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    1. NeutralNexus 10 yrs ago

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"You're kidding me."

"I wish I was sir, it looks like your old stomping grounds back in Lost Haven are being flooded with Heroes." Chang responded, motioning to the large computer screen in the basement of The Cowl's coastline compound. "Super-powered, costume wearing heroes, to be precise."

"No, no, not their existence." The Cowl responded, bringing a hand to the bridge of his masked nose to rub it. "I was already well aware that such beings existed, I watch the news, Change." He pressed a few keys on the keyboard, zooming in on some particular articles involving a demon invasion. "What I'm more disappointed in that the situation has gotten this hectic this fast."

"Sir?"

"I've already had eyes and ears report back to me, but I've only got bits and pieces of the new 'meta-human' incursion." He motioned to the demon portal. "But this recent event here really brings to light what exactly we're dealing with, doesn't it?" He motioned to the heroes shutting the portal down, caught on camera by what looked to be some unlucky bastard with a smartphone. "People who can change the very balance we tried so hard to grasp down in Lost Haven." He brought up more articles as he spoke with a few taps on the touchscreen before him. "Countless costumed freaks are showing up back home, for some reason all locking in to Lost Haven. The sheer population of heroes alone means that before long, one of them is going to jeopardize one of our major assets."

There was a brief silence, with the Cowl swiping between hero articles, the faces of heroes like Lyger, Icon, Arachne, and even newer heroes such as the young girl who could shoot lightning and others still who were unnamed, but displayed wild costumes and powers, all crossing the screen. Eventually, Chang stepped next to his boss, reading a few of the articles before he was able to stammer out the inevitable question.

"S...so what are we going to do, boss?"

A brief sigh from The Cowl solidified the decision in Chang's eyes, but The Cowl responded as he made a heel turn away from the computer. "We can't ignore this threat anymore, I have to head to Lost Haven to solidify my power back home before these meta-humans destroy everything I've built. Have my private jet prepared immediately."

"Bu...but sir, what about here, in China?" Chang responded, he tagged along the brisk pace of The Cowl, whipping out his smartphone to text the men upstairs to have the jet ready as requested.

"Well, I suppose I have to leave the operations here in some very capable hands. Don't I?"

"Boss, I don't know anyone who..."

"Which is why I'm entrusting our operations here to you."

"Wh...what?"

"This isn't a request, Chang. I need someone to run things here while I'm off consolidating power, so you are going to have to stay here and continue expanding the Shroud Syndicate territory, am I clear?"

Clearly in a mix of emotion, Chang's response was to murmur and shift as he followed. Not hearing what he wanted, The Cowl stopped dead in his tracks and whirled around to Chang, meeting his gaze in a rather intimidating repeat of the question.

"I said. Am. I. Clear?"

"Y-yes boss! I hear you!"

"Good." The Cowl continued to glare at his subordinate, bringing an imposing stance to his threats. "Then I entrust this all to you, but if you so much as mess this up, or heaven forbid, go the way of Teddy Williamson, I swear you will sorely regret it, understand?"

A whimper and a nod left Chang, gesturing to the walkway to try and get past this moment as quickly as possible. Satisfied with his threat, the Cowl took off at his brisk pace, heading straight for the roof to meet his flight back to Maine.

"I also want all the reading material you can find on what these 'heroes' are capable of, I need all the information possible on how to deal with this by the time the wheels touch down in Maine."

"A...anything else, Boss?"

"...Caviar."

"What?"

"I want caviar on the plane."

"I...I'll see what I can do."

"Excellent."
No, a buddy of mine was able to give me a torrent of the old City of Heroes character creator, if you want it, I can see if I can talk to him about getting you the torrent too!
Excellent! I'll just power through my origin arc and then get some street-level crime going for people!
Character you have created: The Cowl
Alias: Unknown

Speech Color: This part still isn't working, but if it was, black.

