as a courier service for the nefarious, ferrying goods across the world with ease.

But who runs Special Delivery? While the true identity is still up for debate, the leading candidate is a woman known as Taylor Dunham, an American woman who was one of Mark Bennodetto's closest confidants before his arrest as Argentium. Since that day, Dunham has gone off the grid entirely, effectively leaving no trace of her ever existing.

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PlatinumWarlock wrote:

 Hey, gang.  I know that this thread is getting really long, so I decided to take on a fairly large undertaking:  I've put together every villain in this thread into a Google spreadsheet, so that individual villains are easier to find.  The villains are separated by my own creations (which are then sorted by month/theme) and those of others.  Within each sheet, you'll be able to see the exact post number as well as a one-sentence summary of what that villain's "schtick" is.The link for the Villain of the Day Index is HERE.  I'm also adding it to the very first post!

Could I put in a quick request:  Bell & Booke are specifically not villains, which I did try to point out in the post, but are supporting cast - they're not intended as PCs, and they might sometimes be allies.

Any chance an annotation to that effect could get added to their entry?

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Easily done!

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PlatinumWarlock wrote:

Utilizing a hither-to unknown shrinking technology, Ulcer serves as one of the world's top-tier assassins,

Looks like I finally have a reason to make that shrinking hero now. :)

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Villain of the Day: May 20. (FlyBoy)

Vince Kinnon couldnt wait to be a hero. He'd idolized tech based heroes every since he was a child, starting with Bunker and Unity, but moving on to Absolute Zero, Writhe, and Benchmark. He vigorously pursued courses in mechanical engineering, electronics, and more, just so he'd have the know how to achieve his dream of standing shoulder to shoulder with America's greatest heroes.

Imagine his surprise when he was drummed out after the first round of interviews for positions with the Sentinels of Freedom.

Disgusted, Vince threw himself into his home creation, a repulsor powered wingsuit capable of achieving Mach 4 speeds.

Imagine, then, his glee when he achieved his wish. The FlyBoy suit isn't pretty, but it certainly is capable.

And, for what it's worth, Vince's first forays as a masked hero went quite well. However, he soon found himself more and more in direct rivalry with other heroes, particularly those chosen ahead of him for the Sentinels of Freedom program. This led to a particularly violent outburst during a conflict with The Radioactivist, wherein Vince actually allowed Radioactivist to escape while he he himself argued with several of the SoF's new recruits. Vince was arrested on charges of aiding and abetting, but was quickly released as the charges were dropped.

However, the seed of vengeance was already planted, and FlyBoy has a new design already waiting in the wings...

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Villain of the Day:  May 21 (Fissure)

Danielle Geary is obsessed with Magmaria.

Once a noted geologist, studying the relationship between seismic activity and the flow of magma within the earth's mantle, Danielle utterly broke when the first Magmarians surfaced.  Every concept of scientific inquiry, every book she'd read, every scholarly article she'd cited indicated that a civilization such as Magmaria simply Could. Not. Exist.  The very idea of a subterranean civilization, existing somewhere deep within the earth's crust, was farcical.  Despite the evidence in front of her eyes, she knew that it simply could not be the case.

From that day forward, Danielle was a woman possessed.  There had to be a reason for this.  Maybe the so-called Magmarians were aliens from some other world.  Maybe this was some nonsensical mysticism which had no bearing in science.  Regardless, she'd find her way to the bottom of things.  Magmaria became a fixation for her; her colleagues grew worried, she stopped sleeping and rarely ate.  In the end, her co-worker, Bill, made the call to mental health services.  Danielle was institutionalized for over a month, remediating her health and mental well-being.

Unfortunately, it didn't do much good.  When Danielle emerged from the psych ward, she was just as fixated, but now had the sense of mind to do something about it. 

