Difference between revisions of "Dr. Kaufmann"
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* "I've had the...interesting experience of working with the Doctor. Enemy of my enemy is my friend type deal. He's certainly an unscrupulous man, his track record speaks of that. But I have to admit, his pragmatism and efficiency is something I can appreciate. Maybe even admire on some level. It's a shame that it's wasted on himself, he'll be seeing the inside of padded four wall cell soon enough." - [[Fathom (Carmen Tethys)|Fathom]] | * "I've had the...interesting experience of working with the Doctor. Enemy of my enemy is my friend type deal. He's certainly an unscrupulous man, his track record speaks of that. But I have to admit, his pragmatism and efficiency is something I can appreciate. Maybe even admire on some level. It's a shame that it's wasted on himself, he'll be seeing the inside of padded four wall cell soon enough." - [[Fathom (Carmen Tethys)|Fathom]] | ||
− | * " I've had to work with this guy before, I've luckily never been on the | + | * "I've had to work with this guy before, I've luckily never been on the receiving end of a fight with him, er, not that I couldn't take him, I could totally take him! He's a total dweeb! Yeah!" - [[Imp (Angel Anderson)|Imp]] |
=<div style="font-size:25px;font-family:{{{Font|Lucida Console}}};color: #000000;padding:5px; background-color: hidden">'''Other Stuff'''</div>= | =<div style="font-size:25px;font-family:{{{Font|Lucida Console}}};color: #000000;padding:5px; background-color: hidden">'''Other Stuff'''</div>= |
Revision as of 16:36, 31 January 2016
Dr. Kaufmann | ||||||||||
Player: @kampfykaufmann | ||||||||||
"Side effects of this specific poison may include paranoia, psychosis, hallucinations and death." | ||||||||||
Biographical Data | ||||||||||
Real Name: | Dr. Pascal Hugo Kaufmann | |||||||||
Known Aliases: | The Doctor, Silver Scalpel, the Surgeon General, Dr. Leech, Medicus, Dr. Hugo M. Locke | |||||||||
Gender: | Male | |||||||||
Species: | Human | |||||||||
Ethnicity: | Caucasian | |||||||||
Place of Birth: | Unknown (suspected to be Germany) | |||||||||
Base of Operations: | Millennium City, USA | |||||||||
Relatives: | Unknown | |||||||||
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Age: | Unknown | |||||||||
Height: | 6'1" | |||||||||
Weight: | 195 lbs | |||||||||
Eyes: | Dark Brown | |||||||||
Hair: | Black | |||||||||
Complexion: | Pale | |||||||||
Physical Build: | Athletic | |||||||||
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Fame: |
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Alignment: |
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Identity: | Public | |||||||||
Years Active: | Unknown | |||||||||
Citizenship: | Various (through fake identities) | |||||||||
Occupation: | Gang leader, arms dealer, criminal mastermind | |||||||||
Education: | Unknown (claims to be a medical doctor) | |||||||||
Marital Status: | Unknown | |||||||||
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MaekadaBoxSlim created by @Maekada |
Contents
Appearance
The Doctor has changed since he suddenly re-appeared in Millennium City. He has cut his black hair short, shaved the sides and usually has the rest slicked back. The large streak of white running through his hair has been joined by some streaks of grey. He is still very pale and seems to have visibly aged in the past year. The dark circles under his eyes and the highly visible veins on his neck remain, suggesting that he still has quite unhealthy living and sleeping habits. Additionally a rather grisly scar is visible on his neck from when a vampire tried to take a bite out of him during the attack of the vampire lord Adrian Arkwright on Millennium City. He has acquired a large number of tattoos covering his torso and arms over the past year, the most prominent being letters on his knuckles spelling the phrase DON'T HARM.
His usual outfit consists of a white dress shirt and black vest, along with black dress pants, both made of a reinforced nanoweave fabric which allows these clothes to withstand certain amounts of kinetic force. Underneath it he wears a state-of-the-arts kevlar vest for additional protection. He also wears fingerless gloves made of black leather and black dress shoes with a sound-dampening sole, metal tips and a hidden spring-loaded blade for emergency use. He has changed his trademark sunglasses to small round glasses with crimson-tinted lenses. However, these glasses are still equipped with an uplink to a combat HUD, target identification software and several switchable vision modes. Reinforced materials prevent them from breaking easily in combat. He usually completes his outfit with a crimson-red tie, preferring to leave it casually half-undone. On his right leg he wears the holster for his customized handgun and he is now rarely seen without his walking cane. When expecting trouble he is known to strap additional holsters and pockets for equipment on his upper arms.
Background
The Doctor was already an enigma before he mysteriously vanished for a whole year. Digging any deeper has not produced any reliable information but instead rumors and contradicting stories.
- Some people claim to have evidence that he is the result of a secret government project of the GDR of East Germany with the goal of creating the perfect secret operative, which was abandoned shortly before the Berlin Wall fell. When the project was abandoned, all records were allegedly wiped out and all the candidates eliminated, except for one.
- Another story points to a small (and now mysteriously wiped out) clan of vampires which haunted the German-Austrian border during the 1980s. According to a retired vampire hunter, said clan exiled a fledgling vampire after discovering that he could endure sunlight and lacked other typical vampire weaknesses.
- Yet another story points to the destruction of Berlin by Dr. Destroyer. As rumors go, one simple physician snapped during the mayhem and started killing the injured superheroes given into his care for not being able to protect his wife and daughter from Dr. Destroyer's robotic legions. While the story made the news in the aftermath of Destroyer's attack, the killer was never captured.
- A fourth story tells of a ghost town in the Harz mountain range in Northern Germany. As rumors go, a secret government laboratory focused on bio-weapon research against the Soviet Union was right next to the village. When a modified version of the bubonic plague escaped, a large-scale cover-up operation which supposedly involved several popular German superheroes wiped said village out, except for one survivor.
Reports about the Doctor's interactions with the metahuman world before his appearance in Millennium City are sketchy at best. Some evidence exists which suggests the involvement of a mercenary and assassin for hire fitting the Doctor’s description in various civil wars, military coups and organized crime syndicates around the world, but the validity of this evidence is questionable. The first confirmed sighting of the Doctor is the murder of the British vigilante Mr. Grey in Edinburgh. From that point on the Doctor has been confirmed to regularly come into conflict with superheroes and supervillains during his activities.
About 6 years ago, he suddenly showed up in Millennium City, starting to sell his skills and talents to the highest bidder. During his active years in Millennium City, the Doctor worked with and against many different superheroes and supervillains, managing to survive in a superpowered world through cunning, skill and calculated ruthlessness. In total he is responsible for the murder of 7 superheroes and supervillains and the prime suspect in at least 13 more murders, along with a rather extensive list of other crimes ranging from burglary to terrorism. Despite the best efforts of law enforcement and various superheroes, the Doctor has never been detained for longer than a few days and evidence linking him to many crimes has mysteriously vanished, causing many to suspect that he has one or even several influential allies or sponsors. The Doctor's last confirmed sighting before his disappearance was at the Millennium City airport when he boarded a private jet to Canada. A list of the Doctor's most infamous accomplishments and (suspected) victims can be found below.
Activities before disappearance
- Royal Mile, Edinburgh: The Doctor is confirmed to be responsible for the murder of the British vigilante Mr. Grey. Mr. Grey was found with his neck broken on the roof of a commercial building on Edinburgh's Royal Mile. Residents reported several loud explosions coming from inside the building. Mr. Grey was seen entering the building a couple minutes later. Most CCTV cameras had been damaged by the explosions, but a few seconds of blurry footage confirms a fight between the vigilante and the Doctor. The commercial building was scheduled for demolition afterwards and the property bought by an ARGENT subsidiary.
- Salle D'Paix, Marseille: The Doctor is the prime suspect in the murder of the superheroine Miss International. Miss International, a highly proficient omniglot, telepath and martial artist was to hold a speech at the 'UNTIL Gala for Peace and Understanding'. During her speech she was shot to death by the security personnel as her psychic powers unintentionally activated and placed repeated telepathic suggestions to do so in the minds of the guards. Investigation of the crime scene reveals that Miss International might have been the victim of brainwashing herself. Subliminal messages convincing her of convincing the security personnel to shoot her had been added to the speech on her prompter. Eye witnesses confirm one of the technicians preparing the event resembling the Doctor.
- Downtown, Millennium City: In what is quite possibly one of the only jobs he ever bungled, the Doctor is one of the prime suspects in the attempted murder of Claire Thompson, heir to the multi-million shipping company Pegasus Shipping. On her 18th birthday Claire Thompson was on her way to sign the papers that would make her the sole heir to the company when she was ambushed by an unknown assailant and shot in the chest three times. Even though she was on the brink of death, she awoke only a few hours later without any injuries and perfectly healthy in a hospital, ready to claim her fortune. The Doctor is quick to voice his displeasure whenever Claire Thompson or Pegasus Shipping comes up in a conversation, leading many to believe that the failed assassination was his doing. Unknown to the Doctor and the public, Claire Thompson also discovered her powers that day and subsequently became the heroine Demoness.
- Westside, Millennium City: A bomb threat of considerable magnitude caused the city administration to send a team of heroes to investigate and prevent the worst. The heroes managed to track down the source of the threat and had to fight through a warehouse full of deadly traps and remote-controlled combat drones, before managing to confront the masked terrorist. In a close battle they managed to defeat and capture him, but before they could unmask him, he revealed the location of his bombs: All over the city and already activated. The heroes had to split up to disarm each one in time. When they returned to the warehouse the mysterious terrorist had disappeared. Some of the heroes claim that the voice of the terrorist was very similar to the Doctor's.
- Singapore Changi Airport, Singapore: The Doctor is confirmed to be responsible for the death of the supervillainess Shinigami. Shinigami was an infamous superpowered terrorist who saw it as her personal mission to 'guide as many souls to the afterlife as possible, no matter if they like it or not'. Together with a large number of her followers she attacked the Singapore Changi Airport, planning to blow it - together with everyone inside - up. The Doctor intervened on behalf of an unknown client. After a long, grueling battle on the runways, the Doctor killed Shinigami with her own explosives. While Shinigami's mass murder had been prevented and most of her followers captured, the resulting damage to the airport ran into the billions and the Doctor was able to escape in the panic.
- Westside Central Prison, Millennium City: The Doctor is the prime suspect in the murder of the supervillain Blaster. Several of the assigned prison guards had complained about a number of incidents including technological malfunctions, unusually rowdy inmates and missing equipment, which kept them occupied with menial tasks and paperwork almost the whole night. Blaster was found in the morning in his still locked cell with his throat slit. Analysis of the wound shows that the murder weapon is likely to be a scalpel. Unusual energy readings were found at the scene, but scans and analyses of the readings are inconclusive.
