[OOC] DC Universe: Anarchy

[TheUnknowable]

The original RP I'm trying to restart.
The Int Check

One and a half years ago a new Metahuman named "Anarchy" appeared, attacking government sites around the world. After each attack, he would post allegations against the government and site he attacked. This made him the enemy of the Justice League, who considered him to just be another super-villain who was trying to hurt people. He ended up working with various villains because of this and, one year ago, they attacked Cadmus, drawing the Justice League to them.

During that fight Anarchy tried to talk Superman into standing down and, when that didn't work, pulled a shotgun out. Thinking that it couldn't hurt him, Superman slowly flew towards him, and Anarchy fired. The Kryptonite shards the gun fired embedded themselves into him and, after Anarchy shot him again just to make sure, Luthor landed behind the Man of Steel and drew a ten inch Kryptonite blade and ran it through his back. Anarchy reminded him that no one else was to die, and Luthor scowled, but complied. After the battle, Anarchy burned the body along with the Kryptonite and buried the ashes at a memorial in Metropolis.

A week later Anarchy walked before all of the former Justice League members who were now being held in Belle Reve. "I held you here just to make sure you didn't try and stop us while we finished our mission. Every politician and military leader that refused to step down is now in prison awaiting trial for crimes against humanity. In order to guarantee that you can't secretly reinstall them into positions of power or continue to secretly rule the world from the shadows, every one of your secret identities is now public knowledge. Now, if you'll go through that door over there," he pointed to a door to his right, "your gear will be returned and your power-dampening collars removed. Welcome to the new world."

---

Mark Patterson, CEO of Phoenix Security Services, formerly known as Anarchy, was in a meeting with his head of security operations, John Stewart. He looked up as Kevin Kirk, his assistant, opened the door. "Sir, there two men here to see you, Bruce Wayne and Oliver Queen."

"Of course," he said, "send them in." After they entered, he greeted them. Neither looked too happy to see him, but they weren't openly hostile. "So, how's the the plan coming?"

"Not too good," said Queen, "Building a prison colony at the bottom of ocean isn't exactly easy, but Aquaman is letting us hire Atlantians to build and crew it."

---

You can play as any kind of character you want. I'll make the script work for the characters.

The locations I've created so far are the Watchtower, now the Lunar Resort, which uses "Young Justice" Zeta tubes to get to it, and the Phoenix office, which could be in Gotham or Metropolis, depending on where we start.

Character Sheet

(Appearance here)
Name:

Super Name: (if you have one)

Powers: (Super-human abilities)

Technology: (Technology you usually carry with you)

Acquaintances: (friends, family)

Personality: (What kind of person are you?)

Bio: (What were you like before the collapse, and what do you do now?)

Anarchy

but with a yellow tie
Name: Mark Patterson

Super Name: Anarchy

Powers: He believes his powers are centered around his desire for freedom. As such, they are all tools with which he can either remove restrictions or defend against restrictions.

Amplification: Suppresses the limits on a person's powers or physical body, amplifying them. The more he amplifies a person's powers the faster it tires them and the more it physically harms them. He is able to suppress the negative effects in himself quite a bit, allowing him to safely amplify his own abilities far more than he could safely amplify another person's. If use on someone with dormant powers, it will let them access their powers, allowing him to give potential meta-humans powers.

Telepathy: Little more than Empathy unless amplified, he can feel another person's fears, concerns, and pain. If amplified he can speak telepathically, and if they allow it, can view another person's memories, though he can't alter memories or force his way into minds.

Telekinesis: He can shield himself from attacks, either with a skin-tight or a bubble shield, and can lift objects, whether touching them or not. He can also fly. If not amplified it is limited to a few hundred kilos of strength and a flight speed of 100kph. If amplified he can lift up to 100 tonnes and fly at up to mach 10.

Technopathy: He recently discovered that if he amplified his powers he could break electronic and computer based encryption and security. He is unable to access the files directly with this power, but he can break into them and download them or view them on the machine itself.

Technology: Railgun pistol, Nanotube Armor body suit, wrist computer

Acquaintances: Kevin Kirk (friend)

Personality: He wants to help people be free. What you do with your freedom is up to you, as long as you don't use it to hurt anyone.

