Roosevelt City
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Roosevelt City is a sea-based metropolis off the coast of New Jersey. Initially founded in the mid 90s, it has steadily grown over the years due to being a data center for developments in green energy, particle engineering, and artificial intelligence.
It currently holds a population of roughly 220,000 and is the official home of the Alpha Force superteam.
Contents
Founding
Roosevelt City's origins sprung from a crisis, when an free-floating oil rig had begun floating towards the shore. The oil fault of 1996 began when the 120-ton seagoing vessel nearly crashed into the coast of New Jersey after three of its anchor chains had broken. The rig's personnel had successfully managed to disable the drill, preventing any oil from leaking into the sea, and attempted to try and return to its original position. However, the rig's engines alone were too weak, and if they could not stop a collision with the mainland, the potential for heavy pollution and even catastrophic explosion loomed ever closer. The crisis was closely averted when tugboat crews all the way from New York City to Brick Township were able to quickly mobilize and prevent damage to coastal communities and surrounding ocean waters. The Rig was scheduled to return to its previous location in the following month, but as it sailed off, the personnel discovered that the rig was not floating evenly. It was suspected that one of the pontoons had sustained damage, which posed risk of the entire vessel capsizing. Instead, it was later found that a huge rock was wedged into one of the floaters and that the vessel would not be able to leave the area's ocean banks, or else the rig would sink.
Since there was no oil available in the immediate area, and because the damage to the vessel was too severe for anyone to attempt to safely repair, the rig's crew abandoned it, leaving it afloat out across the shore from Brick in New Jersey.
3 years later, and the rig had somehow stayed perfectly stationary, despite the shifting currents of the Atlantic. Soon, a group of scientists had taken notice of the derelict, and a team of explorers, lead by Calvin Bacharach, sailed out to explore what was preventing the rig from moving. As it turned out, the rock that had been ledged in the ship's pontoon had somehow crystallized into a monstrously huge stalactite stretching from the ship to the ocean floor, holding the entire structure steady and level in water. The rig at sea had been transformed into a semi-artificial island. The surveying team concluded that the stalactite would be able to withstand an immense amount of weight; the crystalizations were discovered to be made of diamond and neutronium, which at their thinnest point, reached a diameter as thick as 30 feet. How the stone had managed to extrude such a mile-long trail of gemstone from itself downward was beyond anyone's guess; the most widely accepted theory is that the rock was some sort of dislodged piece of asteroid from the deep sea. In any case, Bacharach and his team weren't ones to look a gift horse in the mouth. They began a mining operation of the submarine diamond column and managed to make an incredible profit from their quarry.
The team soon began to gain enough money to have contractors further build the sea platform further. Slowly, construction proceeded on the rig, and the crystalization from the diamond column proceeded to follow, supporting the new extensions built off the rig. By 2004, the rig had taken on its familiar crescent shape, and was now housing a community of around 4000 geologists, astrologists, and engineers. The rise of the digital media also helped to bolster the rig's notoriety, and a year later, Jason Maus caught wind of the developments of the platform. Maus was a democratic member of the New Jersey state senate, with a particular preference for promoting academia and scientific endeavors. He soon brought up the plan to set up a new city on the sea-based crescent platform, offering to give the scientists a cleaner infrastructure for their settlement, a new, clean place for people of all financial backgrounds to live, and a public hub of knowledge and research that people could come for enlightenment and development. The rig's inhabitants ubiquitously agreed to Maus' offer, and Roosevelt City was founded. Maus took charge as the city's new mayor, and had new buildings and roads built for the platform, including two bridges crossing over to the mainland and one across the crescent's tips. Bacharach and the other scientists went their separate ways, with Bacharach now more interested in further exploring the properties of the rock that the city had been built on, and many of the others being responsible for setting up the Roosevelt City University. By the start of 2006, thousands of new families and entrepreneurs had flowed into the city limits. The city had reached a population of 40,000 and had gained fame as the fastest growing city in the US. A few months later, and various crime rings began to spring up around the city, and Roosevelt City lost its previous title in favor of becoming the 'Strife City' of the US.