- Downtown, Millennium City: The Doctor is the prime suspect in the double murder of the superheroine Ballista and the supervillain Brimstone. Ballista and Brimstone killed each other during a vicious battle in the streets of Millenium City, despite both of them being known as unwilling to kill. Autopsy reports revealed a high dose of a yet unidentified hallucinogenic chemical in their bloodstreams. Ballista, known as a dedicated clubber and part-time DJ was seen leaving the Incubus nightclub on the previous evening in the company of a man roughly resembling the Doctor, while underworld rumors suggest that Brimstone left the Black Salon nightclub in the company of an unknown red-haired woman.
- Project Greenskin, New Mexico: After the infamous German supervillain Offizier 99 tried to steal US nuclear weapons and had been stopped and captured by the US superhero Supreme, a prisoner transport was scheduled to bring Offizier 99 from Project Greenskin to Stronghold. Supreme himself escorted the convoy, which unfortunately never made it to Stronghold. A team of unknown but highly trained black ops soldiers under the leadership of a man resembling the Doctor attacked the convoy, freed Offizier 99 and disappeared with the supervillain. Supreme died in the attack from a precise shot to the head with a kendrium-coated bullet.
- Millennium City Convention Center, Millennium City: Witnesses claim that the Doctor was sighted in the crowd during a presentation of cybernetics and prosthetics mogul George Verner during which he was to present his company's latest breakthrough in cybernetic spines. The gala was crashed by the supervillainess Litany, who the Doctor allegedly helped fighting off. He disappeared together with a team of unknown black ops soldiers after relaying a message to George Verner after the battle. Mr. Verner still refuses to disclose the nature of the message.
- Duskview Apartment Complex, Millennium City: The Doctor allegedly helped a group of heroes investigate the disappearance of a SWAT team in the Duskview Apartment Complex of Westside and battled the responsible supervillainess Spiderling together with the heroes. He disappeared just like Spiderling herself after an explosion brought down half of the building before further law enforcement personnel could arrive. Neither Spiderling's nor the Doctor's body was found in the ruins.
- Downtown, Millennium City: Eyewitnesses claim that the Doctor was involved in an attack on a group of Lemurian ambassadors to Millennium City. While on the way to meet mayor Calvin Biselle, the ambassadors' convoy was attacked by the supervillains Dirge and Judicator along with a group of hired thugs. The Doctor and a group of unknown black ops soldiers also attacked, resulting in a chaotic three-way battle between the security forces (MCPD, a group of superheroes and the Lemurian bodyguards), Dirge and Judicator's forces and the Doctor's men. While none of the ambassadors were injured and a diplomatic crisis was averted, Dirge and Judicator as well as the Doctor and his men were able to escape in the chaos.
- Congo River Delta, Congo Republic: The Doctor is confirmed to be responsible for the murder of the renegade VIPER supervillain Snapping Turtle. Snapping Turtle was the leader of a VIPER operation tasked with smuggling blood diamonds out of the country before he and his troops betrayed VIPER and attempted to flee with a large shipment of diamonds. According to one of Snapping Turtle's surviving soldiers, their VTOL crashed in the Congo River Delta after a precise anti-materiel rifle shot to the engine. Afterwards they encountered a number of carefully designed traps and ambushes during their trek back to civilization. Only a few made it back with Snapping Turtle himself dying in a devious microfilament wire trap. The shipment of diamonds disappeared and a few days later several high-ranking VIPER operatives confirmed the Doctor's involvement and praised the quality of his work.
- Renaissance Center, Millennium City: During one of Dr. Destroyer's recent attacks on Millennium City, the Doctor - together with several unknown black ops soldiers - has been seen in a black helicopter circling over a battle of several superheroes against one of Dr. Destroyer's Mega-Destroids. He has allegedly participated in the battle on the side of the heroes, taking several shots at one of the Mega-Destroids with a sniper rifle out of the helicopter. A similar helicopter was sighted two weeks later during one of Takofanes' attacks on the city, helping to keep the lich's hordes of zombies at bay.
- Maxwell Avenue, Millennium City: The Doctor is suspected to be involved in an instance of unusual energy readings which occurred here. A group of heroes was sent to investigate these unusual spikes of dimensional energy near City Hall. Upon arriving at the site of the latest energy spike, the group of heroes disappeared and could not be found in any way, magical or technological. An hour later the group appeared again in the same spot and the energy spikes stopped. Witnesses claim to have seen the Doctor in the area, but his involvement is still arguable, since the heroes have no memory of the time they 'disappeared'.
- Villa 31, Buenos Aires: The Doctor is confirmed to be responsible for the murder of the DEMON supervillain El Padre Venganza. El Padre Venganza was the leader of a Demonhame in the shanty town Villa 31. As a surviving DEMON cultist confirmed, his plan was to incite a riot against the richer parts of Buenos Aires and use the rage and misery around him to power up the source of his power, a talisman in the form of a necklace. El Padre Venganza was found dead with a gunshot wound in his forehead in his apartment, surrounded by a pile of identical necklaces, which one of his cultists confirmed to be exact copies of his own. The Demonhame was raided shortly after by local law enforcement and eye witnesses have confirmed to have seen the Doctor at several parties in the richer parts of Buenos Aires during the following days. The real necklace remains lost.
- Old Detroit Memorial Park, Millennium City: The Doctor is the prime suspect in the double murder of the superhero Captain Eagle and his sidekick Girlscout II. Captain Eagle and Girlscout II have been found dead (blasted with thermobaric explosives and shot in the head respectively) in the area after their vehicle, the Patriot Plane, had been shot down by an unknown attacker using a thermobaric missile launcher. Despite quick response of law enforcement and several superheroes, no trace of the killer could be found, but analysis of the crime scene confirms that similar explosives were used by the Doctor on several other occasions.
- Westside, Millennium City: According to witnesses, the leader of a group of VIPER agents responsible for a hostage situation near Carl's Gym bore a striking resemblance to the Doctor. The group of agents assaulted a jewelry store and took the girlfriend of a well-known and highly popular superhero hostage, while her boyfriend was trapped in the sewers of the city during an investigation, after several hidden explosives went off. A group of unaffiliated heroes managed to free the hostage, but the group of VIPER operatives managed to escape. NOTE: The hostage's boyfriend was involved with the investigation of the above mentioned double murder of Captain Eagle and his sidekick.
- Inner Easton, Vibora Bay: Eyewitnesses confirm that the Doctor is responsible for the murder of the vampire supervillainess Bloody Rose. The Bloody Rose was a prominent member of the New Shadows gang and herself responsible for the murder of 18 people, including 8 children. The Doctor ambushed the Bloody Rose and her posse in a park in Inner Easton and used a wide variety of anti-vampire weapons and equipment to dispose of them. The Bloody Rose herself (or rather a pile of ash and bones confirmed to be her through DNA analysis) was found with a collapsible steel stake buried in her ribcage. After two weeks the investigation had been closed due to public protests.
- Place D'Concorde, Paris: The Doctor is confirmed to be responsible for the murder of the French superhero Solar. Solar was to hold a speech about the importance of metahumans and baseline humans working together in harmony as part of festivities spanning several days. He died in the middle of his speech from an until then unknown poison in his drink. A member of the catering service for the event was later found unconscious and tied up in his apartment in one of Paris' suburbs. The man claims to have been ambushed in his apartment by a man whose description fits the Doctor.
- Ionizer HQ, Neo-Tokyo: The Doctor is confirmed to be responsible for the murder of the Japanese superhero Ionizer. After Ionizer had fought against multiple unknown attackers in several areas of Neo-Tokyo and investigated a large fire in the warehouse district, he was found poisoned and with various severe bone fractures just outside of his partly destroyed HQ on the outskirts of the city. Partly restored CCTV footage from the destroyed HQ revealed that the Doctor left the area shortly after Ionizer's confirmed time of death.
- Rivertown, Millennium City: The Doctor is the prime suspect in the murder of the industrial magnate Cornelius Preston AKA the retired superhero Forgemaster and the disappearance of his daughter Alice Preston. Cornelius Preston was found dead with a single gunshot wound in his forehead in his luxury mansion in the neighborhood of Rivertown. No signs of forced entrance or other evidence has been found. Ballistic analysis and comparison confirms that the murder weapon is likely to belong to the Doctor. Alice Preston is still missing.
- PRIMUS Quarantine Zone, San Francisco: During the outbreak of an unknown virus with mutagenic properties in the San Francisco Bay Area, the Doctor has allegedly infiltrated the PRIMUS quarantine zone disguised as a FEMA special agent. After the outbreak had been contained, PRIMUS officials discovered that blood samples of infected individuals as well a batch of the vaccine had been stolen in the chaos.
- Downtown, Millennium City: The Doctor has been sighted during a kaiju attack on Millennium City. Witnesses claim that he observed the battle between the giant monsters emerging from the Detroit river and several superheroes. He also occasionally contributed with precision attacks to help tip the battle in favor of the heroes. After the kaiju were driven away, he disappeared and a thorough search of the area provided PRIMUS investigators with no clue regarding his involvement.
- Halcyon R&D Facility, Canadian Wilderness: According to underworld rumors the Doctor has participated in an attack on a R&D facility of Halcyon Industries in a remote area of Canada together with several other supervillains. The attack cost most of the guards and personnel their lives, utterly destroyed the facility and unleashed a gigantic monster of unknown species onto the nearby forests. While the threat of the monster was later neutralized by a team of dedicated heroes, the purpose of the attack, the nature of Halcyon Industries' research at the site and the Doctor's exact involvement in the event is still unknown.
- Las Vegas, Nevada: The Doctor is one of the prime suspects for the massacre that took place during the wedding of Las Vegas superhero Chevalier and his bride Melissa Wyatt. Both bride and groom were found dead in the garage of the Seraph Gate Hotel and Casino after several fights between two unknown assailants, Chevalier, his best friend and Las Vegas vigilante Night Stalker and the security personnel broke out. The couple seems to have been killed by Chevalier's own questionite saber. Both assailants fled the scene unimpeded and Night Stalker has also disappeared since then. Investigation by the local authorities show an entry in the guest list of the wedding: Dr. Hugo M. Locke.
Activities after disappearance
- Graham Industrial Facility, Millennium City: A surprise attack on the Graham Industrial facility by a mysterious group of white-clad soldiers led to a chaotic battle, as the unknown attackers, a large group of Maniacs, two of Millennium City's heroes and Graham Industrial's security forces clashed on the company's property. Witnesses report that the leader of the unknown soldiers identified himself as the Doctor towards one of the heroes. Even though the combined forces of heroes and security personnel managed to prevent the situation from getting out of hand, the Doctor and his forces managed to escape with several samples of potentially dangerous chemicals via a cloaked VTOL gunship.
- Westside, Millennium City / Monastery of the Order of the Mutilated Saint, Romania: During the attack of the ancient vampire lord Adrian Arkwright on Millennium City, the Doctor and his gang settled on an uneasy truce with the city's heroes to help stem the tide against Arkwright's legions and clean the streets of the magical drug called the Thirst, which Arkwright used to infect the people and increase his own power. The Doctor and his gang - along with members of several other criminal organizations he managed to convince - helped defending Westside and its population against the vampires' onslaught. According to rumors the Doctor was also sent on a secret mission to Romania along with several heroes to retrieve an ancient artifact which proved to be crucial in Arkwright's defeat. As usual, the Doctor and his troops disappeared shortly after the crisis was over.
