Team Red

"Team Red" is a slang term for the very loose alliance of criminals and super villains in the city (and the world in general). Far less tight-knit than Team Blue, they essentially consist of every super who regularly and overtly breaks the law while still keeping to the basic rules of engagement, primarily the unofficial but strictly enforced ban on killing supers. It's difficult to be disavowed by Team Red, since they'll generally only turn on someone ubiquitously if it becomes dangerous to be associated with them. Super villains fight each other as often as Team Blue, so picking a fight with an individual member of Team Red won't really upset anyone else on the team as a general rule. Those who do end up shunned by both Team Red and Team Blue are occasionally referred to as being on "Team Black," but since this "team" is actually just unaffiliated outcasts, it's usually easier to refer to its members by name anyway.
==Villains==
The Iron Master is a relatively new villain, but he has made a meteoric ascent since he has begun his work in the city, showing clear signs of being the sort of villain who, like the Artificer or Dr. Spectre, will someday leave a deep impact on all the world (unless he is nipped in the bud). He primarily uses his robotic minions and super villainous allies to do his dirty work. Early on, he favored a subtle and undercover strategy that left about half of his crimes nearly untraceable. Since growing in power, he's become more aggressive and overt. Swordsman apparently considerd himself the Iron Master's nemesis before his defeat.
The Red Death is a recent supervillain who is rarely seen. He is in communication with Whisper, who has confirmed that he has powers and who has also confirmed his willingness to kill a random bystander just to prove he's not a Team Blue plant, but he hasn't been connected to any overt crimes. It is suspected by most that he is biding his time, and likely that he has some grudge with Dead Eye. Some fear he may try to kill him, particularly the Family and Chimera, who rely more than ever on Dead Eye's services now that Strike has been killed.
The Cat is a super powered thief and femme fatale. She makes few associations with other criminals, relying on her luck powers to ensure a hasty getaway and keep her identity a secret. Though her powers are limited, she doesn't desire control of any part of the city or even seem to have much want for significant wealth. Her apparent motive for theft is just to snag specific objects which appeal to her. The Cat has had several run-ins with Amp and Kestrel, and recently Behemoth has taken an interest in catching her.
Mesmer is a psychic metahuman with a grudge against regular humans, though this does not extend to other supers. He fully buys into the supers as Ubermensch theory, and resents any muggle who doesn't worship the ground supers walk upon. Mesmer is not extremely overt or aggressive in realizing his political visions, however. He has assembled no band of metahuman terrorists to advance his agenda nor threatened legislators over relevant issues. He mostly seems content to take from the so-called lesser creatures to live a life of luxury. He is quite friendly with other supers (even those on Team Blue, who he considers misguided rather than evil or worthless), and can often be persuaded to help with a villainous scheme for a small fee or a cut, so long as no other supers are targeted. Mesmer prefers to use his powers to talk his way through situations, having little combat utility and being not much in a fight himself. Kronos and Mesmer have some sort of history, but the details aren't known.
Bouncer is a powerful but not terribly bright super villain who works primarily for the Hounds and Stalkers. He was formerly a Hound himself, but after his metahuman powers developed, he soon forgot his original alleigance and began to serve only himself. Several Hounds resent him for this, and several Stalkers resent him for having once been a member (even of the lowest possible rank) of their hated rivals. However, since he's the only super villain who takes a regular interest in Compton, they have little choice but to work with him or give in to his demands. Those who don't have a tendency to end up with their skulls crushed. Bouncer and Behemoth are the most famous pair of nemeses in the city. Bouncer rarely does anything but charge a problem head on and punch it until it stops agitating him.
Daimyo Okata is one of the only super villains who directly controls a gang, running the Ronin. He is obsessed with a caricature of a samurai's honor that suggests he has never actually been to Japan (particularly since a daimyo isn't expected to hold to the bulk of those rules anyway), though he is clearly of Japanese descent. When his obsession with honor doesn't get in his way, he can be a skilled and shrewd planner, and his durant alloy blade and intense training (possibly coupled with some metahuman powers) make him a formidable opponent to face. Amp and Kestrel spent some time trying, ultimately unsuccessfully, to defeat the Daimyo.
Dead Eye is a super powered assassin-for-hire who claims he draws his powers from the mosin-nagant used by Simo Hayha, "the White Death," who is not confirmed to have had any super powers himself but most people suspect he must have had some for that sort of kill count. It isn't known if Dead Eye's mosin-nagant is really the source of his powers or if it actually belonged to Simo Hayha. Dead Eye works primarily for the Family and Chimera and has a standing agreement not to take contracts against either of them, but he occasionally takes jobs from others (though usually at exorbitant prices). Dead Eye prefers to keep his distance in confrontations, for obvious reasons.
Killed by The Red Death when he shot with his own mosin-nagat while trying to kill Julio.
Asrael exists in a blurry area between Team Red and Team Black. Project Swordsman proved that in dire enough circumstances he may be called upon for assistance, but generally speaking he's KoS to every hero, villain, and gang in the city, as well as the police. He has incredibly strong fire powers, can fly, wreathe himself in white fire, and is exceptionally stealthy in ways that are not fully understood for how hard he is to track down. He favors hit-and-run tactics and is almost always successful in destroying or at least driving off his enemies. Asrael used to be Team Blue, but came to be considered a vigilante even early in his career, when he manifested few fire powers and primarily fought in the areas of Eastside and Compton. In early 2008, he suddenly revealed his fire powers, dropping a holocaust that claimed nearly three dozen lives in Hollywood on January 21st, prompting a response from local heroes Amp, Taser, and the Watcher. Asrael beat Amp into a pulp, critically wounded Taser, and immolated the Watcher altogether, cementing his place as an outcast from Team Blue. Over the next few years, he would take lethal action against local gangs and various rehabilitation programs and prisons, often freeing the patients/inmates, which has given Team Red mixed feelings about him.
Strike was once a member of Team Red, a more recent assassin-for-hire who worked for Chimera and the Family and was considered to be in competition with Dead Eye. The growing rivalry between them was mooted when Swordsman killed Strike.
The Artificer was never active in Los Angeles, but he has been imprisoned in the Catalina Towers. He has been behind bars for nearly a decade, defying many critics who believed he would break out almost immediately after his capture. Some say that he has intentionally allows himself to be held, because as the killer of the first Paragon in the early 90s, he would be a prime target for almost any vigilante and few would retaliate against the killer of the Artificer, who himself killed the world's premier super hero since 1936.
Category:Setting