Intro

If you're reading this it means I've probobaly gone too far. Six months ago I was unemployed, now it feels like I rule the world. Hired as part of a corporate scheme I was supposed to make the general public more accepting to new surveillance methods. Smile for the cameras and arrest a few phony crooks, I was and am the poster-boy for CCTV. To everyone's surprise though, I found if you wear a mask for long enough it can become you.

I was set up, then things got out of control and now I'm in over my head. But what scares me is how different I've become, sometimes I can't even tell when I'm acting anymore. That's why I'm making this, a detailed biography and an explanation of my current lifestyle and techniques, if I ever take things too far you might be able to use this information to find some psychological flaw or chink in my methods to use against me.

Good luck.

Beginnings

Email from Doctor Darren Miles, head of I-Tech scientific development:

Subject: The x-ray camera

Dear John,

The latest prototype has caused more that a dozen cases of temporary colour blindness in test subjects, five cases of potentially permanent impaired sight and two examples of total blindness. This has gone far enough.

If you'd listened to me and not insisted on rushing the product to test phases I believe this could of been avoided. I have destroyed all data on the the x-ray camera project and as of this email resign from I-Tech. Sorry it has come to this John but hopefully this will serve as a wake up call.

- Dr Darren Miles

Report from John Barron head of operation Over-I

Operation 'Over-I' started by asking a simple question: how do you prevent crime? How do you change the basic psychology of a potential criminal so that when they're crazy or desperate enough they will say no instead of yes.

We at I-Tech came up with a plan that seemed feasible and almost deceptively simple: watch them. CCTV, mass surveillance across the city, people needed to know that if they committed a crime, if they stepped out of line, we would know. But it had to be more than that, the cameras didn't just need to watch, if this was going to work they needed to judge.

Easier said that done, even being outsourced to by the government we had to go through masses of red-tape to get the permissions necessary and as soon as we began implementation we faced massive public backlash. The authorities were putting more pressure on us and it became clear that unless the public were willing to trust this plan things wouldn't move forward. In the end it was marketing that provided the solution, people didn't trust large security corporations, but as bizarre as it sounded they did seem to trust masked men in tights.

Exray we called him, the eyes of the law, using I-Tech's incredible new surveillance system he could protect the public and stop crime! In truth Exray was an out of work actor named Dean Simmons, we paid him well enough to keep quiet and staged some crimes in order for him to bust, all of which revolved around our CCTV system.

It worked, better than we'd predicted, the public soon began to trust 'Exray' and with it the new system. His image actually helped, no longer was it an obscure company that seemed to be watching people, now Exray is watching you. Crime figures dropped exponentially in test areas, the system worked. That's when the trouble started.

With the projects clear success I immediately pushed for expansion, if this could work on one street, why not the whole city, why not the world? But in order for Over-I to grow though we needed to build public support; unbeknownst to him Dean was not simply hired for his acting abilities, he had been one of the test subjects for the prototype x-ray camera. I'd had a theory that while the camera was lost we could recreate its effects through the eyes of someone exposed to it and with the use of an advanced light filter I was proved right.

All of a sudden we were planning a network of CCTV across the nation, Exray really did have powers and I had began work on a phony super-villain in order to keep the public feeling reliant on our system. All of this made the board of directors suspicious though, they saw it was no coincidence Exray suddenly had powers to match his name and from the start had been harboring doubts as to whether this scheme would actually be profitable.

None of the board members had ever lost a child to crime, they didn't know what it was like and weren't able to see past their wallets, to see the good this system would do for the world. I soon lost my temper with them but collectively they were able to overpower my decision and moved to shut project Over-I down. I couldn't let that happen.

I made a choice and though it pains me I realize it was the only thing to be done. Work on our super-villain: The Auditor had just come to fruition and I saw an opportunity.

Two hours and seventeen minutes ago I put on the guise and equipment of our villain 'The Auditor'. With it I attended the meeting to discuss the disbandment of project Over-I and during the course of half an hour I killed each of the board members. It was a sacrifice, I will also be making one, I fixed it so the records will show that I, John Barron also died at that meeting, from now on I am the Auditor.

In my will I've left the company to you Exray, project Over-I is in your hands now and after what I've just done the public should support it more than ever. But I'm not going to stop, they need to be kept in fear in order for it to work, you have to stop me, I'll make sure of that. This is all real now, you could bring it burning down around you and ruin your one chance to make something with your life; or you build on it, make a better world. You could be a hero.

The Man Behind The Curtain

"Everything you think you know about me is a lie."

