The Emergence
It was 1970 when superhumans first entered the public eye. Scattered reports of people with unnatural and superhuman powers had existed since the end of WWII, long dismissed as conspiracy theories and urban legends. This was all before one fateful day when a group of criminals hijacked an armored van one day in New York City as part of a bank robbery. As the armored vehicle approached a police blockade, a man infamously stepped out in front of it. As the vehicle approached he simply stuck his arm out. Rather than be blown away by the vehicle smashing into him, he was completely unmoved and the vehicle crumpled around the man's arm. The crowd was so astounded that the man simply slipped away in the chaos. He would soon return however, but the world would never be the same.
That man was Robert Macintyre, who would later be known as Mr. Invincible. Following his public appearance other people with various powers and abilities became known. Seemingly out of nowhere a whole new subset of the population emerged. Hundreds of known people with various superhuman abilities appeared, and who knows how many others who were still hiding. Mr. Invincible worked to show the public that he was a hero, like from comic books, but it wasn't until five figures came forward that heroes were really born. A talented super soldier called Eagle, a former criminal turned hero called Jolly Rodger, a technology and powered armor using inventor called The Futurist, a cyborg with various powers called Stratosphere, and a government sponsored hero named USAviator became the five founding members of the Watch Trust. The Watch Trust was an organization of superhumans that was monitored by the government, thus alleviating fears of the superhuman's powers and lack of accountability. Soon many other superhumans joined the Watch Trust.
Not all superhumans who appeared used their powers for good but the Watch Trust defended society and defeated these "supervillains". Soon a status quo emerged. Villains were defeated by the Watch Trust, which was able to keep dangerous superhumans in check. The world became safer and many people forgot about the Cold War and the troubles of the 70s. The superheroes were something to look up to. Proof that humanity was noble and would rise to meet any challenge, even having godlike powers.Future Imperfect
Everything changed one day in 1986, after over a decade of relative peace. A mysterious figure contacted the Watch Trust claiming to be from the future. They claimed that their time was in danger and only the Watch Trust could save them. It seemed ridiculous. It seemed like a poorly written comic book. After over a decade of peace because of superheroes however, the world would believe anything. About forty members of the Watch Trust, including all five founding members, went into the future. It would be years before anyone ever saw them again, an event known as The Vanishing.
Without the founding members the Watch Trust the remaining heroes were unable to keep the world as safe. Many simply faded back into obscurity. Desperate for the peace the Watch Trust provided the US government enacted the Patriot Act and began secretly rounding up superhumans, brainwashing and experimenting on them to create their own. When the members of the Watch Trust found out it lead to all out conflict. It was in the middle of this horrible war that The Vanishing ended.
Out of the forty members of the Watch Trust that went into the future only the five founding members returned, and they came back wrong. When they reannounced themselves to the public they changed their names. Eagle became Red Son, Jolly Rodger became The Hangman, The Futurist became Techmaster, and Stratosphere became Thunderclap. After reannouncing themselves they officially announced the disbandment of the Watch Trust. They then began their plan to destroy the world they had helped build.
While the fighting between the government and the other members of the Watch Trust continued and the communist world started to collapse, the five former members of the Watch Trust unleashed their plan. Its brutality showed how much they had truly changed. Techmaster unleashed a nanobot based "tech plague" on the country. It killed key military officers, politicians, government officials, emergency personnel, and anyone with similar genes. About a tenth of the United State's population disappeared. Furthermore the former heroes took control of the country's nuclear weapons and used them on several cities. They then threatened to turn them on the rest of the world if they intervened. All of this happened during a particularly brutal attack on Washington DC by disgruntled superhumans and Watch Trust members. The country just couldn't take it. By New Year's Eve 1991, there really was no United States anymore. Across the pond the Soviet Union had collapsed, NATO was in disarray, and the global economy entered the worst recession in history. The world the heroes had propped up all those years, fell apart when the heroes turned on it. The supermen had conquered the world.Reign of the Supermen
Now there are essentially three factions vying for control. The former heroes, now frequently referred to as "The Five" merged the former United State's largest corporations together to form the Conglomerate. Propped up in the nigh post-apocalyptic society by generous "subsidization policies" (anything that is deemed necessary is taken) the Conglomerate is basically just a large corporation, but it is the closest thing to government in the old United States. It provides people with basic services they can no longer get any other way, and helps prop up the failing global economy; further preventing retaliation against the Five from the rest of the world. It is the instrument of their control. Despite that however a few still fight for the old United States. A large organized resistance group continues fighting against the Five. Lead largely by officials who were responsible for the original Patriot Act the resistance group has since been dubbed as The Patriots. They wage a desperate struggle against the Conglomerate. After over a decade of fighting and people dealing with their new lives, a third faction has arisen. Originally a small group of superhumans with previously unseen powers tried to ally with the Patriots. Negotiations fell through and they ended up rallying people themselves, becoming an entirely new faction called Aegis. With both of the other factions hostile to it, Aegis also fights for control of the broken country but most people know very little about it. It is small and generally operates with small strike teams.
Now the sun rises on 2010, forty years after superhumans first appeared. An entire generation that never knew America or peace has been born. The war shows no signs of stopping. This is where you come in. Either fighting for a faction or a freelancer on your own, you must work to end the war once and for all. Or simply survive. Will you fight for a faction? Will you discover the truth behind The Vanishing? Will you try to be like the heroic superheroes of old? Will you be to busy trying to survive to do any of this?
Welcome to the OOC for the Emergence reboot. In this RP players are characters that are either working for a faction or on their own. Allegiances can change of course. The RP takes place mainly in California, though other events can happen outside of it that are important to the plot.
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Credit to Shadowwell for the original idea and the permission to reboot.
