DC's Seven Soldiers of Victoria: Steampunk Supers [Recruiting Open]

[Elizabeth Ecsed]

How many games do you have, Ganna???

[Callie Del Noire]

So we got enough to start up?

[Kolbrandr]

Ah, right, my last Rogue idea

Reichsadler

As a conglomerate nation somewhat ill fitted together, that had literally signed away its previous major defining identity no less, the Austro-Hungarian Empire is in a difficult place for superhuman champions that evidence any particular sense of patriotism. It has lent to them having to rely on the more mercenary minded, which is both generally unsatisfactory, and comes with problems of its own (work for hire can be outbid, after all). But these are strange times, if you dig deeply enough at the world. And the wealth of empire allows for the pursuit of options that others might find, at the very least, impractical. The offer thereby of this 'Herr Doktor Savage' to create them a champion where none could be found felt practically heaven sent to the government, who eagerly threw a near bottomless funding the man's way.

The scientist told them he would harvest "genetic samples" from the greatest rulers and heroes of the regime's claimed history and many territories. From Barbarossa and Stupor Mundi, to John Hunyadi and Andreas Hofer. The result would be both a unifying hero and greatly empowered warrior to serve the domain as both figurehead and enforcer against 'unnatural' rivals. The scientist did not otherwise explain where all the boasted of physical power would come from, but none of their own experts could even come close to understanding his schematics in any event.

And if the man neglected to mention he would be including his own genetic material besides in the birthing vats, well, surely a minor oversight.

The Habsburgs have been far too pleased with the results to ruin things by speculating too deeply.

The Reichsadler has after all been a (mostly) unqualified success. Strong, fast, durable, and gifted with flight and superhuman senses, the Imperial Eagle has been a powerful symbol of the Empire refusing to be left behind in the strangeness of the world. And if the man is sometimes perhaps too imperious in bearing, and if both those peevish moods and private, near crippling headaches seem to only be able to be soothed by Doktor Savage's ministrations, well, what of it? The Balkan annexations and occupations have not been this (forcibly) pacified of ethnic strife in years!

The Reichsadler's periodic clashes with Geo Force (when a suitable diplomatic veneer can be found to justify one) have been less satisfying. Though a certain relative degree more physically powerful, Aleksandr Markov's wider variety of powers and skill in wielding them in concert have allowed him to claim victory when they have battled. This seems to have been an injury to the Eagle's personal (and not small) sense of ego, and he chafes both to find reasons to fight the Markovian king again, while willingly submitting himself to further experimentations by Savage to try and expand his abilities.

(So basically Vandal Savage done made himself a superhuman brick he might use as a pawn to take over the Austro Hungarian Empire with, if it ever feels sufficiently amusing to him enough to try)

[Foxy DeVille]

So we got enough to start up?

I'm gonna give it a lil' more time for peeps to chime in and prolly fire things up this weekend.

[Kolbrandr]

Geo Force
Real Name: Aleksandr Markov
Also Known As:
Occupation: King of Markovia
Known Associations: Markovia, The House of Markov (various cousins, aunts and uncles), The Royal Society of Extraordinary Gentlefolk

Origin and Background: Aleksandr was raised to inherit the throne of Markovia in a tumultuous time, when his nation was just barely staying ahead of being reduced to an appendage of the empires that surrounded them. There was only so much naturally mountainous borders and the sheer guerilla ferocity of her native peoples could continue to stave off. It made for a particular pressure in raising and training him to be certain that his shoulders could bear such burdens, but that pressure also brought to the fore a sharply keen intellect and prodigious strength of will that came together in having his own ideas for his nation's salvation than the old warlord ways. He successfully cajoled his father for a diverse education abroad at both military and scientific academies, and even to conduct his own Grand Tour. He absorbed everything he could of lessons in cultures, science, history, strategy and tactics, even managing to claim an engineering doctorate for himself.

