Penny Dreadful Universe OOC

New student/member of support cast!

2011-05-20T06:57:37Z

Name: Kelly Hsu
Age: 16
Hair: Black with bleached streaks
Eyes: Brown
Height: 5’1”
Weight: 110lbs
Abilities: Psychometry, regarding the past of an inanimate object. It must be in contact with her bare skin and she has to concentrate to trigger the ability. She can only see clearly up to three days in the past. The images get progressively blurrier from there until about a week into the past where she can no longer distinguish anything.
Overview: Kelly was born in southern Oregon and is the first person in her family to demonstrate a superhuman ability. She’s member of the swim team, and head of the school’s LGBTA. She has also earned the nickname “Spot Check” from her gamer friends due to an astonishing ability to critically fail hers. Fortunately, she has a good sense of humor about it.

Kira Moore

2011-05-13T00:52:40Z

Bio:

Name: Kira Marceline Moore
Age: 17
Hair: Blonde (dirty)
Eyes: Blue
Height: 5'3"
Weight: 105 lbs
Abilities:

Kira has an ability called accelerated probability that, when activated, she can look at any situation and see all possible outcomes and experience them in a flash. This ability allows her to be an expert of strategy as she can pick the most advantageous route to any circumstance. That does not mean it's foolproof--she can only see things from her side. She has no way of seeing the realm of possibility from the side of her opponent though that outcome is often included in what she sees (she just doesn't know it is the opposition's outcome.)

She also has semi-eidetic memory (somewhere between actual eidetic memory and major photographic memory). Her memory is good for recalling the things she sees when she looks at the probabilities and also for memory-based games, but please don't ask her to remember math or science or homework-related things: she has her limits and she's bad with remembering numbers.

History: Kira is the product of a wild one-night stand between woman named Beth and Supreme Inc's Astral Adam Moore. Now, Adam didn't know about Kira right away; Beth had gone back home to small town Pittsburg, KS and had her "fame baby" without saying a word (waiting for the best moment to go to the tabloids with an adorable child in tow to try to drag some money out of the daddy.) Kira lived in Pittsburg with her less-than-attentive mother until she was five when Beth came to realize that Kira was special. Not that there was anything wrong with that, not at all...but Beth didn't know how to deal with it. At all. So she packed up her daughter, headed off to Vegas, tracked down Adam and unceremoniously left her standing on his doorstep with a potted cactus bearing a note of "hi, daddy."

Paternity tests followed, but to Adam's credit he took to the kid right away. They were an awful lot alike and are fairly close.

Other information: Kira maintains that she does not know Dorothy Gale (when people find out you're from Kansas, they ask weird stuff) but she dressed as the Wicked Witch for Halloween last year. Kira is whip-smart and skipped the third grade. She only eats food in a clockwise pattern on her plate and doesn't like when food touches, which is partly why she's obsessive about bento boxes. In general she will not sleep on Tuesdays, usually pulling all-nighters. No one knows why. Kira may have synesthesia (the naturally-occurring crossing of senses). For Kira, numbers have a flavor ("Calculus tastes weird...like pickles and yogurt.") Her right leg is very slightly shorter than her left. She walks with a very slight limp, but it takes a trained eye to catch it. It does not impeed her ability to run, jump, play soccer or otherwise be active.

She's good at math (with a ton of hard work,) better at languages

Has: Her dad.

Needed: A friend, someone to butt heads with, a love interest (or any combination thereof).

Gale Summers-- Random Student

2011-05-12T16:48:00Z

Nae: Gale Summers

Age: 16

Hair: Red

Eyes: Blue

Height: Six Feet

Weight: 160 lbs

Abilities: Gale has the ability to control air currents. This allows her to fly. It also allows herself to move as fast as the strongest wind. She doesn't see this as super speed. Just going with the flow of the air. Her body is capable of handling going at high speeds.

History: Her Mother was a weather girl. Her father is the super villain known as the Weather Master. She doesn't like to talk about him even though he has been in prison since she was a baby. Her mother is partially deaf due to the last incident which landed her father in prison.

It's well known that Gale hates her father and wants to be nothing like him. If there is any kind of charity event going on at the school Gale will involve herself.

Power-Ball!

2011-05-12T13:47:11Z

So, there's finally been enough discussion/interaction to sort of figure out how it works, still leaving plenty of room for randomness and some Calvinball moments.

Each side has two teams. Offense and Defense. They are on the field at the same time.

The field is a massive area which consists of an open center-field area where the two offensive forward lines interact and take the jump balls, then this area separates two massive, enclosed maze complexes, one on either side of the field, which is full of tricks, traps and moving walls, the mazes open out into the defensive zones, open areas before you get to the end zone - which is marked by 2 wickets, or small gates.

A team scores by getting possession of the ball to their offense, having the offense navigate the maze, get it to their offensive forwards near one of the gates, and have the forwards either successfully throw the ball through the wickets for 1 point, or run it through the wickets for 2.

The maze is full of various obstacles, shifting walls, pit traps and other dangers for the people navigating it. The big change from game to game is the changes in the two maze zones.

The offense consists of 3 parts:
1. Jumpers - at the start of the game, and after every turnover, there's a "jump ball" where the jumpers on each team try to gain possession of the ball after it fires out of a random air tube set in the floor of the arena. Whoever gains possession then has to get by the other team's jumpers, and get the ball into the maze. Jumpers are the only offensive players who interact with the other team's offense. Jumpers on either side can only enter the opponent's maze zone, they may not enter their own. As soon as they get the ball into the maze, they're safe from the other team's jumpers.
Jumpers are not allowed in the 'Red Zone' at all - the last 15 yards of the maze.
2. Mazers - Jumpers are allowed to enter the maze, but cannot enter the defensive zones. Quite often, unless the team desperately needs a score, they try and pass it off to mazers right away and get back to the jump zone in case of a turnover, though Jumpers are allowed to help get the ball through the maze - doing so is dangerous, as if they're in the maze, and there's a turnover, the other team would have an advantage on the jump ball.
Mazers are not allowed to go into the jump zone, but are specialists at navigating the maze and moving the ball through the various tricks and traps and past the other team's Seekers. They are allowed to enter the defensive zone, and sometimes do so to help provide a numbers advantage, but its usually wise to keep at least some back in case the other team's defense gets the ball, as mazers are also the primary defenders to try and stop a turnover.
3. Gatecrashers - Good in the maze, but best in the open field, Gatecrashers are only allowed in the last 15 yards of the maze, the 'red zone' with the least dangerous traps, and the 3 gates onto the field. They are the primary "glory hogs" who try and get past the defenders, though some teams prefer to have mazers handle the ball, and Gatecrashers mainly be blockers who meet them at the gates instead of fresh rushers once the mazers advance it. Gatecrashers can try and stop defenders who get the ball from getting into the maze, or through the red zone, but must stay in the red zone or defensive zone or its an automatic turnover/new jump ball.

