Kings Cross

King's Cross

King's Cross is a fair-sized port city (roughly where Wilmington, DE is in our own world, though covering somewhat more area) with a population of 305,755 as of the last census.

Several mayors in the past, having agendas that were pro-business, have made the Commercial and Industrial districts strong enough to be a solid challenge and alternative to New York.

King's Cross has, as it grew, annexed several smaller towns and cities, each of which maintains something of its original nature. Thus, aside from the usual 'Uptown/Downtown' or 'Business/Residential' splits, King's Cross residents recognise many distinct neighborhoods.

There are two military bases situated around King's Cross.

The first, up around Hoopes Reservoir (around Ashland, DE in our world) is Swallow Hill Army Post.

The second, Northeast along the Delaware River from King's Cross proper, is Gwinhurst Naval Base.

The various districts/Neighborhoods in King's Cross are:

Old Crosse - The original city, built at the confluence of the Christina River and Brandywine Creek.

King's Harbour - The docks and wharfs that served Old Crosse, build around the mouth of the Christina River as it empties into the Delaware.

Hessian Ridge - Also called Germantown, where German immigrants congregated.

Southbridge - So named because it lays on the South end of the main bridge over the Christina River from Old Crosse.

Brandywine Village - a small town which straddles the Brandywine Creek. Annexed by Old Crosse in the 19th Century.

Stryker Town - Stryker Town was built in the mid 19th Century to house railroad workers and such. It is the Chinatown/Japan Town of King's Cross. (Both Chinese and Japanese cultural areas can be found within.)

A few organisations / groups of note that I already know of: The Guardians were, in the early 2000s, the main group of heroes protecting the city. They disbanded in 2013. Since then, while there have been attempts to re-form them, none has gone anywhere, and it's mostly been individual heroes fighting and occasionally banding together as needed. The final Lineup where Crane, Star Sapphire, Seraph, and Varia.

The underworld speaks of Nichievo, albeit in whispers only. Capos and Gang Leaders who don't fear the police - or even federal involvement - fear this organisation, though only they know why.

Citadel is an arm of the Federal Penitentiary system, specific to Enhanced or Parahuman suspects and/or convicts. They run both the actual Citadel (where convicted Enhanced or Parahuman criminals serve their terms) and the Holding Cells, where Enhanced or Parahuman suspects are held pending trial.

Myriad, an international organisation devoted to what the rest of the world calls Mad Science. Myriad tries to claim it as just 'fringe science which is damned by short-sighted politicians. Generally looking for and working towards Super Soldiers and lab born Enhanced.

I'd like to suggest UNIT, the United Nations International Taskforce. An umbrella operation for one or two failed attempts at creating a World Superteam [Unity and UnityII], investigating unusual science [UNIT-F or Fringe] or the supernatural [UNIT M or ?] and dealing with the seemingly impossible [UNIT-13], amongst others. UNTIL meets Dr Who's UNIT meets Fringe meets Warehouse 13 meets SHIELD.

Killzone 2.0, daughter of the original Killzone. The Killzone powersuit looks like what happens if you took Stane's armor from the first Iron Man movie and said, "This looks nice, but it needs more weapons." Killzone conducts robberies to get the money to maintain and improve the armor, but her real goal is to find and kill Terminal Velocity.

Sanctuary is a super with the power to summon glowing fields of protection, and in dire situations has used the same light to heal grievous wounds. Sanctuary shows up not to fight villains, but to protect the innocent. When asked by a reporter about this, Sanctuary replied, "Better a hundred villains escape than one innocent person gets hurt."

Supremacy might be a supervillain, or an organization. It consists of several flying drones of different types that work together to conduct crimes. Shock drones are equipped with electric blasters, that leave their targets writhing on the ground in pain. Bomber drones are equipped with a launcher that fires specialty grenades which can blast, concuss, or bind groups of enemies. Spotter drones fire targeting beams that highlight foes for the other drones to target. Finally, Extraction drones have a large central body and mechanical arms to grab and store loot - these arms are strong enough to pull a vault door off its hinges.

I don't know how feasible this character concept is to create so if she's not my character I'd like to suggest Deterrent. She's generally a normal human being with a martial arts background and happens to be smarter than average, but upon certain triggers turns into a super brick (super toughness/super strength/healing factor) who hits hard. Thing is, her only known trigger is death: she resurrects into a super brick. Most of the time she's basically about as effective as a human tactician analyzing villains for weaknesses and the like.

When she 'dies' superheroes know that the gloves should start coming off: these supervillains are tossing around attacks that present a clear and present danger to the public and need to be shut down hard.

So long as she remains alive, a certain amount of courtesy is extended towards the villains (if they haven't committed crimes that have injured/killed people, for instance, bank robbers or aliens abducting a zoo) because the crimes they have committed aren't worth risking their lives.

The Star Sheriff: Legacy name, started with a Golden Age superhero from the southwestern US with a "Lone Ranger" motif. His real name was Darian Dime, and he got his powers of matter/energy manipulation from an alien techno-badge that had fallen to Earth. The badge is, in fact, part of a machine collective that goes around the galaxy empowering beings so they can bring justice to the universe. These empowered beings are known as the "Star Sheriffs".

