When Heroes go Bad.

Longbow Profile: Captain Ka-BOOM
Security photo from Port Oakes Island.
Please note the rebuilt battle-harness the Captain wears is incomplete, it’s missing the shoulder pieces he was known to wear in Paragon. Further, plus he no longer wears his helmet.
http://i237.photobucket.com/albums/ff241/cyclops08/KaBOOM1.jpg

Fall from Grace
Captain Ka-BOOM was a signature hero in Paragon, until he went lethal. He smiled, would joke with the citizens, and posed for pictures. Even his name was based on humor. “All the good names were taken. Ka-BOOM just sorta stuck in my head.”

The Captain had been working Brickstown when he suddenly disappeared. He was spotted appearing in a very public trial for several high level Crey executives for the murders of a woman and her three children. Every day he sat watching the proceedings. During the trial the defense attorney revealed that the victims were in fact Captain Ka-Booms wife and children. Then he dropped the other shoe, revealing the Captain’s secret identity.

The heroes of Paragon were outraged that a corporate lawyer would so callously reveal a secret ID, but the damage was done. His name was in the papers and his remaining family was forced into hiding, as the Captain’s many enemies closed in.

The trial dragged on for several months and each of the executives got off. The defense claimed it was either a Nemesis plot, or the Captain himself killed his family. Statesman was there, and tried to reach out to the broken hero, but the Captain shook him off and stalked out.

For three days, no one knew the Captain whereabouts. Then the Crey lawyer turned up dead, dropped from a great height. Each of the executives were likewise found dead. A hero had turned lethal.

But it didn’t stop there. Crey called for help as the Captain attacked offices and labs, assassinating key executives and personnel. Some heroes were noticeably slow to respond. Statesman and Freedom Phalanx were forced to head out to stop the murders.

Again, the Captain disappeared, only to turn up later after missiles destroyed Countess Crey’s summer home. She wasn’t there, but a conference of senior advisors was. He had stolen the missiles and launchers from a Crey munitions facility. The Captain’s Death Toll now broke 100.

In a climatic finale battle, the Freedom Phalanx cornered the Captain (and reprogrammed Mechmen) in an abandoned warehouse. He had been using his technical expertise to alter Crey missiles to arc up and over Paragon’s shield walls and wipe out all of Brickstown. The warehouse had been turned into a giant launchpad, capable of firing more than 1500 missiles at the same time.

Captain Ka-BOOM was defeated and stripped of his vaunted battle harness. With Great sadness Statesman had the harness destroyed, and his friend sent to the Zig. The Captain waived his right to a trial pleading guilty to any and all charges. The local news ran a film of the Captain swearing it wasn’t over, his war would continue.

A New Beginning.
The Captain languished in prison for barely a month before the famous Arachnos breakout took place. Security cameras showed the Captain with yet another battle harness, It was crude, barely a level one security threat, but the fact that he was able to construct it at all was amazing. Smashing his way past guards and criminals, the Captain found the time to place a bomb in a crucial radar station. Longbow survivors claimed Arachnos agents called him by name. Arachnos has a long arm indeed if it can reach into the Zig.

Captain Ka-BOOm escaped on an Arachnos flyer. Longbow tracked him to Mercy Island where his first act was to capture an Arachnos informant. Four Longbow agents were hospitalized, two never made it. The Captain had killed again.

Undercover operatives followed his progress. The Captain would engage in intense criminal activity, only to disappear for a few days. He would take a point to loot any technology, selling what he didn’t need at various black markets. His threat level can be tracked by the various incarnations of his battle-harness. Ka-BOOM is still not nearly as dangerous as before, but he’s powerful enough to rob a casino, and he even had the cheek to rob a bank in Atlas Park.

Crey is getting worried.
The publicity of the daring Atlas robbery had the city buzzing. Heroes swore to bring in the renegade Captain, now beyond any hope of redemption. Crey took notice, and began to prepare. Noting the Captain’s relative weakness, Crey operatives were seen in Atlas hiring old enemies of the Captain…the Hellions. There was a Hellion presence in the Rogue Isles and they could reach where the Heroes dare not.