The offense is allowed to move the ball by running or passing it.

The most typical scenario is that the jumpers vie with opposing jumpers for the ball. When someone gets possession, they must get it past the other team's 4 jumpers, and into the maze.
They hand it to a Mazer, then the jumpers try to hurry back to the jump zone in case of a turnover - but if a team is desperate for a point, jumpers may try and help advance the ball to the red zone.
Mazers try and work the ball past the tricks and traps through the maze while avoiding or fighting through opposing Seekers in the maze.
Then Mazers either give the ball to a Gatecrasher, or let Gatecrashers, who haven't had to struggle through the maze and so are usually fresher, block for them or go out for passes while Mazers try to advance the ball. Different teams have different strategies.
Whoever has the ball can try and either throw it through the wickets past the defenders, or try and get past defenders and run through either of the two wickets.

Defense upcoming.

Lucy

2011-05-04T18:57:56Z

Name: Lucy
Age: 15
DOB: Nov 11, 1995
Height: 5’3”
Weight: 104 lbs
Hair: Blond
Eyes: Blue
PB: Anna Sophia Robb
Skills: Lucy has no special skills.
Powers: She was accidentally possessed by the spirit of the Blue Knight when she touched an old short sword belonging to her grandfather. The Blue Knight appears at any sign of physical confrontation and provides her with full knowledge of how and where to use the sword for the most effect. This makes her a danger in a normal school environment. The spirit requires /some/ fight before it disappears again. Lucy remains uninjured during these fights.

Lucy lives with her mother Caroline and grandfather Tom Willoughby in New Orleans. Grandpa Tom teaches history at Tulane University. Mom Caroline keeps house for Grandpa. Her father died when she was a baby. Lucy has no memory of him. Grandpa Tom and his good friend Wilfred Broussard, a history teacher at Loyola, have filled that role in Lucy's life. Her earliest memories include walking to the local coffee shop with Grandpa and drinking chocolate milk while he had coffee with Dr. Wilfred. With them, Lucy has traveled to historical battlefields all over the world and learned to shrug in six different languages. Their arguments have been her bedtime stories since she was a little girl.

Lucy was always a precocious child. Her mouth ran as fast as her brain and both got her into trouble on a frequent basis. For the first fourteen years, she had a normal life. School and homework, swimming, softball and soccer, sleepovers and friends. Grandpa told her stories about knights in shining armor, but in no way did she ever think he was basing his stories on her family history. As a pipsqueak playacting with the neighborhood kids, she was never the damsel in distress. She was the hero. Her only concerns were making top grades, crushing on the guy in her science class, and hoping one day to graduate from a training bra into the real thing.

Until she found Grandpa's special, carved mahogany lock box on his desk and open. In it was a short sword set with a blue stone. She picked it up and promptly passed out. Grandpa found her on the floor with a bump on her head and a burn mark across her palm and fingers. The sword was gone.

For a few weeks everything was fine, except for the missing sword. Grandpa Tom didn't seem to be so angry as much as anxious. He watched Lucy enough to make her wonder if he was finally going senile like Mom said. She began seeing the dark bluish shape of a knight behind her whenever she was in enough light to cast a shadow. She dreamed of battles and armor.

It wasn't until she came to the aid of another unpopular student that it fell into place. She brandished her umbrella, to force them back and the short sword appeared in her hand. In the next second she was enclosed in a dark bluish haze that took on the solid shape of a six foot knight in armor around her. The bullies ran off and the haze disappeared. The umbrella became just an umbrella again.

The school suspended her for fighting. They didn't have enough evidence to expel her despite claims that she had a dangerous weapon. No amount of wishing or concentration would make the phenomenon happen again. The mandatory visit to the school psychologist, (Caroline insisted, Grandpa Tom disagreed) was inconclusive. Lucy was allowed to return to school.

All was fine for awhile until the same bullies picked on Lucy and her friend again. The Blue Knight shadow made another appearance and someone got hurt. There were too many witness reports, including a teacher, to allow her to remain in school even though it was all agreed that she didn't start the fight. On the advice of the school psychologist, she was switched to home schooling.

Her mother and grandfather were visited by a representative from Alpha Academy and it was arranged that Lucy would attend. She's often seen with a shadow of an armored knight behind her, and carries a collapsed umbrella attached to her book bag. Possession may be nine/tenths of the law, but Lucy feels she doesn't fit in at Alpha Academy. She's hoping they'll find out what happened to her and reverse it so she can go back to her life. In the meantime, she's doing her best and trying to stay out of any trouble that would make the Knight reappear. Unfortunately, with so many super powered classmates, she can't avoid the Knight's appearance at least once a day.

Usually in gym. The sight of an armored knight in the girls' locker room can be disconcerting when you're trying to shower and dress for your next class...

Misc:
Lucy is an empty pit in constant need of food. Her metabolism lets her eat everything and not gain weight. She’s focused on her school work, and really wants the cute guy in her science class to ask her out.

Her room is decorated in rainbows. Don’t ask.

Her favorite food is whatever’s on the Hard Rock Café’s menu.

Has: Grandpa Tom Willoughby and honorary uncle Dr. Wilfred Broussard.
Looking for: A friend. An enemy to pick on her. A guy to crush on.

Another Teacher

2011-04-29T07:50:21Z

Miss Frankincense Dahl is a clockwork android, a fully sentient artificial being created by an unknown individual (either she won't say, or truly doesn't remember) to be an entertainer. When properly supplied with energy and wound, she is an expert with multiple forms of entertainment, including her specialty - ballet. She can sing, knows most forms of dance, plays multiple instruments, etc., and can fill in as a secondary music teacher when needed.
Her real skill though is anything involving choreographed movement. Once she learns or makes a routine, be it dance or cheerleading, she can perform the same routine over and over flawlessly and tirelessly.
Ever since discovering that the law had rather few rights for artificial beings who unexpectedly end up free of whoever created them, she has worked for and lives at the Alpha Academy. With little other interest aside from her arts - and encouraging them in others, she coaches the dance team, the senior cheerleading team, teaches dance classes - social and ballet, and does some voice lessons and various social event coordination on the side.
With enough interest, she can usually be talked into taking on more students for other activities that have sufficient "art" to them, and involve coordination. While generally not a combatant, she includes fencing in this category and has taken on students in classical styles before.

