Supheroes

A world where superheroes are real, but the pros may not outweigh the cons

Consider it nearly the same as our America's history, only with the asterisk that during different time periods there were masked heroes working in the background or sometimes even the foreground, from the charming yet usually unskilled "glamour capes" of the Roaring Twenties to the rough and tough Robin Hoods of the Great Depression to the women, children, and unenlisted doing their part to protect their homes during the wars, humans have always strove to keep each other safe.
And then a plane was crashed into the White House in 1974, killing then-president Richard Nixon and most of the others. While it was rebuilt and a new president was sworn in, the idea that the greatest threat may not be from outside couldn't be shaken.

The 1940s saw the first "official" superhero team. Known as the Centurions, these sixteen regular folks took up masks and protected their fellow countrymen from threats, but more or less dissolved once World War II ended, as it was deemed that an active superhero task force would lower American morale by reminding them of the wartime.

Small vigilante groups would still pop up after, though. The AIDS crisis saw a trio of queer heroes (but I repeat myself) form in the city under the same modus operandi as the Centurions: protect the unprotected. They were active until one died of complications from HIV, one suffered a career-ending injury, and the remaining one settled down into civilian life. The late 80s and early 90s saw four teenagers try and form their own vigilante group, which unceremoniously ended with the murder of their leader. And then five teenagers appeared to exhibit superhuman powers not seen since the heyday of the Centurions. They were plucked up and trained to be heroes by the League, established to monitor vigilante and superhuman activity (as well as research its causes). Thus began the Millennium League.

The Big Bang

Generally speaking, there are three ways to gain a superpower:
1) Be born with it. People are not yet sure what causes someone to be born with a superpower, but it will generally begin to manifest around puberty and should be fully "present" by adulthood. Examples of this include Joey Puglisi and the rest of the Millennium League (sans Michael), the League Redux, and Wilbur West .
2) Reactive powers. Powers which activate in response to something. Sometimes these are innate powers being triggered into manifesting by an outside force (for example, the Fields twins' wings being activated by their amulets). Other times, like in the case of Andreas Helseth , the object itself holds the power and imbues them with it.
3) Outliers. The four outliers are Jennifer Wolffe , Leo Lewis , Ernest O'Rourke , and Mike O'Malley . Whether Jenn's powers were innate or manifested due to trauma is unknown, given that she was raised in a cult dedicated to trying to cause powers to manifest. Mike gained his powers by bargaining with a higher power. Leo gained his through a well-timed shooting star and a near-death hit-and-run. Ernie died and remains as a ghost to pay for his sins in life.

Intact, exempting powers that change it

Broadly speaking, the same as ours with notable exceptions:
- Tyler Campbell: Ty's magnum opus of nanomites are revolutionary, but he opted to inject them into himself rather than allow them to fall into the hands of those who would abuse their power.
- Thom Wolffe is on the lower end of the "genius" sub-class of characters, but still a genius nonetheless. His main creations are tentatively dubbed the Weevils, and are bug-like robots which he can control via a headband synched to his brainwaves. He's still working out the kinks there.
- Rosa Ramirez is still working on her main project, which is a functioning time machine.
- Mabel Brell and Brianna Thomas worked together to create an untraceable communication network for vigilantes in the city, which is tech we don't have.
- Clifford Crawford : Cliff, being the very archetype of the troubled genius, is responsible for many of the diversions in technology here. His main invention is the Hornet's Nest, which is a tranquilizer-slash-neurotoxin meant for self-defense that can be worn on the wrist--its goal is to be able to be injected into an attacker and cause them pain and temporary immobility. His other main invention is the ability to regrow synthetic organs based on tissue samples from the damaged ones of their owners--no risk of the organ being rejected if it's genetically the exact same as what it's replacing. He also tried to create a humanoid robot in the form of ASTR0N0VA, but...things didn't quite work out.

