Cross Industries
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A Brief History of the Company
Cross Industries was founded in 1973 by Doctor Adrian Cross. Dr. Cross was responsible for developing the patents for several popular anti-inflammatory drugs and anesthetics. His wife Elena developed cancer in 1979 and Adrian fought desperately to find a cure. All his attempts to slow or kill spread of her cancer ended in failure. The technology simply didn't exist. It was at this time the face of Cross Industries began to drastically change. The overwhelming desire to save his beloved wife caused Adrian to remold his company into a medical and biotechnology research group committed to finding new treatments, new methods, procedures, and technology to cure the incurable. Cross began recruiting the most brilliant minds in the world and pulling them under his roof. Their new advances helped pioneer and pave the way for what grew into a massive global conglomerate. However, despite all his attempts to save his wife, Elena continued to degenerate. She lost her long fought battle with cancer in 1986, passing away nearly 3 years after the birth of her only child, Alex.
Adrian loved his son but was never the same after losing his beloved Elena. He subjected Alex to a very structured regime of lessons and tutors. He wanted his son to succeed where he had failed. He wanted Alex to never be subjected to the feeling of being completely powerless to affect the world around him. So, his heir was forced to train in ethics, law, business, martial arts, philosophy, and psychology. He wanted his son to always strive to be better, to achieve more, to save more people from the heartache that he felt was a result of his own failures. To this end Adrian was successful. Alex often rebelled against the regimented life his father had laid out for him and was even suspended form boarding school several times. The relationship between father and son was 'strained' at best. Adrian succeeded in passing on his dream to his son, and in November of 2000 he went into cardiac arrest and passed on his empire. The 17 year old Alex had just become responsible for one of the most profitable and promising R&D corporations on the planet. To a 17 year old it felt like the weight of the world.
The Board of Directors was hesitant at first, but Alex quickly seized the reigns and guided the company into a new era. Under his leadership the company has grown exponentially and diversified into an array of fields and sciences claiming nearly 200 subsidiaries and over 1000 patents. Alex pushed the company towards many government contracts and this relationship quickly developed into a close network of ties and company loyalty. Cross Industries became a powerful and influential privately owned entity, capable of lobbying or swaying governmental decisions if they so chose. However, Alex upheld the ideals of his father despite his new found power, influence, and government ties. Despite the urgings of his Board and several attempts to oust him he held to the ideal that his position and company existed to help the people not to turn a profit for themselves.
"Our company has always been at the forefront of medical research. We have always been focused on helping those in need and will continue to do so in the future. We are not warmongers or arms dealers. We make power armor but only under government contract. We sell armor not arms. Cross Industries represents the shield not the sword." - Alex Cross
More recently, after the passing of the Titan Alex Cross, one Mitch McHale was appointed the new CEO of the company and he hesitantly took the reigns. Gaining most all of his shares, so that his family could receive their payout, he utilized this to send the sponsored team in a new direction. Severing the team with all ties to Cross Industries, the new team The Arbiters of Justice was formed, under the leadership of one Iron Warden within the confines of UNTIL. No longer a privately sponsored team, they were a public entity whom instead, Cross Industries sponsored through UNTIL.
Founding the Team
In November of 2009 Cross Industries Incorporated publicly announced it would be sponsoring a team of super-heroes. The founding of the team was predominately the project of CEO, Alex Cross. This team would be a philanthropic endeavor on his company’s part and would be lead by Hot Streak, (Alex Cross) and Evangeline Winters, (Akroma). At the time it was not public knowledge that Cross and Hot Streak were one and the same. Other founding members included; Captain Mighty Man, Carapace, and Black Crow.
Cross used his extensive government connections and back channel dealings to obtain UNITY authority for the corporate team. The team would function as a law enforcement body for UNITY and members would be exempt from registering with PRIMUS. However, as a measure of control several liaisons were integrated into the team and Cross, himself, would be held accountable for any transgressions team members committed. (See also Alex Cross for further information.)
Later, it was decided that Cross Industries would split completely from a privately sponsored team, to a publically sponsored team. They signed a contract with UNTIL to sponsor the Arbiters of Justice, a newly founded group by one Iron Warden and Alex Cross.