In secret, Danielle began gathering a massive amount of mining equipment, blast charges, and fusion-powered sonic drilling device, taking them to the southern tip of Yellowstone National Park.  Only then did authorities realize what threat Danielle--now calling herself Fissure--truly intended.  In an attempt to destroy the paradox that was Magmaria, Danielle intended to drill down into the Yellowstone caldera, causing the subterranean supervolcano to explode prematurely.  Heroes were called in, Danielle's charges were disarmed, but the manic geologist had managed to escape, all the while her strange vendetta against Magmaria remains...

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Does this count as technology? It's sciency at least. That's my excuse for not putting this up during the magic month.

Mister Midas

Alchemy, the blend of science and magic, is a practice that was mostly forgotten over the centuries, with the exception of Biomancer. Though with the emergence of people like the Scholar and Hermetic, it seems like people are starting to remember again. A freelance thug by the name of Austin Urban could technically be considered an alchemist as well, but he could only use it in one specific way: Everything he touched turned to gold. More specifically, any nonliving thing that made contact with his outer skin became some sort of gold-colored steel-like substance, and reverted to normal several seconds after he stopped touching it. That may not sound like much, but with it he could make a weapon out of anything, and even without it he was still a phisycal powerhouse.

Being a brutish type with no formal education beyone public high school, how he obtained such a… scholarly power is a bit of a mystery. According to those knew him, growing up he was a regular kid (if not a bit of a bully) with no powers up until he left home to make it on his own and promptly disappeared.

A few years later, he emerged clad in cheap plastic armor (which of course wasn't plastic when he was wearing it) weilding a similarly cheap sword, calling himself Mister Midas, and doing other villains' dirty work for money. He may not be as ambitious as some big-time villains, but he's been doing this job for decades and he's better at it than anyone else. If you have a job and you need some serious muscle, you call Midas.

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Villain of the Day: May 22 (Gyges)

It's hardly a secret that the United States' military has any number of secret projects in the wings at any given point; while many of these projects never reach replicable results, the ones that do succeed tend to revolutionize the face of warfare.

Project Gyges was about to be one of the latter.

The brainchild of a team of Lieutenant Colonel Gerald Grimes and a team of optics experts, physicists, and engineers, Project Gyges aimed to provide a localized, infantry-based stealth array capable of being utilized en masse on the battlefield.  The delivery method for this stealth?  A series of photon-diffusing fields, capable of being emanated via a series of circular wristbands, collars, or other wearable devices.  

The exact details of Grimes' betrayal, however, are still up for debate.  Despite having video footage within the skunkworks itself, investigators still argue the truth behind what happened that July day.  Grimes had called an all-staff meeting for a status report and demonstration for a lean man in a dark suit, whom many presumed to be some investor or state official.  As the technicians proceeded to demonstrate the Gyges device--a small housecat, a nearby guardsman, and an armored personnel vechicle--the suited man smiled.  He clapped a hand on Grimes' back and said simply, "Excellent.  Pack it up!"

Grimes reached into his pocket, pulling forth a hand-held detonator.  Before anyone could react, the skunkworks exploded into flame and smoke.  In the carnage, several of the scientists attempted to escape.  As they dashed out of the skunkworks external structure, they were swiftly gunned down by unseen assailants.  Smiling, Grimes and his dark-suited compatriot walked out with a briefcase containing the completed Gyges prototypes.  

To date, Grimes has gone off the grid entirely; his twenty-six year military career went up with the smoke of that skunkworks.  Nobody has seen him since.

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Villain of the Day:  May 23 (Caustic)

Suzanne Owlsey never saw herself as a scientist, but she certainly knew her way around a laboratory.  As it turns out, that's all it took for her to become a supervillain.

A phlebotomist at Overbrook General Hospital, Suzanne's health began deteriorating after her third year of work.  Days upon days of overtime, a never-ending queue of sample processing, and an unofficial edict from her supervisors that "time off just isn't in the schedule right now," left her burned out, exhausted, and stressed.  While she was able to live comfortably--she had no children and, really, no time for a husband or boyfriend--she grew to resent her job more and more.  

That's when someone showed up at her apartment.  Someone she recognized from the news reports from their clashes with the new Sentinels of Freedom.  Someone calling herself Cherenkov.