THE CENTURIONS:
The Cardinal: Charles West
La Mirlo: Carlita Romero
The Conductor: John Henry Armstrong
The Kestrel: Anna Fields
The Harrier: Orville Fields
The Dusk: Roy Thorne
Doktor Hex: Andreas Helseth
Dangan: Michio Taketa
Lishon: Daniel Levin
The Boxer: Bonnie Bailey
The Dart: Stanley Owens
Tornado: Thomas Torrence
The Ghost-Keeper: Ernest O'Rourke
Miss Americana: Elle Stanton
The Cosmic Knight: Kara Kosmarova
The Traveler: Wilbur West

Centurion Side Characters:
Helen Holt: Helen Holtz
Hisako Taketa: Hisako Taketa
Mary "Bloody Mary" Sullivan: Mary Sullivan
Ethel Allen: Ethel Allen
Andy Allen: Andrew Allen
Josie Owens: Josephine Owens
Junia "Junebug" Owens: Junia Owens

UNAFFILIATED HEROES:
Bilitis: Billie Jean Hart
The Green Carnation: Gene Federman
Grenade: Guy Grayson
Dusk: Bethany Grayson
Nevermore: Eleanora Usher
The Civilian: Tristan Bennett

THE MILLENNIUM LEAGUE:
Prospero: Tobias Thompson
Folly: Elizaveta Lenya
Trinculo: Barry Rodgers
Venus: Joey Puglisi
Midas: Jacob Spring
Data: Michael Brell

THE LEAGUE REDUX:
Rivet: Rosa Ramirez
Voltage: Cameron Alexis Le
Swift: Maisy Owens
Hotshot: Grant Grayson
Nsuo: Martin Matthews
Dormant: Tomas Donnelly
Xerxes: Caspar Pahlavi

THE RECRUITS:
Ganymede: Dallas Smith
Mirrorball: Safiya Akhtar

THE SCRAPPERS:
Caesar: Joey Puglisi
The Sparhawk: Ira Welles-Tyler
Sybil: Mabel Brell
Wunderkind: Wendy Reed
Officer Moretti: Sylvester Moretti
Officer Martinez: Moriah Martinez
Nightshine: Bette Hart

SIDE CHARACTERS:
Abigail Berkowitz: Abigail Berkowitz
Sena Bakshi: Sena Bakshi
Harriet Crawford: Harriet Crawford
Rosalie Kenton: Rosalie Kenton
Cliff Crawford: Clifford Crawford
Benedetta Puglisi: Benedetta Puglisi
Francis Hoover: Francis Hoover
Hideki Saito: Hideki Saito
Adrine Bordeaux: Adrine Bordeaux
Bruce Bordeaux: Bruce Bordeaux
Marsha Kemper: Marsha Kemper
Pete Rubin: Pete Rubin

"FEARSOME FOURSOME":
The Glitch: Alexander "Mitch" Mitchell
Hivemind: Thom Wolffe
Brillar: Ximena de la Cruz
The Folklorist: Urania Holland

THE DEFECTS:
Zavorra: Marco Marone
Jupiter: Jennifer Wolffe
Titanium: Tyler Campbell
Delphi: Brianna Thomas
Kinetiks: Mei Huang
Kinesis: Jun Huang
Kid Immortal: Leo Lewis
Captain Immortal:
Mike O'Malley: Mike O'Malley

DEFECTS SIDE CHARACTERS:
Sofia Marone: Sofia Marone
Elio Marone:
Liliana Marone:
Chiara Marone:
Rupert Hannigan:

THE DETECTIVES:
George Marcelli: George Marcelli
Valentine Vassey: Val Vassey
Katharine Kemper: Katharine Kemper
Vic Ventura: Vic Ventura

THE SINDICATE:
Aaron Reyes (Wrath):
Catie Cane (Lust):
Ianthe Rose (Pride):
Gloria Ross (Gluttony):
Wade Withers (Sloth):
Bruce Bordeaux (Envy): Bruce Bordeaux
The Unnamed (Greed):

ALT UNIVERSE VILLAINS:
Julia Rodgers (alt Joey)
The Glitch (alt Mitch)
The Midnight Maiden (alt Beth)
Grunge (alt Guy)
The Ravensmith (alt Nora)
The Swarm (alt Tristan)
The Bolt-Breaker (alt Cliff)
The Dormant One (alt Tomas)