Exray is a character, an act. While the press see a determined and pragmatic superhero, fearless against whatever foe he faces, the man behind the mask is altogether very different. Dean Simmons is a sheltered man, the kind of person who meticulously collects stamps and has all his tapes arranged in alphabetical order. He is a nobody, a recluse at the very bottom rung of society, now looking down on everyone else.

Others who've worked with Exray are often surprised at the contrast, in the public eye he is confident and imposing, but in the heat of things Dean can show his nervousness and uncertainty. Crime-fighting and publicly running I-Tech have more or less taken over Dean's once quiet world and he finds this new life very stressful.

But despite everything he feels compelled to go on, not because he is forced to or because he's the only one who can, before taking the job he led an aimless life, Exray gives him purpose.

Rats In The Maze

The Auditor

"...because as long as they fear me, they will need you."

Abilities:

- Enhanced hearing

- Sound manipulation

Former head of I-Tech, genius engineer and the true mastermind behind Exray. On the surface the Auditor seems like a megalomaniac, someone out for power and seemingly declaring war with the world, a Saturday morning villain right down to the laugh. In actual fact John Barron is single minded, calculating and willing to sacrifice himself and others for what he believes is the greater good. He knows that as long of the public continue to fear him they will support Exray and his growing surveillance of the city.

John killed I-Tech's board of directors and faked his own death becoming The Auditor to ensure Project Over-I would continue. His crimes are almost always extravagant and attention grabbing, a sonic ray to wipe out the city or a subliminal audio signal to drive people insane, it's his knowledge of I-Tech's technology keeps him one step ahead of Exray.

Mnemonic

"I can make you forget it all, give you a second chance."

Abilities:

- Perfect eidetic memory

- Amnesia inducing weaponary

Its not clear, even to Exray when he fist encountered Mnemonic or how many times they've fought since then. Something of an enigmatic figure, Mnemonic is an extreme vigilante with an unparalleled eidetic memory which makes him a dangerous foe. Able to memorize a book or blueprints after reading it once, become a master of a martial art from watching a training video and know someones moves off by heart after just one encounter, he's not a man you want to fight twice.

Mnemonic uses advanced electroshock weaponry such as tasers and shock-batons, when used correctly they can induce memory loss on their victims. He is of the belief that conventional criminal rehabilitation is a failure and most of his activities center around trying to wipe criminal's memories believing it will reform them.

A soft spoken man, he actually has no grudge against Exray, but has been forced to wipe part of his memory each time Exray looks through his mask. Its not known what his origins really are, supposedly the man woke up on an operating table with no memory but hasn't forgotten a thing since.

Dr. X

"He's watching me, oh God he's always watching!"

Abilities:

- Unparalleled plastic surgeon (psuedo shape-shifter)

When Jon Barron became the Auditor he underwent plastic surgery to conceal his identity, however the bomb he set to kill his surgeon failed and Dr Randall Rasa unknowingly stumbled across a conspiracy that would change his life. Incorrectly Randall guessed that Exray was behind the scheme and assassination; seeing no other option he performed horrific self surgery to hide himself from the gaze of the all-seeing man. However with Exray's growing mass-surveillance and posters everywhere the doctor became a paranoid wreck changing his face multiple times and mentally deteriorating more and more. One day he decided the only way to be free was to kill Exray.

The doctor will often commit elaborate crimes purely to try and lure Exray into a death-trap, he recruits criminals on the run, giving them new identities or forcefully performs plastic surgery on people turning them into monsters, promising to restore them if they do his bidding. Using his face-changing abilities for infiltration he has removed all record of himself from any system, becoming Dr. X the unperson.

The Millennium Bug

"Down with surveillance, down with fear, down with Exray." - Motto

Abilities:

- Collectively hack/bug almost anything

- Leaderless Hierarchy (Pseudo Replication)

You don't become a one man police state without making a few enemies. Over the course of Exray's rise to prominence an online group of cyber-terrorists have emerged trying to stop him, their schemes vary from trying to shut down I-Tech's surveillance system to outright assassination attempts on Exray. The group is immune to the hero's usual methods is due to their hierarchy, essentially it has none, anyone who downloads and builds the helmet blue-prints can become the Bug and none of the members know each others identity. No matter how many individuals Exray puts away, the Millennium Bug always resurfaces.

Abilities and Equipment

X-ray Vision

The cornerstone of Exray's crime-fighting and his citywide surveillance; combined with optic visor he is able to see over (and through) great distances as well as examine things on a microscopic level or in a different light spectrum.

