A Brave New World

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Unity(Carol Malloy)

Character Sheet
Same as Paragons book.

Biography

Carol was a sweet and innocent girl who married her high school sweetheart. Together, they had 2 kids. She was a stay at home mom and her husband worked as a sanitation worker in the city. Their life was flipped upside down when Rampage tore through the town. Her car flipped over five times before finally landing. If not for her seat belt, Carol would be dead. The first responders after the carnage was finished, touched her and instantly became enthralled by her latent Unity power.

As Unity, she controlled the town into a hive mind that worked for the betterment of the town. Sensing someone would come for her eventually, she started drawing paragons into the town as a defense mechanism and assimilating those who got out of line. Her only goal was world peace through one mind, but she was prepared to fight if needed. When Akira attacked the town, fighting she did. Unfortunately, her thralls and paragons were over powered. Before she could be devoured by Ravana, a group of paragons saved her and nullified the Unity inside her, for now. She now rests in a cell in the paragons who saved her base.

Personality

Carol Malloy is a sweet mother and very cheery. She is content with her life and shares everything she has. She is the kind of neighbor who brings brownies or cake to new neighbors. Unity on the other hand is a pragmatic, peace at all costs force inside her. It's main goal is to bring the world together in one loving Unity at all costs. If a few eggs have to be broken, so be it.

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Jeremiah Prophet

Character Sheet
Same as Paragons book.

Biography

Jeremiah started as a caring psychologist. He ran a successful practice in Compton. One night while heading home, a mugger carjacked him and left him for dead. When he came to, his powers started manifesting. It was a blessing at first, but soon became a curse. He kept seeing the world destroyed by people with powers. He couldn't figure out who or what was causing the destruction. All he knew was that it wasn't a normal persons doing. Try as he might, he couldn't pin down the exact incident.

One day a man came to him with an offer to do something about his vision of doom. Vanguard was born and mercenary teams were born. As long as Prophet ran the teams and managed the operations he could have a chance at stopping the impending doom he keeps seeing. This path has lead him to areas he isn't exactly comfortable with, but believes is needed to stop the world from being destroyed.

Personality

Prophet is a laid back guy. He likes whiskey, smoking, and lounging about. As a leader, he does what is best int he long term despite the possible issues it may create in the short term. If that means killing a whole town to save a country he will.

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Calamity Jane

Character Sheet
Same as in Paragons book.

Biography

Calamity was aptly named by her parents. She was always taking things apart, putting them back together, and causing some unexpected results. One time she played with the remote and caused the microwave to turn on and off. In college, she was an average electrical engineering student who got her PHD in robotics specialty of electrical engineering. Most of her designs were good, but not excellent. She only landed her internship at Stalgrans Technologies because of her sex.

On her first day of work, something marvelous or terrifying depending which way you look at it happened. She was caught in the middle of a gang shootout and nearly died from a head wound. Contrary to being less smart and taking a long time to recover, she was healed by a doctor on her day off, Panacea, who used healing powers on her. Jane found herself understanding machines and coming up much better than before the near death experience.

Her star quickly rose at Stalgran technologies. She wasn't aware of the intent behind her inventions, but they did their job for the most part. Some of them lacked that spark needed to work. For the current level of technology, they were decades ahead of the times. It was all going so well until she got wind of the equipment being used against Paragons. Not being able to hurt her own people, she went underground and setup a secret lab.

For a spell, she lived in Evanston and even served on its council until the town was taken over by Akira. She retreated to her small workshop and helped to start an underground railroad for Paragons. Authorities have been close to catching her several times, but every time she manages to teleport back to her lab using the emergency teleporter she keeps on her.

Personality

Jane is a hard working and dedicated engineer. She feels bad for her work being used against paragons, so she does everything she can to help them. When not working, she is relaxing with a good technical manual or newly published robotics paper. They are like humor magazines because they are so far behind her designs.

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Panacea

Character Sheet
Same as Paragons book.

Biography

Even before she got her powers, Panacea was a skilled doctor. She graduated top in her class at med school and got offers to work at hospitals all over the U.S. She chose to work at a hospital in Harlem. It was a dangerous neighborhood, but she felt like she could make a difference. One night, the E.R she was helping out in got used as a place for some drug dealers on the run to hide. Nothing happened to her because the cops got in and talked the dealers down, but Panacea was changed forever.