- Airspace near Iwo Jima, Pacific Ocean: The Doctor was responsible for organizing the breakout of the infamous mercenary Killshot from PRIMUS custody. Killshot was to be transported to a high-security facility in Australia via a PRIMUS aircraft. Said aircraft was to meet the UNTIL Heli-Carrier Helsinki near Iwo Jima and subsequently accompany it to Sydney. However the aircraft was hijacked by a group of villains and Killshot was freed. Even though the Helsinki managed to intercept in time, the villains escaped custody together with Killshot via a VTOL clearly identified as the Predator, the Doctor's personal aircraft. During the breakout, the Helsinki was heavily damaged and the heroine Lady Scout lost her life when she engaged the Predator with her own aircraft.
- Westside, Millennium City: Using intel gained during Adrian Arkwright's attack on Millennium City, the Doctor exposed the identities of the collaborators the vampire lord used to distribute the Thirst. The people of Westside - assisted by a team of vigilantes calling themselves the Justiciars - reacted to this information by rioting and forming a lynch mob for these dealers (the Doctor's competition in the drug trade). If not for a team of dedicated heroes, the dealers would have been publically executed by the mob. The heroes managed to talk down the Justiciars and by extent the mob. Afterwards a member of the Justiciars - Jury - helped the heroes track down the source of the propaganda the Doctor had used to rile up the public. However when they infiltrated the abandoned printing company the Doctor had used as his base of operations, the only thing they did find was a hologram of the Doctor taunting them and siccing a vampire he had captured during Arkwright's attack and subsequently 'improved' via drugs on them. Unfortunately the creature managed to kill Jury before the team of heroes managed to destroy it. Even though the riots were stopped and Millennium City was safe again, the Doctor managed to escape once more.
- St. Jameson Docks, Westside: The Doctor and a large group of Men In White were seen assaulting a private freighter on the St. Jameson Docks. A vicious shootout between the Men In White and a group of black-clad paramilitary personnel defending the freighter broke out. A team of heroes investigating the disturbance was able to break up the fight, only to discover that the freighter contained a massive shipment of drugs, weapons and other illegal goods. The heroes were also attacked by the Chinese terrorist supervillain Xing Tian, who apparently tried to protect said shipment. While the team of heroes managed to defeat Xing Tian and his men and secure the freighter, the Doctor's involvement with Xing Tian and his mysterious employer, the Golden Dragon remains unclear. The Doctor and the Men In White managed to leave the scene shortly after Xing Tian was apprehended.
- St. Jameson Docks, Westside: Only a few days after the above mentioned incident, a sleeper cell of the Golden Dragon's men managed to break Xing Tian out of Westside Central Prison. The villain immediately made his way back to the now abandoned freighter at St. Jameson Docks to retrieve another set of power armor from a secret stash. The Doctor and a group of Men In White intercepted Xing Tian and his soldiers. A chaotic battle broke out when the trio of vigilantes known as the Justiciars (the new Jury being the sister of the previous one) intervened. The already damaged freigther was completely destroyed and all of the Justiciars, Xing Tian and his soldiers as well as a large number of Men In White were found dead at the scene. The Doctor was not to be found.
- ACI Security Solutions Warehouse, Westside: The Doctor and a group of his Men In White were responsible for an assault on the Westside storage facility of ACI Securtiy Solutions, a subsidiary of Franklin Stone's ACI Technologies. The assault was stopped in time by a group of heroes who managed to take the Doctor and his men into custody. The arriving MCPD managed to secure the area, but the Doctor was able to trick law enforcment into giving him the means of remotely hijacking the warehouse's security drones and ordered them to attack both MCPD and heroes. While the heroes managed to take out the haywire drones and nobody was severely hurt, the Doctor managed to escape in the chaos.
- Millennium City Opera House, Downtown: The Doctor along with a large number of Men In White were responsible for an attack and subsequent short occupation of the Millennium City Opera House during a performance of Richard Wagner's Die Walküre. They took both the audience and the opera house staff hostage. MCPD and a group of the Protectors of the World discovered that the Doctor and his men had proceeded to inject their hostages with some sort of strange chemical. As they prepared to storm the opera house, the Doctor called for negotiations to explain the situation. He and his men were hunting for the Chinese shapeshifting terrorist Bai Gu Jing, another associate of the mysterious Golden Dragon. The chemical's purpose was to find the Bai Gu Jing among the crowd. A reluctant alliance was formed and when the sinister shapeshifter revealed herself, the Protectors managed to defeat her with the Doctor's assistance. While he managed to escape once more, the Doctor promised to contact the Protectors again to deal with the Golden Dragon himself.
Suspected Victims
Personality
The first and most important thing to know about the Doctor's personality is that he thinks he is better than you and anyone else he does not consider his equal in skill, intelligence or simply style. How he expresses this notion depends on the situation though. Sometimes he will be utterly professional and stoic to show you how childish and laughable he finds the situation at hand. At other times all you will get out of him will be smug smiles and empty small talk, like you are not even worth a serious conversation. And sometimes every second sentence out of his mouth will be a sarcastic comment or snide remark to let you know exactly what he thinks of you. And that's the Doctor on a good day.
He also has rather extreme mood swings which become especially frequent when things do not go his way. Cool and consummate professional to throwing temper tantrums that would even cause Grond to take a step back can happen from one second to the next. The tendency of the various drugs he consumes on an almost daily basis to affect his psyche makes these changes even more sudden and terrifying. Even though he tries to keep his cool around the few friends and allies he still has, they are not safe from the occasional barb or tongue lashing. In general however he tries to be a rational and benevolent boss to his allies in the Men In White, preferring to reward success instead of punishing failure, except in extreme cases. And even then, the most an incompetent henchman can expect is a rather lengthy tirade, a pay cut and several weeks of boring assignments.
And then there is of course the little but important detail that the Doctor is insane. While he is better than most supervillains at hiding it and keeping his more eccentric side in check, there is no doubt that several screws in the Doctor's head are just a bit too loose. First there is the above mentioned superiority complex, which is directly responsible for his actions as a criminal and scientist: If other people were as skilled and intelligent as he is, they could easily prevent themselves from any harm caused by him and his actions, which means that everything that happens to them is their own fault. However, the Doctor understands and accepts the common perceptions of what is right and wrong; he simply chooses to ignore it when it is convenient for him to do so. He has no compulsive need to kill (in fact he prefers not to, as unnecessary deaths clearly show that the plan was not flawless), but absolutely zero qualms about doing so.
Powers
The Doctor was once one of the deadliest assassins on the planet. Even though he has officially left this business, the years of training, experience and skills he learned during that time are still as deadly as ever and together with the equipment, resources and manpower of the Men In White make him more than a match for every superhero.
Skills and Abilities
- Genius: The most tragic thing about the Doctor is that he could have put his mind to eradicating most diseases on the planet and succeeded. He is gifted with a level of intelligence rarely seen among non-superpowered individuals. A master of a multitude of disciplines ranging from business administration to pop culture trivia (and of course medicine), the Doctor has the knowledge and skills to deal with almost every problem he encounters with ease. Additionally he is not only book smart, but also able to analyze and react to new situations in record time, outsmarting and outmaneuvering his enemies with a level of cunning that borders on precognition.
- Physical Condition: Years of using and abusing various substances, serums and combat drugs along with his training and experience as an assassin have elevated the Doctor's body close to what could be considered superhuman. His strength, endurance, speed and reaction time are easily on par with every Olympic athlete and in combination with his razor-sharp mind, this allows him incredible feats of precision, accuracy and agility. Deflecting bullets with his sword, easily gaining the upper hand against multiple opponents in close combat or moving before the opponent can even perceive the movement are no bigger deal for the Doctor than walking up a set of stairs is for a normal person.
- Martial Training: The Doctor prefers the quick, precise shot of a sniper rifle or the subtle, clean work of a well-placed poisoned drink or - the best option - having someone else do his fighting for him. However this has never stopped him from getting his own hands dirty if necessary and he has the training and skills to do so. He is a practicioner of bartitsu, savate and fencing along with krav maga and Brazilian knife fighting. His extensive knowledge of the human body as well as his assassin training allow him to target weak spots efficiently and incapacitate or kill with a few well-placed strikes. Finally, years of experience in the criminal underworld have taught him a variety of dirty tricks and underhanded tactics he is not afraid to use in a fight. Kicking a downed opponent, going for the eyes or kicking a girl in the crotch are by no means beneath him.
- Assassin Experience: On account of having worked in one of the most dangerous businesses for years, the Doctor has learned a variety of deadly skills. He has vast experience in using a variety of common and less common weapons, from handguns to throwing knives. He also has extensive knowledge of nearly every aspect of stealth operations, including espionage, disguises, surveillance, infiltration, exfiltration, crime evasion, assassination and how to mix a damn good martini. Finally, evading the authorities for so long has given him insight into modern criminological methods, allowing him to use a combination of his intellect and his knowledge about crime scene investigation and forensic medicine to conceal his tracks and deceive his pursuers. He can make any kill look like a suicide or unfortunate accident.
- Master Tactician: His genius intellect allows the Doctor to quickly assess any situation, analyze it, compare the possible outcomes and choose the most appropriate plan of action. This skill gives him an edge in many situations. Outside of combat, the Doctor is able to stay one step ahead of his enemies, easily coming up with backup plans and ensuring that even unfortunate situations still have some benefit to him. On the negotiating table it is almost impossible to pin him down, as he makes sure that he always has some sort of bargaining chip at the ready. And finally on the battlefield this allows him to efficiently use his enemies' physical, mental or emotional weaknesses against them.
- Mental Defense: Despite his dislike for anything esoteric or mystical the Doctor has spent some time training with a secluded order of monks in the Himalayans to learn a unique form of defense against telepathy and similar mental attacks. Instead of 'building a wall' against such attack in his mind, the Doctor usually lets intruders in, just to hit them with a mental counter-attack consisting of a variety of memories and sensations from his time as an assassin and mercenary, which include delightful impressions like mass graves, child soldiers, executions and similar.
- Medical Expert: The Doctor - true to his chosen codename - is an expert in all things medical. As a trained physician and surgeon, he can heal and treat diseases and injuries as efficiently as he can cause them and his skill with the scalpel has ended just as many lives as it has saved. His expertise in the many fields of life sciences allow him to develop, improve and utilize many different kinds of drugs, poisons, diseases and other substances.
Weapons and Equipment
- The Cane: While he most definitely does not need it, the Doctor is rarely seen without his cane since he reappeared in Millennium City. It is a black walking cane with a silver handle made from extremely sturdy materials, which would already be an effective weapon by itself. However the cane also serves as a sheath for a sword hidden inside. Simply twisting the handle while pressing a button on the cane allows the blade to be drawn. The sword is double-edged and made from cryogenically treated Damascus steel coated by a fine layer of questionite dust. Perfectly balanced for the Doctor it is an extremely deadly weapon in his hands. Additionally a second button on the cane itself activates a high-voltage electric charge on the tip, turning it into a powerful shock baton. The Doctor has been seen dual-wielding sword and shock baton.