He returned with a mind afire with ideas for improving the state of his nation, from its military to its infrastructure. But with the death of his father in a border skirmish with "mercenaries" it became dubious that he might ever get the chance. Desperate not to be absorbed by Imperial Russia or the Austro Hungarian Empire, the young King drew on bold will and resolved to undergo the legendary ritual said to be capable of awakening the power of his bloodline. Which is to say, he dug a deep pit and took advantage of his engineering education to arrange it for its earth to then collapse over him, burying him alive and threatening his very sanity in the act of remaining still until he either died or was reborn. Miraculously he emerged whole, empowered by the very forces of the Earth itself. While his abilities let him avenge his father and maintain Markovia's independence as its hero king for a time, Empires are not without their own champions as well. So he has signed a mutual defense pact with Britain, largely off the sheer strength of his powers, whereby in exchange for fighting for their interests, they provide their guarantor for Markovian independence, more or less.

Aleksandr now splits his time between his efforts to modernize Markovia's infrastructure and otherwise use his powers to improve it and being an allied foreign head of state on her majesty's service. He has already greatly enriched his nation through empowered acts both within and abroad like the excavation of otherwise impossible mines and casual removal past orbit of their tailings, a nationalized corporation arising to manage the wealth. But the 'Markovian Awakening' as some call it has made the nation only more of an alluring prize to those who would leverage control over it and its new hero-king. The country has become a center of its own corner of the Great Game, and Aleksandr strives to play it with the care that will keep his people free.

And at least in the meantime, the Markovian court and capital shines as it rarely has, bringing in visitors from afar to behold its growing splendour and cultural cachet. And the nation's people enjoy their growing share of that prosperity as construction and industry grow apace. Surely it is a small price then, the strain that can be seen now and again, just at the very corners of the young king's gaze, threatening one day to either completely overwhelm him or unleash the ancient Markovian warlord he was raised once to be.

Powers/Skills/Gadgets:

Superhuman physicality: Aleksandr emerged from the earth with a strength and durability on a scale legendary even amongst his peers. He can simply ignore intensely lethal extremes of radiation and stand otherwise unharmed despite being immersed in molten lava. The vacuum of space is of little concern to him (see weaknesses though), and conventional weapons generally beneath him. The upper limits of his strength have not been fully tested, but a minor and idly amusing note consisted of him once simply biting out a chunk of a gun about to shoot a bystander, then spitting out its debris with the force of bullets. Should it ever come to such a thing, he could give a decent, though losing physical fight to the likes of a kryptonian under a yellow sun. He otherwise hasn't needed to breathe or eat since his emergence from the Earth, and the Blood King sometimes seems to like to taunt him with the notion that he will endure as long as the planet does and thereby see everything he loves turn to dust (Aleksandr has avoided checking into the veracity of this so far).

Geokinesis/Geothermalkinesis: Aleksandr can manipulate and lift the earth, stone and other minerals and metals of the planet through sheer will, forming them into shapes, sending them hurtling through the air, making flying platforms for others to ride on, making constructs and many other uses largely limited by his own imagination and what the medium he works in will bear. He has otherwise been able to call up gouts of lava to shoot up onto the earth. At nearing maximum strain he has just managed to forestall volcanic eruption and prevent powerful earthquakes. On a sensory basis he can feel such things coming, discern otherwise the location and composition of minerals, the location of chemicals/elements in the earth, sense the motion of tremors in the ground and stone in a manner to let him "feel" motion he might not otherwise be able to see, which if nothing else helps him avoid the more literal political backstabs.

Lava Blasts: Aleksandr can shoot blasts of lava from his hands. Their potency has at least been enough to liquify steel in short order.

Flight: Through an adaptation of his gravity control (see below) Aleksandr can fly, his speed at such topping out at 1000 mph.

Gravity Control: He is capable of increasing or decreasing the gravity around objects, people and areas, greatly slowing them down, potentially flinging them into the sky, holding them in place, or simply making things easier for him to lift. He has also been able to create gravitic fields that have held hails of gunfire in place and otherwise prevented the spread of toxic fumes and chemicals.

Polyglot: Aleksandr speaks a variety of languages out of a knack for the study of them, including his native Markovian, English, Latin, Greek, Russian, German, Hungarian, Turkish, French, Italian and Arabic.

Keen Intellect: A student both of history and of several prestigious military and scientific academies, Aleksandr is an excellent strategist, with a doctorate in engineering and the ability to at least hold his end of a conversation in a variety of scientific and academic fields without sounding like an idiot, as far as interests he keeps up with. While not capable of worldbending super science by any means, he can at least, as he phrases it "mostly hum the notes if I can see the music sheet." Largely in the sense of being able to defuse advanced weapons and the like if he can get a look at their workings, or otherwise try and sort out a weak spot in a robot or the like.