The first public breakout hadn't occurred yet, so she kept her powers secret. Patients who looked on the verge of death managed to recover, broken legs turned out to be nothing more than a sprain, and people who came in for second opinions on fatal diseases ended up not having the disease. It was all explained away using some medical explanation. Patients loved her and the hospital administrators were glad to be on the map.

Like the rest of the world changed after the first public breakout, so did Panaceas life. Her diagnoses were questioned when they constantly conflicted with other prestigious doctors. A hospital administrator who failed to seduce her accused her of being a paragon like the criminals portrayed in the media. It pained her, but Panacea had to stop helping people. Finally, her secret was revealed when she used her powers to heal a fatally wounded man. She was ostracized and had her medical license revoked.

Taking Unity up on it's offer, she moved to Unity as the town doctor. After the attack by Akira, she joined with Calamity Jane, a paragon she had saved, to start an underground railroad for paragons to escape registration.

Personality

Panacea really cares. Maybe a little too much. She will put her life in danger just to save one person. Frequently, she needs to be dragged away from a burning car before it explodes or any other situation. using her powers so often is taxing on her, but she does it because deep down she wants to make the world a better place.

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Paragon Underground

Overview: Ever since the first public breakouts, a network has existed to help paragons in their time of need. As it became increasingly obvious that the world viewed paragons as threats, the network has worked to hide paragons in trouble and to get them to safety. It started small at first. A few were given money to get out of town. Some given supplies or a cabin in the woods to ride out angry neighbors. Still others just needed a place to sleep for the night.

Soon the small gestures were not enough. The rise of governments and Akira persecuting paragons forced the underground to give greater help. Paragons on the radar of Akira got ferried from safe house to safe house until they were somewhere safe or had new identities. Prisoner transports were stopped and the paragons being transported were set free. A small force even worked to fight off Akira to give time for others to escape.

For a few months, the underground thought they had a home in Evanston. A place to call their own. These dreams were shattered by Akira forces who destroyed nearly half the town and made the rest of it a concentration camp. With the subsequent passing of the Paragon Registration Act, the safe house network has taken on a new purpose. Paragons who are exposed are shuffled from place to place. A few work as guards for underground members.

Leader: Calamity Jane and Panacea co lead the underground.

Known Members: Father Rojas.

Objective: Provide safety and security to persecuted paragons in a nonviolent way.

Bases: They have safe houses all over the world. Some are run by normal people sympathetic to the paragons.

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Zero Latitude

Overview: Red Tides breakout from the trauma of seeing his homeland destroyed also created an obsessive drive to protect nature. For the first month after his breakout he tried to purge nature of man made contraptions. It worked for a while. oil rigs along California's coast were being taken out left and right. The press attributed it to faulty construction and no one missed the oil when Pacific Oil Consortium started supplying oil from some supposedly baron oil fields in Canada. His revenge was further prevented by Akira stationing guards on oil rigs.

Mind Bender found his undersea lair and got him to join Paragon United Front. Their activities didn't always involve caused Red Tide cared about. He still went along with them though since Mind Bender helped him take out a few oil rigs. He found himself drifting more and more from the group though as they started claiming to be gods among men and proclaiming themselves rulers of the planet. In Red tides mind, nature was the thing to protect and nature should rule without interference.

So, Red Tide parted ways with Paragon United Front. It did not take him long to form Zero Latitude. it started with only Red Tide and Great Bear, a native American from a tribe that was close to Red Tides former tribe. The two soon found other paragons and humans who felt nature should be left to roam and spread. They have just recently came together and most of their activities have been small efforts such as sabotaging construction sites or killing loggers.

Leader: Red Tide. He is fanatical in his drive to purge the lands of human taint. In his mind, nature never should have been tampered with.

Known Members: Re Tide, Great Bear, Glacier, Mountain Man, Sand Storm, and Forest Guardian

Objective: Defend nature and purge the land of those who threaten it.

Base: They have no static base. They are always on the move.