- Customized RSh-12 12.7mm Assault Revolver: Currently only available to Russian special forces, one of these weapons has somehow found its way into the Doctor's hands, who immediately commissioned underworld weaponsmith Wayland Talos to make a slew of adjustments and improvements to it. The result is one of the most powerful kinetic handguns currently in use. This weapon is powerful enough to blow a normal human's head clean off and can even punch some very nasty holes into werewolves and other highly resilient targets while mainting acceptable accuracy, recoil and reload time. ((OOC note: As ridiculous as it sounds, this is actually a real weapon. Check it out: http://thefunnybeaver.com/rsh-12-most-powerful-revolver-in-the-world/))
- The Knife: During his time as an assassin, knives were the Doctor's melee weapons of choice. Eager to not let his skills and experience go to waste, the Doctor still uses his old knife as a secondary melee weapon if his cane is not available or simply a bad choice for the situation. Said knife resembles a traditional bowie knife, but like his cane sword the blade has been cryogenically treated and coated with a fine layer of questionite dust, making it both highly resilient and extremely sharp. The Doctor usually carries it hidden under his clothes as a surprise for those who think they have disarmed him.
- The Doctor's Bag: The Doctor's Bag is just that. A small black leather bag which the Doctor usually carries at his belt. It is filled with all kinds of medical equipment which could prove useful on the battlefield. From staples like painkillers, bandages and suture to the more exotic equipment like cryogenically treated scalpels (can and have been used as a weapon of last resort), syringes filled with various poisons and a variety of combat drugs; all that and more can be found in the Doctor's Bag, depending on what is required by the situation at hand. A list of the Doctor's staple poisons and combat drugs can be found below.
- Multi-purpose Explosives: Old habits die hard. His days as an assassin have taught the Doctor that having a few explosives with you at all times is never a bad idea, if just for the intimidating effect. These explosives - crafted by Wayland Talos - take the shape of black spheres roughly the size of an orange. They carry a special fordite charge with impressive destructive power, even against heavily defended targets. A small interface linked to his cell phone allows the Doctor to choose the type of explosive (grenade, mine, remote-triggered bomb) as well as adjust detonation force and timer.
- Microfilament Wires: Described as the 'duct tape of assassins' by the Doctor himself, microfilament wires have been a part of his arsenal for a long time. Incredibly sharp, extremely durable and almost invisible under the right conditions these wires can be used for a multitude of sinister purposes. The Doctor has been seen using them as a garrote, whip or to set up insidious traps. He keeps them on a coil hidden under his vest. His gloves can emit a weak magnetic field, which allows him to handle the deadly wires without danger of hurting himself.
- Razor Mines: Razor Mines combine two of the Doctor's favorite things: explosives and microfilament wires. Upon detonation (either through proximity or remotely controlled by the Doctor) these devices eject a mesh of microfilament wires. The wires are partly coated with a layer of quickly-hardening glue, which allows them to stick to victims or walls, creating either very messy deaths or a convenient way of area denial.
- Holographic Decoy Drones: These insidious gadgets are small flying drones about the size of an apple. They are equipped with a basic AI, small anti-grav engines and powerful holographic projectors which can be activated and manually controlled by the Doctor via his phone. He uses them to create distractions, confuse and deceive his enemies mid-battle and create opportunities to slip away. While they have a wide range of pre-recorded images available and the Doctor is quite skilled using them, the holograms obviously do not emit any sound, so a perceptive combatant can see through the trickery.
- Nanoweave Clothing: On top of being incredibly stylish, almost all of the Doctor's outfits are made of a reinforced nanoweave fabric, which hardens for split-seconds in response to kinetic force, giving it protective properties on par of light body armor. For additional protection of vital organs, the Doctor wears a state-of-the-art Regor Plastic kevlar vest beneath. Additionally the clothes have limited thermal regulation abilities, allowing them to be worn in moderately hot or cold environments. Extreme temperatures however still require him to wear specialized clothing. They also house numerous pockets and secret compartments to hold additional equipment and weapons. His gloves are of a resilient black leather and reinforced with tiny compartments of metal to protect his hands and give his punches just a bit more force. His shoes are also made of the same black leather, but with special sound-dampening soles, metal tips for painful kicks and hidden spring-loaded blades, just in case.
- Combat Shades: These crimson-tinted glasses are a marvel of technology (and style). They are equipped with magnifying properties, an advanced combat HUD with uplink to the Men In White's databases, target identification and analysis software and several vision modes (including night and thermal vision). They are made from a reinforced material, preventing them from breaking easily in combat situations. The Doctor has several different designs, purely for style.
- Improved Cell Phone: While many superheroes and supervillains prefer wrist computers, the Doctor has never been able to warm up to them. Instead he has paid the super-hacker Ixion to improve a standard business blackberry in numerous ways. Heavy encryption software and a unique, almost hack-proof operating system allow it operate flawlessly, even in combat situations. In turn it features a simple AI able to bypass standard security protocols for hacking tasks, has a GPS uplink, encrypted access to the Men In White's databases and a secure web-browser on top of all the other features of the latest generation of smart phones. The Doctor can also use it to remotely control certain pieces of his equipment (for example, detonate his explosives).
- The Predator: The Doctor likes to travel in style. While he prefers a black Cadillac XTS for ground travel, the Predator - an advanced VTOL gunship of unknown design and manufacture - is his choice for air travel. An outer hull of a kendrium/teflon alloy over lightweight but sturdy materials gives it unparalleled mobility while still keeping it very durable. An emergency forcefield can boost its defensive capabilities even further by re-routing energy from other systems. An advanced onboard AI as well as telemetric and target identification and analysis software help the pilot to utilize the Predator's capabilities to their fullest. Two front-mounted 20mm autocannons, two missile pods under the wings capable of simultaneously firing up to 8 missiles of different kinds (the usual loadout are thermobaric missiles) and one heavy 60 mm cannon capable of firing incendiary tungsten-carbide rounds make up its offensive potential. Finally it is equipped with advanced holographic cloaking technology, allowing it to move nearly undetected. It is capable of transporting up to 6 persons comfortably (including the pilot). As the Doctor's personal vehicle it is of course equipped with several luxuries inside including leather seats, a plasma screen and a well-stocked mini-bar. It is usually piloted by the Doctor's own driver and pilot Frederick Wilson, codename Paramedic. Unfortunately it didn't come in white.
- Dirty Tricks: In addition to all its other equipment, the Doctor has some sinister surprises for his enemies up his sleeve.
- He has treated his fingertips in a painful procedure with biological acids. They are now completely smooth, leaving no traces at all.
- He also recognized the danger of being completely disarmed: Making incisions on suitable parts of his skin, the Doctor was able to insert small pieces of equipment directly under his skin, creating subdermal pockets to hold that item after the wounds healed. He has four of them.
- His tie can emit a powerful electric shock in case someone had the smart idea to grab onto such an obvious weak spot in the heat of combat.
- The poisons and drugs he carries with him are deliberately labeled wrong. While the Doctor can recognize the various substances he uses in combat by sight and smell alone, his enemies usually can not.
- Last but not least, he has rigged almost all of his equipment to explode after certain verbal commands (usually the names of his ex-girlfriends).
Drugs, Poisons and other Substances
The Doctor's vast medical expertise allows him to create, improve and utilize a wide range of different substances in and outside of combat. Usually he carries them with him in specially prepared stainless steel syringes, but he has also no qualms about using them in the form of pellets or grenades. Below a short list of the Doctor's staple poisons and combat drugs can be found, but he is known to use a far greater variety of common and less common substances.
- Stranglehold (Poison): Stranglehold, created of a chemically enhanced version of the common poison ivy's toxins is a powerful poison, which causes rapid respiratory shutdown along with painful pharyngeal contractions, making it impossible for the target to breathe. It is not unheard of victims of Stranglehold to suffocate in the span of less than a minute.
- Whiplash (Poison): Whiplash is a chemically enhanced version of the neurotoxin of the box jellyfish. It amplifies nerve conductivity to extreme levels and causes the thermoreceptors of the target to work on overtime, causing such extreme pain that even moving, the feeling of clothing on skin or a light breeze becomes unbearably painful for the target.
- First Blood (Poison): First Blood saturates the bloodstream of the target with an experimental chemical that causes extensive hemolysis and thins the blood of the target to an extreme level, causing rapid exsanguination. The target's blood runs from every wounds and orifices in a rather horrifying display. In extreme cases complete exsanguination was reached in less than two minutes.
- Inner Fire (Poison): Based on a similar chemical as First Blood, Inner Fire floods the bloodstream of the target with a chemical that bonds to the targets red blood cells and starts absorbing the oxygen they carry. After absorbing enough oxygen (usually after two to three minutes), they ignite which causes the target to burn out from the inside.
- Natural Bone Killer (Poison): Natural Bone Killer utilizes a batch of genetically engineered bacteria with an appetite for calcium, attacking the target's bone structure and causing symptoms similar to extreme cases of osteoporosis. The target's bones start disintegrating inside its body, causing extreme pain, inability to move and finally death by asphyxiation.
- Nightmare (Poison): This artificial neurotoxin hyperstimulates the part of the brain responsible for the fight-or-flight response. The target is overcome by an overwhelming sense of panic and fear without any obvious reason. In some reported cases the psyche of the victim actually invented some sort of dreadful imagery to justify said feelings.
- Blitz (Combat Drug): This drug comes in the form of small white pills and increases alertness, improves concentration and enhances reaction speed by drastically speeding up the communication between the left and right brain halves. Taken in small doses for short periods of times, it is mostly harmless, but extended use can lead to paranoia and anxiety attacks.
- Serenity (Combat Drug): This milky, white liquid is a potent cocktail of morphine and amphetamines, which is injected directly into the bloodstream. A single shot of Serenity is enough to suppress the pain from nearly any injury without the side effects usually associated with similar substances. Serenity has to be handled with great care, as it is highly addictive on psychological level.
- Berserk (Combat Drug): Berserk comes as a clear liquid injected directly, which stimulates the adrenal gland of the user with acetylcholine, causing it to substantially increase the adrenaline production. Users feel an almost instant boost in strength after taking it, along with increased aggressiveness. Berserk is easily overdosed and can lead to fatal heart attacks.
- Apathy (Combat Drug): Apathy, readily available in the form of small brown pills, saturates muscle fibres with high doses of protein and makes them extraordinarily resistant to the stress and tension of use, allowing the user to exert himself greatly for a certain amount of time. Unfortunately the pain that this drug suppresses comes back in full after the effects wear off.
- Mind Game (Combat Drug): Mind Game comes as a small bag of blue powder and actually started as a party drug popular with the supervillain community. It hyperstimulates nerve receptors in the brain, causing intense feelings of alertness and greater sensitivity for all known senses, allowing the user to perceive the battlefield (or dancefloor) much more intensively.