Suzanne was a single digit away from calling the authorities when Cherenkov managed to talk her down.  Cherenkov made Suzanne the proverbial offer she couldn't refuse:  join her on a new team--all women of science and technology, ready to take on the world.  

Suzanne turned her down outright.  She didn't call the police on the radioactive menace, but she was having none of it.  Despite the refusal, Cherenkov left a burner cell phone on Suzanne's coffee table saying, "Call me if you change your mind."

Three days later, Suzanne found herself working a 14 hour shift, proverbially up to her eyeballs in blood and stool samples.  Exhausted and unfocused, she dropped a vial of blood, which shattered on the tile floor, right in front of her supervisor, Dan.  Dan, just as frazzled, proceeded to berate the young woman...whereupon she snapped.  Grabbing the first thing at hand--a bottle of undiluted citric acid cleaner--she flung it at Dan's face.  The bottle splashed open across his face, covering it with caustic chemicals; the young supervisor began screaming in agony, clutching his acid-spattered skin.

Suzanne was arrested almost immediately, but she knew to whom her first phone call would go.  No less than 45 minutes after being booked in the Rook City PD, she was released into the care of her disabled 'cousin', Jenna.  Four hours later, Suzanne was off the grid entirely.  

Now, Suzanne has all but dropped her past identity, in favor of her new name:  Caustic.  Wearing something of a cross between a biohazard suit and a battle harness, she uses various chemicals--primarily acids, enzymes, and other destructive liquids, emitted from a specially designed liquid projectile device.  And, alongside her new allies, the whole world will melt before her visage.

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Please, never show this villain to my chemist wife. She already leans to the dark side, she doesn’t need ideas. 

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Villain of the Day:  May 24 (Vox Populi)

Amber Rippeon had always been an advocate for the little guy. 

Through college, Amber worked with a number of student political organizations, protesting everything from animal cruelty and police brutality to the use of racially-tinged imagery as mascots for sports team.  After graduating with a triple major (Political Science/Communication/English), Amber went to work for a left-wing non-profit advocacy group, producing various flyers and social media posts for rallies and other gatherings.  She was saving the world, one flyer at a time.

When the First Megalopolis Bank declared insolvency last year, Amber was one of the first to take to the streets.  However, as governmental oversight committees grilled the bank's executives over corporate bonuses, fiscally irresponsible investment strategies, and misuse of investors' funds, the streets of Megalopolis turned into a literal riot zone.  Cars were lit on fire, rocks were thrown, and police were dispatched in full riot gear.  It was one of those officers who changed Amber's life irrevocably.

As protestors clashed with police, Amber was on the front line.  While she herself didn't throw stones or molotov cocktails, she eagerly shouted profanities and chants at the police, getting in close range to inhibit their march.  One officer swung his billy-club; Amber ducked, but not fast enough.  What might have hit her in center of mass instead crushed her throat.  She crumpled like an aluminum can, gasping and wheezing.  While she was immediately taken to emergency services, the damage was done:  her vocal cords were shredded, her larynx a broken mess.  She could barely breathe, much less speak.

The officer in question was eventually dismissed from the force for his use of excessive force, but Amber's mind had turned from dissension to outright vengeance.  When she was finally released from the hospital--after nearly 2 months of rehabilitation, the whole of which was spent on an artificial ventilator--Amber was dead-set on tearing down the whole structure of the police force.  

However, it just so happened that one of her fellow activist friends was the college roommate of a fellow named Irving Healey.  Irving Healey, as we know now, is the mastermind behind the villainous think-tank/supplier known as Haephestus Labs.  After putting in a favor or two, Healey shipped Amber the device that changed her life.  The vocal amplification collar worn by Amber, now calling herself Vox Populi, amplifies Amber's voice to an phenomenal degree, allowing her to emit intense sonic blasts capable of shattering steel as if it were glass.  

So imbued, Amber raised her game as a protester to that of an outright anarchist.  As Vox Populi, she regularly targets major banking and economic centers, prisons, police stations, and other institutions of establishment power.  While powered heroes have managed to confront Vox Populi on a number of occasions, she has managed to escape on every occasion, disappearing into a network of underground dissidents eager to keep their superpowered savior safe from the clutches of 'the man.'

