Megalopolis

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Megalopolis is unique in two ways: First, it was engineered from scratch by Omnicorp, which was already among the world's biggest companies at the time. Second, it was designed thanks to the alien technology Omnicorp has salvaged from the crashed battleship of Garzor, the Gashren warlord.

One of the most obvious aspect of said technology is the buildings: Each and every one of them, from the tallest skyscrapper to the most modest house, is built primarily from omni-metal, a super-alloy produced exclusively by Omnicorp. The properties of omni-metal make it substantially harder to destroy buildings made of it than those made of steel and cement, and the whole city is considered relatively quake-proof. City Hall has even passed safety regulations which require all buildings to incorporate omni-metal in their structure – though some whisper this was done to give Omnicorp complete control over the local masonry sector, as they have a monopoly on omni-metal.

Also rather visible is the city's public transport system: Using omni-metal, super-strong beams arch over the streets, carrying the weight of the monorail. The system provides for highly practical and relatively pleasant public transportation, lessening the issue of traffic.

Perhaps the most important aspect of Omnicorp's technology in Megalopolis is its power system: The city owns a single power plant whose working principle is kept an industrial secret (though there are whispers of total conversion of matter to energy, they have not been confirmed); the plant generates enough power to keep even a huge city like Megalopolis working. Energy transfer, rather than rely on power lines, is done through some type of energy waves that certain receivers (produced by Omnicorp) can tap into. Every house, every monorail wagon and nearly every car has one such receiver.

The urban engineers who designed Megalopolis divided it from its inception into a grid of neighborhoods: City Hall is located in the semi-residential area known as Advance Park. The current mayor is Elizabeth Kennedy, who has been elected three times consecutively despite being an independent candidate. Some people dislike the fact that the mayor is also a vice-president of Omnicorp, feeling that this gives the corporation far too much power; however, the population at large is obviously satisfied with Kennedy's work.

While Advance Park is a semi-residential area, Peace Park is purely recreational. A large area of woods, grass, and lakes, it is a favorite spot of many families for week-ends.

The Star District is a residential area for the city's middle class, for which it competes with Advance Park.

Knock's Range, by contrast, is where the not-so-well-off live. While not the worst neighborhood one may encounter in America, the area has less of a luster than most of the city. It also has light industrial activity.

Silver Corridor, named after the glimmer of its numerous skyscrapers, is the city's financial district. Among many other things, it houses the gargantuan Omni-Tower, Omnicorp's corporate HQ.

Newville, to the North, is a residential area renown for its market.

Feynman's Gulch, to the South, is mostly an industrial area.

Tesla Island is located close to the shore, and connected to the mainland through omni-metal suspension bridges.

The port area sees many mercantile ships come and go. Right next to it lies the city's power central, which is guarded like a fortress.

The downtown is a large residential neighborhood, and houses the city's minimum-security prison.

The Fountains are the upper-class area, located to the South.

Little Venice is located to the West, and full of canals. As it is an industrial area, the canals are not designed for beauty so much as to complicate escape from End Point, the prison for superhumans it houses.

New Eden is a mostly-natural area to The Fountains' West, which competes with Peace Park for “favorite pick-nick spot”.

Progress Isle, a bit further to the East ad North, was originally intended to house a large amusement park. That project was scrapped when the supervillain Flare torched it. The island changed hands several times, until Venture Industries managed to acquire it (something that appears to have somewhat ticked off Omnicorp). The island currently serves to represent Venture Industries in Megalopolis, and houses important laboratories.

For whatever reason, traditional criminal cartels haven't quite managed to gain a foothold in Megalopolis. That doesn't mean the city is crime-free – only that there are different mobs. The largest of them appears to be the M-Syndicate; the Panthers, Blades and Scorpions appear to have more ethnic edges to them (respectively black, Chinese and Hispanic). Crime is fought as well as possible by the MPD; when supervillains are involved, the MPD often relies on its Titan units, elite policemen with power armors designed by Omicorp.

More notably, though, Megalopolis boasts the highest superhero-to-population rate on Earth, due to a variety of factors (it is no secret that Omnicorp encourages as many superheroes as possible to move to Megalopolis; their protection raises property value, after all). Even after the decimation that occurred in the Battle of Jerusalem, the city's heroes still number about 200; about half of those are members of the Omni-Force, a huge supergroup financed by Omnicorp (and easily the largest supergroup in the world).

Megalopolis personalities:

• Elizabeth Kennedy: Mayor and Omnicorp vice-president.

• George Li: Omnicorp CEO.

• Kim and Stan Sansom: Reporters for Omni-News and the Megalopolis Monitor