Editing Nocturnals - RUST CITY (section)

==Nocturnal's Comic Book Characters ==
===Doc Horror===

The main character of the series, head of the Horror crew and father to Eve. Doctor Nicodemus Horror first made himself known as "the Bogeyman," the feared Mafia "fixer" for Don Lupo Zampa in Pacific City. [[Image:345px-Doc Horror.JPG|left|thumb|Doctor Nicodemus Horror]]Within a year of his employment Horror managed to destroy the city's drug trade and eliminate all of Zampa's competitors, earning both a reputation as a top-notch enforcer and the ire of the Pacific City Police Department. Although he appears human, Doc Horror is actually a native of a parallel world referred to only as the "blackened planet" that was overrun by the nefarious Crim following a great global war. Horror used his scientific genius to develop a technology that could open interdimensional gateways to other worlds in an effort to banish the Crim forever; however, Horror was betrayed by his government as part of their surrender and handed over to the traitor and Crim conspirator named Fane. Horror revealed the secrets of his technology under threat of Eve's life, but managed to push Eve into the open gateway and sending her here to Earth. After a struggle with Fane, Horror went through the gateway as well, apparently escaping his hellish world and leaving the Crim behind forever.

Once on Earth, Horror used his knowledge of advanced technology and the occult to gather resources to find Eve, traveling the world, earning the loyalty of fellow paranormal outcasts, and eventually falling in with the Zampa crime family. Don Lupo's resources located the young Eve and reunited her with her father, allowing them and their new friends to make a new home for themselves here in their new world.

Horror requires regular treatments with a special medicine he developed to control "a rather nasty virus" he picked up on one of his expeditions. The nature of this disease is uncertain, as Horror will only say that if left untreated he would "hurt a lot of people," but an unused story panel found in the artist's notes in the back of the ''Black Planet'' compilation indicates that Horror is in fact a [[lycanthrope]].

Doc Horror's preferred weapons are dual .45 caliber automatic pistols, which can be equipped with different types of ammunition that he himself creates. In the final issue of the ''Black Planet'' story arc, Doc Horror uses magic bullets that can send pieces of the target into other dimensions for a truly devastating effect. Aside from firearms, Horror carries a vast knowledge of arcane magic and advanced technology that aid him against supernatural enemies. Horror also appears to have a much stronger constitution than normal humans, taking bullets "like they were bee stings," and has no problem going toe-to-toe with vicious monsters and demons.

===Halloween Girl===

[[Image:Holloween Girl.JPG|right|frame|Eve Horror, A.K.A. The Halloween Girl]]Doc Horror's daughter Evening, who prefers to be called Halloween Girl, is a precocious youth who perpetually seeks excitement. She carries with her a plastic pumpkinhead bucket filled with possessed toys that can grow to monstrous versions of themselves and talk to her from the spirit world. Doc Horror theorizes that Eve's toys became this way when she made the voyage from their native world to Earth; lost souls and wandering spirits looking for a friendly face and a listening ear found her in the transdimensional ether and offer their protection in return for someone to talk to.

Eve's propensity for getting into mischief is often the source of the Nocturnals' adventures. She once was captured by the Crim when she wandered into the Narn K subterranean Monster Shop, only to be rescued by Horror. She also once became a menu item for a hungry bat-witch on Halloween as well as a "victim" for a troublesome magic devil lantern, though often these would-be kidnappers find that Halloween Girl is far too much for them to handle. Even the most dire of situations appear to Eve as whimsical distractions, since very little on this world (or any other) can scare a girl who grew up around real live monsters.

===Polychrome===

[[Image:Polychrome.JPG|left|frame|Polychrome]]Polychrome is a [[wraith]]; the spirit of a dead young woman who was destined to haunt this world for eternity. She was able to break free of this posthumous obligation and now resides with Doc Horror in the Tomb. Being a ghost, she has unspecified supernatural powers that include [[clairvoyance]], the ability to heal wounds, and cast illusions, among others. Polychrome's otherworldly senses help Doc Horror maintain a close eye on enemies and individuals of interest, alert him to paranormal goings-on in Pacific City, and more importantly help him keep track of his trouble-magnet daughter. She acts as a maternal figure to the Horror crew and an older sister to Eve, as well as a pacifistic influence in a gang that has a tendency to draw pistols before asking questions.
Polychrome has the ability to leave the Tomb and travel freely, with the exception of the regions underneath the Narn K headquarters known as the Monster Shop. Apparently during one of Doc Horror's earlier missions to rescue imprisoned animal-human hybrids he and Polychome discovered that nothing of an [[ectoplasmic]] nature can function in that area, almost leading to her total dissipation.

===Firelion===

The Firelion is a massive blond-haired hulk that has the ability to conjure fierce fires,[[Image:287px-Firelion.JPG|right|thumb|Firelion]] the result of Narn K experimention. He was once known as Phestus Gold, a police officer who had the misfortune of being the one in a million to die of [[spontaneous human combustion]]. His remains were appropriated by the Narn K scientists, who were able to put his brain into a fireproof synthetic body capable of harnessing his innate pyrotechnic abilities. He and others like him, known as "Burners," were deemed to be too dangerous for government use and scheduled for termination until he was rescued by Doc Horror. Firelion is now the last Burner alive, and he lives only to see the Narn K Corporation burn to the ground in retribution.
Unlike the other Nocturnals, Firelion prefers to use [[katana]] and [[wakizashi]] swords instead of firearms. When enraged, he becomes a fiery hellstorm of flames and blades. In his first appearance in the ''Black Planet'' miniseries, he lays waste to an entire building full of synthetic mob hitmen assigned to guard a captured Doc Horror. His reputation is such that even synthetics with no free will of their own show fear when they realize who he is.