late 2006 saw the rise of the city's attempts to fight back against the rising crime in the city, starting with Alfred Grant's involvement in the AUB, or Association of Unusual Beings. Consistent largely of separate squads of low-power metahumans, the AUB's efforts paled in comparison to the superior organization and power that the villain groups of the city were toting. This began to turn around in 2009, when the Alpha Force was founded by Alfred Grant and Chisoku. By the end of their first year, the Alpha Force had managed to take out two major criminal rings within city limits, and to this day, is still growing and continuing to keep the seastead city's perimeter clear of any trouble.
Hero and Vigilante Groups
The Alpha Force
Current Members:
- Bluhman/Alfred Grant - Leader and founder of the force. Though capable of some field work, he's largely responsible for organizing the team.
- Chisoku - Co-founder of the team, and the most active member. One of four members that have gone global in their superhero efforts.
- Tri-Emerald - Psionic member, and the unofficial mediator and support-unit of the team. She has also gone abroad to help with her abilities.
- Firestorm Viper - A fire and electricity projector. Originally a (rather nosy) member of the AUB who only managed to eke his way into the force by accidentally uncovering the base. A largely abrasive, somewhat incompetent member who frequently gets into trouble. Currently, he's still stationed in Roosevelt City (where pretty much nothing is happening currently).
- Artemis Sunset - A skilled marksman and sniper. Originally was a Knives of Artemis spy from Paragon City, but soon gave up her line of work in favor of trying to protect Firestorm. Like Firestorm, she is still stationed at Roosevelt City, largely to help keep him safe.
- Inspector Steel - The Alpha Force's current 'artillery unit', with the heaviest weaponry and strongest physical power. Another member who has gone abroad to help elsewhere in the US.
- Celestalon - An interdimensional explorer who came to Earth to warn others of an impending crisis. Equipped with gravity-manipulating weapons and other utilities, her quick movement enables her to be an effective scout and patrol unit. Is currently stationed in Roosevelt City to keep watch of the city limits.
- Lady Anubis - Currently the team's newest member, she is particularly impressive for adapting to the team's demands quite well. She has also gone to other cities to help, due to the general crime lull in the city.
Honorary Members:
- Paladin - Was deemed such roughly around the time Firestorm Viper joined the team. Despite not having any real permission from the city's office, both Bluhman and Mayor Maus have given him the green light to continue working under the Alpha Force label.
Former Members:
- Diamondgard - Was the strongest of all Alpha Force members. Diamondgard hailed from a kingdom of hyper-evolved neandrathals known as the Subterrestrials. He was immensely strong, capable of moving hundreds of tons of weight and withstanding immense punishment, thanks to his enchanted diamond crest. However, his grip on human culture and his loyalty to the Force were tenuous; the only reason he had joined the force was because Bluhman had made a deal with him to exterminate the NOYAU in the city's underworks. Only after 5 months of working with the team, Diamondgard concluded Bluhman had broken his promise, and returned to the deep.
E-Team
Originally a prestigious Western European superteam that existed in the mid 20th century, the E-Team is currently an underground vigilante movement with somewhat shady intentions. Only a few original members of the first E-Team are part of its current iteration, and the team often finds itself facing competition and threat from the Alpha Force. The E-Team makes its base in an unmarked warehouse on the outskirts, which has direct access to the deep maintenance tunnels that run through the cities' platform. As of late, E-Team activity within city limits has waned a bit, with members currently going elsewhere to pursue more noble intentions.
Current Members:
- Dr. Voltsz - The team's organizer and founder. Not very active in field work, but is highly responsible for creating vehicles and other tools useful for patrolling the cities' tunnels and protecting their base.
- Avalon - The team's veritable intelligence unit, capable of using his precognition to give his allies information and possible courses of action. Compared to most other members of the E-Team, he has more noble intentions and often does not fight against the Alpha Force.
