Major Tom 2009

Re: Paradox Timely of the TED (6ed, PG-13) Without giving too much away about the kind of character Paradox is, let's just say that she's like Darien Lambert in certain respects. Major Tom 2009

Re: Mister Wicked, 6ed Version. Here's one last pic for now; considering the subject of this thread, I can't think of a more appropriate place for it: [ATTACH=CONFIG]45128[/ATTACH] A little bit of explanation here: some time ago, steriaca asked me if it was possible to do a "damsel-in-distress" type of picture using either Fabrica or Heromachine, and at the time, I'd told him that I didn't think that it was possible, given the limitations on those character creators (especially Fabrica). However, the question kept nag- ging at me, and recently I had an idea as to how it might be possible to do it. The original idea that I'd had was to put the DiD on a stretch of railroad tracks, in the grand tradition of Snidely Whiplash-style movie villains throughout B&W film history; unfortunately, by the time that I was ready to put the finishing touches on the pic, my laptop was slowing down to the point that it would've taken hours to finish (I'd used my color background technique to make a dirt-colored background on which to put the rest of the picture's elements; unfortunately, the more stuff that got put on the pic, the slower my computer got). Rather than start all over, I got rid of everything except the DiD and one of the "railroad tracks", and looked through the Scenario menu for a suitable background -- which I did find. After selecting two shades of gray for the background (to make it look like a dark and decidedly grim dungeon cell), I stretched out and positioned the "railroad track" to make it look like a heavy upright wooden beam, against which I positioned the DiD to make it look as though she was tied to it; between that and the express- ion on her face, she looks as if she's fearfully waiting for her kidnapper/captor to come through the cell door at any moment. C'est diabolique, oui? Major Tom 2009

Re: Mister Wicked, 6ed Version. Paradox isn't all work and no play; she does occasionally take the time to enjoy herself -- especially if she's got someone to enjoy that time with. The outfits shown below are for those times when she wants to enjoy herself: [ATTACH=CONFIG]45126[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]45127[/ATTACH] As with all of her outfits which have been shown thus far, these are made from nanocloth which can be altered at will; these particular outfits, however, have special features of their own. Because this is a family-friendly forum, however, these special features will NOT be described here -- anyone who want to know what they are will have to wait until The Book of the Wicked is ready for those interested in a copy. Major Tom 2009

Re: Mister Wicked, 6ed Version. Of the alien disguises that Paradox makes use of in her work, this is the only one that she's using in our time period -- that of a Krishnan from the Viagens Interplanetarias novels of L. Sprague de Camp -- and then only when she wants to enjoy one of the phenomena of the 20th and 21st Cen- turies which are known as science-fiction conventions: [ATTACH=CONFIG]45125[/ATTACH] As a fan of ancient science-fiction literature (as well as "old-style" film and televisual media of that type that some individuals in her time -- notably her family -- have managed to preserve and transfer to more modern storage media), the idea of including a Krishnan disguise in her nanobots' computer memory ap- pealed to her tremendously. Not only can she use it without arousing suspicion while she's in our time period, she can also use it to disguise herself as an exotic alien in her own time (not many people in her native time period have the knowledge to recognize that her disguise is that of a fictional alien from a series of 20th-Century novels; the majority of those who see her in this form assume that she's a visitor from an as-yet unknown world outside of the Federation's borders). Given the sensuality with which she roleplays the part when in this form, it's no wonder that males of any species are immediately attracted to her. Recently, Paradox has been considering adding another green-skinned alien disguise to her repetoire -- that of a slave girl from another sci-fi series which is still very popular, even in her own time (). NOTE: To anyone who's seen the previous alien disguise of Paradox's: consider your geekcred to be increased in a major way if you can spot the tribute to a certain sci-fi series that I slipped into the costume. Major Tom 2009

Re: Mister Wicked, 6ed Version. In addition to the various human disguises that have been programmed into her nanobots, Paradox also has a few alien disguises as well, which she normally uses only in her own time (with one notable exception). One of these disguises -- that of a Rigellian IT technician -- is shown below: [ATTACH=CONFIG]45123[/ATTACH] This is one of the more uncomfortable disguises in Paradox's repetoire; because Rigellians only have three fingers and a thumb on their hands, the nanotech has to physically alter her hands to perfectly resemble those of true Rigellians; this is why this is one of the least-used of her disguises, but an im- portant one nevertheless. Major Tom 2009

