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It used to be that folks like us were always "being hassled by the man." He was the bully, we were the bullied. Funny how the tables are turned...
The cops are a joke now. Ever since the Rikti invasion they've been wetting themselves on a daily basis; I've seen cops run screaming from even wussy-ass Hellions. They just can't handle the wave of nasty that's washed over this city, and frankly, I pity them for it -- they're in a bad position and they know it. It's up to "heroes" and those of us who have just had enough to pick up the slack, since they aren't stepping up to the plate to protect us. They wanna give up, okay, I won't ride 'em hard about it as long as they don't get in our way when it comes to doing what's right...
Problem is, sometimes you'll find so-called heroes in the ranks of the officers... ones running around with a badge and a gun and energy blasts coming out of their eyes. And if you thought cops were on a power trip before, wait'll you see the ones who carry an ego as large as their area-of-effect napalm bursts...
Corporate abuse of power is nothing new. (I'm looking at YOU, Halliburton.) But we've got our own little friendly neighborhood capitalist warmonger to deal with in the form of Crey Industries. The government in their infinite wisdom kept handing over Rikti technology to them, even after they were caught red handed doing iffy things with it... and rumors are still flying that they're amassing a super-powered private army.
The Crey have walked on us long enough. Industrial accidents get swept under the rug, despite the victims they leave behind -- a few of you out there probably got your powers from incidents like these. Class action lawsuits have failed, and with Crey's position sucking on the teat of city hall, it's up to us to investigate and expose these bastards. Keep a sharp eye out. They're gonna slip up sooner or later.
Those of us who can afford either HBO or an unmarked black box hidden behind the TV have probably seen the Sopranos. Fun show. Hideously dysfunctional fun. The Family, on the other hand, is not fun.
The mafioso are the pinnacle of gang-style violence -- organized, well connected, and bordering on classy. They're firmly entrenched with hooks in the government as well as the private sector, and a few gang busts aren't gonna put a dent in their operations. I'd be tempted to say that they're out of our reach, since just beating them down isn't gonna make them go away... but we've got registration cards giving us free reign to beat on them, evidence or no evidence. It might not disband the Family but we can hassle them enough to make them think twice about leaning on the hardworking folks in our hometown.
And always tell 'em to "Fahgetaboutit" when you're pounding their heads in. It really, really pisses them off.
The Freak Show. I could rant for pages about these punks... because I used to be one.
Back when I was young and stupid (instead of less young and slightly less stupid like I am now) it seemed like the only way to avoid gang violence was to actually join a gang. You'd have brothers backing you up, and nobody would mess with you. Sweet, yeah? Right. They only took me in because I had some innate powers they could develop with their drugs and cyber. Dreck spoke promises of individual freedom, of existing outside the rules, all sorts of appealing ideas...
But eventually I wised up. These aren't poet-warriors, folks. It's just a bunch of jerks who have seen Fight Club a few too many times without getting the POINT of the flick. Nihilism and anarchy are cute but don't work in any practical way, and are simply the Show's empty excuses for doing the same crap other gangs do. They're powerful compared to the Hellions but they're about on par intellectually.
(A word about the drugs they peddle... avoid 'em. Yeah, they enhance superpowers. But they also make you brain dead enough to think that Dreck's dreck he spouts is some sort of philosophical genius. You don't need their filth to get strong; battle will harden you just as well.)
Sad, sad people. They think they can negotiate with demons for power? Okay, assuming you believe in demons (and at this point in Paragon's storied history, I'd believe in the Tooth Fairy) who in their right mind assumes they'll be getting the BETTER end of that deal? Demons in the stories are cunning bastards and you think some glorified neighborhood bloods are gonna put one over on them? Yeah. Right.
In the end they're just quasi-goth posers, like heroes running around in black named Mydnyte Bloodvengur... pathetic attention starved morons. True, the Hellions pose a threat to the completely untrained or ordinary folks, but for the D.F.B. Crew we eat them for breakfast. Then we move on to the Skulls for lunch. Punk their asses out and move on with your crimefighting career.
I hate to throw out a blanket statement like this, so I'll add the word "largely."
Heroes are largely assholes. Egomaniacs running around in their day-glow pajamas, posing dramatically, screaming phrases about justice and virtue while kicking people's heads in. Posing for the cameras, playing the media darlings, forming groups like the Paragon Justice Crusading Crimefighting Superlative Crusading Justiketeers. It's really hard to look at your average superhero and not snicker.
I think the root of the problem is that they're considered "super men." Superior to everybody else, powerful and glorious and damn near holy in the eyes of some. The giant statues around town only reinforce this, huge figures towering over the city and reminding us all how BETTER they are... and the way they're given carte blanche to run around causing mayhem in their efforts to fight crime is kind of scary. Fifteen minutes and one registration form later and anybody can be a hero, no matter how psychologically unfit. Hell, they let ME be one...