- The Gourmand - The team's heavy unit, with a body that can absorb an incredible volume of shock and return the force in full. All current members of the Alpha Force have never been able to defeat Gourmand in a 1-on-1 battle, making him currently the strongest metahuman in city limits.
- Scout II - One of two reconnaissance units of the E-Team, and a descendant of the older scout. An extremely skilled sniper and robber, responsible for most successful robberies in the Roosevelt metropolitan area.
- Idaten - The other reconnaissance unit, skilled with shuriken and blades.
Honorary Members:
- Bluhman - Back in the 70s, Bluhman worked to back up Deadbolt on his way to exterminate the Cobalt Cavalier. He personally witnessed Deadbolt's death, but was also responsible for the operation's success and Cavalier's apprehension. Ironically, he is now fighting to attempt and stop the current E-Team's efforts.
Former Members:
- Deadbolt - Former leader of the E-Team back during the cold war era. Was killed when his armor was set ablaze by his own electric discharge in Moscow. His death marked the end of the 1st E-Team.
- Scout - Mother to the current scout, she retired shortly after the end of the initial E-Team. However, she did help contribute by raising her daughter to follow her legacy as Scout II.
- Screamin' Eagle - Helped the E-Team for a very short period of time, until Dr. Voltsz deemed his involvement too intrusive and destructive to be a benefit. He has since returned to Millennium City to continue his work as usual.
- Copper Hawk - Roosevelt City native and sidekick to the Screamin' Eagle.
Gamma Squad
An extremely recent team of metahumans, the Gamma Squad's creation was quite spontaneous. The location of their base is unknown (and might be a large apartment building), but the skill and power of their team is undoubted. Despite having no official sanctioning from the City Hall, many of the team's members have some form of past superhero experience.
Current Members:
- Radius - This radioactive superhero is the team's de-facto leader. Capable of great feats of strength, and can fire beams of precise radiation. Admittedly a bit absentminded, but has not caused any major accidents or fiascoes yet.
- Quarterlife - Radius' current sidekick. Previously was held captive under Roosevelt City's surface as the sole powersource for the city. After becoming an experienced hero in Millennium City, she was noticed by Radius and was thus hired as his sidekick.
- Mach - The Gamma Squad's speedster, Mach has repeatedly caused some deal of strife within the Alpha Force in the past. Since re-evaluating his priorities, he's now stopped harassing the force and is now spending most of his time keeping Roosevelt City safe alongside the rest of the Gamma Squad.
- Phasechange - An immensely powerful and somewhat disfigured mutant from the Bronx, an experiment by VIPER imbued her with the ability to project both extreme heat and extreme cold. Radius gave her an opportunity to put her immense power to good use with her invitation to the Gamma Squad.
Villain Groups
Ayus Clan
This was up until the Chisoku Scandal, when it was publicly revealed that Chisoku had been an escaped product of the Ayus' illegal experiments. After Chisoku had made the story of his origins public, people became wise to the truth behind Ayus production. Ayus was not a manufacturer of robots, but a manufacturer of cyborgs; cyborgs who had been brainwashed and modified to the point of unrecognizability and incognizance. All the while, Ayus contractors had been kidnapping the companies debtors, enemies, and other unfortunate victims from off the streets. They would then either modify the body or extract the brain to fit the companies' needs, and then inject the remaining, human brain with microscopic nanites that would enable their wireless network to send commands to the dormant, docile brain. At best, people would retain some degree of free-will and emerge as Sleeper Agents, only losing their self-control when approaching an Ayus target. At worst, people could be turned into mindless guard robots, fated to be destroyed by attackers, or into camera drones; spying implements unable to speak or interact with any objects.