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The Church of Love

Overview: The church was founded by Father Rojas just after his breakout. He had seen the evil in men and himself. There had to be a better way he told himself. It all started on a beach in Santa Barbara. Paragons looking for peace came to hear the message of a man who said peaceful coexistence was possible, despite what the media said. Only a few paragons showed for fear of a trap, but an equal number of normal people came as well. together they took fellowship and realized they were all the same and could make a better world together.

Word started spreading and son there was about 400 or so followers. The churches efforts were all for naught when paragon terrorists started popping up. All the media showed was the evils wrought by some paragons. Members who were in stayed, but prospective new members looked upon those who claimed to be a part of the congregation as sympathizers or enablers. Soon, there were no new members publicly and the church dwindled down to a dozen or so registered paragons and normal people.

Secretly, the church went underground. Its secret membership is around a thousand members who meet in groups. Their primary goal now is to help paragons escape the registration squads and provide aid to those who are caught. Slowly, but surely they will spread the message of love and acceptance. First they need to make sure some paragons survive.

Leader: Father Rojas. To the world he is a crazy preacher for preaching paragons and normal people can coexist peacefully. Secretly, only a few know his true paragon powers and that is the way he wants to keep it.

Known Members: Calamity Jane, Panacea, several hundred normal people, and a hundred more lower level paragons.

Base: The basements, attics, backyards, beaches, and other places owned by the individual members.

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Father Sebastien Rojas

Character Sheet
Same as Paragons book.

Biography

Young Sebastien had a mean streak. He grew up int he wrong part of South America and had to fight all his life. Until some missionaries visited, he thought his life's course was to die fighting for some warlord. The missionaries opened his eyes to a new world of possibilities. A world of love and compassion instead of hatred and violence. With their help, Sebastien managed to reform himself and follow a path that didn't lead to killing for a living.

The missionaries setup a school for pastors in Sebastien's native Columbia and he was the first to sign up. He wasn't the brightest student, but he was the most ardent believer in peace and love. Soon he had his own church made up of poor villagers. His conviction strengthened the resolve of the villagers to better their lot by farming more productive crops and taking care of their families without resorting to killing. Some local drug smugglers didn't like this way of being too much, so they attacked the church almost killed Father Rojas. That is when his breakout occurred. Before he knew it the smugglers were dead and his congregation saved.

At the sight of the carnage, Father Rojas was stunned. He couldn't preach peace to his followers with so much blood on his hands. He left to wander for a month and had a revelation. Paragons and normal humans would tear each other apart if no peace was achieved. To affect this change, he moved to California and setup the Church of Love. His followers starting attracting the attention of Akira, so he took the church underground and now works to help paragons and create bridges between paragons and normal humans.

Personality

Father Rojas is a peaceful man who sometimes unleashes the demon inside him to protect innocents. he abides by the motto of be peaceful, but don't get yourself killed by it. As a preacher, he has a soft approach that eases one into seeing their wicked ways instead of bashing the person with them.

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The Church of the Seven Thunders

Overview: With the first breakout came the typical reaction of religious fanatics. Reverend Luke Butler had faltering church membership and was facing the possibility of having to sell his church for the valuable land it was on in Los Angeles, Ca. The breakout was just the thing he needed to boost attendance. People were looking for answers and he was more than willing to give it to them in the form of preaching. His church still faced the problem of funds because the people weren't as eager to give money as he would have liked. In stepped a generous benefactor who gave a substantial anonymous donation to the church.

Flush with funds, Reverend Butler bought a new mega church and people flocked to his anti paragon message. Scared and frightened of people with powers capable of overthrowing some governments, people found comfort in the idea paragons were demons. Demons were familiar and well known. They were still terrifying, but it was a manageable terror. Being a part of the Church of the Seven Thunders gave them the hope a higher power would protect them. This belief was only strengthened when the flames of a fire controlling paragon washed over Reverend Butler without affecting him.

Determined to spread his message, Reverend Butler recently established a church in San Luis Obispo, California. It is still small in comparison to his main church in L.A, but is growing in strength. Their recent rallies have fallen on largely deaf ears because so far California has been free of paragon violence. No one is very scared of paragons yet. Reverend Butler preaches it is only a matter of time before they bring their war on humanity to California.