You can disagree with me, and a few in the D.F.B. do, but I think we gotta be careful with how this city deals with heroes. Revering them that much leads to hero worship, to the point where we're bowing and scraping before our new titans. How long until those titans turn on us? Not every hero truly lives the life of virtue and justice he may think he does. Whether they go power mad or just decide it's time to act "for our own good" a superpowered hero dominating our lives is a stone's throw away from a supervillain making our lives miserable.
D.F.B. Crew stands lower than them. We're from the streets and we are never gonna forget that. Call it "keeping it real" if you want, humility is key here. We're just people who happen to have the strength to fight back, and we're not better than anyone else. The moment we move from our homes into distant Fortresses of Solitude, we've lost the vision...
There are plenty of heroes who feel the same way, even some of the ones wearing spandex. Be suspicious of your archetypical heroes, but not to the point of dismissing them out of hand. There are good ones out there. But don't ignore the bad ones, either.
This is a hard subject to talk about.
The Lost are the homeless of this city. They're the ones the government hasn't paid enough attention to in wake of the Rikti invasion. A lot of what they preach makes sense, frankly; the meek shall inherit the earth, and all. Hell, a lot of what they say is right in line with D.F.B. philosophy... empowering the weak, giving a voice to the underclass. You'll see them on street corners preaching, which isn't too far of a throw from the usual political campaigning that happens around election year; from that alone, why do they deserve to be beaten up on sight..?
But the problem is that it doesn't stop at that. There's something wrong about these guys, something that runs deep. Kidnappings are a bad start, but even beyond that there's a dark root at the problem -- could be they've been brainwashed, altered. Some of 'em sport physical mutations of the nasty sort. What exactly is going on in the deep sewer enclaves of the Lost?
We're gonna have to find out. They're close to being ma familia, straight outta King's Row, people we know and people we could've become. Be gentle if you can be when dealing with them, but if we gotta kick some, then we gotta kick some. In the end we'll save these guys from whatever's twisting them.
These guys just don't know when to quit. Rumor has it there are still Rikti left on Earth -- strays who got dumped here after the failed invasion. Now, they're not likely gonna be a hassle to our people, since they can't exactly put on street clothes and go down to 7-11 for a coffee; they've gotta hide far from the public eye. But we need to be ready to deal with them, not only the stragglers... but for the second invasion.
It can't be over. They got an old fashioned beatdown when they showed on our turf last time, and I have a serious doubt they fled for good. Alien invasion summer blockbusters ALWAYS have sequels...
I've got a particular hate for the Skulls. They've laid claim to King's Row, hanging on every street corner, hassling my people on a constant basis... and no matter how many you pound and ground, there's always more. They're stronger than Hellions and more persistent.
They deal drugs, too, making them more of a threat than the goth-poseboys of the Hellions. I've done my best to keep everybody I know away from their crap, but like the Freak Show, they've got a good sales pitch aimed at empowering the weak. We've gotta show people that the D.F.B. way is the road to empowerment -- no easy outs, no shortcuts. You duck the responsibility you need to develop alongside your great power and you're screwing yourself.
Somebody needs to tell these guys that it's 2004, not 1804.
If the Hellions are goth posers, these guys are goth period. They started out as posers, but somehow stumbled across REAL evil magic power and now they're sneaking in dark ritual wherever they feel they can get away with it in Paragon. The rooftops of King's Row glow green as they do weird mystic things to anybody they can catch, and they've laid claim to Perez Park (along with eighty other kinds of unpleasant.
We need to show these relics that it's the modern age and we're not gonna put up with them. They're cowardly, hiding away in caves and on high roofs, to avoid street-level folk from kicking their sorry robed asses. So, run high and low, and bring 'em death from below. Maybe one day they'll pull up stakes and run... but the rumors that their Mecca's buried under Paragon are pretty worrying. If it is, we might never be rid of 'em.
The undead. The freaking undead. Paragon is honored to be the only city where you can spot an unlicensed doctor harvesting organs right there on a public sidewalk, to stick in the shambling zombies accompanying him. Terrific.
Unfortunately, the Vahz are nastier than they look -- zombie puke burns bad, and the doctors are handy at reviving the dead after you kill them. ...deader. Whatever. Point is, don't underestimate these guys! Team up with other D.F.B.'ers if you're gonna tangle with them, particularly in the sewers. A few alone aren't a big deal but if you get the shambling hordes they normally come in, you can get overwhelmed in an instant. Be cool, be safe.