Pettit Lake Characters

2011-04-28T23:15:53Z

The Pettit Lake Correctional Institute is a correctional facility for teenaged and younger superpowered teens. There are two facilities on the property: The lower security Correctional Academy and the high security Correctional Facility. Overseeing this all is Warden Johannsen, a strict former military officer who brooks no disrespect. The Academy is located on the north shore of Pettit Lake, Idaho, effectively isolated from the outside world. The isolation and the strict atmosphere, combined with a very competent staff have made the Academy a popular school for rehabilitating criminal bound superteens.

There is some controversy, though, about the students who are maintained within the Correctional Facility. Warden Johannsen has stated that is is a correctional facility as well as a school, and as such there are some students who would be considered a risk, and as such placed onto the so called "Red List". Still, even with the controversy surrounding the Correctional Facility, The Institute as a whole has had a marked success rate, so it gets much support from the police and legal system.

Staff

Warden Johannsen - Warden Johannsen is the man who runs the facility as a whole. Strict, no-nonsense, and blunt, he controls the whole facility in much the same way a drill instructor teaches a troop of about to graduate privates. He is an advocate for lesser corporal punishment such as running, push-ups, and physical activity, but has yet to implement them without an okay.

Adam Zarias - The head of security at the Institute, Zarias is a shifter who favors a werewolf-like appearance. He has increased senses in this alternate form and has yet to lose an escapee who had no outside support. He rarely if ever talks to the students except in reprimand. He reports directly to Warden Johannsen.

Norman Masters - Norman Masters is the Physical Education teacher and the schools Powerball coach. A superhuman with the ability to increase his mass, Norman had at one time played Powerball before an injury permanently sidelined him. A rather gruff and strict man, Masters now coaches Powerball at the Academy, in which interschool play is limited to students who are on the "Low Priority" security list.

Jordan Landry - A former villain turned teacher, Jordan was a small time thief with the ability of local gravity manipulation, he was able to pull off some heists before being arrested at the age of sixteen. He graduated from the Pettit Lake Academy as one of their first students and went on to become a very successful consulting career. After several years of of this, Jordan became a teacher, teaching History at the very school he graduated from.

Valerie Urim - The main economics and government teacher, Valerie was at one time an advocate for superteen rights in the eighties. She got the attention of Warden Johannsen after a case against the Academy itself, where a child with self-replicating abilities was charged with assault. Although she lost the case, Valerie had impressed Warden Johannsen enough to offer her a job.

Mari Sidathi - The Academys main psychiatric counselor, the highly empathic Mari is from an alternate reality where most humans have the same abilities. She was shifted into this world after an incident she does not fully remember. After severe vetting from psychics, Mari was hired as a counselor for adult heroes with psychological issues before she left and was hired to work at the Academy.

Low Priority Students

Gregory "Incubus" Michaels - The Powerball Defensive Captain, Gregory "Incubus" Michaels has the ability to manipulate smells. He can create smells from his body that mimic odors, ranging from increased pheremones (the reason he is called incubus is his manipulation of this to attract female attention) to strong pungent odors such as skunk musk, making opponents reel. He is currently at the Academy for two counts of petty theft, although his status as Low Priority counts as good behavior.

Madeline Johnson - A power manipulator, Madeline Johnson is the offensive captain of the Powerball team. She can increase or decrease the powers of up to six people by as much as 1.5 times their power level. The more this is spread out between powered players, the less power gain per person there is. She is currently serving for being an accessory to a supercrime, in her case the use of her powers to increase an uncles probability manipulation abilities.

Benny Sanchez - Currently the Academys top student, Benny Sanchez is an illusionist of some skill. He currently leads the Pettit Institute Debate Team (which has successfully competed against colleges) and is currently being recruited for several Ivy League schools. A well mannered young man who is fluent in three languages, Benny has the unoffical title of Goodwill ambassador for the institute. Benny is in serving time for drug possession with intent to sell.

Regular Students

Maria "Succubus" Hernandez - Maria, as her nickname implies, is partially supernatural. She is one-fourth succubus, with her maternal grandmother being the succubus. She is a moderate student but as part of her otherwordly aspect she has several issues: She is a notorious flirt, is disrespectful to authority, and tries time and again to push the strict dress code. She is currently serving for attempted assault (she attempted to drain her older sister of her power)

Laurence Chen - Laurence Chen, a bitter introvert, is an electricity manipulator. One of the more solitary members of the regular students, Laurence is more content reading a book or stargazing than he is in sports. He also has a filthy mouth to the point where he has been tested for Tourettes (although he has never been diagnosed). Laurence is at the Academy for Tampering with e-voting machines in his home state of Oregon.

Amanda Rockwell - A student with mild autism, Amanda is a student with increased strength. She has a specialized cell to assist with her learning how to deal with the increased strength. She is in the Academy not because of a crime, but because there is no other facility that is equipped well enough to support her considering her powers.

"Red List" Students

Optimus Smith - Optimus Smith is the child of supervillain parents and is a "legacy case" because of this. Optimus is a farily good student and has been described as "not a bad kid". However, he is on the Red List because he is a flight risk: he has attempted several times to escape from the facility, five times without outside assistance and twice with outside assistance.

Mindy Cooper - Mindy, Red List student number 1, is diagnosed anti-social personality disorder. She is a very distant individual, but has no problems using force to get what she wants. Her desires are very simple, often food or a simple toy, but her willingness to lash out combined with her rather strong psychokinesis has labelled her as a risk to herself and others. She is required to wear a power suppressor which does not entirely disable her powers but inhibits it enough so that she cannot use full power. She is in the Correctional Facility for attempted murder.

David Sommers

2011-04-28T08:23:30Z

Bio:

Name: David Christian Sommers
Age: 19.
Hair: Black
Eyes: Brown.
Height: 6’3”
Weight: 215 lbs.
Abilities: David is able to mimic the abilities of several animals, due to the effects of several experiments by his father. He can manifest any of these two abilities at a time, when calm. When agitated, he may manifest two others spontaneously and they are not necessarily beneficial.