Re: Mister Wicked, 6ed Version. When information that seemed to indicate a possible link between the white slavery operation and the eccentric multi-millionaire Reginald Wicked came up, Paradox had the appearance and costume shown below programmed into her nanobots: [ATTACH=CONFIG]45122[/ATTACH] Not only will this outfit make it easier to circulate through a crowd at one of Reginald Wicked's charity balls, it'll definitely attract the attention of Mister Wicked (even if she doesn't know who that is yet []). Major Tom 2009

Re: Mister Wicked, 6ed Version. Because of the covert nature of her assignment to our time period, Paradox has needed from time to time to create cover identities which make it possible for her to gain information that she might otherwise have been unable to acquire in her normal identity. One such identity is that shown below -- that of an American- Chinese inhabitant of the local Chinatown: [ATTACH=CONFIG]45121[/ATTACH] Major Tom 2009

Re: Mister Wicked, 6ed Version. As mentioned in Paradox's description, she has access to nanotechnology which not only enables her to change her physical appearance, but also to change her clothing as well. Because her assign- ment may require her to travel from one time period in the past to another, the advanced micro- computers in the nanotbots have been programmed with information on several different clothing styles, including the one shown below -- disguised as a young African-American woman of the 1970s: [ATTACH=CONFIG]45120[/ATTACH] Major Tom 2009

Re: Mister Wicked, 6ed Version. And finally, here's Paradox herself, both in her TED uniform and in her "superhero" outfit: [ATTACH=CONFIG]45118[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]45119[/ATTACH] Both outfits feature the symbol of the Temporal Enforcement Directorate -- a shield-shaped badge upon which the symbol for infinity has been imposed. Major Tom 2009

Re: Mister Wicked, 6ed Version. F.B.I. Special Agents Romulus "Wolf" Blackthorne and Katherine "Kate" Lightner: [ATTACH=CONFIG]45116[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]45117[/ATTACH] Major Tom 2009

Re: Mister Wicked, 6ed Version. Hieronymous Blackthorne and Dr. Joyce Watkins: [ATTACH=CONFIG]45114[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]45115[/ATTACH] Major Tom 2009

Re: Mister Wicked, 6ed Version. The heroic sorceror Lightbearer: [ATTACH=CONFIG]45113[/ATTACH] Major Tom 2009

Re: Mister Wicked, 6ed Version. Kitsune, the vigilante fox-girl: [ATTACH=CONFIG]45112[/ATTACH] Major Tom 2009

Re: Mister Wicked, 6ed Version. OK, now that the fluff about the Crusaders is out of the way, here are the pics that go with the characters. I'm going to post them in reverse order, as Paradox has more than one pic of her to be posted (for reasons which will be explained later). First up is Remington Jones, P.I. (in both casual clothes and his "working" outfit): [ATTACH=CONFIG]45110[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]45111[/ATTACH] Major Tom 2009