Head of State: A relatively minor thing, but Aleksandr is well capable of navigating the bureaucracy of organizational management, the niceties and lacks thereof of diplomacy, the appropriate consultations of experts, budgetary management and all that kind of thing. He also knows which spoon is used for which course and how they should be arranged, naturally.

Born of Primal Warlords: Also he knows how to hunt down a deer with little more than a knife and how to ceremonially drink its blood after you kill it, but only after thanking the spirits of the forest and land for the kill (He doesn't especially share that bit of adulthood initiation as a story).

Combat Training: Aleksandr is a well trained boxer (having even won several amateur competitions in his student days), an above average wrestler (for similar reasons of academy athleticism), and a decent hand with knife, rapier and saber. He is basically functional with gun and rifle, though he hasn't picked one up with any seriousness since his empowerment.

Strength of Will: Willful enough to bury himself alive, keep still and focused beneath the earth and remain untraumatized, he has used that same sheer steely resolve to push through various assaults on his mind and spirit, and pain otherwise. Often by recalling the signature incident and somewhat "sending himself back there" mentally.

Appearance: Aleksandr is a looming presence at 6'4, with an amber eyed gaze that when in fury or passion can seem to burn as molten gold. There is a strong sense of the regal force of personality about him that he bears, the mantle of a king with a primal energy. His build is athletically muscled and proportional to his frame, his features leonine in an aristocratic cast and framed by red hair that seemed to grow darker after his emergence from the earth. He tends to favour moderately understated dark suits custom tailored and cut to his build when in public (his main affectation as a royal that of a richly made gold and ruby pin of the blazon of his country). When "active" in a superhuman sense will wear what roughly resembles a British officer's army uniform, but in green instead of blue, and its red chasings and sash worked instead in gold, and a central emblem over his chest of a stylized globe, in-between the side fastening buttons (he doesn't wear the hat).

Personality: Aleksandr prefers to view himself in the style of an Enlightened Monarch of the classical style, like a Frederick the Great perhaps. And it is true that he enjoys culture, study and scientific discourse. His gaze is one that has a seeker's fixation to the horizon, as much looking through people to what they could be, as at them for what they are. As a nation builder, it is one of his strengths and lends him a certain capacity to inspire.

As a head of state he holds overall to a certain reserve, his main affectation from the tribulations he has gone through a sense of humour that runs to the deeply wry. But his passions run just as deep, and as an orator, he thunders, and when in action his smallest motion bears a fierce dynamism. For within him roils all the blazing strength of the earth, as if its own molten core, and in him still are all the habits of the warlord. He simply strives to channel them into better impulses as best he can.

Weaknesses: The further gone from the Earth into space, the weaker Aleksandr gets. While he can function in orbit well enough, and slightly past it (and use the Earth's gravity to pull himself back as needs be), far gone enough, most of his powers will become unusable and his strength and durability will cut in half. Eventually he will weaken to the point that he will die, if not taken to some sizable enough planetary body to attune himself to (at least the size of a moon, or at least bearing its own relatively natural gravitational field of some sort).

Ons/Offs: Ons: Women, particularly a thing for accomplished women (which has gotten him in trouble enough to have earned him one of his Rogues as far as it goes). Can be something of a switch, but if prodded just enough, the more warlord impulses of him lean to expressions of passion in rough and even fiercely domineering ways.

Extras:

[Gannameade]

Should I not apply?

I did ask?!?

[Callie Del Noire]

Should I not apply?

I did ask?!?

Sure..

[Foxy DeVille]

Should I not apply?

I did ask?!?

Must have missed it. Martian Manhunter is a fine idea.

[Red Stella]

Working on Black Canary.  Today got... weird, so I’ll have a draft up tomorrow.

[Foxy DeVille]

No worries!

[Callie Del Noire]

We still on?

[Elizabeth Ecsed]

Hopefully!

[Callie Del Noire]

Been quite quiet

[Foxy DeVille]

I was waiting on a couple people said they were interested. If they wanna still join in, that's cool. I'll give 'em a couple more days.  Regardless I'll fire it up this weekend.

[Red Stella]

Took me long enough...

Black Canary
Real Name: Laurel Drake
Also Known As:
Occupation: Secretary at London City Police HQ.
Known Associations: TBD / Open.