Bio: As a child he was treated terribly by his drug addict parents, who rarely fed him but kept him at home to make him work constantly. When he was twelve he was locked in his home, desperate to get out, when the lock on the door broke and he ran away. He spent the next six years on the run, believing that the cops would lock him up if they caught him. While on the run, he learned to read and eventually learned enough to get his GED. He now realizes that he must have been boosting his intelligence with his powers, which would explain the headaches he kept getting. He also learned to use his powers and use them to his advantage.

He got a job working construction, using his powers to secretly help himself, while taking classes online. Eventually he learned enough about technology, chemistry, and biology to start inventing things and selling the patents. He used the money to start Phoenix Security Services and, as they were one of the few security companies that had the technology to take on super villains, they began guarding research facilities. This included research facilities belonging to Lexcorp, Wayne Enterprises, Star Labs, and others.

About two year ago he discovered that he could break computer security with his powers while investigating a stolen shipment of Lexcorp particle rifles. He found that the theft was ordered by a Us General Wade Eiling for use at a secret government facility in South America, and went there under the guise of a hero to get the shipment back. During the resulting battle, however, the base was destroyed and, when he told the press why he went there, they chose to say he was a terrorist. This got the Justice league involved and he had no choice but to side with the Legion of Doom for his own safety. He convinced them to follow him on the grounds that he would help them destroy the Justice League by amplifying them and their powers and, one and a half years ago they had their greatest battle ever.

During this battle one hero did die, Superman, when Lex Luthor ran a Kryptonite blade through his heart. Anarchy flew off with the body to see if the Ultrahumanite could save his life, but the man of steel died on the operating table. They cremated him, after taking scans and cell samples to verify that he was completely dead and not just in another healing trance, and Anarchy returned the ashes to Metropolis, where he commissioned a statue for the fallen hero.

After that he built up his Security force, hiring ex heroes and villains, as well as ordinary people, and set to work stabilizing the world by being a kind of police force that specialized in super villains. He hired Kevin Kirk about three weeks after the great battle, and the man became one of his best friends and his advisor.

Kevin Kirk

Name: Kevin Kirk

Super Name: none

Powers: Zero range telekinesis: He can fly at several times the speed of sound, simulate superhuman strength enough to bench-press buses, and defend against attacks.

Technology: communications equipment, wrist computer (with holographic display)

Acquaintances: Mark Patterson (Friend)

Personality: He wants to learn about people and this new society, but is very helpful to people. Doesn't resort to violence except in defense.

Bio: Just a city boy, born and raised in South Gotham. He took the midnight train going anywhere.
At least, that's what he tells people. He doesn't remember prior to the collapse, when a stray telephone pole caused him to hit the pavement too hard and gave him amnesia. He was out jogging at the time, and didn't have ID, but Mark found him and unlocked his powers fully. Then he got a job as Mark's assistant.
Lives in an apartment in Metropolis, as he hopes to run into someone who recognizes him.

[Pathfinder]

his is the WIP, just too wooped to do anything too engaging. It's got all the bits he needs, just needs to get word fancy.

---

Silver Savior // WIP

Name:
Silver Savior

Powers:
I'm going to flavor this up a little later, but the gist of it is that S.S. is a deep cover android designed by Professor Ivo in an attempt to eliminate the Justice League. To that end he has enough genetic bits to fool any medical exam, with a genetic analysis that will only tell people he's been heavily genetically modified. He's strong enough to bend steel, fast and agile enough to put the likes of Deathstroke and WW on at least their toes, and tough enough to tank small arms fire with little else than a sore spot in the morning. However these are not his limits and are instead programmed limitations in an effort to appear more "alive". When his programming deems it the right moment they will deactivate safeties, increasing his physical abilities threefold, ceasing "biological functions", and begin working at a cold, emotionless logic as he attempts to kill a founder of the JL.

Technology:
Now we got the real meat and potatoes.