By 2010, Ayus' business operation had been singlehandedly stopped by the efforts of the fledgling Alpha Force. With their true business practices uncovered and their wireless server put out of commission, the city could easily rout out the Ayus robots and have them replaced with proper, willing workers. Indeed, the uncovering of Ayus had caused a slight depression in Roosevelt City's economy following the panic, but as the Alpha Force gained more notoriety, people began moving in to replace the Ayus robots and the economy began to recover quickly.
However, even to this day, there are remnants of the Ayus Clan. Still dealing fervently in the city's drug cartel and now manufacturing top-quality cyborg assassins, they now seek to claim vengeance on the Alpha Force for ruining their operations.
Current Known Members:
- Stopwatch - Ayus clan's first foray into cyborg hunters was a rather sophisticated design. True to his name, he was equipped with a special device that would enable him to slow down time in a field around him, allowing him plenty of time to perform combat maneuvers and evade incoming attacks. In addition to this, he also wielded a long, straight, single-edged blade and later was fixed with a cannon-arm that could fire long, pointed metal rods. Being the first of his kind, he was made specifically to hunt down and kill Chisoku. Nowadays, he finds himself as the Clan's spymaster, capable of assassinating vital targets with his varied weapons.
- Chameleon - Since Ayus no longer had any access to their prior Sleeper Agents, who were simply normal people who had been implanted with Ayus spying devices and nanites, the clan had to get a bit more creative. Enter Chameleon; a cyborg agent made specifically for copying the appearance of any given figure. When not using its hologram projectors, it appears as a 6 foot tall, completely androgynous metal skeleton. Its limbs and body can telescope in and out to change its own size, and its fingers end in sharp claws that can easily rend most materials. The brain used in Chameleon's design is highly drugged, usually in ways to get it to act like the person it's mimicking. When in combat, it uses highly non-humanoid movements and can bend its limbs and spine into unnatural positions for full combat advantage.
- Battery - Historically, Battery is the only Ayus cyborg that was a willing volunteer for his position. Also being mostly human in anatomy, the only things that have been modified are several heavy plates and capacitors on his torso, heavy metal gauntlets to his arms, and wires running between the two. Not much for subtlety, unlike his other two contemporaries, Battery is extremely slow and powerful, capable of firing extremely powerful arcs of electrical energy through the air. His still-coherent brain makes him a better tactician than either of his other cohorts as well, and combined with his tactical advantage of Electricity, which can easily threaten Chisoku's life, he proves to be the most effective at keeping Chisoku's efforts at bay.
Albion Gang
Nowadays a mostly minor drug cartel in Roosevelt City, the Albion Gang initially had roots in New England as a gang of rather troublesome English extremists. Before Roosevelt City, they had a reputation of being a small, but strong drug cartel with plenty of relations abroad, thanks to their position near the coast. After Roosevelt City came into play, though, they lost this strategic advantage. It only made sense to move in.
After they did, they began to take the east side of the city by force, carving out a veritable ghetto in the otherwise gleaming city. By 2007, most of the east side had been over run. Every other dockside warehouse there was either storing weapons or illegal drugs for the Albion Gang. Thanks to this arsenal, they were easily able to both supply their faithful clients in the city (the Ayus Clan and RSF being their most common partners), while also keeping the police force and AUB at bay.
By the time the Alpha Force had rolled into town, they had lost most superiority on account of simply being too weak to fight the team's organized superheroes. True, their expertise with traditional weapons, combined with some of the side-benefits of their drugs, made them quite formidable to the older law enforcement groups of the city, but the Alpha Force had no trouble at all over-running the Albion cartel. Having lost most of their weapon houses, the Albion gang is now easily kept at bay.
Roosevelt Security Family
The RSF was formed, advertising themselves as "high security insurance, all low cost". In truth, it was little more than a trap scheme, as unwitting people who signed up to take the RSF's deal often were given disastrously high interest rates. When they couldn't pay the tax, they'd be forwarded to the Ayus, most likely to be turned into cyborgs. By the time the RSF had gained infamy for their conduct, it was too late to rout them; having made close ties with the Ayus underground operation and the other groups of the city had allowed them to firmly root down and keep the cops at bay.
