Freedomverse Terminology

American Elite Government Intervention Service: More commonly shortened to AEGIS. A combination law enforcement and espionage agency created in the 1950's by the former Liberty League member Jack Simmons (aka THE PATRIOT) after the McCarthy Hearings showed that conventional bureaucracy and law enforcement was not equipped to deal appropriately with superhuman affairs. With it's technical legal purview being "superhuman affairs", this area of focus is so broad and expansive that in practice AEGIS has a fairly wide permit to independently act which keeps the agency relatively small compared to the CIA or FBI and highly flexible. Sometimes called "Contraterror Cowboys" (often derogatorily), many other government agencies (particularly the CIA and Pentagon, who resent the seeming infringement on "their" areas of expertise) are mistrustful of AEGIS though in general it tends to get on well with law enforcement groups such as the FBI. The current Senior Director of AEGIS is Horatio Powers.

SHADOW: AEGIS's perpetual foe, the infamous terrorist group known SHADOW (all caps, no acronym) has menaced the world in one way or another since the late fifties under numerous leaders all dubbing themselves Overshadow of the organization. SHADOW has been a major justification for AEGIS's budget over the years, and since their apparent complete defeat in the early 90's AEGIS has struggled to gather the funding they need. SHADOW has been "defeated" before however, and somehow the organization always seems to come back, and it's infamous salute of "The Shadow Falls!" is often used by conspiracy theorists.

OVERTHROW: A more modern and less flamboyant terrorist organization then SHADOW created in the 80's dedicated to the vague goal of the downfall of Western civilization. An attempted Overthrow assassination of Michael O'Connor was Jack's first case as Freedom Eagle was an attempted assassination of the United Nations Security Council in New York City by Overthrow, and much of his career as an AEGIS agent was dedicated to fighting them.

The Liberty League: Formed in 1942 by Roosevelt after being warned by the time-traveling Thomas Morgan aka Doctor Tomorrow, the Liberty League was the first major American super-team and certainly one of the most famous, featuring a large band of "mystery men" who worked together to stop Nazi threats and made a definite impact on the war and the world itself. It's members were:
-THE CENTURION: The world's most powerful superhero got his start here as a much less powerful being fighting for his country, though over time he gradually grew strong and stronger to the point where even the most powerful of WWII-era weapons could not hurt him.
-DOCTOR TOMORROW: Thomas Morgan was born in an alternate future where the Axis powers had triumphed and was created as part of a genetic testing program to make the "perfect" human being. Traveling back in time, he warned Roosevelt of the consequences of not meeting Axis superhumans with their own. A perfect physical specimen and inventive genius, Morgan was a major leader of the League. Vanished after the war ended, telling his teammates that he was returning to his future.
-FREEDOM EAGLE: Michael O'Connor, Jack's own grandfather, was the first publicly known mystery man in the world due to the spectacular nature of his powers and the crimes he foiled on his initial case. Possessed of superhuman strength and flight given to him by advanced technology, the Eagle had a successful solo career as well as his League adventures. Retired sometime after the war to have his two children later in life. Died of natural causes in 2005 during a specific incident in Freedom City.
-THE PATRIOT: Jack Simmons was the only surviving volunteer for The Patriot Project, the US' super-soldier program. Enhanced to the peak of human perfection, his career as a Boston law enforcement officer gave him excellent investigative abilities and made him a highly competent field leader, though his "by the book" nature grated on others, particularly The Bowman. Later went on to found AEGIS. Officially died of natural causes in the early 1990's, Jack is aware of the secret that his mind was transferred to an android body is now the modern Patriot, masquerading as "Agent Faraday Irons".
-MIDNIGHT: The most frightening and mysterious of the Golden Age's "mystery men", Travis Hunter wore a dark concealing face mask and trench coat and hat rather then a colorful costume. His investigative prowess was unparalleled, though his sense of justice grew increasingly harsh and uncompromising compared to his peers. Vanished after the McCarthy Hearings after the League disbanded, but he had already grown increasingly self-involved with his personal crusade against crime and it is quite possible he continued his activities in secret regardless of the suspicion allayed against heroes at the time.
-ENVOY: The superhuman man only known as "Sarlyn" claimed to be an envoy (hence the name) of Utopia Isle, a hidden paradise that had sent him to watch the war and keep abreast of the brewing global conflict. Always close-mouthed about the location of his homeland and details about it, Sarlyn was extremely intelligent knowledgeable about advanced technology and sciences well over a century ahead of the period in addition to being well above human limits physically. After the Hiroshima and Nagasaki Bombings (which he adamantly argued against) Sarlyn vanished, presumably back to his unknown homeland.
-THE BOWMAN: Famous newspaper publisher Fletcher Beaumont I was the original Bowman, a swashbuckling rogue who used his bow and trick arrows to fight many a foe of liberty and justice during the Golden Age, as well as one of the most visible legacy heroes in the world and joined the League along his teenaged sidekick ARROW who later become the second Bowman. His descendant Fletcher "Fletch" Beaumont III is the fourth Bowman and is Jack O'Connor's best friend since high school.
-JOHNNY ROCKET: After young engineering student John Wade was hit by splash of experimental rocket fuel chemicals during a bank robber he became the Fasted Man Alive. Perhaps the most idealistic and well-meaning of the League, he retired after it disbanded and finally became an engineer and started his own company. His grandson is the current Johnny Rocket with the Freedom League.
-LADY LIBERTY: Every generation has a woman empowered by the SPIRIT OF FREEDOM and is granted powers by the LIGHT OF LIBERTY to fight for truth, justice, and freedom for all. The Golden Age's Lady Liberty was Donna Mason, a secretary working for the young FBI and the longest-serving superhero in the League after it's disbandment except for the Centurion himself.
-SIREN: Lynn Sideon was a famous lounge singer who's sultry singing voice and sexy beauty made her a heartthrob with soldiers. After her crusie liner was sunk by a German U-Boat she came across Prince Thallor of Atlantis who saved her life and fulfilled an ancient prophecy, granting her voice amazing superhuman abilities. Though long-since retired from superheroics, according to what little information the Atlanteans share she is still alive among them and very healthy, possibly kept so my a combination of her magical origins and advanced Atlantean medicine and sciences.