Re: Mister Wicked, 6ed Version. Remington Jones was once a Texas Ranger years ago, and was considered to be one of the best. That was before the incident which caused him to give up his badge and to resign from the Rangers. He'd been part of a joint protective detail -- half F.B.I., half Texas Rangers -- that had been assigned to protect an important witness and his family prior to his testimony before a Grand Jury, and there were rumors that the people he was going to testify against were planning a last-ditch attempt to silence him before he could set foot inside the courtroom. Needless to say, the detail took every precaution that its members could think of to ensure their charge's safety. Unfortunately, the one precaution they didn't think of was to watch out for treachery from one of their own: one of the agents from the Bureau was actually corrupt, and was working for the people who wanted the witness dead. At a prearranged time, the inside man slipped knockout drugs into the food and drinks of the other members of the detail; the only ones who he wasn't able to drug were Jones and two members of the Bureau who were on a roving patrol outside the safehouse. That was the only reason that they survived when the hit team attacked the safehouse later that night. With the inner guard detail unconscious, it was all too easy for the inside man to let the hit team into the house, at which time two of them proceeded to fulfill their contract while the rest kept Jones and the other Bureau agents from getting near the safehouse. Before Jones and the others could do anything to get closer to the house, it exploded from within, destroying it completely. As soon as the fires could be put out, and the bodies of the dead -- the witness, his wife, and the inner guard detail; the bodies of the two twin daughters were missing, and it was believed that they'd been incinerated in the fire -- were removed from the house. Once it was discovered that not all of the bodies of the inner guard detail had been recovered, and that in fact one of them was missing, an investigation was conducted. It wasn't long before the investigation turned up the fact of the missing agent's corruption, and of the huge sum that had been deposited to his account before the attack on the safehouse. Although it was a small relief to discover that nothing he or any of the other Rangers of the detail had done was responsible for the death of the witness and his family, Jones could only feel deep shame that innocent people who'd depended on him for their lives had died -- a shame that ran so deep that it drove him to resign from the Rangers. He didn't give up the legal business entirely, however, for a few weeks after his resignation Remington Jones, P.I. hung up his shingle and started taking clients. Several months later, the two F.B.I. agents who'd survived along with Jones that night paid him a visit, bringing with them incredible news -- that the twin daughters that everyone thought had died in the safehouse fire along with their parents and the inner guard detail were in fact alive, and were slaves to a sheikh in the Middle East. Not only were they alive, but the traitor who'd caused the deaths of their fellow agents and Rangers was alive as well and working for the sheikh as his chief of security. Upon learning of the true fate of the girls, a cold, calculating rage took possession of Jones, and he swore an oath right there and then: that no matter how long it took, or what he had to do to accomplish it, that he would some- how free the girls from their captivity -- and bring the traitorous agent to justice, one way or another. The agents promised Jones that they'd give him whatever help he needed in order to fulfill that oath, even if it meant breaking every regulation in the book. A week after the visit from the agents, Jones was going through the information they'd given him when he suddenly felt the need to travel to another city to meet with some people. Upon arriving at the city in question -- and making his way to an isolated part of it -- Jones met with the most interesting group of people he'd ever met: two F.B.I. agents, a guy wearing what looked like 19th-Century clothing, an attractive African-American woman who was with him, and three others who looked like superheroes -- one of whom appeared to have reddish- brown fur, pointed ears, and amber-colored eyes not unlike those of a fox. After Jones had gotten close enough to the group, the older of the three costumed figures introduced himself as Lightbearer, and one of the two costumed women with him as Paradox. Once Lightbearer had made the introductions, he turned the discussion over to Paradox, who informed all of them that, whether they knew it or not, all of them were facing the same enemy -- an organization that had not only been in existence for nearly 200 years, but which had consigned countless innocent young women to a fate worse than death. She also told them that, if there was to be any chance of bringing about the end of the organization, all of them would need to join forces with one another and combine their resources to achieve that goal. Although some of what he'd heard sounded a bit farfetched -- especially the part about Paradox being from the 31st Century, and that she was some kind of time cop -- Jones couldn't deny the logic of what had been said about joining together to stop the white slavery operation once and for all. There was also his oath to consider; being a part of a group such as the one being proposed would make it much easier to rescue the girls when the time came...and if he was able to settle the account with the traitor in the process, so much the better. He therefore decided to join with the others to form the Crusaders. Major Tom 2009

