The Carnival of Freaks!
| ||||||||||||||||||||||
Contents
The founding of the Carnival
Really the founding of the Carnival wasn't an overly complex affair, no secret societies no shared accident of joint Dementia. Simply as when Kraken came to earth to have his games he soon found a small cadre of like minded men with him, who can see the world through his sense of "Humor, and the Stories he so loves." And Simple as that the Carnival was founded. That's it, a bunch of like minded lunatics with the same idea of Fun!
The motivations of the Carnival
While it is true the carnival members hold no value of life, they are not outwardly malicious in attempts to murder people to wrack up a body count. If they are going to murder someone there's going to be a purpose for it, even if it's for making someone run a rat maze of a death trap, but due to their Leader's view of "Fun" Kraken sees that every death trap has an escape clause if the victim is willing to push themselves to survive, and not necessarily in the Jigsaw way will they cut off their leg to survive. The trap is more the victim finds themselves chained to a piece of machine slowly, very slowly slidding to say a saw blade or a pit of acid. While it first looks like they are chained to hard to escape, or they are sorely secured to the conveyor belt if they fight they find they can wiggle out if they are dexterous or find their chains are only locked with a very basic Bike lock combination lock, and have the will to fight through the possible combinations to escape. That being said they have no problems putting hostages in situations of near guaranteed death if the goal is to "Drag a hero" Into the game, or give them a test of "Heroism" Do they take the route of violence cold efficiency to fight the bad guy, or rush off to the save the innocent. So again the Freaks don't particular care for the sanctity of life but they aren't simply creating mass death for the laughs. It's all about having Fun, and being the Professional Villains, and the Game of Heroes and Villains.
The delivery of the Carnival
The Carnival comes in many ways from a Dramatic staged Circus using mind controlled civilians, Thugs and Robots, to a small quiet warehouse where they pass out free money to people, the money is laced or (not) With a slow acting deadly neurotoxins giving especially big bundles to under privileged children and wait. When the heroes come, they tell the heroes they've given dozens if not a hundred people dosages of Neurotoxin and they only have enough in the Injector to save a few. Do the heroes save the children or do they save people more fairly, (OR the money wasn't ladened with toxins at all, the real toxins are in the injector and when the hero injects the child holding the money with the cure, they are actually giving them a mega dosage of the Toxin.)
The Carnival Despises un fun heroes. To which won't be described here to not start a debate flame war, but if they find an un fun hero they will pack up their game and leave, taking the hostages with them, and make the Hostages fight for their own lives. As Kraken would put it. "I'm sure you'll be a better hero than those that came to save you, all you need is a tragic origin story."
The resources of the Carnival
Primarily the Carnival isn't overly fussed with large world threatening schemes, and even if they were Kraken's resources through his parents or his ties to various space faring criminal organizations and pirates. That being said they just don't care for the "MarcoSchemes" Of world threatening proportions they prefer to play smaller schemes on a more "Interpersonal level" With the heroes. Kraken's connections just assure that the Carnival will never be at a spot of being unable to afford their games.
The Carnivals association with others.
Currently they don't have many allies in the super villain world, they view them as too close to "Black Harlequin" to be Trusted. That is not to be said villains don't think about hiring them, primarily for their leader's super power that makes people risk the deal.
The Don of Dearborn is currently their only reliable source of work on earth, aside their own private games. The Don is willing to deal with their "eccentricities" their "Constant disregard for his order to do their own thing." Just to have the insurance of the Kraken's powers. Kraken for his part vies the Don as something worse than Disdain for him, he simply finds the Don boring. He simply views him as the kind of Power Hungry dull lunatic, and he's seen far to many of them growing up to be interested in them. These peoples are a dime a dozen back at his home, they are "Father's Lackies."
The Carnival Stars
Yes they are hiring.
The Black Shadow of the Stars, The Kraken
Kraken by all intents and purposes to most of the known multiverse was raised a spoiled brat. His parents were the unquestioned leader of the Golden horde of Maffei. His father and mother spoiled him with what ever he wanted. As time went on he got to see how his family works and his parents. His Father he always found his father's Idea of "Fun" Delightful, but he felt his father's games were far to large, too impersonal for heroes.
His Mother was a saint, but he also adored her. She played the role of simple trophy wife to the warlord, but everyone who knows anything of the Horde knows his mother keeps his father wrapped around her fingers, in many ways a trained attack dog. Her soft and "Helpless" Air is merely one she puts on as she enjoys watching his father do his fun, and his father keeps her an Empress of her oh so mind. With legions of minions. Her main hobby was kidnapping male heroes to try and break them or enjoy them.
His Oldest brother he wants to get along with better. But the Oldest brother is the "Black" Or in this Context the "White Sheep" Of the family. In the family of Chaos fiends and warlords his Older brother came out with out a vein of maliciousness and the barest strains of cruelty in his personalty. Can barely lift a finger to defend himself. Rather to trust in his true power to shield from anything people can throw at him, and acting more like an Elaborate Thief like Robin Hood figure. Stealing from the corrupt to redistribute it to the poor. Kraken is sure his older brother is just have a tantrum and will come around, eventually.