Character Alignment: Villain

Identity: Secret

Character Personality: At a glance, The Cowl seems to be focused on one thing and one thing only; profit. His entire platform seems to be getting the richest he possibly can, and sharing said wealth amongst his massive network of thieves, crooks, and criminals. His sole drive seems to be how he can get the most out of any deal, from a robbery, to arson, to insurance fraud, to kidnapping and ransoms, everything he does seems to be guided by his overwhelming sense of greed. However, that is merely on the surface of how he built his criminal empire, but in person he could either be described as a philosopher, his criminal cunning seemingly offset by his reasoning. Every act of greed and selfishness is counteracted by his humility, logic, and cynicism, balancing out his ruthless and cutthroat plans with a dry wit and a calm demeanor. All the wealth he seems to amass and the empire he creates is simply the means to an end of an even greater scheme, whatever that may be.

Just be wary if you are to ever catch him on his bad side, his wrath is the stuff legends are made of.

Uniform/costume:

Origin Info/Details: The Cowl is an eternal enigma, to the law, the press, and even to his own subordinates. He appeared a few years ago out of the blue in Lost Haven, where he took over a small unnamed gang by killing their leader in cold blood. Almost immediately he set to work on increasing the gang’s territory and reputation, having his thugs commit a string of daring and well-planned heists on nearby banks, and using the wealth gathered as olive branches to nearby gangs, showing other gangs in Lost Haven that working with him would be more lucrative than working against him. Many gangs immediately allied with the newly dubbed “Shroud Syndicate” but those who did not found themselves under fire from nearby police forces who were “anonymously tipped” about certain crimes, while others still were simply wiped out or bought out. Through careful strategy and planning, the man now known as “The Cowl” assimilated gang after gang, until his influence and power was amongst the biggest in the streets of Lost Haven.

And yet, he did not flaunt his power to create total anarchy in the city, as most criminals would in his state, instead keeping his operations in a low-key state, with the amount of kickbacks he was getting from drug deals, shake downs, blackmail, and enforcement, doing any of the high-risk actions he did when he was just starting out would be tantamount to placing a target on his back. He kept this secretive spree of crime going, eluding the many police raids done on his compounds, carefully planning the structure little by little to keep his thugs swearing allegiance to him and the local law enforcement woefully unaware of his location or his activities. He created a set of rules for his men, a careful ruling for how wealth was shared and how law enforcement was handled, when to resort to violence and when murder was appropriate, he had no desire for his operations to be blown asunder by unnecessary slaughter, and took a great many steps to avoid such travesty.

And when the operation was a well-oiled machine, working smoothly within the confines of Lost Haven, The Cowl simply left the island, moving to the Eastern part of the world, intending to increase the Shroud Syndicate’s influence to a global standpoint, making him one of the most influential and notorious criminals on the planet. Up until now he’s still been operating under the shadows in China, subtly carving out territory for the Syndicate in Hong Kong, but arrival of metahumans will surely change his plans...

Hero Type (Select one):

Trickster(Other)

Power Level (Select one below):

City Level(In terms of Physical Power)
World Level(In terms of influence)

Powers:

Gadgetry: The Cowl is never without a clever device or sneaky machine near him, keeping with him a plethora of lethal and underhanded gadgets up his sleeve. These devices are as listed but are not limited to: Tactical Nano-suit, grappling gun, smoke bombs, explosives, cloaking device, flashbangs, virtual decoy makers, arm-blades, shoe-knives, bolos, caltrops, web grenades, force field generators, and many other weapons.

Master Strategist/Tactical Analyst: The Cowl is a master of tactical planning, and has already formed a powerful gang under his control by the name of the Shroud Syndicate.

Information Guru: The Cowl is abnormally well-informed on current events and incidents around the world, giving him very profitable gains where others are unaware.

Expert Hand-To-Hand Combatant: The Cowl is a master at the martial arts, having a lot of free time due to him being a powerful crime lord. He is capable of effortlessly fending himself from multiple attackers, as well as matching the moves of trained experts. He has displayed skill in arts such as Krav Maga, Aikido, Taekwondo, Ninjutsu, Karate, Muai Thai, Boxing, and Kickboxing.

Firearms Expert: Of Course, the Cowl is not one to play fair, and will more often than not end conflicts with gunfire. He is trained in multiple firearms and ballistic weapons.

“Foresight”: Whether this is a gadget, pure human conditioning, or an actual superpower is to be debated, as no one has been able to pinpoint how The Cowl can predict a person’s movements the way he does. The Cowl seems to be able to think three steps ahead, being able to react to attacks at a much quicker pace than any human can, to the point of being able to avoid a small amount of gunfire. It is rumored that due to his incredible focus, he can “see” what a person is about to do by reading their muscle movements, but most still seem to think the ability is “inhuman”.