Re: Mister Wicked, 6ed Version. The super-vigilante now known as Kitsune was once a young woman by the name of Kitty Simpson, who had a friend who vanished mysteriously after going to Japan to pursue an acting career. Traveling to Japan herself to try and find her friend, Kitty soon ran afoul of an organization called the Shadow Clan, a high-tech gang affiliated with the Yakuza that specialized in cutting-edge and highly esoteric experiments. One such experiment involved using the DNA of selected animals in conjunction with a mutagenic catalyst in order to transform the subject into an anthropomorph -- a hybrid of animal and human, one with the best features of both species. Kitty's friend had been the subject of a previous attempt, and had died during the transformation pro- cess...and now the Shadow Clan's scientists had a new subject with which to work. After being securely restrained, Kitty was injected with a modified version of the formula that had been tested on her friend: a combination of vulpine DNA and the mutagenic cat- alyst, which had been altered to allow a longer transformation period (the previous form- ula had had a faster effect on its subjects, and the scientists believed that that was what had killed their previous subject -- her inability to adjust quickly enough to the trans- formation process to survive it). Within seconds of the injection, Kitty lost consciousness... ...only to wake up several hours later, to find that she had indeed been successfully trans- formed into a fox-girl, complete with sharp claws on her fingers and toes, pointed ears, and a layer of short reddish-brown fur covering her body. Upon seeing what had been done to her, Kitty passed out from the shock. Wanting to examine her more closely in a lab, the scientists undid her restraints in preparation to move her to a gurney. Once the last of the restraints was undone, however, Kitty suddenly lashed out, catching the scientists by surprise; in their haste, they'd forgotten to sedate her so that she wouldn't fight them. In seconds, she'd not only managed to overpower the scientists, but also managed to escape from the secret lab as well. The next few days could best be described as a very intense game of hide-and-seek, as Kitty was doing her best to avoid being recaptured by the Shadow Clan while simultane- ously attempting to reach the U.S. Embassy. Eventually, she did manage to reach her destination, but only with the timely aid of two Japanese superheroes, Gold Dragon and Rising Sun. After managing to convince the Ambassador and his staff about who she was and what had been done to her, she was sent home aboard a U.S. Government aircraft; upon arriving back home, she was introduced to the head of the local PRIMUS headquart- ers, who made arrangements to help her to not only learn just what her abilities were, but how to cope with them as well. It was during these sessions that Kitty -- who had decided to take the code name of Kitsune, after the fox-women of Japanese folklore -- began to study both local and Federal law enforce- ment records for any other cases like her friend's; sure enough, there were, but there were several others as well that appeared to be scattered all over the country -- but which were all too similar to be the work of different perpetrators. Once her training was complete, Kitsune began her own, quiet investigation into the abductions, during which she experienced a sudden compulsion to visit a certain location. Making her way there, Kitsune was surprised to see an odd group of people already there, two of whom looked like superheroes. Upon noticing Kitsune's arrival, the older of the two costumed figures welcomed her to the gathering and introduced himself as Lightbearer, and the young costumed woman next to him as Paradox. He then explained the reason that he'd summoned them to this secret meeting: each of them was investigating the same as-yet unidentified organization which was responsible for all of the kidnappings that had occurred over the last decade or more, or -- in Kitsune's case -- had been indirectly victimized by it. Paradox spoke up then, and suggested that if they were to join forces and combine their resources, that they would have a better chance of bringing down the organization and bringing its leaders to justice. Seeing in Paradox's suggestion a chance to avenge her friend's death at the hands of the Shadow Clan, Kitsune agreed that joining forces would be a good idea indeed. And so it was that Kitsune became a founding member of the Crusaders. NOTE: Although she's unaware of it, Kitsune was followed that day by a PRIMUS agent, one of those involved with her training. The agent was able to get close enough to re- cord the meeting and the conversation between Kitsune and the others present; as a result, the agent in charge of the PRIMUS HQ where Kitsune was being trained is fully aware of the existence of the Crusaders and of their mission. He has, however, decided to keep this knowledge a secret, as he agrees with Special Agent Blackthorne about the possibility of there being moles in law enforcement working for the organization. He has also assigned the agent who discovered the existence of the Crusaders to be Kitsune's contact with PRIMUS (in case the need ever arises to provide support for the team), and has further seen to it that the recordings made by his agent have been completely des- troyed. Major Tom 2009

Re: Quote of the Week from my gaming group... Sounds like this outfit was the CoC equivalent to the party in the movie Primal. Only this group was even more Too Terminally Stupid To Live (or they were wearing their +5 Neutronium Helmets of Protection from Clue-Bats). Major Tom 2009

Re: Quote of the Week from my gaming group... Prevert. Major Tom 2009

Re: Mister Wicked, 6ed Version. I'll post the remaining members of the Crusaders (and their pics) later today. Major Tom 2009