- Liquid Spite (Other): There is no universal solvent, but Liquid Spite comes very close. Held in magnetic suspension in a specially designed syringe, because he has not yet found any container that could hold it, the Doctor uses this incredibly potent acid to dissolve the most heavily secured locks, armors and ultimately metahuman flesh and bone rapidly.
- Gentle Touch (Other): This healing foam is similar to the healing patches used by the MCPD and many other organizations, but many times more potent. Applied to a wound it hardens to a flexible layer of protection, preventing both infection and blood loss and stimulating the cells to start the healing process. It can (and should) be easily removed later for further, advanced treatment.
- Nr. 7 (Other): This substance comes as a spray, which applies an invisible, microscopically thin sheen to user's skin, which is completely impermeable to odors, eliminating the user's presence completely on the olfactory spectrum. The Doctor uses it to escape and/or ambush metahumans known for their highly sensitive noses (typically werewolves and similar).
- Liquid Stasis (Other): This substance comes as light blue liquid injected directly, which causes a complete but ultimately temporary (and harmless) shutdown of the target's nervous system, brain activities and body functions, making it appear clinically dead for up to three hours or until the antidote is administered. Useful for infiltration purposes or other deceptive maneuvers.
Weaknesses
Despite his own claims, the Doctor is not without weaknesses.
- Still Human: While he was among the deadliest assassins in the world and has lost little of his edge when since he left that business, the Doctor is - despite all his training and equipment - still ultimately human with all that entails. He has no superpowers, no magic or inherent regenerative abilities. He ages like anyone else and is just as likely to catch a cold as die from a bullet to the head as anyone else. Compared to most metahumans he simply lacks the raw power to go toe to toe with them and is painfully aware of that fact and trying to level the field in every possible way.
- Declining Health: Ironically the Doctor's own health is a precarious matter. Years of years of abusing the effects of various combat drugs have taken a toll on his body. A healthy man in his 30s with his training and experience would be exponentially more dangerous than the Doctor is currently. In many cases the damage done to his body by overdosing and withdrawal symptoms have proven to be irreversible even for his expertise and his tendency to overwork himself and lead a comparatively unhealthy lifestyle with little sleep, as well as too much alcohol, caffeine and nicotine make these effects only worse.
- Big Ego: There is no other way to say it: The Doctor is an arrogant bastard. He is incredibly convinced of his own intellectual superiority towards pretty much everyone. He is also not shy to mention and prove this fact if necessary, which makes achieving his goals often more difficult than it has to be. While he is aware of the fact that his megalomaniacal tendencies can be a weakness and tries to keep his ego in check, repeated insults and humiliation at the hands of people he considers inferior can cause him to quickly lose his cool and focus his attention towards complete destruction of the offenders - to the detriment of his other plans.
- Competitive: Similarly the Doctor relishes the rare moment when he finds somebody he considers a worthy opponent to his intellect, skills and talents. Should he find such a person, he will gleefully test himself time and time again against him or her, even dragging out said competition longer than necessary, because he is certain that it will be a long time until he finds someone worthy again. This arrogance can be easily exploited by those he considers his equal as he is more willing to parley, negotiate and sometimes even help such individuals.
- A Wanted Man: During his time as an assassin he already made a lot of enemies and this list did not get any shorter when he decided to enter the drug and weapons trade. He is wanted by a multitude of law enforcement agencies in many parts of the world and the fact that he has not yet been captured appears to be a miracle. Additionally the list of his enemies also includes many criminal organizations and individuals and while many of them are still willing to work with him and the Men In White, they would gladly betray him as soon as that course of action is more beneficial to them.
The Men In White
The Men In White are the Doctor's growing criminal organization. While they are currently mostly operating as a street gang in Westside of Millennium City, they are growing rapidly in both numbers and influence. They are already controlling a rather large part of the drug trade in and around the city and their superior training and equipment as well as their subtle methods and careful planning means that it is only a matter of time before they start being a national or even global threat. MCPD and PRIMUS estimate that they currently have around 100 members and rising. Their recruits usually come from other street gangs, ex-military or ex-law enforcement; the Doctor does not want amateurs in his organization.
Appearance
Unsurprisingly the Men In White are primarily dressed in white. Unlike many other gangs and similar organizations, the Doctor does not regulate the dress code down to every button. Instead he has presented rough guidelines of what he wants to see. Those guidelines are:
- Dress in white.
- Dress in style.
- Dress medical.
This has led to some interesting choices of appearance. White tank tops, hoodies and jackets are just as likely as vests, dress shirts and suits, sometimes in daring combinations. Higher-ranking members often incorporate various medical accessories in their outfits. Scrubs, surgical masks and lab coats are the most popular choices, while nurse-inspired outfits are an obvious choice for women (Note: Despite the name, the Men In White are completely equal opportunity; in fact, the Doctor's second-in-commands are both women). Even further up the chain of command it is also quite common to find many members incorporating flak jackets, kevlar vests, utility harnesses and similar pieces of equipment into their outfits. Snow camo is a popular choice. Finally, the Men In White's current elite task force prefers combat armor and trench coats inspired by medieval plague doctors. The Men In White's vehicles and power armor - unless repainted for covert operations - are also white with red highlights. The gang symbol of the Men In White is a snake coiled around a combat knife - a parody of the Staff of Asclepius. It is found on the outfits of their members (some of them going so far as getting it tattooed along with other medical imagery), painted on their vehicles or in the form of graffiti on their turf.
Resources
The Men In White are surprisingly well-equipped and trained for being just a street gang. The Doctor has personally designed an extensive training schedule for new recruits which consists of both physical conditioning as well as numerous workshops focusing on a wide variety of skills a Man In White might need in and out of combat. Weekly drills are mandatory and various supplementary lessons are available for particularly ambitious members of the organization. This has led to a high level of competence even among the lowest ranks, which often surprises superheroes expecting just another bunch of gangbangers. Finally, many Men In White have taken after their boss and started experimenting with a variety of combat drugs (a practice which is endorsed by the Doctor since it gives him a large number of volunteers for experiments), so many of their members might be much stronger, faster and durable than expected at first glance.
The Men In White's equipment is also of surprisingly high quality. Most of it comes from various foreign suppliers, with the majority suspected to reside in Costa Azúl, Abrakania and countries of the former Eastern Bloc. Due to its high quality it is likely that the Doctor still maintains ties to ex-military or paramilitary organizations in said countries. The Men In White also possess a surprisingly wide range of specialized and/or high-tech equipment no common street gang should have. It is suspected that most of it is bought from Wayland Talos or other villainous organizations like VIPER. Again, unsuspecting superheroes who expected a gang to have shotguns at best have been surprised by thermobaric explosives, power armor, force field generators and similar equipment and in some cases barely lived to tell the tale.
The Men In White's current HQ is a rather large abandoned factory site on the outskirts of Millenium City. The Doctor has made sure that it is well-secured, shielded and concealed. Security includes numerous layers of traps, gun turrets and cameras along with heavily secured walls and doors as well as 24/7 patrols of guards. Finally a powerful cloaking field shields it from electronic detection as well as nosy psychics. The HQ includes armory, barracks, warehouses, briefing rooms, an underground hangar for the Men In White's vehicles, the Doctor's own office and various other necessities. Despite this, the Doctor has made sure that his organization stays mobile and independent of a fixed HQ. In less than 40 minutes everything of importance and value can be relocated and the self-destruct mechanism triggered.
Operations
The Men In White's main source of income is the drug and weapons trade, but they are currently also expanding their operations towards money laundering, illegal gambling and similar activities. The Doctor is quick to remind any Man In White that their main goal is amassing wealth and influence. Senseless brutality and casual cruelty are very much unwanted since they damage reputations with potential customers and business partners and might bring unwanted attention to the organization. That said, the Doctor has no issue with any sort of 'crude' crime as long as it either furthers the organization's goals or helps to protect its current sphere of influence. At a practical level the Doctor encourages ambition and drive among the Men In White. Their dealers work on commission and using the Men In White's resources for personal gain is allowed (as long as it does not endanger the organization as a whole).
Since the Doctor insists on personally designing and planning any larger scheme or operation, the Men In White are decidedly hard to track and pin down. Often they work through middle men and dummy companies and if they do not, they are exceedingly careful to avoid leaving obvious clues to their involvement (unless it would benefit them). For particularly dangerous or compromising operations the Doctor sometimes hires mercenaries or other supervillains to do the dirty work and take the fall if necessary. When dealing with other gangs and criminal organizations, the Men In White employ a policy of respectful aggressiveness. While they are continuously working on expanding their influence as to not appear weak, they make sure not too rock the boat too heavily as they still lack the manpower and resources to go toe to toe with the truly big players like VIPER or ARGENT.
UNTIL Classification System
As with many gangs, villainous organizations and other threats UNTIL has used its HVEM Classification System (Henchman/Villain/Enforcer/Master Villain) to identify and categorize the members of the Men In White according to their threat level. As usual with the HVEM Classification System the following information is incomplete and should not be taken as an absolute resource on appearances and capabilities of the organization in question.
- Dealer (Category: Henchman)
Dealers are responsible for the day-to-day drug and weapons trading business of the Men In White. They deliver goods, negotiate low-level deals with other criminals and are the ones found on street corners selling the Men In White's merchandise. While being a Dealer for the Men In White is quite lucrative and many of them are better equipped than one would expect a common criminal to be, many of them choose this specific work to avoid confrontations and are not particulary good in a fight, at least compared to other Men In White.
- Orderly (Category: Henchman)
Orderlies do just what their name implies: They maintain order. Orderlies are the guards, grunts and low-level enforcers of the Men In White. They guard the Men In White's turf and property, protect and support Dealers and other higher-ranking Men In White and are the first to call when someone or something needs a few hard knocks on the head. Even though most of them are better equipped and trained than your typical criminal, in the end they are nothing but slightly more capable street thugs: Neither particulary smart, nor particulary dangerous.
- Nurse (Category: Henchman)
The Men In White are equal opportunity and crime attracts women just as much as men. The Nurses are the pet project of the Doctor's secretary Janine Guiliani (apparent by their dress code). In an effort to mirror her own rise in the criminal underworld, Janine has offered gang-members' girlfriends, former prostitutes and similar young women the opportunity to learn a variety of skills: negotiating, medicine, battlefield support, knife-fighting and much more. Many took up the offer and the Nurses were created and are now a strange mix of support troops, cheerleaders and general assistants for the Men In White. Like with everything, the Doctor tolerates it 'as long as it is useful'.
- Street Surgeon (Category: Villain)
Street Surgeons are not necessarily surgeons. While all of them have some sort of scientific background, their specializations (and levels of competence) vary greatly. However, the Doctor makes sure that all of them are adequately trained and equipped for their jobs, which are technical and medical support of the Men In White's day-to-day activities, driving the Men In White's own drugs and weapons research and sometimes even offering backyard surgeries and similar procedures to willing customers. They are no harmless eggheads either: they receive combat training and many of them are surprisingly proficient with their weapons, in addition to supporting their fellow Men In White with a range of combat drugs and gadgets.