By now it was believed Captain Ka-Boom was on Port Oakes, possibly living in a boat. Two Hellions, Pyre and Inferno were hired to kill the Captain. Both had been defeated previously, spent years in the Zig, and had a grudge. Unfortunately, The money from the bank heist was well spent. The Captain had a new battle harness, and could now summon a Nemesis staff. Longbow has no idea where he came into THAT possession.

Pyre was killed outright. Inferno survived, but just barely. His men hauled him back to the mainland and he’s now in the Zig infirmary. In both cases, Captain Ka-Boom tore the prosthetic horns from their heads, and wears them as a necklace. The attacks resulted in a murderous rampage as the Captain went hunting hellions all over Port Oakes. The Captain was last seen selling Luck Charms at the Black Market. Even pulling a few fingers from the rings as he sold them.

Like many of the Arachnos’ chosen ones, Captain Ka-Boom is seen as a rising threat. The Isles granting sanctuary to super villains that strike the city and then retreat is something that cannot be ignored. Short of a war, only heroes and entrenched Longbow forces can do anything about this.

It’s not known if Captain Ka-BOOM has given up his vendetta against Crey. Longbow believes he still has plans, but delays action until he can access better equipment. Longbow has placed a bounty on the Captain’s head far higher than other villains of his threat level. Heroes must remember that Captain Ka-BOOM is a veteran hero himself, and possesses a vast knowledge of military technology. He is rapidly catching up to his former threat levels. He has experience, wisdom, and nothing to live for except revenge.
Positron believes that the Captain only lacks Rikti technology to regain or surpass his former strength.

Approach with extreme caution, and then only with teammates to back you up.

Port Oakes.
Seeing as how I’m portrayed as a traitor in the papers, this journal will serve as a record of the truth. Yes, I turned my back on my career as a hero. Yes, I embraced villainy.
But. By necessity, not by choice.

With millions of lives at stake, I cannot wait for evidence before I act. Crey is planning such a heinous grasp for power, that I cannot stand aside and let her lawyers delay and obstruct justice until the inevitable…well. I’m getting ahead of myself.

Since you will most likely read this after my death, I will introduce myself. I’m not the man you read about in the papers. I’m not inflamed with rage, or consumed with revenge. My actions have all been rational and set to a plan.

My name is Jonathon Smithe. People called me a prodigy. Anything mechanical I could take apart, and put back together again, and understand how it works. I breezed through school and graduated college at the age of 16. Portal Corp hired me right away. I was fascinated by portal technology. The Corp was interested only as a means of getting from one place to another. I saw an energy source waiting to be utilized. Of course at 16, no one listened to me, and my genius was put to use in simple maintenance. Still, I was able to take things apart and out them back together again. In time I understood the technology as easily as if I had blue prints in front of me.

I applied for research facilities, but was denied. They wanted more maturity. Fine, I worked for a year, saved my generous salary, quit and started my own lab. 6 months later, I had a prototype battle harness and made a living collecting criminal bounties.

I’m really surprised no one ever questioned my battle harness. The super strength it gives me is physically impossible. My harness covers just my hands, arms, shoulders and chest. When I lift a car over my head and hurl it, I have no need for a reinforced spine or leg supports. Other techno heroes require a full battle suit to do the same thing. I guess in a world of mutants and magic my breakthrough just isn’t all that impressive. Indeed when I first applied, Statesman just took down my information, and handed my hero registration over.

My secret is revealed in a simple attack. I have a rapid fire punch that bleeds black smoke. I utilize the destructive energies of the netherworld to power my harness. A pinprick portal opening provides me with an unlimited power source. The weight I bear is supported by netherworld physics, not by earthly limitations. When Statesman destroyed my harness, he destroyed a treasure trove.

---
The beginning of the end started for me when I entered Brickstown. Bit by bit, the pieces of the Crey puzzle fell into place. Of course the more I realized what was happening, the more of a threat I became to Crey. I did only one wise thing: I dismantled my lab, and moved the crucial pieces to various hidden caches around the city. I didn’t understand that I was being investigated by a legion of agents. I tried to warn the Freedom Phalanx of my conclusions, but without evidence they would hear none of it.

And then it happened. My family was killed. I wore a mask for just this reason. I’ll spare you the trauma, the raw emotion. You’re human, you can understand what this does to a man. I had a good idea who ordered the killings, Statesman had heroes with solid detective skills gather the evidence and present the case. Even then, I think he knew what I was capable of.