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Villain of the Day:  May 25 (Quintessence)

The being calling itself Quintessence made its first appearance shortly after the OblivAeon event, emerging in the midst of the ruins of San Alonzo.  Clad in gleaming bronze-tinted armor and wielding a bevy of advanced weaponry, Quintessence quickly made his way to the refugee camps outside of the city, proclaiming his utter dominion and his status as the perfection of the human genome.  While Quintessence was quickly driven off by a combined force of military force and heroic intervention, few were able to dwell on this strange individual until much later, once the carnage of OblivAeon was contained.

Since that day, Quintessence has only made sparing appearances, with each revealing hints of information as to his true identity.  After kidnapping several professional athletes and Olympians, Quintessence revealed that he is a believer in orthogenesis--the concept that natural selection and evolution have a finite end goal and that a genetic pinnacle can be reached.  Further, Quintessence believes that he, himself, is that pinnacle of the human condition, and that he actively aims to cull down the human population such that the remaining humans will inevitably provide a master-race of humankind capable of approaching his "genetic perfection".

Coupled with this came the information that Quintessence is, in fact, a time traveler.  While the exact timeline and position in time from which Quintessence came is still a mystery, conversations with Time-Slinger and CON-IV have provided a few clues.  The design of the armor and weaponry which Quintessence wields has a great deal of similarity to that of the atomic end-glaive once wielded by Deadline, which itself originated aboard the Enclave of the Endlings.  However, a device that Quintessence used during one confrontation with the Paradigms seems to have a degree of software that shared similar base coding language with that of the Benchmark suit.

However, most disturbing may well be the links between Quintessence and the fiendish individual known as Biomancer.  Quintessence has an uncanny ability to detect Biomancer's fleshchildren, often abducting them live, for the express purpose of utilizing the sorcery-crafted flesh for genetic experimentation.  Some have surmised that Quintessence may well be some alternate universe version of Biomancer; while one bent his talents towards the arcane, the other focused upon science and genetic manipulation.  This theory is only reinforced by Quintessence's creation of a servitor group which he refers to as "The Factotums"--near bestial beings which Quintessence bred to be 'the perfect servitor soldier, mindless and merciless', which defend Quintessence's safe-havens.

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Villain of the Day:  May 26  (Raw Nerve)

Barry Waldrop wasn't born deaf, but after twenty years of working a rotary grinder in a factory, his hearing deteriorated significantly.  While hearing aids stemmed the problem at first, his doctors quickly realized that no degree of traditional hearing aid would work for much longer and suggested having a bionic cochlear implant surgically installed.  This implant would, effectively, be able to transmit vibrations directly into the auditory nerve, restoring his lost hearing.

The surgery was a success.  And then some.

Within weeks, Barry was back to work with a brand new cybernetic implant beneath each ear.  His hearing was restored and all was well...aside from his floor supervisor, Gordon.  Any time Barry was around Gordon, Gordon would grow nauseous, experience flashes of pain and vertigo, and twice collapsed on the factory floor.  While none managed to link Barry to Gordon's health issues, Barry quickly put one and one together, realizing that in all cases, his presence was the common link.

Soon enough, Gordon wasn't the only one experiencing these symptoms, but Barry had a plan.  He was going to practice.

You see, the very normal auditory implant--a surgery that literally thousands have had with no ill effects--had dug itself slightly deeper into the lower pons of his brain, interfereing with his body's natural bioelectric field.  In fact, he became capable of utilizing this implant to disrupt the bioelectric rhythms in others, causing the pain, nausea, discomfort, and unconsciousness experienced by Gordon and several others at Barry's factory.  