His Father's second son, the second oldest scares Kraken, if the Oldest is the White Sheep, the Second Oldest is a Sheep of wool so black it threatens to strangle out the sun. Named the "Beast" After his violent temperament. Amosa tried to reign in his son's destructive impulses but it came to a head when the Beast tried to rip his mother's very soul to shreds on a warpath to kill his family and take the throne for himself. As Such Amosa finally attacked one of his own children driving the Beast away.
His Third Oldest brother Kraken enjoys, but behind his back he laughs a little. He finds the Third Born a little high on himself. With the Third Born's two older siblings having turned on the family, it left the Third Born feeling like he was the True Heir to the throne, and in many ways became a happy little Sycophantic minion for his father. Kraken thinks trying often too hard to be their father instead of finding his own sense of "Fun." But he loves his brother regardless (Even if he thinks he's a little copy cat.)
His Sisters? All three of them what is there to say all of them are delightful, one of them is so sweet and heroic if she wasn't family he'd invite her to play some games as a "Contender" Against his schemes, but she is family. But they've all taken after mother in some way, having male heroes kidnapped, or leaving home for a while to go live as an empress with some warlord for a while. They take more to their mothers subtle manipulation behind the throne of an emperor than his Father's dramatics.
And then there is the youngest sibling, as Kraken was the second youngest and in many ways the "Baby" For the longest time. While his Younger brother's taken to being a "White Sheep" Like his Oldest brother, Kraken feels if he could provoke and needle his kid sibling he could make him discover his sense of "Fun."
Now what would drive Kraken to leave his loft position as heir to a vast interstellar empire. While quite simply he feels his Father's and Mother's games are too impersonal. You hardly get down into the Trenches or the nitty gritty of the mess of the scheme with the "Hero." And he feels while there's a time and place for the "Macrogames" Of his parents, they can have those. He prefers small personalized games, where you are right in the thick of the "Stage" of the act with the Heroes, as opposed to sitting on some lofty throne behind a legion of minions. He likes this "Interpersonal" Feel of his games, after all he is a people person~.
And so he left, building power as a pirate, prowling the space lanes for particular heroic Starship captains of the heroic persuasions to set himself against and what fun did he have, but in time his lifespan as a spirit child far outlived the mortals. But that didn't matter it made the game matter more that his games would bring a life time of "Fun" To the heroes. And as such he kept to the space ways, till the rumors of the Wormhole reached even his ears as a pirate and so he went to investigate. And Lo and Behold he found earth, with this strange culture of Costumed Heroes and Colorful villains and oh he felt he was in heaven, he finally found the perfect place for his "Fun." And went to work. Shortly meeting the Ringmaster and later yet Mister Carnival and The Ballard.
Kraken's Power makes him interesting to Supervillains of earth as a possible contractor. His powers primarily come from his Training and his Gadgets, unlike his siblings and parents that have vast cosmic powers he only has one power, but some argue it's the bane of "Heroes." The Kraken's powers are a form of "Power Negation field." Of near all powers, bringing people down to what ever muscle mass they trained for with out being super, what ever skills they've learned. Much to UNTIL's woes his aura even works on "Super Tech" and "Dimensional" Tech often leaving Pulson Rifles anywhere near him nonfunctioning, Peace Keeper Powered armors little more than heavy cans around the pilots. And as such that combined with his resources if he were to call them leave him a major threat to UNTIL. As it means he could more or less walk into any UNTIL base with his powers and leave all of their means to stop him non functioning. Such powers is why the Don puts up with his "eccentricities" and "Complete disregard for orders."
Kraken wholly believes in his father's sense of drama and theatrics in life makes it fun, and many of the same insanities as his father, leaving him looking to humans as a color high energy lunatic, ((Which he is.)) But this is dangerous for heroes to take him as a joke, because he can be every bit as cunning, and vindictive as his father. While he lacks the giant forms of his family, he is still in his mind blood of the true gods in his veins, and he can make "Heroes" Suffer if they forget their place, and ruin the fun, in ways many heroes would never recover from.
To heroes
To "Heroes."
The Ringmaster
Not much is known about the Ringmaster, what is knowing is he comes from an alternate timeline of earth where the Nukes did fall, and he was a Warlord of the new wastes till a trio of heroes form Champion's Prime timeline were stranded there after an accident while fighting a super villain. The heroes faced a long and grueling road to get home, which lead to a situation where the heroes came across the Ringmaster leading his Wasteland army the "Freakers" Which were slowly driving the human race extinct, rather than grow food or try and farm they simply pillaged what they needed to survive, which lead to an ever declining supply of food as more and more farms were ravaged.