When Crey revealed my identity, they did so with impunity. Every villain I ever fought now has an easy target. It was when they got off, innocent of all charges, that I learned a crucial truth about Crey. They weren’t afraid of criminal charges they could afford the best lawyers. Fines meant nothing, they could always make more money. There was no such thing as a loss of power. No. Crey execs value only one thing-their miserable lives.

Now as a hero, I’m supposed to do the noble thing and suffer in silence. I was told justice would come if I would just be patient. But once found innocent, they can never be retried for the same thing again.

It took me three days to realize what I had to do. I couldn’t remain a hero. Crey was not based in the Rogue Isles for a reason, they were in Paragon because they were above the law. I knew they were building an army, and legally I couldn’t do a thing.

So I let go of everything I held dear. I knew I could never walk freely in this city again. By night I brought justice to the lawyer and the execs who ordered my family’s murder. Then I went back into hiding. Crey probably thought they had seen the last of me. But I was busy. I gathered a list of people who had been victimized by Crey. The company didn’t consider these people threats, they were just people who alone were powerless to challenge a giant. We formed a loose knit group, organized by cells, bound by secrecy, but aware of what Crey was planning. We were the Guardians, standing at the gate. They began to gather crucial information on Crey…some of them even took jobs with the company.

In the meantime, I was busy diverting shipments of missiles from Crey. You read the papers. That part was accurate. I took out one of the homes of the Countess. It was only a fluke that she wasn’t there.
And that part about wiping out all of Brickstown? Nah. These were guided missiles. They had Crey targets. Statesman showing was a surprise, I had hoped for at least another few days, but I warned the Guardians this would happen. We were prepared.

The Zig wasn’t what I had imagined it to be. I intimidated most of the inmates. The biggest surprise was when Arachnos contacted me. This worked out for both the Guardians and me. A new base free from interference, and close to Paragon.

Next: My New Life on Mercy island.
This is the harness I built in the Zig. Its held together with straps. It wasn’t meant to last longer than my breakout. http://i237.photobucket.com/albums/ff241/cyclops08/ZigArnor.jpg

I shared a flyer with 12 other “destined ones.” Most of my fellow passengers are just kids. No experience and drunk with the merest taste of power. Not one of them would pose much of a challenge to a hero. I guess that’s why Arachnos dumped us on Mercy island, the garbage heap of Lord Recluse’s empire. In spite of our Destined status, until we prove ourselves, we are the lowest of the low.

They just dropped us off, and flew away. There was no welcoming committee, no orders, no sign up sheet. Arachnos apparently believes the destined ones will forge their own path. An Arbiter is there, he pointed out a witch named Kalinda who had jobs. Yeah, I pulled a job for her. Risked my life for little more than dinner money.

Outside the fortress the city lies in ruins. The lowest caste of the Rogue Isles live here, preyed upon by ruthless gangs. This is the bottom of the heap. The Hellions recognized me, and I got to wipe the streets with them. They were losers in Paragon, and they’re losers here. Seriously, I beat the snot out of 20 of them and all I pulled away was a few dollars. If you want cash, roll the local cops and Longbow agents. They have cash!

Mercy Island view. This is it. Tourist paradise…
http://i237.photobucket.com/albums/ff241/cyclops08/MercyView.jpg
This skull got in my way
http://i237.photobucket.com/albums/ff241/cyclops08/Skulls.jpg

Oh, and that job I pulled for Kalinda, I took out a traitor, some guy in Wolf Spider armor. The armor was just what I needed to upgrade my battle harness. It looks like a hodgepodge patchwork, but its about twice as powerful.
Composite Arachnos Harness. Yeah, the chick…she digs me.
http://i237.photobucket.com/albums/ff241/cyclops08/Composite.jpg

I ate at an El Super Mexicano (these guys are everywhere!). I teamed up with an Ice babe and some invisible ninja guy. We skinned a few snake men (another job for Kalinda).
At the end of the day, I ended up tossing a guy out of his shack, bolted the door shut, and crashed. Welcome to my new world.

First night. Believe me, after a busy day…this looks welcome.
http://i237.photobucket.com/albums/ff241/cyclops08/FirstNight.jpg