Chameleon: Camouflage

Eagle– “Eagle Eye” Sight, Wings, Claws

Cheetah – Speed, Nightvison, Claws, Enhanced reflexes, Heightened Senses

Dolphin - Underwater Breathing, Swim speed

Spider- Wall-clinging, UV sight., venom bite, 360-degree vision

Gecko – Regeneration, healing factor, wall-climbing ability

History: David is the son of Nobel Prize winning geneticists, Daniel and Greta Sommers, the only husband/wife pair to win the prize in history. The two mapped and studied the human genome for years on end, seeking ways to unlock the potential inherent in all humanity. Their years of scientific study brought them greater accolades, and when Greta got pregnant, they thought their world was complete.

David was stillborn and continued to have issues throughout the first months of his life, to his parents eternal shame and confusion. Daniel and Greta wondered what about them had become so flawed that they would pass these qualities to a child. When David was seven, he became deathly ill and was in need of a kidney transplant to save his life. When no donors were available, Daniel acted out of desperation.

Using the years of genetic splicing and recombination research that he and Greta were working on, he developed a serum that he thought might help his son. David’s symptoms seemed to get worse before they got better, and Greta railed at the injustice.

One week later, David’s symptoms vanished as though they’d never been. Suddenly, he was running, jumping and playing alongside the other kids, doing things that were impossible only a month before. He was more active and energetic than he’d ever been.

Two weeks later, he started climbing walls. The teachers called from school to say that something was wrong with his eyes or that David was doing things that normal kids just weren’t able to do. Reporters were called to look at the “Wonder Boy”. Eventually, things got to the point that people were camped outside the Sommers’ residence just to get a glimpse of him.

He packed his things and left for the Academy several days later and he’s been there ever since.

Needed: I'd like to see David's parents around, for certain. Otherwise, he's friend with various people at the school, though he keeps to himself when he's feeling a bit...odd.

Pennywise "Penny" Pratchett, AKA "Gizmo"

2011-04-28T07:52:09Z

Yes, her full first name is "Pennywise". No, it's not after the clown -- it's after the metal band that was named after the clown. Yes, Penny's childhood was interesting, how kind of you to ask.

Penny is the daughter of the brilliant (and/or mad) Dr. Karen Pratchett and some mysterious person who Dr. Pratchett has never revealed to anyone. All that she's said is that Penny doesn't need to worry about any unexpected genetic diseases cropping up. Whether she was ever going to tell Penny who her father was is currently a moot point, as she's being kept in a medically-induced coma to keep the other-dimensional thing possessing her from destroying all of reality. For most of her life, Penny has been raised by a super-powered scientist who used to work with her mother and her mother's lab's military liaison who is currently exhibiting vampire-like symptoms as a result of the rampage.

Penny possesses a super-human intellect as a result of her genes and her mother's self-experimentation. If she had a tag line, it would be "The World's Smartest Girl", and she's damn proud of it. She also possesses a mad-scientist streak a mile wide, though she hasn't yet broken any laws (or if she has, no one's been able to catch her). Her interests lead her toward robots, computers, and various other mechanical pursuits; but one day she also wants to cure her mother of possession. When she's not building things with big red buttons in the lab, she also fronts a punk rock garage band and is on a superteam called Beta 5.0 with her dads, best friend, and boyfriend.

Powers-wise, she can augment her intelligence with some of her (many) gadgets. She also owns and regularly uses a jet-pack. Additionally, she's studied self-defense most of her life, so she can definitely hold her own if it absolutely has to come down to hand-to-hand.

Socially, Penny's a misfit. Being "The World's Smartest Girl" comes back to bite her here, because she has spent her life surrounded by people who either 1) have no idea what she's talking about, or 2) are pissy because they've been studying this for longer than she's been alive and it's not fair that she already understands it better than they do. As a result, she has a tendency to be abrupt, sarcastic, and dismissive of other people who haven't proven themselves worthy and/or interesting. She also wears her hair short and dyed pink (which will be seen once I get the pictures scanned in) and she's of East Indian ancestry, though she and her mother are both American citizens.

Potential for interaction and/or people I could use:
1. Penny fronts her band, Tyson plays drums when he can get the time to, and I believe Amelia plays bass. Currently, the band also includes a guitarbot and a keyboardbot, and a drumbot in case Tyson can't make it. Penny's not very good at social, but if anyone wants to get in on the puck-rock musical stylin's, there's open spaces!
2. Tyson's parents for hilariously awkward stuff
3. People for love-triangles with Tyson (AKA people who run the risk of finding a taze-bot in their lockers)
4. Other people of mechanical inclination! Warning: You may be co-opted as minions.

People in Penny's current monkey-sphere who are already dibsed:
1. Her dads, who already have off-screen players, as she sprang from what was intended to be a tabletop game
2. Her mother, who is in a coma and thus needs no player
3. Her biological father who the GM apparently has evil plans for, so he probably won't need a player either
4. Tyson, her boyfriend, played by Jeff
5. Amelia, her best friend, whose player I am attempting to recruit to this game

Coach Hank Woods

2011-04-28T06:16:52Z

Hank is the perfect man to teach Physical Education. He literally can pull up the knowledge on how to play any sport or to be able to do anything that has been called a sport really. He understands it all inside and out.

He is a calm man who takes his job seriously. He wants good sportsmanship to be shown both on and off the field and encourages his students to talk things out. He doesn't though mind if there s a bit of friendly rivalry as he thinks it encourages people to work on getting better. It is also well know if he catches cheating he will ban anyone who is in on it from participating in sports at Alpha Academy for good as he thinks cheaters ruin the spirit of the game.

It is well known he is in top condition. If he didn't think his knowledge of all things athletic gave him an unfair advantage he would be a shoe in for any Olympic event but as he views that as cheating he won't even consider it for a moment.

Mr Ishimura - Head Mechanics and Technology Teacher.

2011-04-28T05:31:31Z

Gordon Ishimura - Mr I to most of his students, Mr ishimura is chair of the Technology and Electronics division at the Amacdemy and is the instructor in the mechanics class. He acts very serious and strict...at the first part of class. He's is very excitable and passionate about his work, and is particularly fond of robotics.

A former NASA specialist who became fed up with the monotony (and the rejection of his many moon base plans), Gordon took up a position at the Academy and quickly rose to be the Chair of the Mechanics wing of the school, and is very picky about what is done in his part of the school. He is not a powered human, but has lots of training as an engineer and as a robotics builder. He is popular with the shop kids, but is rarely seen outside of his offices (which have been dubbed the Mad Scientists Lair by the students).

He is most often seen in casual clothes or, occasionally, a welding suit. Whenever he is in his comfortable clothes, they tend to be jeans and a t-shirt with printing on it, usually with quotes from Carl Sagan or Star Trek.

Sal!