Peak Human Condition: While primarily relying on his mind, The Cowl is no slouch when it comes to the body. He is as strong and fast as an olympic athlete, combined with the acrobatic skill of an olympic gymnast.

Attributes (Select one at each category):

Strength Level:Peak Human

Speed/Reaction Timing Level:[Peak Human, but his Reaction time is remarkably faster.

Endurance at MAXIMUM Effort:Peak Human

Agility: 15X Human level.

Intelligence: Genius

Fighting Skill:Mastered

Resources:Extreme

Weaknesses:For all his tricks, gadgets, and charisma, The Cowl is still just a human being. Get a sword or bullet into him and he will die like anyone else.

Supporting Characters:

The Shroud Syndicate - One of the largest and most influential criminal gangs in Lost Haven, and has considerable reach across the globe. They were originally a small time gang that went by another name a few years back, but when The Cowl entered the scene, the Syndicate grew almost overnight to a massive threat.

Do you know how to post pictures on RPG boards?:

Sample Post:
A quick splash of water, and the man was awake, gasping and writhing in the tiny cell provided for him, an old war fort on the coast, judging by the sound of the waves, but where on the Earth that was, the man had no idea. As his eyes came into focus from his groggy slumber from starvation and isolation, he noticed three men standing in his cell. Immediately recognizing the leader by his trademark mask and hood, the man began to shout and struggle, only to find his hands and legs bound to the wall.

“Oh good, you’re awake.” The hooded man said, moving closer to the imprisoned man. “I was hoping my men hadn’t killed you…”

“What...what do you want?” The imprisoned man said, wincing from the bruises that he now felt from the beating he received earlier.

“Well...information for one thing.” The hooded man said, pulling a dagger from his belt as he moved closer, he dragged the dagger along the imprisoned man’s skin, moving aside his bloodied shirt at the collar to reveal a tattoo on the chest, a lotus blossom with a grey coloring. “I can tell that you’re part of the Steel Lotus, for one, so you don’t have to tell me who sent you.” He then moved away from the man and towards a small set of burning coals. “However, last I checked, we were on good terms with the Lotus, I even sent the Empress a list of names with a list of undercover cops in her ranks...why would she betray my trust by having you infiltrate my thugs?”

The man tightened his jaw, avoiding eye contact with the hooded man as he placed the dagger inside the hot coals, the blade beginning to turn orange and glowing as the heat kissed the steel.

“Ah, silence...the Lotus was always good at keeping their members from speaking...I admire that.” He said, moving back to the man with the heated dagger in hand. “However, that’s not what I need right now, right now I want to know if the Empress has interest in my territory…” He aimed the knife right at the Lotus tattoo, much to the panic of the imprisoned Lotus member. “So I ask once more before I peel that tattoo off of your skin and mail it to your boss, what is she planning?”

The man again held his tongue, remaining silent to the faceless mask of The Cowl. Of course, the Cowl sighed, raising the dagger a bit. “Oh, I was so wishing to do this the easy way…”

“Sir! We’ve got some news!” A thug shouted from the hall, rushing into the cell, much to the chagrin of The Cowl.

“Chang….can’t you see I’m a little busy?” The Cowl responded, his tone a gentle annoyance as he held the dagger poised to jam into the rat’s flesh.

“It...it’s from home, sir. Back in Lost Haven...” The thug named Change managed to stammer out. “It’s new you really, really need to hear for yourself, if it came from me it would just sound crazy…”

A brief silence, then enough sigh erupted from the Cowl’s lungs. “This better be good, Chang. I’m not really in the mood for anything less than fantastical.” He handed the heated dagger to another one of the men in the cell before leaving.

“Believe me….you have no idea…”
Grah... Villain is almost done, still working out the kinks in the wording.
I'm looking forward to the dynamic an immortal president will have in this world.
Hey, posting from work, but I am almost done with a villain cs, something the city level heroes should enjoy, which I will be posting from home tonight.
Yesssss, I am sitting at the edge of my seat!
d'awwww.