- Brawler (Category: Villain)
While the Doctor likes to pretend that they are far more, at their core the Men In White are a street gang. Strength, brutality and ruthlessness can still help to climb the job ladder quickly and that's where the Brawlers come in. Few of them are what the Doctor is looking for in his lieutentants: suave, sophisticated and professional. They earned their position by being stronger, tougher and meaner than the others and many of them are former soldiers or mercenaries. Almost all of them augment their abilities with the various combat drugs the Men In White have at their disposal, which usually does nothing to improve their attitude or readiness to use violence. Underground fighting tournaments and other blood sports are where they are usually found when not on the job.
- Fiend (Category: Enforcer)
Some people exhibit a natural affinity for the various combat drugs the Men In White sell and use and retain many of the enhanced physical characteristics these substances provide, even when they are not currently consuming them. Hulking brutes close to mutating into something metahuman, many of them have developed crippling addictions to the drugs and the lifestyle that come with them. Working as the Men In White's heavy muscle is the solution for many of them to satisfy their desire for adrenaline, violence and their daily fix. The Doctor has recognized the potential of these human battering rams. He has outfitted them with heavy armor and other useful equipment and uses them as heavy enforcers for his criminal empire. Many of them can even go toe-to-toe with metahumans and similar opponents for short amounts of time.
- Adjutant (Category: Master Villain)
Adjutants are the elite of the Men In White's forces. Personally trained by the Doctor and outfitted with the best weapons, combat drugs and equipment the Men In White can provide they have a variety of responsibilities: field commanders, internal police and finally the Doctor's personal enforcers. At any point an Adjutant has the full authority of the Doctor to use any means necessary to ensure the Men In White's success. In contrast to many of the lower-ranking Men In White, the Adjutants take great pride in being polite, professional and efficient and many of them take after their boss in terms of attitude and personal style. Their training and equipment makes them a match for every SWAT or special forces and in the field they wear outfits influenced by medieval plague doctors both as a symbol of their loyalty to the Men In White's theme and as a way of intimidating the enemy.
Notable Members and Allies
((Should this category be edited with one of your characters? Tell me!))
Janine "Red" Guiliani, the Doctor's Secretary
Janine is the Doctor's secretary, personal assistant and best friend. Born as the oldest child of a family of second-generation immigrants to the United States from Italy, Janine's childhood and adolescence was marked by crime. By the time she was 18, she had ran with almost every gang in Millennium City and picked up a variety of skills and talents along the way. Together with her street smarts and her stunningly good looks, she quickly made a name for herself on the streets and soon rose quickly in the ranks of any gang she joined. She met the Doctor when her then boss refused to pay the assassin, which led to a quite unglorified end for him. Now without a job, Janine gladly accepted the Doctor's offer to work for him. He had recognized the young woman's potential and over the years Janine became invaluable to the Doctor's business, handling contracts, finances and client interactions for him. However they also developed a close friendship and she quite possibly the only person the Doctor truly cares about. Their relationship is endlessly ambiguous: Some Men In White swear that they must be romantically involved, others point to the Doctor's rather eccentric character and the fact that Janine flirts just as much with everyone else. Today her role in the Men In White is similar: She handles administrative and financial aspects of the organization, negotiates with customers and is also still the Doctor’s secretary. However she also handles delicate situations which require a more ‘feminine’ touch, even though the Doctor hates to expose her to any sort of danger.
Tamara "Cross" Aristopoulos, the Doctor's Second-In-Command
Officially Tamara is the Doctor's bodyguard, but since the Doctor is more than capable of defending himself, she usually serves as the Doctor’s main enforcer and field leader, taking care of the more physical threats to the Men In White’s power. In her former life, Tamara was one of the most promising Greek biathletes in the history of the sport. Modeling and advertising deals galore promised a secure future and a successful, handsome fiancée was ready to marry her at any moment. Her life took a turn for the worse when one biathlon she participated in became the battleground of the superhero Phalanx and the supervillain Frostfire. A stray attack by Frostfire left a horrible cross-shaped scar covering the right half of her face. The loss of her beauty along with her fiancée and modeling and advertising deals drove her off the edge. She faked her suicide and left Europe for Millennium City. Lost and desperate she turned to drinking and drugs and met the Men In White at some point. The Doctor recognized the scar on her face and came to the right conclusions: He offered her to put her talents to a better use. Without much purpose in life and a lot of anger to take out on the world she accepted. The Men In White supplied her with equipment best suited to her skills as a former biathlete: A light set of armor with a mask to hide her identity, along with a sophisticated energy rifle and anti-gravity boots which allow her to ‘ski’ through the air.
Frederick "Paramedic" Wilson, the Doctor's Driver
While the Doctor is able to drive a car or fly an aircraft, a mix of overenthusiasm, short temper and plain bad luck makes that a dangerous endeavor for everyone in and around the vehicle in question. That's where Wilson (he prefers his surname or his codename) comes in. Wilson used to be a celebrated Air Force ace pilot until his wife died of cancer, leaving him to care for their daughter Mari. Wilson did not take it too well. He started to drink outside of and at some point even on duty, got into fights over the slightest provocations and stopped taking care of himself. It did not take too long before he was dishonorably discharged. While that was motivation enough for him to get his life back on track, he was angry at the world and the military in particular. However he still needed a job. It might have been sheer luck or destiny that the boyfriend of his daughter's best friend happened to be a member of the Men In White. With no other options, Wilson contacted the organization and the Doctor was quite happy to have an experienced pilot in his ranks. While Wilson is no hardened criminal, he recognized that the Doctor and the Men In White can provide easy money for him and his daughter, which is good enough for him to go along with it, especially when he gets to take out his anger issues on all sorts of authority figures on the way. Wilson serves as the Doctor's driver and also pilots the Doctor's personal aircraft, the Predator. His training as a soldier and his uncanny skill with any sort of vehicle make him a valuable asset to the Men In White.
Killshot, the New #5
According to rumors, Killshot or simply K was one of the last persons to see the Doctor before his disappearance. Killshot is one of the most proficient and successful top assassins on the planet. Blessed with enhanced senses, an impressive regeneration ability, a wide range of high-tech weapons and equipment and years upon years of experience in combat, Killshot is one of the very best in the business. His most impressive feat is his incredible accuracy and proficiency with firearms, easily outshining even highly trained elite soldiers of many armies. Killshot has been known to do freelance work for various individuals and organizations and is rumored to be connected to both VIPER and certain unsavory elements in ARGENT. When the Doctor retired from the business of killing, Killshot took over as the new number 5 in the ranking. Now that the Doctor's interests and endeavors lie elsewhere, any sort of enmity on part of the Doctor disappeared entirely. To the Doctor Killshot is now a valuable potential ally, provided he can be swayed by either money or favors to aid the Men In White. In fact, the Doctor personally hired a team of supervillains to break Killshot out of PRIMUS custody.
Wayland Talos, Underworld Weaponsmith
Wayland Talos is THE man you want to go to when you need a perfectly calibrated blaster rifle, a set of razor-sharp knives with questionite coating or a custom hover-disc and don't want to worry about the legal intricacies of getting such gadgets. He is an arms dealer, inventor and technological consultant, who is eager to sell his wares and services to the highest bidder, especially if that bidder shares Talos' hatred of superheroes. Earlier in his life, Talos' wife Maria died in a terrorist attack a group of superheroes was unable to stop, because the terrorists were much better prepared and armed than the heroes expected. Talos blamed his wives death on the incompetent superheroes and let his hatred consume him. Subsequently he lost his job as a technology designer due to his obsessive hatred and brooding, which he also blamed on the superheroes. He was determined to get revenge on the so-called heroes who ruined his life and began to use his immense technological expertise to provide criminals, terrorists and anyone else who would fight against superheroes with weapons, gadgets and equipment. The Men In White contact Talos readily and often for more specialized equipment or technical advice. The Doctor and Talos also seem to get along quite well on a personal level, likely due to their shared dislike of costumed superheroes.
Teleios, the Perfect Man
Teleios is the "Perfect Man", an insane and utterly amoral scientist who believes that he alone is the superior being destined to rule the world. His plot is both simple yet unimaginably complex in design: creating innumerable clones of himself (both natural and altered) he seeks to populate the world with said clones and remake it in his "perfect" image. Teleios is the foremost expert on matters of biological science and genetics on Earth; he possesses the ability to create monsters and clones to forward his goals, and by utilizing his expertise he seeks to create the perfect being. He is capable of endowing his test subjects with superpowers, as well as strip those they may already possess. Despite this, he has refrained from granting himself such abilities as not to mar the perfection his own genetically engineered body represents. A criminal megalomaniac of the highest degree Teleios is utterly convinced of his own perfection and has a fanatical zeal in his work that has been labelled "depraved" by Justiciar, one of Canada's leading superheroes. When the Doctor still worked as a mercenary, Teleios sometimes hired him for certain special tasks: Deploying a designer pathogen or eliminating faulty runaway experiments for example. Their relationship cannot really be called friendly; both men are far too narcissistic and megalomaniacal to trust each other, but there exists a certain degree of professional respect. Now as leader of the Men In White the Doctor sometimes hires Teleios for his biological and genetic expertise while Teleios uses the Men In White to distribute and field-test his latest inventions. In fact according to underworld rumors the Men In White are one of the main distribution channel for Teleios' new Onslaught serum.
Enemies
((Should this category be edited with one of your characters? Tell me!))
Spiderling, the Matriarachnid
During his time as a hired killer, a peculiar contract made it necessary for the Doctor to work together with a team of heroes, much to his dismay. Undercover he joined the heroes to help investigate the case of a disappeared SWAT team in the Duskview apartment complex near the docks of Westside. Not only did they find the apartment complex covered with cobwebs on the inside, but they also discovered that the residents were too terrified to leave their rooms because of 'something stalking the halls at night'. For the Doctor this contract was beyond annoying. Not only did he have to sneak around in a dirty, low-class apartment complex, he also had to do it together with a group of superheroes he considered 'delightfully inept' to use his least insulting thought. It all got worse when they were attacked by a swarms of spiders, led by their monstrous matriarch Spiderling. After a series of unfortunate incidents during the battle, like one of the heroes sending the Doctor falling down a set of stairs accidentally, Spiderling was defeated. The finishing blow against the arachnid antagonist was struck by a - at that point very angry and very annoyed - Doctor, who used a well-placed thermobaric explosive to bring a good part of the apartment building crashing down on Spiderling. Law enforcement and superheroes presumed her to have died that day, but the Doctor is not too sure about that. No body was found and it might be quite possible that the spider queen is still out there, plotting her revenge on the Doctor.