2011-04-28T05:17:32Z

Sal is one of the Shifters, a fairly peaceful and long-lived alien race with a liquid base form but quite capable of replicating humanoid tendencies. Sending diplomats to Earth is a very big deal for the Shifters, as they are a very collective species, so one family off alone on such a strange planet is very awkward.

Sal loves Earth. For one thing, human perspectives on gender provide so much more information to weigh in its decision process. Results are currently still inconsclusive.

Sal has an interest in the superheroic process. Sal is admittedly much more interested in the investigative side than the part where one punches the bad guy, but Sal is coming to understand the latter necessity and figures Sal could manage well at it.

Abilities:
Sal's natural state is fluid, and it can assume any of numerous forms, both of living creatures and, when very careful, inanimate objects (Sal is not always inclined to hold still for extended periods).
For optimal health and functioning, Sal needs to spend four hours of every day in its bucket, which incidentally is covered in decorative stickers of flowers and pirate flags. It requires the breakdown of certain materials as occasional sustenance, more from recovery after being physically damaged, and can enjoy even those Earth foods that are not particularly useful in this way.

As Sal has not yet confirmed a gender and sexual identity and consumed the substances that would lock down the eventual chemical triggers for the reproductive act, it is more capable of comfortably going back and forth between the physical sexes of other species than some adult shifters would be.

Sal is capable of touch-based telepathic communication with other Shifters and, in a different way, Shiftlets. Sal speaks English fluently and all the Romance languages passably.

Sal already has Mu, shiftlet of superior cuteness, so in terms of things to look for, I'd be particularly hoping for a family member or a music teacher, but I'm open to options.

Utility journals

2011-04-27T20:42:08Z

The Academy_Staff, Academy_Kids, Zero_Hour and Loose_Change utility accounts are all available for people to drop NPCs into. If you just want to donate ideas to the universe, but not play them as regular support staff, this is the place to do it.
There's already a few characters in each - anyone in the journals is free to be picked up for support or main characters.

Penelope Jane "PJ" Pennington

2011-04-27T19:32:24Z

Age: 16 1/2

Penelope Jane “PJ” Pennington – PJ is the middle and invisible child of a wealthy New England family. Her older sister Clarissa is the star cheerleader, star athlete, and good student and currently attending Harvard. Her younger brother is the boy of the family and the one that is being groomed to follow in their father’s footsteps. Their father is the senior Massachusetts senator who has presidential ambitions. He has been in office for twenty years and is well liked by the general population. Their mother is a housewife who spends her day at the spa and campaigning for well known issues and charities.

PJ is the quiet child and a tomboy. With her parents’ attention diverted she’s learned to fend for herself at an early age. She can cook relatively well, knows how to get around the city, and has a black belt in kenpo karate.

She doesn’t like anything girly and can usually be found outside in the good weather months and can be found holed up in her room with a book when the weather is bad. She hates wearing dresses, anything pink, hates anything she deems “girly” but secretly likes getting her hair done at a salon. She loves reading, following sports teams and playing sports like baseball and football. She loves NASCAR and monster trucks and tries to hide this from people.

PJ is a speedster. She can run at incredible speeds and her body has adapted to deal with movement at high speeds. PJ can also create a forcefield around herself. This protects her from mild to meduim attacks and it also allows her to hit things much harder than normal. PJ uses this in combination with her speed to kind of plow over anyone in her way.

PJ likes to tinker with things. She will take something apart to see how it works and then try to make it "better". She doesn't invent new things, but likes to improve on existing things.

Possible Support types:
Best Friend
Fargo type of sidekick/romantic interest
Siblings

Miss K

2011-04-27T18:46:08Z

Elisavet Kyriakoulopoulos – Miss K, as she's usually, called is the history teacher at Alpha Academy. She was born in 1000 BCE in Athens and stopped aging at the age of twenty five. She cannot die and will heal all wounds, even be able to reattach severed limbs.

She has been all over the world and can speak at least thirty different languages, though some are ancient languages including Ancient Greek, Ancient Egyptian and Vedic Sanskrit. Elisavet Kyriankoulopoulos isn't her real name, but it is the name she is currently using. Her real name is unknown, much like her past, and she has used many aliases over the years. Some famous and some not so famous. She does make references to witnessing quite a few historical events, but that's about all she admits to.

Her style of dress seems to be a few hundred years out of date. She tends to wear flowing dresses and cloaks. On occasion she will wear jeans or slacks, but prefers dresses. She does carry a dagger on her at all times.

She has been teaching at the Academy since the day it opened its doors and has no plans on leaving anytime soon. Her office is on one of the subterranean levels and it is large and filled with ancient artifacts and antiques.

Princess Makiana of Dwarka- Bio and other important little facts

2011-04-27T08:05:02Z

Name: Princess Makiana of Dwarka.
Age: 17.
Hair: Dark brown.
Eyes: Blue.
Height: 5'10.
Weight: 129 lbs.
Abilities: Super strength, invulnerability, water freedom and breathing and camouflage. Her abilities are strongest when she is the water.
History: Makiana is a Princess of the Dwarkaian royal family, and the youngest of seven children. As the youngest, she can get away with being the family "wild child", as she has no chance of inheriting anything, and has no set role in society. Makiana successfully lobbied her parents to send her to the surface, where she currently attends the Academy. Makiana is the captain of the swim team, good friends with Tyson Storm. She also actively aspires to be a super hero and adventurer.

Makiana has a reputation for being a bit of a "party girl", and likes to have a good time. She uses her camouflage abilities as an excuse to run around wearing a bikini...and normally wears as minimal clothing as possible.

Needed: I would like to see more of her peers on the swim team, as well as the coach, as she would probably be pretty close to them. Also, even though they are not at the school, any of her older siblings would welcome (as she does have six of them, the eldest possibly being in their mid to late twenties), or even her parents. Also, officials from Dwarka occasionally sent by her parents to "check up" on her.

Support for Lucy

2011-04-27T06:55:32Z

Tom Willoughby – Born in Stamford Linconshire England. He went to Eton and eventually Oxford where he studied medieval history. He went on to teach at Harvard in the United States. There he met and fell in love with a girl named Winifred Saunders. They married and had a daughter named Caroline. Eventually Tom accepted a job at Tulane university teaching history when Caroline was just five. He became fast friends with Dr. Wilfred Broussard a fellow professor at Loyola University. His wife passed away and Tom moved with his daughter Caroline and granddaughter Lucy. Tom dotes upon Lucy and proceeds to tell Caroline what Lucy needs.