"So this is the place I'm supposed to meet the client?"

Trent murmured into his communicator as he made his way into the casino. It was a few days after the demon incident, and while most of Lost Haven was still recovering from the assault on their town, some of the richer districts had been relatively untouched by hellfire. One of said places was an area surrounding a tall, glamorous casino known as the High Spire. Trent glanced up momentarily at it before entering, stopping just to appreciate the absurd concept that even when Hell itself had access to Earth, they did not even bother to crush dens of sin such as the blinking, flashy establishment of greed and gluttony before him.

"This is where the message said to go, so I wouldn't keep our client waiting, Trent."

"Yeah, yeah, I'm goin'."

Trent adjusted his black jacket before entering the building, flashing an ID at the bouncer and shuffling by him before the muscle-bound fool was able to question if he was even on the guest list. Even when Trent stepped into the building he stood out almost instantly, his lack of fancy attire becoming almost immediately apparent to the crowd of suits and dresses as he was garbed in the most mundane of clothing, jeans, a t-shirt, and a jacket. Many of the patrons scoffed and turned their nose up at him, seemingly disgusted at the plain-looking figure that stepped into their fancy gambling home.

"Well...the client sure knows how to pick meeting spots." Trent murmured into his communicator again as he walked back the many slot machines, full of high rollers and some older folks spinning away their retirement funds. "Where exactly did the client want to meet in here?"

"The instructions were specific; third floor, private lounge, sit at table 35B, and when the waiter comes to ask you for your drink, as for a Black Death Cocktail."

"Ew, god, I don't want that. That's friggin infused with Everclear!"

"That's the signal for the client, so I'm told."

"Alright, alright, fine." He responded. "Did the message say exactly what the job was, by any chance? Or who is asking?"

"No and no." Warden sighed, the sound of his chair creaking echoed through the communication. "And I've been trying to track down the original IP all morning, I keep getting rerouted and overloaded, the few times I got close I keep running into highly-encrypted passkeys, which I can't break."

"What? But you're Warden, you can hack through anything!" Trent was now hoofing it up the stairs, scooting around some more patrons, his eyes catching a very attractive woman in a black dress as he passed. She responded with a small 'hmph' and a scowl before continuing on her path. Her loss.

"Well I can't, not with this." Warden gave a flat reply. "So deal with it, a job is still a job, and this client's looking to pay handsomely. We may be flying in blind, but with the numbers he's offering, I'd overlook the secrecy to see what he wants."

"But Warden, what if it's a trap?"

If Warden had any feeling outside of 'monotone' the noise he made regarding that response could have been conceived as a laugh. "And what would they do, shoot you?"

"Yeah, yeah, fair point."

The conversation between the two died down as soon as Trent made it to the third floor, and when he actually surveyed the room, his mouth actually dropped in awe. Even in terms of the first floor, this place was classy. The room was a cozy, warm crimson, lit by cream colored lights. The floor was a dense marble tile, lined with gold and patterned up to the marble columns lining the room. An orchestra played quietly in the corner, their spot in the room hollowed out to produce their sound across the room.

"Holy..." Trent murmured, making his way to the chairs. His hand ran along the large chair at 35B, the authentic leather smoothing against his hand. He gave a grin of satisfaction as he plopped down on the seat, leaning back to enjoy the comforting padding of the chair, he felt like he was sinking into a cloud.

Clearly, he was now playing in the big leagues.

Before he could get too comfortable, however, he was greeted by a soft, polite voice. "Hello there, sir, is there anything I can get you?"

Trent's eyes popped open to find a waiter standing before him, and even he was better dressed then the disheveled Trent. The man sported a fine tailored vest, with well-pressed slacks and perfectly shined leather shoes, his face offering Trent a timid, though welcoming smile.

For a moment, Trent was dumbfounded to even be addressed right now, but he quickly remembered the password to signal his client. "I would like...uh..I would like a Black Death Cocktail, please."

The waiter did not even bat an eye at his order, despite Everclear being notably illegal. For a second, Trent questioned if he even mentioned the right password, but before he could ask, the waiter had darted off, not to the backroom,however, but he headed in a different direction, out of Trent's view.

Now all Trent had to do was sit and wait, his client would be here soon.
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