• Nth Metal Armor: Crafted from the signature metal of the Thanagarians, S.S. armor grants him even greater strength, the ability to fly at speeds up to 272 m.p.h, and the magic nullifying ability inherent in the metal. The suit itself seals S.S. away from harmful gases, grants him a rudimentary H.U.D. with several different vision modes, and translates every language currently in common use, which means he is ignorant of secret or forgotten languages.
• The Companion: A sleek handgun made of a perpetually shiny alloy, The Companion fires low-powered laser beams that will incapacitate a normal human with minimal singeing. The power can be cranked up to lethal levels however, able to slip through steel like a hot knife through soft butter.
• Arc Maul: An innocuous enough, if shiny, bludgeon at first glance, the Arc Maul discharges electrical shocks with each blow. Normally set to the lowest possible setting, when cranked to max the electricity running through it would fry a man alive even as his convulsions ripped his body apart.
• Scrambler Grenades: Small machines that broadcast mental white noise into the senses of those within its 5 meter radius, unless they have equipment that blocks out the frequency on which the Scramblers operate on.
• The Black Sun: A weapon that appears to be a clone of The Companion save for its completely black color. The Black Sun can only be loaded with one bullet at a time and fires with such force that the recoil itself would shatter a normal human. S.S. has several types of ammunition that have been tailored to his individual marks.
  -The Emerald Bullet, meant for the Man of Steel himself. the Emerald Bullet is tipped with Kryptonite and designed to explode within its target, flooding his system even more with microscopic shards of crushed kryptonite.
  -The Orange Bullet, Tailored to the Martian Manhunter. The Orange Bullet contains a corrosive and incendiary substance that will only fizzle out when there is either nothing left to burn, or put into a vacuum.
  -The Silver Bullets, "Tailored" for everyone else. These slugs are incredibly dense and when fired through The Black Sun should be able to punch through the hides of the other founders, especially when coupled with the element of surprise.
  S.S. does not understand why he has the Emerald or Orange Bullets but his programming subconsciously prevents him from throwing them away.
• Star Piercer: A small star worthy ship made from a shining alloy, the Star Piercer allows Silver Savior to travel across the globe unimpeded as he carries out acts of heroism. It's faster, agiler, and carries more firepower than all but the most advanced vehicles.

Acquaintances:
None of note, Professor Ivo has left S.S. to it's devices and he never sticks around long enough to form bonds with people.

Personality:
Silver Savior is the definition of a moral paragon, honest, honorable, compassionate, a strong sense of justice, and always willing to protect those who cannot protect themselves. He's the perfect hero, exactly as he was programmed to be. In truth, beyond his vigilantic actions, Silver Savior is a fairly lost individual who is trying to figure himself out in between heroics. He's compelled to help people and doesn't know why nor does he really know how outside of punching a villain into submission. As he grows and experiences the world at large he will begin to refine his moral compass, but for now is fairly naive with a strict black and white outlook on life.

Bio:
Going to prose it up later, but basically Professor Ivo wanted to kill the Justice League and developed an Android that would infiltrate or try to become close with through acts of heroism. Except, as we all know, the JL has been dissolved and Silver Savior is stuck on heroics duty while his budding conscience is fighting for dominance against Ivo's programming. S.S. himself doesn't know of anything passed several months ago as he just "awoke" within the Star Piercer with only a note with a single sentence giving his existance any context, "You know what to do," and he did.

[Bishop]

The Mad Jester

"I kill you, you kill me...you can't kill me, YOU'RE DEAD!"

Name
Seska

Age

??

Personality

Their personality is all over the place. Depending on the time and day they can either be likable and thoughtful or despicable and ruthless, also changing according to what is needed at the moment. Their likes change, their fears change, their posture and the way they carry themselves changes. They are one of the best natural deceivers in the entire world. No magic, no nothing, just pure lies...or truths. Whatever comes out of their mouth sounds as truthful as a 5 year old holding out his hand and claiming his age. You don't doubt them, well if you didn't know them that is. The secret? They believe that everything is a lie and if everything is a lie it is also a truth. They wholeheartedly believe that what they are saying is the truth. You can't fake that sincerity.

Backstory

???