His favorite pastimes include hanging out at the local coffee shop with Wilfred and hitting on the waitresses and arguing historical points with Wilfred.

Jonathans Bio

2011-04-27T06:49:11Z

Name: Jonathan MacIntire
Age: 16
Hair: Black
Eyes: Brown
Height: 5'11"
Weight: 167lbs

Jonathan is a second generation hero, the child of Michelle MacIntire (the hero Steel Seraph, leader of the Trinity) and Gordon MacIntire (the controller of Galatea, another member of the Trinity). As the child of heroes, Jonathan was well aquainted with the life of heroes and their struggles. Still, there is a benefit to having parents who are not as well known as the members of Zero Hour: Jonathan has a very large family, with two younger sisters and two younger brothers.

Jonathan is a technopath, but not in an overt way. Jonathan can intuitively follow the machine, having it "speak" to him to tell him whats wrong. As such, Jonathan has excelled in the mechanics and is very skilled at coaxing broken things to work. He is also good at improvising mechanical objects and getting them to work.

Jonathan is very friendly, but sometimes flits very quickly from project to project. He also doesn't have as good a filter as most his age (which is not saying much) and can sometimes blurt things out that could be seen as in bad taste. He also shows a very ironic lacking in Engineering, as it relies on numbers and variables to determine when something will fail while Jonathan will just *know*

Most of Jonathans friends are fellow mechanical types, and he keeps his eye on his two younger siblings that are in the school (Rachel is a year younger then him and can read electrical signals; Frank is a master robotics student and joined just this year as a seventh grader). He does not currently have a girlfriend at this time, but is willing to pursue something that comes up. For the time being, he always has his machines to work on.

For Jonathan: There is a need for Rachel and Frank, as they are in the school itself, as well as his two youngest siblings Quincy and Jessica, as well as the mechanics teacher (who I can see be much like Grant Imahara).

Inezia's Bio

2011-04-27T06:08:35Z

Inezia is a time and dimensionally displaced adventurer. She was the daughter of a knight and a whore. At an early age she decided she didn't want to end up like her mother and knew very little of her father as he wanted nothing to do with a girl child had she been a boy he may have seen things differently. She learned how to fight by watching others and when she was fourteen and learned to bond her chest to hide her true gender than ran out into the night. For the next few years she had adventures only a few could dream of. She saw magic, battles between honorable knights and their deadly foes, and she also saw her first dragon.

She joined a company of heroes that went to save a city that was held captive by horrible magical beings that would have destroyed it. During that battled she was gifted by a powerful wizard the ability to change forms so she could act as their scout. It had a price but she didn't have to pay it that day.

Eventually when her adventures took her up against a dragon who had power no one could measure she got knocked into time and space by the dragon who did not like someone trying to sneak up on him. That was how she came to the Penny Dreadful universe and how Cubed found the person who fell out of time.

Abilities:
1) Inezia is an accomplished fighter when it comes to swords and daggers. Ideally with a pair of daggers.
2) Shape shifter: Inezia can take on the form of a hawk. he down side is that the animal mind starts to over ride rational thinking after four straight hours spent in that form so she must take a break or risk loosing herself to the hawk.
3) Inezia is also an accomplished thief being able to break into any mechanical lock. Electronic locks confuse her and she calls them witch craft though.

Persons looking for: Someone who would teach Inezia how to read. She is illiterate. Possibly someone to play Cubed as that would be doubling up on different roles.

New friends as she is starting to settle in at Alpha Academy.

Tyson Storm, aka Kid Omega - bio

2011-04-27T06:04:21Z

First example of character bios:

Tyson Storm is the only son of Sgt. Marcus Storm, field leader of Zero Hour, and his wife, Amanda Storm, also a long term member of Zero Hour. This also makes him the nephew of Cubed, the triplicate speedster guardian of the local timestream - and another member of Zero Hour.From day 1, he was trained to be a hero. Then trained to be a hero some more, with the expectation that someday he would be taking over the lead of Zero Hour.
Sgt. Storm is not the nicest or most laid back of people in the first place, and rather than taking it easy on his son, the genetics just increased expectations. This didn't leave a lot of time for normal little kid things, older kid things, teenager things... or things in general that didn't involved super heroing.
When his powers manifested, it just made things more intense. Tyson is a mimic, able to copy and retain the powers of three superhumans. He cannot copy learning-based abilities such as sorcery, nor can he copy high technology, only powers derived from some actual change in the person, be it a mutant gene, experimental modifications, etc. Because of this, at his father's insistence, he not only had to work on his combat training, leadership training, etc., but he had to practice with the powers of numerous combinations of people, just in case.

Out of familiarity, he sometimes copies his parents,
1. Sgt. Storm, aka The Alpha Male: Limited Invulnerability, Leaping, Superhuman combat skill, animal empathy and control, high level danger sense
2. Mirror Mistress: immediate second precognition (that ends up looking like massively superhuman reflexes), and ability to use mirrored surfaces to reflect attacks. Limited and uncontrolled long term precognative flashes.

but his favorite combination is that of three friends/schoolmates -
1. Princess Makiana of Dwarka (an undersea empire) with super strength, invulnerability, water freedom and breathing and camouflage
2. Weathergirl - high level weather control
3. Zephyr III - a close friend and speedster, likewise, another legacy hero.

He also sometimes snags Penny's super-intelligence so he can keep up with her in conversation. Most of her other abilities are gadgety, so when he does so, he's just super-smart for a while.

His two notable normal traits that stand out from the norm, and may be sub-powers related to his mimicry or mutant gene:
1. Superhuman will: like his father, Tyson is strong willed, resistant to most psychic abilities and other conditioning, has a high level of focus, and can be very stubborn.
2. The Omega Effect: It may be related to his willpower, training as part of the 'last line of defense', or a mix of his mimicry and adrenaline, but Tyson's powers can kick into high gear when he's the 'last man standing'.

He is dating Penny Pratchett, and sometimes works with her and her family as the super hero group Beta 5.0, where he acts as the big gun - but lets the others do the thinking, planning and taking the initiative.
Indeed, while he is, in many ways, a very good hero, and one of the world's more potent, his approach has occasionally been summed up as 'With a sufficiently large hammer, many problems can be turned into nails.'
He also will often have pop culture references, things most teenagers should get, etc. fly right over his head. He really hasn't had a lot of socialization outside of school and the one leisure activity he has truly been allowed - he is the captain of the Alpha Academy's Power-Ball defensive unit. (His father, being a red-blooded all-American wasn't about to let his kid skip out on sports!)