Re: Mister Wicked, 6ed Version. One of the more colorful members of the Crusaders, next to Kitsune and Paradox, is the sorceror/superhero Lightbearer. A master of the hermetic arts, Lightbearer protected his home city and its inhabitants against mystical evil of all sorts, but always in secret. That changed on the day that a young woman from his old neighborhood was kidnapped under mysterious circumstances, and he set out to find her using his mystical abilities. In the course of his investigation, he learned that the organization of evil mystics and sorcerors known as DEMON was involved with the kidnapping in some way, but in what capacity he didn't know. Fortunately, he didn't have to worry about looking for their local headquarters, as he'd managed to discover where the young woman was being held. Launching a surprise attack on the abandoned warehouse where the kidnapped girl was being held, Lightbearer found himself recieving help from an unexpected source: a young woman who used high-tech devices and weapons to fight the kidnappers. After the fight was over (and both the victim and her kidnappers had had their memories altered so that they wouldn't remember who saved her and defeated them), the young woman introduced herself as Paradox, and told him that although the two of them had been at the warehouse for slightly different reasons, their goal was the same: to discover who was behind the kidnapping. She also told Lightbearer that they weren't the only ones who were involved; that there were in fact several others who were searching for the same thing, only they weren't as yet aware of it. Paradox then told him that, if they were to have any chance at all of bringing about an end to the evil behind the kidnapping -- not only of the young woman that they'd saved, but countless others as well -- then they would need to gather the others together and combine their resources to accomplish that goal. Otherwise, whoever was behind the kidnapping -- and others like it -- would continue to work their evil, condemnning many more innocent young women to a fate worse than death. Knowing somehow that Paradox was absolutely correct, Lightbearer agreed that the others that she'd spoken of needed to be gathered together and told what was at stake, and so he used a subtle application of one of his abilities to insure that they would all gather at a place of his choosing. The mystical summoning was successful, and not long after that, Paradox informed them of her mission as well as how their respective investigations were a part of it, even if they hadn't been aware of it at the time. She then asked if they'd be willing to join her in stopping the kidnappings once and for all. Although the others were skeptical at first, especially regarding Paradox's claim that she was from a thousand years in the future, it didn't take long for any of them to accept the truth once they'd compared the information their respective investigations had turned up and saw just how much of it tallied with what she'd told them (it also didn't hurt her cause when she demonstrated the technology to which she had access -- technology which was clearly in advance of anything currently existing on Earth). Once they were indeed convinced of the truth, the group agreed to join forces to deal with this threat; Special Agents Blackthorne and Lightner also told them that, because they had no idea of what kind of reach the enemy might have into the law-enforcement community, their activities would have to be kept secret from everyone so that any moles wouldn't get wind of their operation before they were ready to move. The others agreed to the need for secrecy; all that was left to do was to come up with a name for their little group. It was Wolf Blackthorne who came up with the name for the group: "Since we're on what amounts to a Crusade, what better name could we have than Crusaders?" The others liked the name, so it was that the group became known amongst itself as the Crusaders. Major Tom 2009