Magical Powers
Wild Cards: A deck of cards where each card contains another deck of cards and so on(like a labyrinth of cards) where the last deck contains different items. Holding a card, they can shuffle through the other items inside that card, bringing the one they need to the surface and expelling it in order to use it. It can either appear or be cast out with immense force. They can use one of their cards to absorb an item or multiple depending on the item's size. Can absorb living creatures..not limited to and including powerful beings. To absorb a conscious and powerful living creature is hard as they might manage to get out with enough struggle, rendering the card useless but with an unconscious body it is but a child's play. Even then there is the chance of the person realizing something is wrong, regaining conscience and getting out but the chances are slim to say the least. The more damaged the card is the weaker it becomes and if it is destroyed the thing inside it comes into the open.
Mimic: They can perfectly mimic and transform to any living creature that is roughly their size. The visual transformation is the easiest part as you only need to see them once and memorize their appearance to get that part down. Same with the voice. To mimic their behavior, personality, is something else entirely. You need to have a deep understanding of their psychology, behavior patterns and many other factors. That, or to have consumed a piece of their DNA in the last 12 hours. If you posses their soul, you can also mimic all their powers and strengths along with their weaknesses.
Vanish: They can disappear into thin air, becoming invisible and untraceable to everything except strong magic.
Air Walking: They can use air as a walking ground to walk, run, jump, skip, or even lay down on. Doing swimming motions is slower than running.
Clone: Seska splits themselves in 2 after a cloud of smoke to confuse enemies. The clone has the same powers that Seska has, the same speed, strength, agility, skills, clothes and ordinary non magical items.
Jack in the Box: By marking a place, be it in ground, air, sea, space anywhere, when someone who isn't Seska approaches the designated area a large cartoonish character/object/thing that represents the person's fear emerges out of a box that appears out of thin air, terrorizing the person.
Magical Affinity: Can understand spells and how to use them. They have collected multiple books and items during their travels and adventures. There is a spell for everything, you just need to find the right book, page and spell. The above mentioned spells are their signature and most frequently used spells.

[Bishop]

@TheUnknowable Can my character have the ability to break the fourth wall? I was planning for them to be completely against Anarchy in this RP although they don't show it. And what about the items that they could have in their large inventory? Wanna place a limit on their power?

[TheUnknowable]

@TheUnknowable Can my character have the ability to break the fourth wall? I was planning for them to be completely against Anarchy in this RP although they don't show it. And what about the items that they could have in their large inventory? Wanna place a limit on their power?

@Bishop

It really depends on how fourth wall breaking is used. If they can pull up this RP on their phone and read it, or know they are an rp character, that's fine, but at higher levels that power could let them effectively teleport or time travel by jumping to other posts. Marvel even used that plot in a comic.

Power and item wise, just try to balance it with the other players or Anarchy. It's hard to give an exact measurement for that.

Edit: trapping+ mimic(with their powers)+near perfect invisibility+ the others seems a bit OP. Could you limit it to a few key abilities, and maybe a wild card or two? As is, they don't seem really vulnerable to anything.

[Pathfinder]

@TheUnknowable
They'd be pretty vulnerable to S.S. with the whole Nth Metal thing.

[TheUnknowable]

@Pathfinderwould he be able to see them or even know who they were if they were in another form?

[Pathfinder]

@TheUnknowable
Nah, his vision modes are stuff like night vision, infrared... stuff like that. No secret magic penetrating gaze. Now if they bumped into one another, then the magic would probably flicker if that ability had its roots in magic.

[Bishop]

Ok so, I added that the soul of the living thing they want to entrap is acquired beforehand or if they don't have a soul their essence. Seska can acquire someone's soul by either getting it with the person's willing permission while they fully understand what they are giving them or by killing them and stealing their soul.

His invisibility? Use AOE abilities? Either way like any high ranking demon he invulnerable against seals that target demons and malicious entities in general. The more complicated the seal is the higher its effect with simple seals barely doing anything. Same with talismans and blessed holy objects. If they are blessed by some drunken priest running a backwater church they will have no effect but if they are blessed by a holy entity you can kill them or at least banish them to where they came from.
You also have spells that specialize in summoning, trapping and enslaving said creatures like Seska who derive power from souls.
Salt and iron have no noticeable effect that gives you advantage in battle whatsoever.