===Starfish===

[[Image:Starfish Nocturnals.JPG|left|frame|Starfish]]During one of Doc Horror's expeditions to Northern Europe, he came across a proto-human tadpole creature living in a peat bog. He brought it back to the Tomb and nursed it in a salt water tank, where it grew into the beautiful young amphibian Starfish. Starfish is one of Doc Horror's best gunfighters,  and has become the object of the Raccoon's amorous affections. She has a feisty personality and does not suffer fools gladly, even going so far as so answer one of the Raccoon's cheeky remarks with a punch to the face. In spite of her professed revulsion to the hybrid gangster, she obviously conceals certain feelings for him and has even gone out with him on dates (during Halloween, of course, the one night of the year when they can blend in with everyone else).
Being an amphibian, Starfish can exist freely in both dryland and aquatic environments. She has to maintain a high moisture content, however, and when fighting alongside Firelion his flames can be an uncomfortable annoyance.

===The Raccoon===

Procyon Cleanhands, also known as the Raccoon and the Bandit, is an escapee of the Narn K Monster [[Image:Raccoon Nocturnals.JPG|right|frame|Procyon Cleanhands, also known as "The Raccoon" and "Bandit."]]Shop with enhanced strength, senses, and claws, and dyed-in-the-wool gangster. He worked as a hired gun for the Zampa crime family before leading his own group called the Freelynchers and eventually joining up with Doc Horror and his crew. The Raccoon was once in league with Tony Zampa, Don Lupo's son and heir apparent, but was ousted in favor of an alliance with the Narn K. Zampa was inclined to betray and kill the Raccoon, who was a fugitive from Zampa's new business partners, but was killed himself when the Raccoon got the drop on him. The Raccoon was content to make his bid for power in the criminal syndicates, but when the Narn K rekindled their pursuit of him he could no longer maintain neutrality in their dealings. Although he claimed not to care about what happened to Doc horror, his conscience lead him to join forces with him and help defeat the Narn K.
The Raccoon still likes to think of himself as being a free agent, but remains loyal to Horror. When Eve Horror was kidnapped by a bat-witch to be an ingredient in a stew on Halloween, the Raccoon helped Starfish and the Gunwitch rescue her. The Raccoon tried to appear offended that Eve didn't thank him properly for the assistance, but was quickly silenced when she told him that she could tell he had been helping himself to her trick-or-treat candy.

===Komodo===

[[Image:Dragon Boy.JPG|left|frame|Komodo, the Dragon Boy]]Komodo, also called the Dragon Boy, is a young animal-human hybrid created by the Narn K Corporation's Monster Shop. Inspired by the legend of how the Raccoon was able to escape to a real life on the outside, he made two attempts to break out. the first time he tried to fly over the wall, but when he was recaptured they punished him by cutting off his wings. The second time he tried to go through the sewer, but the map he was given by a rat-hybrid named Chatter was meant to slow him down. He was about to be recaptured yet again by Narn K synthetic soldiers, but the timely arrival of the Gunwitch allowed him to evade them. The Gunwitch brought him back to the Tomb, where he made quick friends with the other Nocturnals and accepted their offer to join them.
Komodo is an idealistic reptile-human who appears to be the equivalent of a teenager or young adult, though his actual age in years is impossible to determine. He has reptilian claws and fangs as well as night vision, and is stronger and more durable than normal humans. His physical stamina is strong enough to necessitate a Narn K soldier use an entire clip of tranquilizer darts in order to bring him down. He idolizes the Raccoon as a legend for his escape, despite the Raccoon's discomfort of this status, and seeks to liberate his imprisoned brethren from the Narn K Monster Shop at any cost.

===The Gunwitch===

[[Image:Gunwitch.JPG|left|frame|The Gunwitch, one of the more popular characters in the Nocturnals]]Described as equal parts scarecrow and [[zombie]] gunslinger, the Gunwitch is a silent undead golem with unerring marksmanship. Doc Horror made him as a babysitter and bodyguard for his daughter Eve, though the details of ''how'' he was made exactly have yet to be revealed. He only responds to commands in an [[occult]] language that is never given a name, and once he has a mission nothing can sway him. He serves as brute force and unmatched firepower within the Nocturnals, and has quickly become a fan favorite. Being a corpse, Gunwitch can take an unspecified amount of damage with no ill effects; one of the few times we ever see him be affected by an enemy attack is when Eve is kidnapped in ''Nocturnals: The Witching Hour.'' Tiny forest sprites dust him with a magic powder that puts him to sleep, and when he is revived by Starfish and the Raccoon he appears to have taken it personally... much to the chagrin of those he discovers kidnapped Eve. 
He is the main character in his own miniseries called ''Nocturnals: Outskirts of Doom,'' where he and Eve come upon a town that is torn between warring vampire gangs vying for control.

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