Some Subsidiaries of Power International (Tobyverse)
I wonder what STEEL thinks of Power International. Mannie loves them. They just need to show up and every loner, recluse, villain and paranoid is hammering at his door wanting to buy guns and weapons and ninjas and bunkers. He also sells them some of their gear (back in some cases) through subsidiaries.
Some Power International subsidiaries
Bazaar of the Bizarre - A chain created wholly for the “underground” community so to speak. They sell various odds and ends, back catalog items and odd trinkets and so on that Power International acquires. Its as much about the atmosphere as anything else, and a lot of people go because they aren’t just buying a charm to ward off nightmares, they are buying it from a tiny little shop wedged invisibly between two mega-stores. You are unlikely to find really great stuff there, but you never know what you’ll find. Fun fact, over half the stores are run by an old man named Elives.
Landsknecht Actions, Security, Homeland and Executive Defense (LASHED)- Part legitimate, part incredibly illegal the Lash is Power’s military enforcement wing and contractors. LASHED troops can be found doing everything from bodyguard work to extermination of third world villages and have some of the best weapons and operators in the world to do it. LASHED itself is divided up into cells, so that it would be nearly impossible to bring down the whole operation in one swoop. Brainwashing and conditioning are also heavily used in the recruitment process, as well as reaching out to the less pleasant parts of the world.
Funtime Company - Ostensibly a toy company, Funtime makes some fine stocking stuffers for Christmas. But far more importantly their factories are often the sites for manufacture of the various weapons and devices that Power is commissioned to make or sells in bulk. There is one location in Ohio that makes only laser blasters, for example. The heavy machinery for the work is easily hidden amongst the assembly lines for the toys and few people suspect a toy company of making weapons. Clown robots and life-sized versions of popular Funtime toys are often used in defense, making assailing one of these locations dangerous AND creepy.
Strike-Life Dojos - Strike-Life is a martial arts dojo chain, derided as being cheap and careless by the web and visitors. And on the surface, it is. But Strike-Life is where you send your henchmen to learn the basics of hurting folks. They teach a specialized set of martial arts that teach teamwork, brutal moves and learning how to get hit. A lot. Its really a perfect martial art for someone who is expecting to get a car thrown at them. Specialized instructors and facilities are also available if you want to teach your guys some special theme fighting style, like scuba knife-fighting or low-gravity kickboxing.
The Victor Center for Troubled Youth - Technically these were supposed to be the Victor Von Frankenstein Centers for troubled Youth, but nobody would want to go if that were the case. These are a series of youth centers for the disenfranchised or angry teens around the country, and sometimes it is just that. But if a young man or woman meets a certain profile, they are recruited into the LASHED. Or the Everyday Assassin Program, or pointed at another dangerously psychotic group bent on world domination. Truly unworkable (by the standards of Power International) teens are said to be sold to Eclipse.
The Everyday Assassin Program - A totally black op, this specializes on observation of a target through imbedding trained killers into their surroundings and life. Your new boss? Here to observe, then kill you. That cute girl who moved in across the hall? Hired by your ex. The program offers clients a degree of customization, allowing, for example, a jilted lover to set up their object of hate with a seemingly perfect individual before that person kills them. The EAP trains their own operators in a variety of skills, including combat, social infiltration and engineering and whatever else the operator will need for the target. For especially difficult targets psychics and conditioning tech are used to write an active personality that the operator will follow. They are hoping to expand this program to include replacing existing individuals with assassins that are surgically altered to resemble them.
Instant Ninja Just Add Water! - More of a product than anything else, INJAW compresses short-term clones trained to follow orders and recognize threats into small capsules using a proprietary process. The Ninja thing is because they haven’t quite managed to do it to weapons more sophisticated than a crossbow yet. INJAW is a popular product because you can have an army in your pocket, as long as you don’t get drenched.