I mean, it is magic after all which in itself it is portrayed as broken.
And for all the abilities I presented they didn't have any strong attacking spell. Only CC(crowd control) and utility spells to escape sticky situations. Even his mimic ability isn't that good strength wise in order to abuse it. All you get is the outer appearance and if someone really powerful willingly gave you their soul, well... Anyway I didn't plan on starting with any powerful souls. Only low ranking beings. And to have many cards is the point of the character. He doesn't have many powers on it's own to fight but by mimicking others and having their souls he gains a wide variety of options..like Ben 10.

[TheUnknowable]

Ok, I thought that you would get their full power by take "their DNA", so all you'd have to do is kick Anarchy and you'd mimic him perfectly. If it's weak, and mostly appearance unless they give you their soul, that's fine.

[Bishop]

Ohhh, that was your worry....so can I go back to entrapping living people in my cards by just kicking their asses?

[Double]

I've decided to withdraw my interest. There's just too many things about these characters and this premise that I simply cannot bring myself to agree with or take seriously. I'm sorry.

[TheUnknowable]

@Bishopno player characters, but sure.

[TheUnknowable]

@DoubleI'm sorry to hear that.

If you are interested, I was considering an alternate version of this where he has started an anarchist colony for people that want to live there. Basically, he'll be running black markets around the world (google Agorism if you want to know why) as well as his security company (Security as his secret identity, black market as Anarchy), and Batman will create a team to infiltrate his colony so the JL can stop him.

I won't start that RP until this dies. Unless the people here want me to start it.

[Azereiah]

Definitely interested. I'll get a CS up in a bit, since I have a character in mind.

[Bishop]

I've decided to withdraw my interest. There's just too many things about these characters and this premise that I simply cannot bring myself to agree with or take seriously. I'm sorry.

Origin of the word "Comical"<-"Comic" from English. Do people really take DC comics that seriously? The crap that the authors have pulled with the story and still...

[TheUnknowable]

I should totally have Superman come back as a baby, have Lana Lang and Lois Lane raise him, them accelerate his growth so that he can marry them both in a world where polygamy was allowed. They did it in the Silver age.

Or I could have him meet twin clones of Hitler in a future where bugs rule everything.

Or just have the Joker steal a bunch of pies.

[Azereiah]

WIP. I'll get a picture together at some point, so for now a description of his outfit will have to do.

He's a Syndicalist outside the Hero/Villain paradigm, and will most likely find himself in direct opposition to both villains and pro-government 'heroes'.

Black Riot

Black Riot

---

Name:

Arturo Chavira

Appearance:

Black Riot's signature outfit is almost entirely black. His face is covered with a rigid, smooth black helmet with a deep black visor. Wrapped around the helmet is a black mask, oftentimes either a tee shirt, a shemagh, or a bandana and a hood, though his mask always has a tiny hole cut in it to feed his smoking habit. Lower down, Black Riot wears even more black. A heavily padded, black, armorlike leather jacket is printed with a blood red cogwheel encircling a raised red fist. Occasionally the leather jacket is covered with a black hoodie with identical insignia, which he uses to blend in with the rest of his militants. Black leather motorcycle pants are suspended with a cheap brown leather belt, and a pair of Dexter black steel-toed boots protect his feet. Upon his hands are a pair of similarly black leather sap gloves, obviously purchased from a military and police surplus store.

While Black Riot himself looks almost identical to every single militant comrade he has, there are some things that make him stand out in a crowd: He's 6'4" and 255 lbs., and he's carrying a 12 pound, yellow-hafted MSC sledgehammer over his right shoulder.

(picture pending)

Powers:

Enhanced Body:

As with most heroes forged through harsh trials, Black Riot is gifted with well above average natural strength, reflexes, and durability, though it doesn't quite qualify as 'superhuman'. His strength and speed are roughly equal to mid-range Olympic athletes, and were he to compete, he could finish the 100m dash at a time of 9.78, or reach 21.81 meters in the shot put. In addition, most people are capable of barely surviving being struck by a car up to 30mph, whereas Black Riot has gotten up and walked it off after being struck head-on at 50, with nothing more than several broken ribs and a bad headache. Black Riot seems to stop bleeding much faster than most others, too.