But the heroes before they worried about returning to earth decided to help what few heroes survived the apocalypse hand the warlords they could, which set them on a conflict path with the Freakers. A brutal series of battle ensured but which end with the Freakers being defaeted those that did not die were being captured to work as prison farmers. Leading to the heroes cornering the Ringmaster in the wreck of his vehicle. When the heroes pulled him free the only thing the Ringmaster could think of seeing his army in shambles, his legs broken from the wreck of his car, a shard of metal pipe clean through his arm. And the Ringmaster was sad. Which lead for him to tell the heroes "This isn't Fun anymore."
Which seemed to cause a momentary lapse in the heroes having seen what happened to cities after the "Freakers" Attacked to see the Freaker's leader say it wasn't "Fun" anymore as he lost caused them to lose it, at least for a little time. One of the heroes shot the Ringmaster square in the head and threw his body on a funeral pyre with his men to burn, leaving not bringing themselves to watch. Only it wasn't the end for the Ringmaster, much to even his own surprise even with that bullet in his head, he was alive, and he was burning alive, he thought of crying for help, but realized it would be no good. So there he laid as his healing factor had become full regeneration in the wastes to his surprise. For what felt like an eternity he laid there, and he had a long and deep reflection on what the meaning of fun was. Finally rolling off of the pyre after what felt like hours, he found he was alone, the victors having left him for the buzzards. Now he had to roam the wastes with out supplies, and even more his regeneration would not let him die. He had a long time to think about what "Fun is." And as he traveled he heard snippets from people here and there, and he came to hear those that killed him, and he thought to himself how fun t hey were, or those that tried to kill him. And later more was he able to find the means they used to get home, a brief scuffle with the technicians in that lab, a few murders later and he followed them to earth. With a properly HONED Vision of fun, and the drive to make everyone share in the FUN! And shortly later finding the Kraken a man who has an idea of fun much like him.
Mister Carnival
Growing up Daniel Walters had everything, when he ever he wanted something he got it, when ever his parents were at the bank and they needed money they got it. When ever he wanted to leave school for the day his teachers let him. He always knew the answer to the questions on every test, even knew what everyone was going to ask him before they said it. He always found this odd, as his parents said they couldn't and he found it strange. But later in life he started to think at these people around him, and little did he know with the merest thought he could make everyone around him dance to his strings. Bullies threatening him make them drop on the ground and bark like a dog, that particularly nasty bully, well he should just step out into traffic outside of school. The bully did step out in front of a passive Semi, and ended up being plastered all along the street in front of the school at first Daniel was shocked and horrified at what he had done, running home in tears. He locked himself away in his room for a week, till something snapped instead of coming to terms and being remorseful he became twisted. A remorse child enter that room, a Super Villain walked out, that viewed everyone around him as little more than toys, the same way a young boy might play with his toy soldiers. And he started to use his powers liberally, and in time started to use them in more colorful affairs, making people at the mall break out in a song and dance, making people at a dinner act out the game of clue and he developed a fondness for this life. He accumulated wealth, using his psionics he stole the information of how to make machines, gadgets and robots from technicians and became the "Game Master, Mister Carnival, The Master of Games". And so he lived this life content as can be, and till one day a pair of men, in wonderfully garish costumes much like his own found his secret lair and offered him a seat at the table of FUN.
The Ballard
While all of the rest of the Carnival are demented and sociopathic, the Ballard is unsure, all he knows is he needs revenge, something Kraken hopes to exploit as the Ballard's powers are similar to his mother's and Kraken sees the fun possible, the Ballard just needs a little Nudging in his mind to reach that point.
The Ballard started as James Mulligan, star of Stage as early back as elementary school. Everyone loved the shows he was in, infact they were mesmerized by it. Of course no one knew of his powers so they all just assumed he was just that good of an Actor, getting into his dream college on a theater scholarship, he was able to get through school not a super genius but more than smart enough for it. And soon after college he swept Broadway by fire, stage houses, venues all of it. And his life seemed Golden. Till one day in his life a rival in the field who felt he was shunned for James looked for any dirt to ruin his career, anything to ruin James' life. James before this had no inclination for villainy, he was a happy man who was living his dream life.
His Rival became so unhinged to find any dirt he could use to destroy James he started throwing accusation of James being a psionic villain forcing people to like his plays. Of course at first everyone scoffed at this idea, why would a psionic villain waste his life on Broadway. For several months the accusation got no Leeway. Till the IHA ever vigilant in their zeal to destroy all metahuman happiness managed to use Senator Glassman to force the FBI to get James tested for the Metahuman gene. To which James tested positive, and no matter how much James swore he had no idea he was a metahuman between the IHA and his Rival his career was ruined. No one would hire the "Psionic" For their show for fear of people throwing lawsuits over mental powers. Much of his work and wealth Glassman and the IHA saw was stripped from him as "Illegally collected" Leaving James a broken homeless man in a matter of weeks. His power was a sonic based version of mind control and some other sonic powers the people tested him for, but they didn't offer to feed him as he was starving in the back allies of New York. It was then when Kraken found the starving James... and given what Humanity had done to James it didn't take Kraken long to twist and worm his hate filled words into the young man's head, and inviting him to have a little "FUN" at their expense.