Origin and Background: Officially?  “Officially” Laurel Drake was adopted by Richard Drake after his close friends (Laurel’s parents) died in a tragic accident.  As her godfather, it was only natural that their wills named him as her guardian, and money from their estates allowed Richard to provide a larger home than where he had been living, as well as someone to care for the child while he was working, and then to act as a governess and tutor.  Sad, but not all that unusual. 

The real story involved a young London copper and a young lady above his standing.  He was in love, she thought she was, there was an indiscretion or three, and the end result was an extended stay at a hospital in the country to deal with a respiratory illness for the young lady.  Fortunately, she recovered completely.  The money came from her family, under the conditions that no one was to know the truth and no contact between Laurel’s actual parents would ever take place.  Laurel is blonde like her mum and inherited her coloratura soprano range.  The blue eyes come from the Drake side of the family. 

Being raised by someone in law enforcement might be seen as a drawback; it wasn’t in this case.  Laurel was a very happy and observant child, always interested in what her father was doing or thinking about when he came home from work.  Sometimes he would bring home a colleague who would quickly be charmed by the little girl.  She easily grasped that by listening quietly and observing, in or out of her home, she could learn a great deal.  Even more so as she got older. 

Laurel was never shy and rarely without a smile.  In time her father taught or arranged for her to be taught how to shoot, how to defend herself if unarmed, and how to assess her surroundings and the people around her.  Richard knew only too well how the real world worked and he preferred to be honest with his daughter as much as he could; he wanted to equip her to survive.   

Laurel had always been physically active and adept at climbing (bookcases, rooftops - which gave her father his grey hair), riding, and whatever other type of play or activity was available to her.  She could attend social functions or meetings with complete idiots and remain quietly polite while listening for anything useful.  Her smile often came from considering how she could use whatever was available in the room to incapacitate or kill whoever annoyed her the most.  A lovely, well-mannered girl. 

On more than one occasion she had to defend herself against some villain or another, on the street or even in social settings.  The first was handled quickly and efficiently, and if her intended attacker survived he certainly wasn’t about to tell his mates that some wisp of a girl had taken him out.  The latter situation had to be dealt with more discreetly.   Misdirection, an accidental trip, a spilled drink...whatever worked and didn’t call too much attention.  But Laurel would remember that person. 

One of her father’s friends, Marcus Elliott, was a tinkerer.  He made things that were practical and other things that ranged from not practical in the least to completely mad.  Laurel was fascinated by all of it.  Marcus indulged her, made her toys or automatons at first and later fabricated more useful items such as goggles and eventually a weapon or two.  It was at Marcus’ workshop that the girl and her father discovered that Laurel’s vocal range was more remarkable than they knew.  A few things were broken or shattered, everyone was startled then concerned, then puzzled.  Not that any of them understood it, but Laurel had inherited the metagene from one side of her family or the other and that resulted in the ability to produce an ultrasonic scream. 

Richard Drake is more aware of his daughter’s “vigilante” activities than she hopes.  He worries, yes.  Honestly, he knows he would worry if she were a teacher or a wife or a librarian; at least this way she’s prepared and expecting trouble.  He absolutely does not talk or think about Laurel’s ahem costume.  Ever. 
Laurel chose her costume because it’s unlike how others see her, it’s easy to move in it, and it’s usually very distracting for her opponents. 


Powers/Skills/Gadgets:
Canary’s Cry (ultrasonic scream).
Expert Martial Artist.
Two collapsible fighting sticks.
Choker that protects her throat. 
Concealed, flexible armour in the body of her costume, and in her gloves.


Appearance: Blonde hair, blue eyes, fair skin.  5’ 5” or 1.65m. 
Face Claim: Courtney Hope Turner

Personality: Friendly | Happy | Observant | Patient | Reckless | Protective | Sarcastic | Headstrong. 
Weaknesses: Loses access to her Canary Cry if her throat is damaged.  She may be dexterous, very fit, and well trained but she’s human. 

Ons/Offs: On: Dominant men, rough sex, being restrained or held down, oral (giving).
Offs: Women, oral sex (receiving), bathroom stuff, vore, incest, daddy play. 
See also: ONs & OFFs

Extras:

[Kolbrandr]

Cool, glad to see you got it finished.

Also being for serious the only guy on the team is kinda hilarious.