THE CENTURION: The World's Greatest Superhero, the heroic figure known as, the Centurion arrived in the 1920's as a child in a rocket sent from an alternate dimension where the Roman Empire never fell and became the Grand Republic of Rome. Altered by the dimensional energies he was exposed to, despite his human lineage (albeit from an alternate reality) he was granted truly amazing strength, flight, and invulnerability surpassing all that but of the greatest heroes on Earth. Despite how public a figure he was, very little is publicly known about his private life except that he had a "Sanctum" located somewhere on Earth that was presumably his home. Jack is aware that his identity was Mark Leeds, a collage history professor who was raised human in Freedom City. Died heroically protecting the Earth in 1993 during the Terminus Invasion while fighting the alien tyrant known as Omega.

THE FREEDOM LEAGUE: The world's most famous superteam, the Freedom League was founded in the 1960's by a new generation of heroes as well as the Liberty League's Centurion. With an ever-rotating roster over the years since then, to some degree the League has always been present. It's base is the independent space station known as THE LIGHTHOUSE high above the Earth. While Jack has been offered membership a few times, he has always refused in favor of going his own way. It's current roster is;
-THE BOWMAN: Fletcher Beaumont III, the fourth-generation legacy hero of the Bowman line, famous newspaper publisher and wealthy playboy, and Jack O'Connor's best friend since high school.
-JOHNNY ROCKET: Johnny Wade, grandson of the original Rocket, as well as even faster with a quicker wit and quicker mouth. Also an open homosexual superhero, which often causes him to become the target of criticism from more conservative groups. So far Johnny has always been faster their their taunts and criticism, saving the day without needing a word of thanks.
-LADY LIBERTY: Successful lawyer Beth Walton-Wright is the current holder of the Spirit of Freedom.
-PSEUDO: R'ik Faax ("Rick Fox") is the true name of the shapeshifting alien member of the Grue, a race of ever-changing collective-minded beings that infiltrate worlds and are bent on galactic domination over the inferior "solid races", and have invaded Earth several times before, sometimes in force. Pseudo gained individuality and rebelled against his people to bring warning to Earth and joined the League to better protect it.
-SIREN: Cassandra Vale is the host to the Loa deity known as the Siren, mistress of the waves and is committed to proecting Earth from evil supernatural forces as well as the depredations of more sinister loa such as her nemesis Baron Samedi. Unrelated to the Golden Age Siren.
-STAR KNIGHT: Most recent Star Knight to serve on Earth, Maria Montoya is a career police officer and child of Mexican immigrants. Possessed of a knight-like suit of armor that grants her fantastic powers (as all Star Knights do), Earth and it's surrounding space are her sector of responsibility.
-DOCTOR METROPOLIS: Strangest of the Freedom League, the being known only as "Metropolis" claims to be the human embodiment of Freedom City itself. His connection to urban areas across the globe is as astonishing as it is strange.
-DAEDALUS: Though the public believes the brilliant power-armored hero is the descendant of the Freedom League's founder Daedalus, in fact he is the original immortal inventor of Greek myth having lived until modern day. Unquestioningly one of the most brilliant scientific minds on Earth, he has put his intelligence to use in various ways to help slowly advance human life for millenia while doing his best to subtly protect it from other seemingly eternal threats to it's safety. Aside from Fletch, the immortal genius is the Freedom League member Jack is closest to do to a coincidental connection; his grandfather's plans for the Anti-Gravity Harness he now uses were based off designs for Daedalus own wings he made famously to escape his imprisonment.
-CAPTAIN THUNDER: The member of the current League aside from the immortal Daedalus, Ray Gardner gained powers after encountering a strange electrical storm while piloting an experimental jet. His body charged with the power of thunder and lightning, he was able to emit electricity from his body and gained superhuman strength and durability. His identity is publicly known and he serves often as the senior statesman and "face" of the League.