Leader: Reverend Luke Butler. He is immune to paragon powers affecting him, which he claims is due to gods protection. Baring any other other explanation, this one has stuck.

Known Members: Several thousand congregates.

Base: Los Angeles, California is the site of his mega church. There is a smaller satellite church in San Luis Obispo.

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The Observers

Overview: Ever since the first paragons, there has been one group who has watched and chronicled. Even before known recorded history, they have watched and created their records. As far as everyone knows, the group has no paragons. Membership is strictly regulated to children of members or new blood brought in every hundred years or so to avoid children of related parents. Using this method, the group has avoided letting paragons into their ranks.

At first the group thought to get involved, but it proved disastrous. They simply weren't equipped for it. So, they retreated to the shadows and honed their following skills. Eventually they got so good at it that not even paragons with super senses knew they were being followed. Members just look like another face in the crowd.

As to the official founding story, no current members know except the leader. Some say an early human saw an early paragon and felt compelled to record. His efforts inspired others until it was an entire organization. Others say several early humans started following paragons and eventually met up. Still others say a paragon wanted someone to record their life. The truth is much simpler. The Watcher broke out and found he could live forever and never could be hurt for long. To break the tedium of eternal life, he started watching and recruiting humans to watch.

Leader: The Watcher. No one in the organization has actually seen him without his facial features covered. He does most of his business through currier's and mostly keeps to the vault of records.

Known Members: 8,000 men and women.

Base: The vault of records is a massive complex located in Antarctica. When an observer submits a chronicle, it is carried to the vault by a messenger. There are no other bases other than the temporary ones made by the individual members.

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Paragon Registration Act

The act was written to authorize any and all needed steps to reign in paragons. The media and most people who don't read laws line by line, especially ones 6,000 pages long, know the following key provisions:

-People manifesting powers are required to register or surrender themselves to Akira for containment. Failure to do so results in being tracked down and forced into containment.
-Akira is given the full back of the government as a contractor of the U.S armed forces. They are immune from breaking laws if they can show it was necessary in pursuit of a paragon.
-In the wake of a paragon attack, the president is given the power to suspend Habeus Corpus for all subjects related to the attacks investigation.

The lesser known provisions that were never publicized:

-Akira can go through secret courts to get warrants.
-In the case of probable cause, government agents, including Akira, do not need a warrant.
-Any suspected paragon terrorist is classified as an invading soldier of a foreign army. As such, they are subject to military laws.
-All paragon investigations are top secret and can can only be tried in secret courts.

Efforts to overturn the law have thus far failed. Even the obvious constitutional violations are overlooked with the public safety excuse by judges.

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Watcher

Character Sheet

Power Level X for his own physiology due to being able to change his molecular make up at will. Skill wise he is an expert in everything owning to his advanced age.

Biography

At the same time the first homo sapiens came out of Africa, a few of them experienced some strange things. Most of the changes were minor such as being extra strong or extra fast. Two of them experienced major changes. One developed the ability to create near infinite clones of himself and block any mental attacks. The other found he could control his body and change his basic structure at will. One called himself Zero and the Watcher. Zero seized upon his abilities to shape and mold mankind for his own glory. Watcher just wanted to watch.

As the centuries passed, Watcher grew even more detached from humanity. His early attempts at getting them to intervene in the worst situations failed miserably. So, he took the few humans who still followed him and taught them to record paragons. Stalking was something he had gotten very good at and he passed it on to the new recruits. Slowly the organization grew into the Obervers. When enough people joined, he receded from the light and hid in the shadows. Humans would do the work so he could rest.

Empires rose and fell, but he persisted. To pass the endless centuries he took to mastering any new art that arose. At times, he even played the tutor to people like Socrates and Alexander the Great. It was never enough though. Time kept passing and he kept living. Even if he tried to end it, his body regenerated too rapidly. For a spell he ran an organization to cover up ancient paragon activity as the work of gods, demons, devils, and various mythological figures. That too got boring. Now he sits in the shadows and keeps watch over the Observers.

Personality

One look in his eyes overwhelms even the most learned scholar. His body may look young, but his words and eyes make him sound older than anyone alive. He doesn't speak much, but when he does it is profound. When faced with adversity, he prefers to run rather than fight. If he must though, he is a very impressive fighter.