The RSF's grip on the position began to falter when they were infiltrated by the fledgling Alpha Force. The infiltration resulted in the incarceration of two of their most strident members. The RSF, however, are far from giving up, and to this day keep the city's criminal network rolling.
Current Known Members:
- York Montague - Extremely prolific and supernaturally dangerous, York Montague is said to be an invincible killing machine by some. Despite such a reputation, he likes to keep himself tidy, presentable, and safe. Even with such traits, he does not live down his reputation, as Chisoku had discovered firsthand that Montague had received augmentations and intelligence from the Ayus Clan. Having received training from his cohort, Swift, combined with his cybernetic traits, he can easily match Chisoku's strength and speed. He has recently escaped from incarceration from the City's penitentiary, and is currently at large.
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Francis Swift - The RSF's combat trainer, Swift was originally a freeform martial arts master who had been living on the Rig far prior to its conversion to a city. When people had migrated to Roosevelt City, however, Swift began gaining notoriety for his skill, and soon became a prolific trainer. He was later hired by York for a generous sum to train his men to fight. While his faith to the RSF's cause is a bit shaky, he still persists with the team at the behest of York, and undoubtedly is a benefit to the gang.
- Morrigan Lylat - York Montague's right hand woman, Lylat has always been quite faithful to the gang. Thanks to her involvement, she has been able to become the treasurer, capable of clinching deals with others to get whatever resources they might need. Because of this, most of the RSF lives in luxury and has access to top-notch resources, such as Ayus partnership, State-of-the-art weapons, and Swift's training. Even if she seems frugal, it's clear she spends quite a bit herself, given her preference for lavish dresses, jewelry, and makeup. Even with her alluring and persuasive skills, she has used machine guns, grenades, and other munitions before, and will stop at nothing to keep her Montague safe.
The Evolution
The Evolution's hierarchy consists of 5 leaders; 5 highly able superhuman mutants with various powers. They each individually lead over groups of other mutants, usually of a highly malformed, less superpowered variety. Despite preaching the genetic superiority of mutant genes, Evolution members are not above using drugs from cartels such as the RSF and Albion gang to imbue themselves with extra abilities.
Current Known Members
- Oppressor (Charles Rosen) - The leader of the Evolution and one of the most feared superhumans in Roosevelt City. Oppressor, true to his name, has immensely powerful telepathy that enables him to completely dominate and crush the minds of his foes. Alongside his ability to boost his own running speed and his flying, Oppressor is a veritable triple-threat when it comes to combat. His biggest weakness is his tendency to underestimate enemies, and tend to 'play' with them in elaborate ways. Especially when dealing with Tri-Emerald, he has had a tendency to try and sweet-talk her or manipulate her into becoming a member of his gang, constantly to no avail.
- Brickheart (Patrick Gervais) - The second-in-command in the Evolution, Patrick Gervais was originally born and raised in a Scottish family. By the time he turned 15, however, he began to lose his hair and grow thick scales. The Gervais' soon went over to Roosevelt City to try and cure Patrick's ailment, only for the scientist working on him to become amazed by his condition, spending more time researching his symptoms rather than attempting to cure him. Soon, Patrick could not take it any more and slammed the doctor through a wall, killing him. He was henceforth known as Brickheart, and went on to become more serpentine and hulking as he grew. Despite his gruff exterior and tendency to lose his temper, Brickheart could be considered the team's true leader, given that he does show at least some empathy for his subordinates.
- Fireroy (Roy Byrne) - A natural Pyrokinetic, Fireroy was born to a high-class family, and has known about his power since a very young age. He had also made an active effort to hide said powers from anyone up until his college years. Currently attending Roosevelt City's University, Fireroy soon caught wind of the uprising of the Evolution, and soon agreed to show his power to the gang. Now, Fireroy has grown highly-accustomed to using his fire generating powers in a destructive manner. In most public operations, Fireroy wears a mask to conceal his identity, or otherwise makes an attempt to destroy all surveilance if he doesn't. The only people who have managed to uncover his identity are the members of the Alpha Force, making Fireroy's case a very delicate one. As it turns out, the Byrnes own an extremely influental shipping company that handles many of the city's most important supplies.
