Umbrascitor

It was after midnight. The air was clear and heavy and thick with stars. The shimmering heat gave the darkness an unusual depth, as if the stars were trinkets glinting from the bottom of an inky sea, and the moon floating lazily on its surface. Ynaru stood at the rail, eyes half-lidded, half-dreaming. It was too hot to sleep; instead, she fell into a simple reverie, becoming one with the surging winds, the gentle heave and sway of the floor beneath her feet, the rhythmic groan of the great vessel as it plodded its way, the punctuated crashing from far below the rail. By her mystical musing, the oceans rolled and bucked both above and below,

The relationship between heroes and villains is a false dichotomy. Like many of our contrived opposites, the distinction has little relevance outside the realms of legislation and organized religion. Divine Justice has no eyes to see, and carries a balance; the weight of one's deeds affects others with its gravity, but a deed on its own has no particular character. A deed is as uncolored as a kilogram. So in the battle against evil, who is your enemy? A "friend" may do you disservice; an "enemy" may act in your benefit. Even your own actions weigh upon you for well and ill, and the mysterious nature of any deed cannot be determined. Therefo

░░░░░░░  /   \  ░░░░░░░ ░░░░░░  | ___ |  ░░░░░░ ░░░  ___/\ _ /\___  ░░░          Bank Row ░░  /  | \ O / |  \  ░░                              August 26, 1931, 8:00 p.m. ░░      \ | | /      ░░ ░░░   ___/‒‒‒\___   ░░░ At 8:00 the banks, brokerages, insurance offices, and law firms of Bank Row were almost all deserted, though a few late-night paper

When one gains the power to change the world, he is often said to be "fulfilling his destiny." This is one of our society's great oxymorons -- for how can a foregone event be said to be "fulfilled?" If an inexorable force drives every step you take and every wayward element that crosses your path, then you are no longer a creature of passion but a cold machine. A divine clockwork with no other function but to bear the burden of time. What good is a hero if his courage, his strength, and his nobility are nothing but fiction, written by the hand of Providence in the book of time? ░░░░░░░  /&

GENERAL Name: Maxwell Cheong Alias: Mr. Abacus Age: 38 Sex: Male Ethnicity: Mixed Caucasian, Korean ABILITIES Mr. Abacus is capable of superhuman calculation, allowing him to mentally solve problems that would otherwise require a sophisticated computation device, or a great deal of time with pencil and paper. His aptitude for mental calculus led him to a breakthrough in his early teens, when through painstaking work and unquenchable curiosity, he succeeded in breaking down the fundamental dynamics of the universe into seventeen basic "Constants." The math is inconceivable to ordinary people, but he can utilize it to predict trends and

GENERAL Identity: Biohazard Age: 5 years; fully adult body Sex: No reproductive capability; masculine identity ABILITIES The human body is often described as a complex biological machine; the creators of Biohazard took this concept to its extreme. Combining mechanical engineering with the latest advances in organic chemistry and the burgeoning science of Gene Theory, they developed a humanoid weapon with mechanized internal structures grown from flesh and bone. This true hybrid of man and technology was designed for one purpose: to become an invincible, immortal icon and symbol of public faith. His "power" is that he is a bio-mechanized