[Red Stella]

Also being for serious the only guy on the team is kinda hilarious.

Yes, yes it is.  BTW, I’m open to having met or at least seen the above mentioned only guy...😏

[Kolbrandr]

I mean he's a king and an ally of high station of the British Crown, I'm sure he's been at the very least seen flying to and from London for meetings with various members of parliament and that kind of stuff.

Also if we're all team affiliated in some way we've probably all worked together before, unless the idea is we're all just being gathered nowish?

[indarkestknight]

JONAH HEX
Real Name: Jonah Woodson Hex
Also Known As: Hex
Occupation: Sheriff of Salvation, North Dakota (former bounty hunter)
Known Associations: Rip Hunter & the Legends of Tomorrow

Origin and Background: Jonah Hex has been walking this miserable ball of mud for six tumultuous decades. Some days he feels like he's taken a beating every step of the way, and he certainly looks like he has, but he's survived everything life has thrown at him and turned right around to give back as good as he's gotten. A good number of those years were spent earning a fearsome reputation as the best bounty hunter in the lawless Wild West of the United States.

There were many adventures of his, however, that never made it into broader circulation. The world's a lot stranger than people give it credit for. Over the course of these adventures, he's picked up a few things. Doesn't rightly know what all of them do, or how all of them work, but many are powerful, unstable, or both, and that makes them dangerous in the hands of the wrong people. Eventually, though, he gathered enough trouble in one place that the chest for keeping them in wasn't small enough to bring along with him as his boots gathered the dust of the wild, lawless Western frontier. Grudgingly, Hex settled in a town called Salvation in what were then the Dakota Territory. In time, he became the town's protector and sheriff.

Recently, though, the chest was stolen, and, fearing what horrors might be unleashed on the world with its contents, Hex left behind Salvation to track down the thieves, chasing them across the breadth of the Union, the Atlantic, their trail leading him to London...

Powers/Skills/Gadgets:
• Equestrianism
• Equipment: Hex keeps with him a bowie knife, a cavalry saber, a high-caliber rifle, a lasso, revolvers, and ammunition.
• Hand-to-hand and Weapons Expertise
• Experience
• Hunting
• Marksmanship
• Multilingualism: Apache & English
• Survivalism
• Tracking

Appearance: Jonah looks like hell, if hell were also a cowboy from the western frontier of the United States. While he might be easy on the eyes for his age if seen in profile from his life, the scars that mar the right side of his face are nothing short of ghastly. A strapping 6'0" even, the decades don't seem to have diminished him physically, though his hair has gone silver from age. The grizzled American seems to have a perpetual five o clock shadow, and the acrid smell of gunsmoke seems to hang onto him like a mantle. His clothes are a little worn, but serviceable, and he can usually be found in a duster and a stetson, with a handkerchief around his neck, revolvers hanging from gunbelts at his hips.

Personality: Jonah's seen the worst in humanity over his many years, and as such, can come off as can cantankerous and curmudgeonly. However, Hex is also a man who cannot escape a feeling of obligation to protect the innocent, and, failing that, to avenge them when they are wronged by the wicked. Even when it would be easier to ignore his principles, Hex can never stomach making the wrong choice or defending the wrong cause for long. As talented as he is when it comes to brutality and violence, his first resort in such situations is usually intimidation rather than bloodshed, though he's anything but shy if it comes to violence. He has so much blood on his hands already, what's a little more?

Weaknesses:
• Charisma Dump Stat Appearance & Personality: Hex's appearance is simultaneously distinctive and repulsive. He has trouble blending into the crowd, especially in a place like London. Further exacerbating the problem, his typical manners and language are coarse, cantankerous, and curmudgeonly.

Ons/Offs: My O&Os

Extras: The chest of plot devices wonders can contain a lot of different things depending on what Foxy needs it to. Here's a list of what it has by the time it reaches modern day, and in addition I'd probably say it includes a technologically advanced laser gun modeled after a revolver, given to Hex by Rip Hunter.

[indarkestknight]

I believe that makes Seven? 

[Foxy DeVille]

Behold, minions dearest friends!

https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=324469.0 [OOC]

https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=324470.0 [Cast of Characters]

[Gannameade]

Must have missed it. Martian Manhunter is a fine idea.

Wasn't sure.  I will work on putting him in. 

Thanks!