Wave: Wave is an individual who can control and emit light and sound. She appears to be a young woman floating through the air, surrounded or infused by bright colors. While not a villain exactly, she causes significant disruptions whenever she appears. It's theorized that she may be mentally ill, and only manifests powers while in a fugue state disassociated from her everyday identity. She has, certainly, seemed uncertain of where she is or what she's doing when she has appeared. Has never been captured. Can't be clearly photographed due to the nature of her powers, but is very, very easily recognizable. Documented exploits have included attempting to lead and redirect the route of major holiday parades, playing with a collection of historical gemstones at the museum (she did not, notably, make any attempt to take them with her), and incinerating the coffin (and body) of a major organized crime figure at his extremely well-attended funeral.

Agent Chance: A mercenary and assassin who has extreme, subconscious, luck and probability control powers. He has little more offensive power than any other trained but unpowered combatant (conventional firearms and martial arts with a good OCV, maybe Find Weakness or a variant.) He also has only those gadgets and skills which would be typical of a highly trained agent. However, it's extremely difficult to harm him, let alone apprehend him, because of his abnormal luck. He is absolutely dedicated to the myth of his own competence and "ability to seize opportunities that his inferiors would miss." Typically reacts with heightened aggression or defensiveness to any suggestion his successes are due to "some fairy tale about luck." Due to the massive probability distortions that echo in his wake, the events surrounding his activities are usually more dangerous than he is.

Speculo: An occult secret society and conspiracy with magic relating to mirrors, glass, and reflections. Their abilities do seem to extend to any type of camera, including digital ones, as well. Relatively low-level members are capable of feats such as being invisible to cameras or appearing as someone else to cameras. Mid-level members have more broadly useful abilities, such as causing reflective surfaces to show any events they have recently reflected. High-level members are dangerous, and can see from any mirror, travel through mirrors, or cause completely convincing illusions to anyone seeing a scene through glass (or simply wearing glasses.) Speculo will steal money and treasure from time to time to fund comfortable lifestyles for its members and to buy their way into influential positions, but their true purposes are darker and more sinister.

Doctor Dread: One of the more nefarious villains around. Doctor Robert Dred was originally a genius psychologist & psychiatrist who worked at [arkham asylum knockoff] and other supermax facilities, attempting to rehabilitate the worst of the worst. He eventually decided that evil was simply another mode of living and gave up on rehabilitation in the normally understood sense. He now helps villains, criminals, and psychopaths self-actualize. While not especially physically dangerous himself, Doctor Dread will at any given time lead a coalition of other villains, as a combination crime syndicate and therapy group. He is capable of sophisticated plans and schemes, has extensive resources, is dangerously perceptive, and can also suppress the mental/psychological disadvantages of his patients so long as they're working with him. Doctor Dread is a fit man in his fifties who is capable of convincing disguises. He has a limp and uses a walking stick, which can emit sleep gas and functions as an electrical stunner. May have other minor gadgets, but isn't a serious gadgeteer. Unusually for a villain, he has an absolute code against killing. He is, after all, an actual doctor.

Zap: What if Freakazoid, but more serious? Electrical & computer-related powers. Machine telepathy, enhanced mental abilities, travels through telecommunications equipment, maybe an electrical blast if the points are there? More of an investigator and wild-card than a stand-up fighter, he'd be built with less combat ability than the majority of 400 point characters. I actually might use this guy as a character concept if any of my others aren't met with overwhelming favor.

Bullshark: a Tigershark knockoff, only not as bright.

Proxy: cyborg criminal mastermind. Technology is his forte and he has an army of RC weapons (mini tanks, drones, etc).

Heroes: Gigabit: he controls the airwaves…and radio waves…and microwaves

Roach: gliding brick/MA. Impossible to kill. And no matter how much he helps, every one is kinda disgusted by him.

Amateurs: Boomer: ex-pro football player. mid level brick with a mean move through. Works as a freelance limo driver and bodyguard.

Eagle Fist: group of teen MA students at a local dojo of an Eagle Fang. They’re “taking back the streets!”

The Bold Research And Intelligence Network - a group of scientists and engineers who will work with anyone, take funding from anyone, and perform any research with no regards for laws or ethics - only SCIENCE! The leader is called the Supreme Brain.

Ratman. Master of the sewers under Kings Cross. Ambivalent in the hero-villain wars, his primary aim is to keep the 'underworld' safe for his charges, both rat and human. Can sense anything one of his can. Amazingly quick, cunning and ruthless, he protects himself and his underworld with a host of stolen goods and equipment. Considered brilliant by those that have managed to get to know him. Dark Ness An enigma to those that know her. She appears to be and exhibits the powers of a living ghost, in that she can be Ness [alive] or Dark Ness [a ghost] at her whim. Feeds off the life-energy of people, but can do this by snacking on the excess energy thrown around by highly emotional situations [such as super-brawls]. Can, when starving or very angry, drain the life essence of someone. Formerly unable to control her feeding desires, she has learned to take sparingly and often, but is also capable of killing through draining [though she reserves this for 'bad ones' now]. Has taken the life of at least one serial killer and some crime bosses.