Power to the People:

Black Riot's greatest and most powerful ability is that of unity. When fighting as part of a group, group size and camaraderie create a sort of feedback loop between Black Riot and his allies, magnifying strength, speed, confidence, perception, and gumption. The larger and tighter the group is, the stronger the effect is. During his time with the Black Militia, this power permitted his cell of twenty to overcome a position of two hundred heavily dug-in patriot militia members with only one casualty. It almost functions as a sort of empathic 'hive mind', in which group members can almost feel eachothers' strategies in their own heads. There is no range limit, so long as group members know they're personally working together with Black Riot, and this would extend to scenarios in which Black Riot has been captured by another.

However, all great powers come with drawbacks, and this is no exception. Groups that are too large or too tightly bonded suffer from massive overconfidence, including Black Riot himself, and run the risk of fighting battles they have no hope of winning, even with massively amplified potential. After all, even with enhanced strength and mental clarity, it still only takes one well placed bullet for a person to die.

Empathy:

Arturo has the instinctive ability to understand body language, hidden verbal cues, facial expressions, and the like to a very deep extent. It isn't exactly 'psychic' empathy, but it certainly seems like it is to others. Using this personal strength, Arturo is able to relatively reliably decipher a person's emotional state, motives, struggles, family life, and the like, purely through conversation and observation. His skills extend to social/pack animals as well. That said, there are some particularly brilliant people out there who break the patterns Black Riot looks for, leaving him utterly baffled and frustrated.

Technology:

A large sledgehammer.
A pipe wrench.
A pair of small bolt cutters.
Petrol Bombs, unknown quantity: at least four.
A small hand radio.
A complete tool belt.
A blowtorch.
Generic handcuff keys in several different sizes.
Two packs of filterless Lucky Strikes. Don't ask him for one unless you're particularly adventurous with your nicotine sources.
A large black backpack full of water and vegan friendly energy bars, with which he feeds his comrades during actions. He saves the accompanying beef jerky for himself.

Acquaintances:

The Chavira Family
Arturo's own family is fairly large, as he's one of the five children of Carlos and Elena Chavira. Arturo's father is now disabled, and his three brothers now work at the steel foundry that, prior to the governmental collapse, had crippled their father. All four brothers came together to personally put their boss to death for his crimes against his workers. It's a shame the man didn't support safety regulations, or perhaps he'd still be alive today.

Various Laborers
Arturo Chavira is part of a previously not-so-well-known global labor union known as the ILW. The ILW takes the position that it is every worker's duty to help fellow workers, and often pools funds to start up more localized labor unions in other places. They have been working to stabilize the industrial sector after the collapse of governance, and are almost absurdly socially progressive. In recent months, International Laborers of the World has seen an explosion in membership, with roughly 2% of the population of every city being a member. The ILW has a tendency towards hard militancy and sabotage when their strikes don't work, and is very familiar with the name 'Black Riot'. In the event that Arturo ever is in trouble, he can call upon local ILW members to mask up and save his ass.

Oliver Queen
When Arturo was out traveling abroad, he made a pit stop in the United States, where he met a rugged, blonde man at a gas station in Seattle. He never got the man's name, but he would never forget the five minute encounter. It was Oliver Queen who spurred Arturo into thinking on his position in life, that of his family, and that of his coworkers, and it was Oliver Queen whose views on authority spurred Arturo into taking action.

Personality:

Kind. Vicious. Justice-driven. Cooperative. Calm. Furious. All these words can describe Arturo simultaneously, as a fire burns within him so brightly that it oftentimes outshines those around him. He is a born leader, though he rejects the notion of leadership out of hand, and carries a certain brand of charisma rarely seen. Arturo's greatest outwardly visible aspect is his ability to relate to and communicate with laborers, both rural and urban, both in manufacturing and service, and across the entire wealth spectrum. He's the sort to praise the creativity of a toilet sitting on a person's shotgun shack porch one minute, then turn around and admire a beautifully constructed house and car owned by a wealthy family. Some may find him irritating on some level, but most have difficulty disagreeing with his views of the world -- at least, in front of him.