Though the original x-ray camera was destroyed I-Tech was able to reverse engineer its effect through Exrays eyes which had been exposed to its effects, the tailored light filter in the optic visor enables the power.

Though admittedly seemingly quite mundane it can be quite a versatile power, listed are some of the common uses Exray finds for it.

Surveillance: The posters warning 'EXRAY IS WATCHING YOU' don't lie. Using his vision and telescopic visor Exray is able to see through objects and across many miles, meaning he can scout out locations or keep tabs on virtually anyone at anytime. He could be watching you right now.

Stealth: Exray's vision allows him to both see through walls and in the dark, both of which are useful for sneaking into complexes or up on unsuspecting enemies.

Weak-point search: Whether it's a chink in an enemies armor or their anatomy, a structural weakness in a building or even a blind spot in security, x-ray vision makes it that much easier to find.

Combat reading: While in combat Exray will often look at his opponents anatomy for an advantage; he can see a muscle tense before a strike, check an enemies heart-beat or see how much adrenaline their pumping, small things, but it can give him the edge in a fight.

Strobe Blasts

Exray's main offensive tool, power-packs on the side of each of his long gloves generate high intensity x-ray beams which are then unleashed from his palm. Not fatal, the blasts are generally used to stun enemies or often to blind them momentarily. What they lack in damaging power they make up for in piercing as being x-rays they can move through all but the thickest of armors.

Pain dampening: Exray has found that less concentrated blasts of the x-ray radiation can numb pain for a few hours in order to reinvigorate himself or others in the field. Combined with his x-ray vision its possible the strobes might have further medicinal possibilities such as cauterizing internal wounds or even crude brain surgery.

Optic Visor

Exray's visor is his most vital piece of equipment, built from the remains of the prototype x-ray cameras, without the advanced light filter across it tailored for his mutated retinas he wouldn't have access to his x-ray vision and for all intents he'd simply be a normal man.

Besides simply enabling Exray's vision the visor is built with a powerful telescopic feature, its compact mirror technology means Exray can use it to look many miles ahead or even examine things on a microscopic scale.

For more covert operations Exray has a pair of sunglasses built with the same light filter across them, though it lacks the other features of the visor.

Reinforced Gloves

In addition to housing x-ray generators, the hero's gloves also act as his main defensive piece. Going up almost to his shoulders his gloves are made of a reinforced rubber designed to shield against radiation as well as absorb impacts. Blocking a full swing from a baseball-bat would barely leave a bruise on his forearm and even sharpest swords have a tough time cutting through. Being rubber it also knocks back attacks leaving an assailant more open for a counter.

Resources

The Observatory

Exray's base of operations; located in the heart of Millennium City the Observatory serves as both a secure safe-house as well as a constant reminder of Exray's ever watchful eye. Former HQ of I-Tech, the Observatory is the hub of one of the largest surveillance networks in the world which Exray uses to monitor crime in the city and across the planet.

The telescope itself isn't simply for display and rarely does it look at stars. Combining it with his vision Exray is able to look at almost any point on Earth; though more of a symbol than a practical tool the telescope has come in useful on more than one occasion and statistics show that crime seems to dip slightly wherever its pointed.

CCTV Network

OOC

Origins

Exray is a character I've been nursing for a while now, he grew from the idea of a hero trying to make the absolute most of an otherwise pretty crummy super-power. I really wanted to make a character who embodied something more than simply what they appeared to be at face value such as Iron-Man representing the cold-war arms race, Wonderwoman for feminism and many of Alan Moore's characters. Somewhere along the way he picked up a Big-Brother motif and turned into almost an opposite to V for Vendetta which became a lot of fun to play around with. I wanted to theme his rogues gallery around each having their own super sense to counter Exray's vision and tried to make them a little more morally grey than the run of the mill variants.

The concept started life as an attempt to make a radiant archetype without having to use a fantasy origin (silver player) while still making the battle animation's and colors fit. Originally he was a power-armor hero who fired microwave blasts but I decided to change it to x-rays as they were vaguely medical to better fit and the character grew from there.

Roleplay Notes/Hooks

• Does your character need someone found or have someone watched? Exray has one of the largest surveillance networks available at his disposal and with his vision can do a stakeout from across a city
• Right now 'Exray is watching you' posters are dotted all around Millennium City, perhaps your character has something to say about this?
• Exray has a strict policy around fellow heroes and won't compromise their secret identity by looking through their masks/disguises
• You might be surprised how many buildings in Millennium City were decorated with lead paint, it has a funny knack of stopping him from seeing plot ruining details