What I could use:
There's a number of NPCs with some detail already if people want an easy grab, and wanted to play the wild-child undersea princess, one of the other Power-Ball players like Johnathan Weatherly III - aka Zephyr III, or make their own. His primary rival (and captain of the offense) has his own clique as well, so Garret Strong or his people could work.
Possible love triangles with Penny - because those are a comic book standard.
Other members of Penny's punk band.
His parents or his Aunt - again, more info is available
Other classmates.
Other high potential people that might be Zero Hour kids or trainees.
The Power-Ball coach
Trainers in specific super-heroey skills, since he can't possibly be allowed to have too much free time, ever.

Academy NPCs

2011-04-27T06:02:22Z

Zero Hour is the longest running super team in the world, founded by The Immortal Soldier, Rhodes, and a group of crimebusters in the 1920's. They act as the world's last line of defense, and consist purely of tried and true proven and experienced heroes. While they do not insist on only the most powerful, many of their members are among the world's most elite heroes.
The team does not operate together on a daily basis. Instead, they operate in their home regions around the world, sometimes working together if they wish, but with no mandate to do so. They meet once a week, if at all possible, for team training exercises, followed by a 2-5 hour meeting where members report on situations which might concern the whole roster, and get updated on current threat profiles.
The Immortal Soldier is the team's primary coordinator and spokesperson, rarely leaving the base during field operations to monitor the team from above instead.
They have full approval from the UN, and are considered to have full governmental support and law enforcement powers when operating in any UN member nation. The Immortal Soldier in particular has an open invitation to address the UN at any time.

The team has full teleporter technology and support, and can get together or reach any other member via their communicators at a moment's notice. They gather in times of crises with major international or worldwide consequences, then split up again after any necessary clean up efforts are done.
While they are well known, they value professionalism. Individual members are not permitted to publicly state any nationalistic agenda, nor take any money from corporate interests or others. They do receive a significant stipend for their work with Zero Hour.

1. The Immortal Soldier:
Currently Brandon Goldman, the Soldier is actually a spirit that has existed since ancient times, and each time his current host dies, he occupies the recently dead body of a soldier who is iconic to the era. He has been a South American jaguar warrior, an elephant cavalryman, a samurai, a viking berserker, a musketeer, an F-14 pilot and many others besides.
He is perhaps the greatest living reservoir of tactical and historical knowledge. His background also gives him a truly international and worldly perspective no others can match, which has given Zero Hour the ability to navigate some of the diplomatic hurdles they've encountered on the way to their current status.
2. Rhodes, aka the Colossus of Cleveland:
Rhodes is not the original Colossus of Rhodes, but was created around the same time as a city guardian for Atlantis, and given magical sentience. When Atlantis was taken from this dimension by corrupted magics from within, he remained, but was buried in the earthquake that followed the removal of the city from the world. Eventually he was found and brought to America. He has adopted the city of Cleveland as his own, and is one of the best known and most popular heroes in the world - or at the very least, almost nowhere loves their hero as much as Cleveland loves their champion.
3. Sgt. Marcus Storm, aka 'The Alpha Male':
An operative since the Vietnam War, former drill sergeant Marcus Storm has been the field leader for Zero Hour for more than three decades. The cigar smoking, tough-talking, grizzled old veteran married the Mirror Mistress just over twenty years ago. The pair remain active in Zero Hour, and are also primary trainers for the team in the weekly sessions. the Sarge is almost always found with his two super-science enhanced hunting hounds Donner and Feuer, and his falcon Hurrikan - which he can communicate with via one of his powers.
4. Amanda Storm, aka Mirror Mistress, formerly Mirror Maiden, formerly Delphi:
Before marrying Marcus Storm, Amanda Morse and her sister acted together as a duo, using Amanda's precognition and ability to use any mirror to reflect attacks along with her sister's speed to fulfill their role as guardians of the timestream. Not seeing any conflict between guarding the world and guarding the local timestream, they joined Zero Hour together. Amanda is nearing retirement, but wants to stay active until her son graduates and is ready to take over a partial leadership role in the team.
5. Cubed, aka the Trigger Triplets, aka Marcie, Marian and Marigold Morse:
The Triplets are actually one person. Marcie Morse was given the responsibility by the enigmatic 'Chronal Force' in her teens, charging her with taking over policing threats to the local timestream upon the retirement of the previous guardian. To assist her, as with all the guardians, Marcie was given assistants in the form of herself from one second in the past and one second in the future. As such, all three virtually think as one, and share the same super speed powers via controlled manipulation of personal time. As such, they can't do a lot of speedster tricks, like phasing, but are among the 'fastest' heroes in the world for sheer ability to cover distance and outmaneuver opponents.
6. Cady Brewer, aka Spinnerette:
Cady is one of the premier plotters and schemers in the world. She has superhuman agility and ability to produce webs, both of which she uses with expert precision, but her real contribution is acting as a mastermind for the good guys. While not the tactical genius the Soldier is, she has one of the best minds for criminology and psychology in the world, and tens to be quite good at unraveling plans, seeing through schemes, etc.
7. Rahim Hassan, Dr. Destiny:
One of the world's foremost mathematicians, Rahim acts primarily as support staff, often working with Spinnerette, due to his preturnatural ability to simulate the effects of probability manipulation through his sheer genius with determining mathematical likelihoods. One of the world's smartest men in general, he's also often the 'genius on call' for a lot of team operations. When he does take the field, he is as trained as any other member of the team, and highly proficient with his wide range of high tech gadgets. Catch phrase is "Reality is just applied math."
8. Jaromir Kasparkova, aka Dr. Eternity:
Doctor Eternity is one of the world's foremost mages, a master of both ley line theory and elemental magic, letting him draw upon the world's lines of magic to empower numerous effects. Zero Hour's primary magical advisor, and a high-powered field operative.
9. Sprite:
A faerie archer who aided Zero Hour in one mission, and elected to remain with the team. Vast superhuman agility and accuracy, ability to teleport, and use of enchanted arrows.

ooc info where it belongs - Zero Hour

2011-04-27T06:01:34Z

the_flip_side @ 2011-04-26T23:19:00

2011-04-27T06:00:02Z

For the origin of the term and its long history in comics: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penny_dread

ful
In the case of the universe, it was named in honor of one of its leading citizens, Pennywise Pratchett, the Smartest Girl in the world. The residents won't refer to it that way, obviously, but its the equivalent to 'DC Universe', 'Marvel Universe', etc.