Re: Mister Wicked, 6ed Version. I'd originally posted the pics of these two over at the DC-type HeroMachine thread, but I'll go ahead and post their background here as well: The older cousin of Wolf Blackthorne, Hieronymous Blackthorne is much like Sherlock Holmes, in that he is self-taught in a number of fields (fortunately, he is also smart enough to have avoided Holmes' only shortcoming -- drug addiction), which he uses to help others. He does so by offering his services as a paid "special consultant", who advises his clients on the best way to handle a problem -- whether legal or per- sonal -- once he has all of the pertinent information in hand. However, there is a side to his business that he keeps secret from all except a small but trusted handful of individuals in the law-enforcement commun- ity -- whenever the authorities have a case that has presented them with particular difficulty where its sol- ution is concerned, he, along with his friend and associate Dr. Joyce Watkins, lend their combined talents to the authorities in order to solve the case and bring the perpetrators to justice. Their only request when such a situation arises is that their involvement is kept completely secret, and that no word of it be allowed to leak to the news media. Hieronymous' reasoning behind this request is that, if a perpetrator doesn't know that someone like himself or Dr. Watkins is working with the police to solve their crime, he or she won't be trying to impede the investigation by trying to kill either or both of them. As for Dr. Watkins, when she's not up to her elbows in helping Hieryonomous solve a crime, she's a general practicioner at one of the city's major hospitals. In addition to the skills required to practice her profession, she has also aquired an expert knowledge of pharmacology and toxicology. Recently, Hieronymous has convinced her to take up the study of forensic medicine as well, so that she'll be better able to assist him where her field of expertise is concerned. Under normal circumstances, the two of them only get involved with a criminal investigation once a request for their assistance has been made by the authorities; however, a situation has arisen which has caused them to initiate an investigation of their own. Two of Dr. Watkins' friends and professional colleagues -- a female doctor and a nurse -- have recently turned up missing after both of them supposedly went on separate vacat- ions; no one knew that both of them were missing until someone tried to get in touch with the doctor weeks later at the hotel she was supposedly staying at, only to discover that not only was the doctor not there, but that no reservation in her name had ever been made. An attempt to contact the nurse ended the same way; following this discovery, Watkins immediately went to Blackthorne and told him what had happened, and the two of them commenced their own investigation into the disappearances. In the course of their inquiries, they learned that the two missing women had recently brought charges against one of the male physicians on the hospital staff for improper behavior toward his female patients -- charges that were ultimately substantiated and resulted in the doctor's firing and subsquent revocation of his license. Both Blackthorne and Watkins de- cided to investigate the disgraced physician, as it was entirely possible that he had a motive to arrange for the possible abduction of the two women. During the course of their investigation, they encountered a group of very different people, all of whom were likewise carrying out their own, similar investigations; once they'd found a place to sit down and discuss their activities, they all realized that they were investigating the same case, only from several different angles. Upon that realization, all of them decided to pool their resources in order to solve the crimes and to bring those be- hind them to justice; they also decided to follow Blackthorne and Watkins' example of keeping their activities secret, and to keep Paradox's secrets as well. Major Tom 2009

Re: Mister Wicked, 6ed Version. Romulus "Wolf" Blackthorne and Katherine "Kate" Lightner: these two Special Agents of the F.B.I. are one of the most effective partnerships in the Bureau. This is due in large part to Wolf's previous career as one of the USMC's Marine Force Recon operators, a career which ended in a medical discharge following an incident which took place during a training exercise in India (he was one of a few foreign soldiers who'd been invited to undergo cross- training in jungle warfare under the tutelage of Gurkha instructors at that time). A head in- jury suffered at the time caused his hair to turn prematurely white, as well as causing mem- ory loss; as he was the only survivor of the incident, a great deal of effort was made to help him to regain his memory of whatever had happened, but to no avail. However, one of his former superior officers (and a family friend as well) suspects -- quite accurately, as a matter of fact -- that Wolf not only remembers more than he's told anyone, he's chosen for whatever reason to conceal his knowledge of the incident. For now, the officer has decided to leave Wolf be, in the hope that he'll choose to tell what happened that day. It's only a matter of time, however, before someone else takes it upon themselves to seek the answers on their own. Kate Lightner, on the other hand, came from a different background altogether: that of a college graduate with a degree in criminology who joined her hometown's police force after making it through college. She later joined the F.B.I. following the mysterious disappearance of her friend and college roommate and one of their friends -- both attractive young women -- from their homes. Although evidence was found which indicated that they'd been abducted, no trace of the missing girls was ever found again. It was as if both young women had vanished from the face of the Earth (which, in fact, they had -- courtesy of Captain Rackham and his timeship). Lightner joined at the same time as Wolf Blackthorne did, and both went through training to- gether. Following their graduation, the two of them worked together on a few minor cases, with a brief period during which they were on different assignments (with Blackthorne being on the Bureau's Hostage Rescue Team, and Lightner serving as an assistant to the Legal Attache of the U.S. Embassy in Japan) before being reunited for their first major assignment: the in- vestigation of a rumored white slavery ring with international connections. It was during this assignment that Blackthorne and Lightner first encountered those who would, along with themselves, later become the core membership of the Crusaders -- the time traveler Paradox, Wolf's older cousin Hieryonomous and his friend Dr. Joyce Watkins, the superheroic mage called Lightbearer, former Texas Ranger turned detective Remington Jones, and the super- vigilante called Kitsune. Together, these eight individuals would wage a shadow war -- first against Dirty Tom Rackham, then eventually Mister Wicked. Major Tom 2009

