Earth-505

**Earth-505** was home to the criminal organization Crime.net and the infamous Payday gang.

## History

### Arrival of the Nephilim

The "nephilim", as they were called by humans, were a race of alien beings from a far more advanced civilization who arrived on Earth, bringing with them great technology that could grant humans immortality. The nephilim likely inspired much of human mythology and religion, including the Biblical nephilim.

### World War II

In the 1930's, Adolf Hitler acquired The Diamond, a cursed gemstone that would seemingly seal the Nazi Party's inevitable fate. Around the same time, the "Healer" reincarnated in the body of Heinrich Himmler, manipulating the events in World War II in the Kataru's favor.

By 1944, the Nazis were on the verge of winning the war in Europe, having regained the advantage by pushing the Allies back. Desperate to regain their position, the Allies resorted to sending the worst scum in their ranks to "set Europe ablaze".

This included the "RAID Gang", four prisoners of war who were inducted into the "Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare". Their objective was to fight the war without rules or mercy, in exchange for their freedom and all the Nazi gold they could carry.

The Raid gang pillaged their way through Germany, all while taking on top secret missions assigned to them by the Special Operations Executive and pulverising anything that bore a swastika. Though they were forgotten by history, their actions ultimately helped define it.

In 1945, the brutality of the Raid Gang proved to be exactly what the Allies needed, as the Red Army managed to invade Berlin. Driven mad by the Diamond, Hitler committed suicide by gunshot, the Healer looming nearby in the body of Heinrich Himmler.

### Manhattan Outbreak

In 2008, the Gentek scientist Alex Mercer attempted to flee New York City, in fear of being silenced by Gentek's benefactors. He brought a vial of the highly lethal Blacklight virus with him as insurance.

When he arrived in Pennsylvania Station, he was confronted by Blackwatch agents. When the agents were unwilling to negotiate with him, he smashed the vial on the ground out of spite, the agents executing him on the spot before they were killed by the virus.

The virus continued to kill everyone in the station, and a portion of the virus was attracted to Mercer's corpse, consuming it and recreating his body at the cellular level. The virus, now in the shape of Alex Mercer, was retrieved by Blackwatch when they responded to the Penn Station outbreak, and was taken to the morgue in the Gentek building.

### Payday Gang Heisting Spree

*"The First World Bank has just been struck by what is believed to be the greatest heist in recent years."*
―7 News Network
In 2011, a team of four hardened criminals assembled by Bain struck the First World Bank in a well planned and executed heist, stealing millions of dollars and escaping unscathed. While the team made an impressive payday and gained notoriety from the press and authorities, Bain had greater ambitions than just a simple bank heist.

Dallas, Hoxton, Chains, and Wolf, dubbed the "Payday Gang" by the media, continued their criminal rampage across the United States, becoming infamous for their grand heists and police killings. Despite their violent crimes and infamy in the media, the gang was hailed as heroes by a significant portion of the working class, who saw them as Robin Hood-like figures who exposed the corruption in the capitalist system and the police force.

The Payday gang returned to First World Bank in one of their final heists, having discovered a secret underground "Overvault" containing millions in pure Mayan gold.

## Characteristics

### Criminal Elements

The High Table, a council of twelve notorious crime lords, was regarded as the highest authority in the criminal underworld worldwide.

The underworld had a single shared currency, sometimes known as "Continental Coins", thanks to the hotels circulating them.

Crime.net, a vast criminal network developed by the enigmatic Bain to aid in his search for Baldwin's Lament, was a major player in the underworld. Many criminals, both professional and small-time, carried out contracts commissioned by Bain's global network of connections.

It was extremely impregnable and proved to be untraceable by authorities. Outside of the FBI and the underworld, many believed Crime.net was a hoax thanks to the network's secrecy, until its existence was confirmed by Commissioner Solomon Garret upon taking office in Washington D.C.

The Continental was a chain of hotels worldwide that served as a neutral meeting ground between criminals, offering special services and contracts to assassins and other career criminals. The branch in New York City had dealings with Crime.net and Wilson Fisk.

Other criminal organizations include:

* Sosa Cartel, a Bolivian drug cartel in Miami. Ernesto Sosa, the boss of the Sosas as of 2016, was assassinated by the Payday gang.
* The Akurans, a Russian crime syndicate in Seattle. They were strongly anti-Conduit and anti-Inhuman. They were often employed by the Department of Unified Protection for this reason, kidnapping metahumans for them.
* The Cobras, a street gang in Washington D.C. They were rivals of the Mendozas and the Sinaloans.
* OVERKILL MC, an American biker gang in Washington D.C.

## Trivia

* Earth-505 is inspired by Payday 2, Prototype, inFamous, Batman: Arkham, and the Marvel Cinematic Universe.