Most origins for characters and powers are possible here. There are aliens, magic users, undersea cultures, etc. There are some setting specific notes for some of the common origins of heroes:
1. The gods here are not super heroes.
They exist, but are largely distant from the world. However, people whose powers originate from being a mystical priest of a god or pantheon, people who are champions of the gods, etc. There are also monsters from mythology out there among the villains and such - but day to day, no gods walk the Earth. Demons, however, are another matter entirely.
2. Magic has "flavors"
No one is "just a mage", and there is no generic do-everything magic. You can absolutely be a Voudan Houngan who gets mystic powers from sympathetic magic, a Hermetic mage who draws circles, chants, etc., an alchemist who makes potions and powders, or just about anything with reasonable grounding in a theory - but every mage has strengths and weaknesses, and their abilities should make sense within their flavor.
3. There are no Atlanteans underwater.
HOWEVER, there are 5 other undersea civilizations. The Yonaguni-Jima residents off of Japan, the Sea Priests of Mahabalipuram near India, who are probably a small offshoot of one of the others who split off for religious reasons, the Dwarkans, who are one of the biggest, and whose youngest princess attends the Alpha Academy, The North Sea people off of Canada and Alaska and the Pavlopetri empire that started in the mediterranean - are all out there.
Atlantis, however, was lost from this dimension long ago, and never sank.
4. There are probably "fake" countries and cities
but those haven't been developed yet. The setting still has room for a lot of fleshing out, and some regions like island nations, Eastern European monarchies, hidden nations in Africa, etc. would fit.
The only one added to the setting for sure is Silicon City - a high tech mecha in California, home of Penny Pratchett and her family, who form the super team <b>Beta 5.0</b> who are primarily dedicated to protecting the world from other-dimensional threats and using technology to improve the world.
5. There are no Omni-Geniuses, but you can be close.
Similar to magic, Genius has flavors. Characters can be multi-discipline, and those who are superhumanly intelligent will likely know a lot about a lot of things, but give people reasons to conspire, their own super-genius specialties, etc.
Penny Pratchett, "The Smartest Girl in the World" for example knows dimensional sciences, xeno-analysis, computers, electronics, energy sciences, weapon development and aeronautics. She could invent all sorts of things with that, and given time, she could figure out a lot of stuff relating to other sciences, but even she may have reasons to work with those trained in genetics, physics, astrophysics, chemistry, etc., even if they're "merely human".

There are a few known Superhuman Organizations out there:
1. Zero Hour
Founded by Brandon Goldman, aka The Immortal Soldier, and Rhodes - the "Colossus of Cleveland" during the first age of heroes in the early 1920's, Zero Hour are the "World's Last Line of Defense" - not necessarily individually always the most powerful, though they count several of the world's top tier heroes among their numbers, this team is, when all together, the world's most powerful team. They recruit only those willing to swallow their egos and get the job done as a unit, take regular training, take on major responsibilities, and make regular reports. Despite all their capabilities, they do not regularly group together day to day. Instead, each has their own regions of responsibility, and even their own teams, and they meet to train with Zero Hour and submit reports on activities that might need the group's attention. Some members do work together by merit of living close together or preference, but the team only operates as a whole to deal with the truly big threats, though they do have their own satellite HQ, and monitor the world.
They are the only team that has UN approval to operate in any UN member nation, in part due to their professionalism.
The Immortal Soldier mostly acts as a coordinator and chairperson, while the team is led in the field by Marcus Storm, aka Sgt. Storm, aka 'The Alpha Male', and his wife, Amanda Storm (formerly Morse), aka Mirror Mistress, formerly Mirror Maiden, formerly Delphi.
2. Beta 5.0
Composed of Penny Pratchett, one of her best friends from the Alpha Academy, her boyfriend and her two dads, this will mostly be taking place off-panel in "another comic book". Living in high tech mecha Silicon City, they mostly dedicate themselves to dealing with other-dimensional threats and world improvement through technology.
3. Supreme, Inc.
The best known super hero team in the world by the common man. Supreme, Inc. operates through donations from sponsors and corporate interests, the entire roster are PR whores. Yes, they actually do some good, but mostly where it will garner positive media attention and more sponsorships. (For those who have seen the movie <i>The Specials</i>, you'll likely know their inspiration.
4. The Alpha Academy
Much of the game will take place in and around the Academy, and a lot of character relationships will come from there. Not all, but it is a central locale for the game. The Academy is not just for superhumans, but they are a major part of the population. Rather, the Academy is a large school with teleporter technology for getting students to and from school if necessary, that acts as a university for a handful of different groups.
I: Children of super-humans, whether powered or not.
II: Children who demonstrate superhuman abilities
III: Outsiders, powered or not. Aliens, children from the undersea civilizations, other dimensional refugees and transplants, etc.
IV: Children who are closely associated with superhumans in some fashion, such as siblings of powered kids, close cousins, etc. - if you might reasonably be exposed in daily life to people from one of the other areas, this might apply.
V: Kids with extraordinary, but humanly possible gifts. Kids who might someday fit into the 'badass normal' category is one relatively rare part of this. For the most part though, this refers to the kids who are doing algebra in grade school, figured out how to transmute lead into gold with their junior chemistry kit, etc.
VI: Kids whose parents have the connections to send them there. Children of UN diplomats are one example. The school paper is run by three girls who are children of high-profile reporters who regularly cover superhuman affairs - and thus successfully applied to the school out of 'extraordinary contact with superhumans' reasons. There can certainly be others.
5. Zero Hour Trainees
The Children of Zero Hour members or those who show extraordinary potential might get onto the Zero Hour training team. Only proven veteran heroes make the adult roster, they don't take the unproven, but they do work on training the next generation. Alpha Academy student Tyson Storm, the son of the field leaders for Zero Hour leads this unit in preparation for being groomed to lead Zero Hour someday.

There can be others, of course, as people add their own elements.

Attitudes towards the 'other' -
Superhumans are generally fairly popular in America and western Europe, and wildly popular in Japan, with other regions having varying opinions. This was not always the case, and the civil rights battles of the 1960's certainly included conflict over the threat posed by superhumans. However, Zero Hour in particular has averted so many known crises over the decades, and has two well known and highly diplomatic members who have been part of every roster, giving them a continuity and profile that has led to at least some acceptance of the superhuman.
While there are certainly regions where there is less favor, there is no "Mutant Menace" in America.
In many regions, there may be museums, such as in Cleveland, where Rhodes is a regional icon, or New York City, the home of Supreme, Inc. and the offices of their personable and reputedly indestructible face person, Lady D. (In theory meaning Lady Diamond, less kind people say it refers to her cup size.)