Unfortunately for the world, Barry's newfound power immediately sent him into a spiral of corruption.  He began testing his abilities on passers-by, often spending his nights sitting in restaurants or bars, waiting for some poor fool to come in, whom he would target with a seizure, a vertigo attack, or some other biochemical imbalance.  After a month or two, Barry had all but mastered his abilities.  Cobbling together a costume from homemate parts,  he began knocking off convenience stores and drive-thrus, picking up almost $200,000 in ill-gotten cash in just under three months of jobs.

Now calling himself Raw Nerve, Barry has begun assembling something of a gang within Megalopolis, working for self-interest and mutual protection.  While Barry's crimes likely wouldn't attract the attention of the Freedom Five, Barry and his cohort have begun a hitherto-unseen crime wave in the streets of Megalopolis.

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Need to shut that factory down for OSHA violations! D:

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Villain of the Day: May 27 (The Masticator)

Whatever you do, don't call him Mister Chomps.

Anthony Valetti has been a good for nothing thug for most of his life. As a teen, he spent his time in and out of juvenile detention for petty theft and vandalism. That escalated his senior year into assault and robbery. After dropping out of high school, Anthony spent his evenings running heroin for The Chairman and his agents, filling the streets of Rook City with drugs.

However, numerous other parties were impressed by Anthony's loyalty, fortitude, and ruthlessness. One such party was Dr. Emershaun Laurent, the twisted surgeon and geneticist responsible for so many biochemical weapons and humanoid monstrosities. Laurent offered Anthony a deal: work for him (and his mysterious patrons), and gain the power he so craved.

It was a done deal. During a grueling 16 hour surgery, Anthony's jaw was removed and replaced with an augmented one, featuring razor sharp teeth coated in a tungsten carbide cutting agent and servos capable of generating almost 30,000 newtons of biting force. The Masticator was born.

Since that day, Anthony has worked his essay through the ranks of Laurent's organization to become a trusted lieutenant. He became most notable to heroes during an encounter with The Paradigms, in which he literally bit through one of Unity's creations. He and his allies were driven off, but not before he issued a threat to the technopath: "Call me Chomps again, and its your neck."

However, Anthony is insatiably curious as to whom he, and Laurent, truly work for. What happens when he learns the truth, though, remains to be seen.

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9 out of 10 dentists recommend NOT DOING THAT TO YOUR TEETH, GOOD LORD, MAN!

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Villain of the Day:  May 28 (Black Site 515-Tango)

In response to the numerous threats facing the country--foreign, domestic, and interstellar--the United States military has often sought to provide their troops with the finest in cutting edge weaponry, genetic augmentation, and any other edge against the country's enemies.  Much of the research and 'grunt work' for these initiatives are done at government skunk-works sites.  The Groom Lake facility in Nevada (often referred to as Area 51) garnered particular fame, as did Fort Adamant, once the indiscretions found within were finally revealed.

The experiments currently taking place at Black Site 515-Tango make those sites look like a 5th grade science fair.

The brainchild of Brigadier General Lucius Horner (USAF), the 515 site is rumored to be somewhere beneath a plateau in southern Montana.  The facility there is entirely self-sustaining; staff does not leave the facility, and visitors are warned once to leave, before they are opened upon with all manner of small arms fire.  The 515 site comprises almost a full skyscraper's worth of offices, laboratories, assembly lines, and other necessary scientific and engineering facilities.  Projects that have emerged from the Black Site include a new series of miniature mass drivers intended to replace the M-16 as the default in infantry warfare, as well as a series of relays capable of generating a powerful energy shield, as easy to erect and move as a series of tent stakes.

The real horror of Black Site 515, though?  That would be Sub-Floor 2.

In Sub-Floor 2, a series of biologists, surgeons, geneticists, and bioengineers have worked tirelessly to recreate the gene-binding process used on so many various aliens across the galaxy....and make that process available to human soldiers.  An entire regiment of captured Thorathians, as well as nearly 2,000 gene-bound creatures from the various worlds inhabit the cells in Sub-Floor 2, living out the last of their miserable days as test subjects for the American military.  

With so many forces mobilizing in North Africa and the Middle East, can it be long before the first American Gene-Bound Marines storm the beaches of the Red Sea?  Or worse, should some other force--such as TALOS or The Annihilationists--learn of these experiments, the world may swiftly find these abominations in the hands of the worst individuals imaginable...

