The Men in White
((This will be a WIP for quite some time, especially until it looks nice, so please be patient.))
 The author of this article has marked this as a creative work, and would prefer that other users not edit it. Please respect this, and unless repairing a typo, spelling, or other minor technical error, think of this page as read-only. |
| ||||||||||||||||||||||
The Men in White are the growing criminal organization founded by the former assassin known as the Doctor. While they are currently mostly operating as a street gang in Millennium City, they are growing rapidly in both numbers and influence. They already control a rather large part of the drugs and weapons 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 the Men in White 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.
Contents
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 likes 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 is known to crack down hard on the racism and sexism usually found in organized crime). 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 military 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 a street gang. The Doctor and Killshot have 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. 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 they also maintain ties to ex-military or paramilitary organizations in various 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. Bizarrely enough, the Men in White are also the owners of an extremely modified and customized bulldozer, equipped with questionite-reinforced armor plating, a heavy military-grade plow, a variety of weapons (including two miniguns, flamethrowers worked into the plow, and a grenade launcher), and an absolutely shreddin' speaker system.
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, offices 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 packed up 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 the organizations reputation with potential customers and business partners and might bring unwanted attention. 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 or at least be involved in the process, 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, even though the Doctor is also a big fan of theatrics and showmanship 'to make a point'. For particularly dangerous or compromising operations the Men in White sometimes involve other criminals 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.
Important Members (Player Characters)
The Doctor
((WIP))
Killshot
((WIP))
Carrion
((WIP))
Important Members (NPCs)
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 Adjutant
Officially Tamara is the Doctor's bodyguard, but since the Doctor is more than capable of defending himself, she usually serves as a field commander and top enforcer. 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 training and equipment best suited to her skills as a former biathlete: A sophisticated energy rifle and anti-gravity boots which allow her to ‘ski’ through the air.
Frank "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 Phaeton. His training as a soldier and his uncanny skill with any sort of vehicle make him a valuable asset to the Men in White.
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. Additionally, the Men in White also employ many individuals whose range of skills, talents and powers vastly exceed this classification system. Details about these individuals are listed separately.
Dealer
- 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
- 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 the 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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.