Demoness, the Dark Mistress of Justice
Claire Thompson, heir to the multi-million dollar shipping enterprise Pegasus Shipping is secretly the heroine Demoness. From her earliest childhood on she was raised to one day take over her father's company. However many board directors distrusted her father's judgement. Haughty, arrogant, spoiled and a magnet for tabloid rumors, she seemed unfit to lead the company to them. Their distrust and dissatisfaction with her father's decision led them to conspire with ARGENT to take over Pegasus Shipping. They paid ARGENT to get rid of her and ARGENT subsequently subcontracted an assassin to take care of the job. On her 18th birthday she was gunned down on her way to signing the papers which would have made her the sole heir to the company. However she survived. When she was killed, her soul made its way down to hell due to her pride and avarice in life. At the same time a demoness attempted to escape the netherworld, clashed with Claire's soul on the way and both essences merged together in one, reviving Claire's body again. Somehow the two conflicting essences managed to come to an agreement and so Claire Thompson returned, taking her rightful position as vice-president of Pegasus Shipping. However, the fact that she nearly went to hell made her also reconsider many aspects of her life and she decided to save her soul from eternal torment by fighting the good fight, using the powers her half-demonic soul grants her. She became the superheroine Demoness. The underworld rumors however are true this time: it was indeed the Doctor who ARGENT hired to kill Claire Thompson. While it is unknown if she remembers who her assailant was, the Doctor surely does remember that failed job. He might no longer be in the business, but should the opportunity present itself, he will gladly erase that particular stain on his reputation. And this time she won't get up again.
Vladic Dracul, Leader of the New Shadows
Legend claims it was his son, Vlad Tepes, and not he, who became a vampire. In truth, it was a legacy he chose, and one that his son upheld. Although the world around him has changed through the centuries, he has in many ways stayed the same. He is still a warrior, still a man of power and still determined to reshape the world in his image. His dream, now, is to create a vampire nation. Among vampires he is one of the oldest and one of the strongest; if anyone were to father a vampire nation, it would be him. The Doctor's relationship with vampires has always been strained, but he and Vladic Dracul share a special hatred for each other. During his time as a hired killer, the Doctor and Vladic fought two times and while the vampire won both battles by a hair he also learned to not underestimate this particular human. The fact that the Doctor killed the Bloody Rose of the New Shadows who was almost like a daughter to the elder vampire only cemented the hatred and grudging respect he feels for the Doctor. Their respective hatred is reflected in how their gangs interact. While the Men In White are careful when dealing with most other criminal organizations, open warfare between them and the New Shadows is common, even more now that the Doctor and his gang are looking to establish themselves in the Vibora Bay drugs market as well.
Devana Hawke, the Doctor's Favorite Person To Hate
Is a super-powered do-gooder constantly throwing a monkey wrench in your schemes? Need them taken down quietly? For the right price, (and if she's interested) Devana Hawke will take on the assignment. Not one to simply go in guns blazing, Devana will take her target down at the most opportune time. Usually when the target is at their weakest, physically and mentally. Whether it means orchestrating situations to break down heroes or get to them through their loved ones, Devana always completes her assignments by any means necessary. By now the enmity between Devana Hawke and the Doctor is something of a running gag in the supervillain community. It started when they were both still in the same business as simple professional rivalry. However a series of misunderstandings, unfortunate incidents and hurt egos turned this rivalry into a veritable cold war, which turned burning hot whenever they saw each other. Now that the Doctor has retired from the business, they have both cooled down somewhat, but their intense dislike for each other remains. Devana will happily take on every contract which makes the Doctor's life more difficult, while the Doctor will happily try to complicate her work whenever he can do so without too much hassle.
Comments and Rumors
Do you have anything to say about the Doctor? Rumors, gossip, leads for other heroes? Here's the place for it.
- "Dr. Kaufmann, or simply "The Doctor" was considered the 5th best assassin in the world according to the Bounty Board, ranking just behind Jack Knife (4), The Tallyman (3), Andrès Panthanatos (2) and of course, Taipan (1). Last year Killshot took his place after he retired from the Business." - The Middle Men
- "The sassy assassin with the classy sense of fashion, that's my boss alright!" - Janine "Red" Guiliani
- "Zis man is a Monster, ich vill be on zee vatch for him, und ich vill stop him, ich does not vish for anymore lives to be taken." - Fräulein Über
- "I've heard rumors 'bout this bloke, a very messed up individual. 'ell I remember when I first met the bastard, and all I remember 'bout him is his sellin' of organs from personally killed metas... Still, apart from that I've heard he is a capable combatant." - Killshot
- "He has a reputation, even if he tries to keep it quiet. Impressive. One day, we might have to see who is better." - Crow
- "He freaks me out!" - Coyote
- "What happens when an immovable object meets an unstoppable force? You put this guy, and I, together. He's almost my direct antithesis in terms of combat skill, fighting style, even appearance. I get the nasty feeling the two of us are going to come to blows one day, and it's not gonna be something to write home about!" - Snowtalon
- "Heard about this guy through the grapevine. Real cold-blooded killer type. Probably thinks he's the best there is, too. Heh. He's certainly not." - All-Star
- "I find it sad and frustrating when someone has the talents to help shape the world into something better and they instead squander it for their own personal gain due to their megalomania. He's dangerous, for sure, and I pray that no one underestimates him simply because he lacks super human prowess: It would be a fatal mistake." - Sparrowhawk
- "Ah, him. He's managed to put a chip on my shoulder in a short amount of time. Dangerous in his own right, but it's irrelevant in the end - he figures he can come on top either with brains or with brawn. If I didn't have bigger things to worry about than a narcissistic drug peddler, he'd have been proven wrong on both fronts by now." - The Peacemaker
- "Highly experienced killer. Background unknown. Behavior implies narcissistic personality disorder. Top of UNTIL's watchlist. He plays the game well, using heroes to get rid of his competition and indirectly help him gain control of the drug trade. If he has bigger plans for this city, then I need to prepare myself. His ego will be his undoing." - The Watchman
- "They say he is from Germany, right? In that case I have a message for the Doctor: 'Hochmut kommt vor dem Fall.'" - Fahrenheit
- "Smug ass attitude aside, the Doc is brutally efficient. If he calls me a replacement henchman again, I'm gonna slap him." - Tesseract
- "I've had the...interesting experience of working with the Doctor. Enemy of my enemy is my friend type deal. He's certainly an unscrupulous man, his track record speaks of that. But I have to admit, his pragmatism and efficiency is something I can appreciate. Maybe even admire on some level. It's a shame that it's wasted on himself, he'll be seeing the inside of padded four wall cell soon enough." - Fathom
- "I've had to work with this guy before, I've luckily never been on the receiving end of a fight with him, er, not that I couldn't take him, I could totally take him! He's a total dweeb! Yeah!" - Imp
Other Stuff
Trivia
Various more or less interesting bits about the Doctor can be found here.
- The Doctor has alluded to having a younger sister.
- The Doctor once killed someone with a golf club. He took the golf club with him and tried playing golf afterwards, only to fail miserably. He kept the club though, just in case.
- The Doctor loves to quote classical rap lyrics in appropriate situations...
- ...which has led some of the younger members of the Men In White to joke that the destruction caused by the Qularr Invasion of 2009 is rather the result of the Doctor's mixtape dropping.
- The Doctor's most visible tattoos are the letters DONT HARM on his knuckles, but he has many more. On his right arm he has a full sleeve depicting various instances of normal humans fighting the supernatural (David killing Goliath, Siegfried slaying the Dragon, the Witchfinder General burning a witch and Abraham Van Helsing staking Dracula). On his left arm he has a full sleeve of stylized molecular geometry of a wide range of different drugs and poisons along with several chemical formulas. His torso is covered with a wide range of medical and business imagery, including but not limited to the Rod of Asclepius on his back, the Caduceus on his neck, a bull and a bear fighting in front of a stylized stock board on his left side and a 'bloody' carving of the dollar symbol over his heart.
- The Doctor likes his coffee with both milk and sugar, his steaks blue and his martini with vodka.
- The Doctor has been voted 'Best Dressed Supervillain' on three different occasions by the Millennium City yellow press.
- The Doctor loves to play chess, but is not very good at it. He claims it helps him think.
- The Doctor once caused an earthquake in Timbuktu through unknown means. He is sorry for it.
- Fittingly enough, the three books the Doctor has read more than any others are The Prince by Niccolò Machiavelli, the Art of War by Sun Tzu and On War by Carl von Clausewitz. The Doctor can quote many passages from all three books by heart and frequently uses them for tactical and strategical advice.
- The Doctor's birthday is April 18th.
- The Doctor managed to kill a man using a trumpet, a cactus and a dropkick, but doesn't like to talk about it any further.
- The Doctor is a spectacularly bad driver, but does not acknowledge that fact. Both passengers and bystanders are in danger, albeit due to different reasons. Bystanders from concussive force, passengers from heart attack.
- The Doctor has a bit of a problem with getting older. He diligently researches pop culture references he does not know, just to be prepared for the next time.
- The Doctor is a very heavy sleeper. He once missed a turf battle between the New Purple Gang and the Cult of the Red Banner going on right next to his apartment. He also likes to sleep very long on his free days, often waking up at 1 or 2 PM. Despite this, he is quite the morning person if he needs to get up earlier.
- The Doctor once claimed to have the power of toasterkinesis. Investigation of the claim is still ongoing.
- The Doctor is an average cook and prefers to go to restaurants or even fast-food chains whenever he can. His potato salad is surprisingly delicious though.
- Ironically enough the Doctor has not seen a single episode of Doctor Who and no desire to do so. The same goes for Breaking Bad.
- The Doctor has an aquarium with five rather large leeches in his office as both a conversation starter and intimidation tool. It's unknown where he found them but they all show an unusual level of intelligence. Their names are Goethe, Kafka, Nietzsche, Humboldt and Bismarck.
- For some reason the Doctor has expressed a desire to buy the company Dyson, simply to own the rights to the Dyson Airblade hand dryer.
Tropes
Appearance
- Eerie Pale-Skinned Brunette - The Doctor's most prominent physical feature is his unnaturally pale skin and generally unhealthy appearance.
- Creepy Shadowed Undereyes - ...made even worse by the fact that the deep, dark circles under the Doctor's eyes, suggesting a severe lack of sleep.
- Tainted Veins - The veins on the Doctor's neck and forearms are highly visible against his pale skin (when not covered by tattoos). The Doctor's tendency to experiment with all kinds of barely approved combat drugs and performance enhancing stimulants is probably the reason for this.
- Sinister Shades - The Doctor is rarely seen without some sort of red-tinted glasses, even at night or other situations where it would make no sense to wear them. Possibly justified by the fact that they have several useful features built into them.
- Man In White - Why of course! Not only does his whole gang follow this dress code (and is even named the Men In White), the Doctor's own outfits are also often predominantly white.
- Sharp-Dressed Man - ...in addition to being incredibly stylish, impeccably groomed and extraordinarily expensive. The Doctor is most definitely paying attention to how he presents himself.
- Pimp Duds - In general the Doctor's outfits are a toned-down, classier version of this, but the theme is still there with the cane and his tendency to wear several silver necklaces.
- Classy Cane - Most of the time the Doctor carries a simple black cane with a silver handle with him. It's both a stylish accessory and his main melee weapon with a wide variety of possible applications.
- Tattooed Crook - In stark contrast to his choice of clothing are the many tattoos covering his hands, arms and torso. Chemical formulas and molecular geometry, medical and business imagery and scenes of normal humans fighting against the supernatural seem to be the most common themes.