THE TERMINUS INVASION: After the Iron Age of Heroes in the 1980's during the Moore Act, heroes were outlawed until 1993. That year a massive global invasion centered for unknown reasons on Freedom City led by a interdimenional tyrant known only as OMEGA. Though the battle was not long, the sheer scale and power of the forces unleashed made the battle seem hopeless even as the largest gathering of superhumans in history fought off attacks everywhere on Earth. Asking for no surrender and massacring the population seemingly at random, the Terminus forces has no apparent goal beyond the destruction of all civilization and the only demand sent by Omega himself was a simple and terrifying one; DIE. Despite the valiant effort of the many heroes, winning seemed impossible until high above Freedom City itself the Centurion engaged the seemingly all-powerful Omega in battle and fought him to a standstill. Severely wounding the godlike superbeing by cracking his nearly indestructible armor seemed to force the Terminus forces to retreat back to wherever they came, though the effort it took killed the Centurion and deprived the Earth of it's greatest superhero. Jack was orphaned during the Terminus Invasion.

THE ATOM FAMILY: A legendary superhero team (though they prefer "explorers") that fights weird threats and explores strange menaces to the world, the enduring legacy of the legendary superscientist Alexander Atom is well-loved and well-known across the world, even if their exploits are not always particularly well-understood due to how esoteric and otherworldly most are.

ADRIAN ELDRITCH: Earth's Master Mage and protector of our dimension from occult and mystical threats. Around since the 1930's, the seemingly ageless hero rarely appears in public but always does so with astonishing displays of mystic power, though the public usually believes his abilities come from a less esoteric and strange source rather then true magic. Eldritch himself does not bother to correct them, seeing his duties as Master Mage as more important then bothering to assuage the closed minds of those he protects.

ASTRO Labs: A widespread American think-tank/research company with shares owned by the American government. Often called "the DARPA of super-science", ASTRO Labs is constantly working on any number of incredibly advanced scientific projects at any given time, making their protection a state concern for the US and their facilities a tempting target for supervillains interested in technology.

FREEDOM CITY: America's most famous (or infamous if you prefer) city, an East Coast metropolis in New Jersey and home of more superheroic activity then any other locale on planet Earth, though some cities overseas come very close. Conspiracy theories aside, no scientific reason has been found for Freedom City's tendency to draw superheroes to it or have strange accidents that cause super-beings to be created there, though the pattern and frequency does seem incredibly unlikely to many statisticians. Jack O'Connor was born here and went to high school here.

EMERALD CITY: Lying the opposite side of the US to Freedom City, Emerald City is a sleepy Pacific Northwest metropolis nestled in a bay sheltered by the nearby Atlas Mountains and Elysian Forest. Unlike Freedom City, Emerald has had almost no superhuman activity at all since the Second World War ended and it's obscure WWII-era Golden Age team the Victory Squadron disbanded. In modern day the city is mecca for high-technology and science industries thanks in part to the presence of the giant technology corporation MarsTech, headed up by famous technology plutocrat Maximillian Mars. Jack O'Connor has recently opened up a local branch of Freedom Enterprises to take advantage of this climate of advanced thinkers and scientists.