Re: Mister Wicked, 6ed Version. The so-far informal group which will be hunting Mister Wicked -- the Crusaders -- is made up of individuals from several different backgrounds, ranging from law enforcement (both from the present and the future) to the superheroic, with some from the crimefighting community thrown in for good measure. The members of this group are as follows: Paradox: this young woman -- a native of the 31st Century, the time period which is home to the Galactic Federation -- is an agent of the extremely top-secret Temporal Enforcement Directorate, which was formed in response to Dirty Tom Rackham's theft of an experimental timeship. The TED's existence is so secret that only a small handful of people in the Federation -- those in the espionage and law-enforcement communities as well as the President -- are aware of its existence (not even the 31st-Century incarnation of the Champions are aware of the Directorate's existence). As the first-ever agent to be recruited by the TED, Paradox was given some of the most advanced nano- technology in existence -- nanotech which would not only enable her to alter both her clothing and physical appearance, but also to appear as members of other humanoid species (within certain limits). She was also given technology similar to that in Rackham's possession -- a personal force field generator, a combination communicatior and computer, a universal translator, and a neural stunner -- and given her maiden assignment: the apprehension of Dirty Tom Rackham and the recovery of the timeship. To make it possible for her to carry out this assignment, the Directorate entrusted her with its most secret technology: a personal time-travel device which could be carried on her person. Paradox was also given a personal anti-gravity and flight device (what was called a "flight ring" in her time), as well as an advanced life-support system in the form of a belt, which would allow her to survive in any concievable environment without the need for bulky life-support gear. Because the 20th and 21st Centuries were a very large area in which a temporal criminal could hide in, Paradox's assignment was made open-ended, with no deadline in which to accomplish it by. She was given one very important order before being sent on her mission, however: under no circum- stances whatsoever was she to do anything which could alter the timeline, as even the slightest change might make it impossible for her to return to her native time period. Not long after arriving in the present, Paradox learned that Rackham was not only buying young women from a white slavery operation, but was also transporting them to the 31st Century to sell them at the alien slave markets outside of Federation territory -- as well as at least one that was within it. What she didn't know was who was behind the operation, so she set out to discover that information in the hope of killing two birds with one stone: not only capturing Rackham so that he could answer for his crimes in front of a Federation court, but also to put an end to a despicable criminal enterprise. In the course of her investigation, she came across a number of individuals who were out to accomplish the same thing. After an intensive discussion -- during which Paradox shared her secret with them -- all of them decided to pool their resources in order to put a stop to the white slavery operation, and to bring those behind it to justice (at least those who were native to their own time; they recognized that Rackham could only be tried in a court of the 31st Century in order to avoid changing the timeline). They also agreed to keep Paradox's secret in order to protect her from those who would be more than interested in gaining access to her technology. Major Tom 2009

Re: Mister Wicked, 6ed Version. One of Mister Wicked's regular customers is a representative of the super-high-tech organization known as ARGENT -- a man who is known only as the Procurer: [ATTACH=CONFIG]45092[/ATTACH] This cold-blooded and thoroughly disagreeable cad visits Mister Wicked's secret auction facility from time to time in order to purchase what he euphemistically refers to as "experimental sub- jects" -- young and fairly strong women who invariably wind up being sent to the labs in the various ARGENT facilities scattered throughout the world, where they are used in numerous and sometimes quite deadly research projects. Not all of those purchased wind up in the labs right away; the more attractive ones are imprisoned in the "recreational facilities" that many of these bases have (hey, even criminal techno-geeks have needs that have to be seen to on occasion). They remain there where they "entertain" the base personnel, until such time as one of them is needed in the labs for a new experiment -- at which time their life expectancy plummets like a rock. Unless, of course, she's lucky enough to gain superpowers as a result of said experiment which enables her to escape. Major Tom 2009

Re: A DC Animated-style HeroMachine Here's a new one that I got back from The Arc today -- the superhero mage Lightbearer, friend, ally, and mentor to the time-displaced Lady Shadowflame: [ATTACH=CONFIG]45091[/ATTACH] Major Tom 2009