- Knuckle Tattoos - Ironically enough the Doctor's read DONT HARM.
Background
- Multiple-Choice Past - Nobody really knows much about the Doctor's past before he started to work as a mercenary and assassin and the Doctor likes it that way. Some rumors float around, but most of them sound unlikely... right?
- Tykebomb - According to one rumor, the Doctor is the result of a government project of the GDR of East Germany with the goal of creating, raising and training the perfect secret operative to infiltrate Western intelligence organizations during the Cold War, which was abandoned shortly before the Berlin Wall fell.
- Dhampyr - His particular disdain for vampires has led some people to assume his physical abilities come from being at least part vampire and point to the story of a (now mysteriously wiped out) clan of vampires near the German-Austrian border in the 80s who abandoned a fledgling vampire due to unknown reasons.
- Freak Out - Yet another theory points to the story about a normal physician in Berlin during Dr. Destroyer's attack in 1992. Said physician started killing the superheroes given into his care during the battle after the heroes were unable to stop Dr. Destroyer's robots from killing his wife and daughter. Allegedly he never stopped the killing.
- Professional Killer - Regardless of his origins, for the longest time, the Doctor's occupation was killing people for a living, specializing in metahumans and other highly dangerous high-profile targets. He was considered one of the best in business and one of the deadliest men on the planet.
- Hero Killer - Being this was his job and at least 12 superheroes all over the world fell victim to the Doctor's deadly skills.
- Token Evil Teammate - On some occasions however the Doctor has worked on the side of the heroes, much to the dismay of both parties.
- Retired Badass - After mysteriously disappearing for almost a year, the Doctor has retired from the killing business to concentrate on building his own criminal empire. However, that doesn't mean that his skills and experience on the battlefield are gone...
Personality
- Smug Snake - While the Doctor certainly is manipulative, cunning, skilled and intelligent, he is also an arrogant, condescending jackass towards most people and is frankly not as big a threat in the grand scheme of things as he believes himself to be.
- Tall, Dark and Snarky - The Doctor fits the type perfectly. His (partly justified) arrogance combined with his quick wit inevitably lead to this.
- Consummate Professional - If necessary the Doctor can tone down his arrogance and sarcasm enough to be considered this, especially when dealing with business partners, proposing temporary alliances to heroes or speaking to people vastly more powerful than him.
- Wicked Cultured - The Doctor has an impeccable sense of style, a flair for the dramatic, excellent taste and sophisticated interests. He is also a devious, amoral drug lord and ex-assassin, who can kill people without hesitation or remorse.
- Pragmatic Villany - The Doctor believes that excessive bloodlust, unnecessary cruelty and overt displays of villainy are signs of bad planning, lack of style and a waste of resources.
- Berserk Button - The Doctor has several, among them arrogant metahumans, threatening to harm his secretary and repeated disruptions of his plans by heroes.
- Cut Lex Luthor a Check - Couldn't someone with the Doctor's talent, medical knowledge and intelligence found a different calling in life than killing people for money or leading a criminal empire specializing in the drugs and weapons trade? Well, no because...
- Moral Sociopath - ...the Doctor shows a distinct lack of empathy for other people along with a severe case of narcissism and megalomania. That smile is most definately not genuine. However, the Doctor also follows an obscure personal code of honor nobody except himself completely understands.
Occupation
- The Don - The Doctor is the leader of the Men In White, a large and highly dangerous organized crime syndicate consisting of street gangs, ex-militaries and mercenaries with suspected ties to some very powerful people.
- London Gangster - Despite the fact that he is supposedly from Germany, the Doctor fits this trope to a T. Maybe he spent some time in the London underworld?
- Diabolical Mastermind - The Doctor has no ambitions of conquering the planet or becoming a god. He simply wants money, power and influence behind the scenes and plans to achieve these goals with cunning, intelligence and calculated ruthlessness.
- Benevolent Boss - In contrast to many other villains, the Doctor actually cares about the problems and issues of his henchmen and works to ensure their safety as well as physical and mental well-being. Not because he cares about them as people, but because he knows that they perform better if he does.
- Dr. Feelgood - Technically speaking half of the Doctor's revenue comes from being an extremely ruthless and highly organized version of this trope. The only difference is that he has outsourced and delegated most of the actual dealing.
- Arms Dealer - The other half of the Men In White's and thus the Doctor's income comes from selling weapons, ammunition and other equipment in the prospering Millennium City black market, which is ALWAYS buying.
- Authority Equals Asskicking - As a former master assassin, the Doctor is more than ready and able to personally make sure that his henchmen are doing their jobs correctly and any hero meeting him on the battlefield quickly learns why he was once considered one of the deadliest men on the planet.
- Corporate Samurai - Due to their influence and connections, it has been suspected that the Doctor and the Men In White are actually only one part of a vastly bigger and more powerful conspiracy or organization, which would make the Doctor this.
Skills
- Badass Normal - The Doctor does not have any sort of inherent superpowers, but that does not make him less deadly in combat, even against people who do have such powers.
- Weak, but Skilled - His track record of defeating and often killing people much more powerful than him with nothing but skill, cunning and trickery.
- Combat Pragmatist - The Doctor fights to win. He's not averse to using traps, distractions, ambushes and all manners of dirty tricks to tip the fight in his favor.
- Dangerously Genre Savvy - Nobody can survive for long as villain without superpowers without becoming this. The Doctor is experienced and has pretty much seen it all. He often seems to always be just one step ahead of his enemies.
- Flaw Exploitation - The Doctor has an uncanny knack for finding and exploiting his enemies' physical, mental and emotional weaknesses to give himself an edge in and outside of combat.
- Deadly Doctor - As befits a medical doctor/ex-assassin, the Doctor knows how to utilize his medical knowledge in a variety of ways, from using anatomical knowledge to target weaknesses to skillfully using different kinds of poisons and other substances in combat.
- Improbably Fencing Powers & Cane Fu - The Doctor's melee weapon of choice is his sword cane and he is more than able to match some of the most skilled melee combatants on Earth with it.
- Nonchalant Dodge - A main aspect of the Doctor's fighting style is simply not getting hit and he has become so good at it that often it looks like he's not even trying as he parries, dodges and avoids the attacks of his enemies.
- Firing One-Handed - Long years of training (and some help from the many combat drugs and stimulants he uses on a regular basis) have led to the Doctor being able to compensate for the recoil and accurately fire most of his weapons one-handed.
- Charles Atlas Superpower - Despite having no superpowers, the Doctor's vast range of talents, skills, intelligence and level of competence are certainly beyond what any 'normal' human could ever achieve outside of comic logic.
Weapons & Equipment
- Sword Cane - The Doctor's main melee weapon is a sturdy black walking cane with a silver handle. Inside is a sabre-like blade made of cryogenically treated Damascus steel, coated with a fine layer of questionite dust. The tip of the cane also contains a powerful electric charge allowing it to be used as a shock baton.
- Hand Cannon - The Doctor's preferred ranged weapon is a revolver; a highly upgraded and modified Taurus Raging Bull 500 with enough stopping power to make even metahumans think twice about charging the Doctor.
- Shotguns Are Just Better - If even his revolver doesn't have enough firepower, the Doctor likes to use a heavily modified Russian KS-23. Even most power armors do not offer much protection against this shotgun.
- Knife Nut - In addition to the scalpels he always carries with him, the Doctor also uses a large combat knife resembling a bowie knife and small, spring-loaded blades hidden in the tips of his shoes. He knows how to effectively use all of them in combat.
- Throw Down the Bomblet - The Doctor is skilled in using all kinds of more or less common types of explosives in combat, from grenades to mines to remote-controlled bombs.
- Razor Floss - One of his favorite weapons when he was still a killer for hire, these microfilament wires are still used by the Doctor to great effect in combat. He uses them as garrotes, whips and for tripwires and other nasty traps.
- Psycho Serum - If even his already impressive set of skills is not enough, the Doctor uses a variety of combat drugs and other stimulants to boost his physical and mental abilities to even higher (often metahuman) levels. However the effects are only temporary and the side effects... unpleasant.
- Future Copter - The Predator is the Doctor's personal (and incredibly stylish) vehicle. This high-tech VTOL aircraft is outfitted with the latest in weapons and stealth technology and is the Doctor's trump card in combat when all else fails.
Misc.
- Functional Addict - Coffee, cigarettes, alcohol, drugs. Ironically enough, the Doctor has quite an addictive personality and has developed slight addictions to a wide range of substances. However the Doctor's incredible self-control and willpower keep these addictions from interfering with his performance. Most of the time.
- Drives Like Crazy - There is a reason why the Doctor has employed a personal driver and pilot for both his car and his VTOL aircraft. That reason is that a mix of overenthusiasm, short temper and bad luck tends to turn rides with the Doctor into a matter of life and death for both passengers and bystanders.
- Sophisticated as Hell & Sir Swears-a-Lot - Due to spending almost all of his life among mercenaries, soldiers and criminals the Doctor's vocabulary is not entirely as posh as one would expect from a highly educated medical doctor, got it fam?
- Crazy Prepared - The Doctor believes that every plan should have a back-up plan. Back-up plans count as plans by the way.
- Enemy Mine - Of all the villains residing in Millennium City, the Doctor is probably the one who is most likely to propose a temporary alliance to a group of heroes, especially if he can use these heroes somehow to eliminate his competitors in the drugs and weapons trade in addition to saving the city (or rather his sales territory).
- Horrifying the Horror - The Doctor is prone to this. Even vampires, werewolves, demons, mutants and cultists were either disgusted or simply scared shitless of the Doctor's cold-heartedness and calculated ruthlessness at some point.
- How Dare You Die on ME! - The Doctor takes great pride in his medical skills and knowledge. He takes it as a personal insult if one of his henchmen or allies dies on his watch, even if it is just a temporary ally and he will do everything to prevent that.
- Renaissance Man - The Doctor is talented and knowledgeable in a wide variety of fields, ranging from business administration to languages to biology, chemistry, medicine and toxicology to pop culture trivia.
OOC Information
- Dr. Kaufmann was inspired by Roman Torchwick from RWBY, King Bradley from Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood, Albert Wesker from Resident Evil, Kiritsugu Emiya from Fate/Zero, Mr. 47 from Hitman, Albert Contiello from Dead Rising 3, the Accountant from Drive Angry, the Frye Twins from Assassins Creed: Syndicate and finally Lex Luthor from DC.
- Theme Songs:
Trust me, I am THE Doctor: Powerman 5000 - You're Gonna Love It, If You Like It Or Not
The Men In White: Skindred - Kill The Power
It's just good business: Santa Hates You - Fire The Cannon
Now it's personal: Combichrist - What The Fuck Is Wrong With You?
- Should there ever be a Champions Online Live-Action Movie, my picks for the actor of Dr. Kaufmann would be Adrien Brody, Skeet Ulrich or Billy Burke. His secretary Janine "Red" Guiliani would be Katharine Isabelle, his second-in-command Tamara "Cross" Aristopoulos would be Michaela Conlin and his driver/pilot Frederick "Paramedic" Wilson would be Lance Gross.