Arturo is community oriented. He believes that all people who wish to work should be guaranteed the chance for labor suiting their personalities, talents, and skills, and that the average citizen knows his own needs better than a ruling class would. That said, Arturo isn't a strict 'rebel'. He views some nebulous entity he terms 'the community' as being the ultimate arbiter of what is and is not Justice, and strongly feels that freedom mandates rules being put in place by the community as a whole, via direct consensus.

There is some degree of instability, though. When he sees others attempting to manipulate their communities into giving them power, he is compelled to step in. Violently. Very violently. And he does so with a wide smile upon his face, as calmly as can be.

Bio:

Arturo was previously a foundry worker in southern California, up until the day his father was injured in the job and lost his right hand. Arturo attempted to rally the workers for a strike, but was almost immediately caught, fired, and arrested. After a short month in jail for the alleged crime of "trespassing", he got back on his feet by throwing himself wholly into general contracting. After a few home repair jobs, he invested in a modest RV, said his goodbyes to his family, and started roaming the US and Mexico, doing odd jobs here and there to survive. He wasn't entirely sure why he had packed up and left his home, but a mobile life was liberating, even if it was awful half the time. Rationing water was the hardest part, since the RV lacked any sort of filtration system, and he disliked the feeling of being dirty.

At some point during his several year journey, the 30 year old Arturo Chavira became a smoker. A very, very heavy smoker. He'd been one as a teenager, but had quit after only a year out of health concerns. But the habit was back, and he slowly started developing mild chronic respiratory infections. It didn't interfere much with his work, but it did turn into a chronic cough and a habit of coughing up sputum any time his throat was even mildly irritated.

Not terribly long ago, an alleged 'villain' known as Anarchy spurred a global revolution. Arturo knew what he had to do, and threw himself headlong into the business of spreading revolutionary ideology in northern Mexico and the southwest United States. Even if Anarchy removed every single world leader from power, there would still be the lingering ghost of neoliberal and nationalist ideology to worry about, which would, if left unchecked, permit new leader figures to rise.

A small scale guerrilla civil war broke out across the region, during which neighbors and families shot at one another, hoarded arms and supplies, barricaded themselves in forts, schools, jails, and stores. Arturo led anarchist revolutionaries of the ILW and the newly formed Black Militia into battle under his own personal banner: a black flag with a red cogwheel encircling a raised red fist. During the conflict, Arturo discovered a new side of himself, and he took on the name of Black Riot in keeping with superpowered traditions.

The Black Militia was a decentralized, horizontally organized militant group. While many viewed Black Riot as being a sort of leader figure, he refused to take any sort of role of power, and rather acted as a teacher and a soldier. Each cell elected a manager, whose job it was to decide on recruitment and training schedules, and organize meetings. Because every member had a say in military strategy, losses were absolutely minimal and the conflict spanning the length of the Mexican border was over in a matter of months.

Afterwards, Black Riot himself disappeared, leaving the Black Militia to rebuilt society in the form of a series of networked communes of different economic philosophies, but all united under the belief that no leader should ever be allowed to take power over them. Black Riot is still missing, but Arturo Chavira has returned to his old job as a traveling craftsman, trading labor for food, fuel, and water. Rumors of troubles have brought him to a city that up until recently was the symbol of the modern world's power.

[TheUnknowable]

@AzereiahDoesn't sound like he'll get along too well with an Ancap like Anarchy either (though he totally rationalized away violating the NAP on several occasions).

Maybe we can get an anarcho-transhumanist and throw a party. I'll bring the super power granting drugs!

[Azereiah]

@TheUnknowable

Nope. He most definitely wouldn't. We've probably got a three or four way war brewing already if they can't get past their differences and stick to their own communes.

If there're gonna be transhumanist superdrugs at this party, there'd better be options for cybernetic ascension too. Gotta cover all of our bases here, eh?