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Oh wow, that's terrifying. D:

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Zivanka Doležal, the daughter of a fairly successful banker in Prague, had her whole life ahead of her. She had her choice of universities to attend when she finished her schooling, she had her friends, and she had a young man who hadn't gotten around to asking her out yet.

That all changed when Zivanka's body started to glow. Unbeknownst to anyone, she had stepped in a rain puddle that had been transformed into isoflux alpha. The glow was faint at first, only enough to see after the lights were out, but it quickly grew. Her parents took her to an emergency room, then to a specialist. The doctors couldn't tell them anything. Zivanka started to lose weight, burning off calories as light at an alarming rate.

Help finally arrived in the form of a case worker from Revocorp. With the use of various power negation technologies, Zivanka's powers were damped down to a sustainable level and she gradually learned to control them. She found she could manipulate her light to produce images and even focus it into powerful laser beams. As she gained control, the power dampers were turned down, then removed. And then Revocorp had a proposition for her: they were putting together a team. As a success story from Revocorp's efforts to help people both normal and powered, she could be a spokesperson, a celebrity, and a hero all at once.

Everyone had heard of the Freedom Five; Zivanka jumped at the chance. Taking on the somewhat grandiose moniker "Princess of the Universe", she fought petty crime, spoke on behalf of Revocorp, and generally enjoyed life at Revocorp's expense. Her university intentions were forgotten. She grew to womanhood as a slightly spoiled celebrity, famous mainly for being famous.

All that came crashing down when the head of Revocorp was unmasked as a villain himself. As Benchmark revealed Revocorp's corruption, Zivanka's horrible suspicions grew. Finally, she used her powers to cut her way past security doors deadly defenses in the Prague branch office. Past human testing labs, a prison block, and a morgue, she found what she feared most: a young woman, unconscious and surrounded by life support equipment, glowing brightly and all but wasted away. With precision laser beams, she cut the power to the equipment and stayed to watch until the monitors flatlined.

Then she tore down the building and all the people in it who had smiled at her through their lies. Who had tricked her into speaking on their behalf while they ran a horror show behind the scenes. Who had made her complicit in their crimes and stolen her childhood from her.

In that office she shed the childish title "Princess of the Universe" and took on one more appropriate to her age and nature: Queen Killer. Her work only started, she fled into the night, vowing vengeance against the whole corrupt company and any so-called "heroes" that would protect them.

PlatinumWarlock
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Last seen: 3 years 1 month ago
Joined: Feb 10, 2013

Villain of the Day: May 29 (Haphazard)

Any gamer will tell you: RNG is the only truth in the universe. Phil Keetoh certainly won't argue with that concept.

A software tester from Seattle, Phil cut his teeth working on games for various companies, putting in the long hours necessary to bring triple A titles to systems worldwide. While he tended to bounce from studio to studio as projects were delivered, Phil had a reputation as an enterprising young man who was always eager for more.

When Checkdown SoftWorks called, hoever, asking about his availability to test a new virtual reality helmet device, Phil couldn't say yes fast enough. He backed his bags for Portland and dove into his work.

However, the fickle dice gods of the universe had something in store for Phil that day. While the helmet device Phil was testing housed a off phenomenally powerful processor, something malfunctioned in a way that technicians are still trying to pierce together.

The algorithms in the helmet manifested in three dimensional reality as sonething of a chaos field around Phil, which he could manipulate and shape. Effectively choosing his own reality, Phil could shape the building blocks of matter in ways that seemed beyond illogical. While wearing the helmet, his body flickered in and out of this dimension by the second, with afterimages of him flashing about the room.

Naturally, all this power went to Phil's head. The prototype helmet went off the grid, along with Phil, and the villain known as Haphazard made his first appearance. Strangely, he seems able to access every locked door and vault, able to be in multiple places at once, and make even the most improbable happen. How do you fight a villain who can literally turn reality itself against you?

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