- Slothcross (Ian Fetta) - Ian Fetta was originally a rather hirsute circus performer, who had gone all across the USA with his troupe. However, one show in Texas state ended with him having an affair with a lawyer's daughter, resulting in his incarceration and his planned execution. Ian was given upwards of 5 supposedly fatal injections, but showed no ill-effects. Following this, the guards decided to opt for more 'traditional' methods, using the electric chair. By some complete mistake, the various toxic chemicals within Fetta's bloodstream, combined with the impulse of the electric current and Ian's unusual genetics caused a cascade chain reaction, granting him his current look and superpowers. His hirsute body now glimmered with pure white hair, which he could electrify at will to turn into a blindingly bright flash of light. This, combined with his unusually elastic arms and powerful slashes, serve to make him a tricky and evasive melee combattant.
- Smoke (Chip Fetta) - One of the few non-natural superhumans in the Evolution's ranks, Smoke was afflicted with a severe case of lung cancer. Smoke was also unfortunate enough to be the recipient of one of the first cybernetic replacement lungs, only for it to later reveal that said lung was malfunctioning. Though Chip was being supplied just enough oxygen to keep functioning, he was exhaling extremely large quantities of Carbon Monoxide, effectively allowing him to suffocate anyone within a closed area with him. Chip, in constant pain, agreed to let the doctors put him out of his misery, only for Chip's brother, Ian, to capture him and take him to the Evolution. Constantly being pumped painkillers and using various apparatus' to allow him to exhale other, deadlier gasses, Smoke is the team's veritable crowd control. The other members just have to remember to bring gas masks.
NOYAU
These gelatinous, toxic creatures are one of the more shameful remnants of Roosevelt City's foray into biotechnology. NOYAU was initially a project to create human genome explorers for deep-space travel - by synthesizing DNA to analyze and combine sequences from both humans and the tardigrade, or waterbear, the project hoped to create a superhuman that could survive an extended voyage, even with the possibilities of going without food, water, air, or protection from radiaiton. The project was launched in 2007, by Baxter MutaCo.
The first batch of bio-engineered Noyau spawned in child forms. However, they overlooked a feature in the tardigrade's physiology: In order to survive in such extreme environmental conditions, the tardigrade's metabolism temporarily shuts off. Noyau specimens worked in a similar way, at least at the low end of the scale. However, given their predisposition for less habitable environments, and due to highly optimal heat and pressure conditions, their metabolism skyrocketed, revealing their deadliest abilities: mitosis and rapid enzyme digestion.
Within a few hours, the Noyau had burst out of the Baxter labs, and run rampant across Roosevelt City. Growing rapidly, with immature minds and wildly amplifying numbers, the Noyau proved to be a huge threat. Traditional methods of weaponry - flame, batons, and bullets - only served as more energy for the Noyau to metabolize with. Cryo weaponry was also utilized as a last resort, but all it proved to do was slow the creatures down. It looked like the end for the city, until Alfred Grant stepped up to the plate. Launching and funding a statewide effort to stop the advance, scientists were eventually able to find an opening. They discovered the Noyau's weakness to Dracite; a Neutronium-Carbon compound that proved to create intensely endothermic molecular breakdowns, causing Noyau hit by Dracite projectiles to become frozen, then radioactively broken down from the inside-out. Rapidly crafting weapons from mined components of the pillar Roosevelt City was situated on, Grant and fellow defenders were able to drive the Noyau from the city.
Or at least the majority of Noyau. Having been culled in their numbers, and given several years to gain sapience, the Noyau are said to lurk within the tunnels beneath the city's surface, plotting to consume it from below.
