The Drifter

The Drifter is an American superhero and member of the Justice Squadron.

## Biography

The Inukazo clan were once the most feared and respected ninjas in the entire Heavenly Kingdom. Feared because their skill was legendary, and respected for their impeccable honor and wisdom. The Inukazo boasted a five hundred-year history with few failures and no disgrace, something that none of their jealous rivals could boast.

But then the clan received an unexpected decree from the King of Shadows, lord of all ninja and immortal sword-saint. The decree proclaimed that evidence had made its way into the Shadow court which exposed years of vile, treasonous crimes committed by the Inukazo clan. The evidence was so conclusive, and the crimes so heinous, that there could be no refuting them. The King of Shadows simply made an ultimatum: die by their own hand and reclaim their honor, or be destroyed by the combined might of the other twelve ninja clans and be left in disgrace forever.

Although they knew the accusations were false, the Inukazos prepared to do the only honorable thing and destroy themselves. But before the final ritual was enacted the clan elders secretly charged their ten most skilled disciples with a terrible mission: forsake their names and go into the world to find the conspirators that had orchestrated the Inukazo's downfall. Denied an honorable death, the ten set out in secret, and officially they died alongside the other two hundred members of the clan as they carried out a massive act of ritual suicide.

Genbu Inukazo was the youngest of the ten and a prodigy even among his mighty clan. He followed his flimsy evidence to California, which at the time was the site of a secret war among Asian crime families backed by ninja clans. In order to protect his identity, Genbu simply called himself "Drifter" and fought his way through a lengthy series of clandestine battles in his search of leads. Although he left a trail of enemies in his wake, he found little to encourage him in his quest. But this campaign of espionage led him to other secrets, and he accidentally stumbled onto the true identity of Black Mist, a feared ninja operating as a supervillain in Washington, D.C. Wanting to question Black Mist but realizing that he was no match for him on his own, the Drifter offered his services to the Justice Squadron, figuring that any enemy of his enemy would be a worthy ally.

Although their initial collaboration ended in frustration for both parties, the Justice Squadron saw great potential in the Drifter's skills and offered him the opportunity to continue working alongside the team. Since he craved their contacts and his quest was keeping him in Washington anyway, he agreed, and almost a year later he became an official member of the Squadron. Although his frequent trips across the country hunting leads occasionally kept him out of action, he still participated in some of their biggest adventures and has proven himself to be an invaluable asset. As the trail of his family's betrayers has grown cold, the Drifter has slowly come to consider the Squadron to be his primary focus in life.

## Personality

The Drifter is a vengeful man whose drive has been tempered by the frustration of his long, fruitless quest. He has given up any real hope of finding the ones responsible for his clan's destruction and instead focuses his energy on granting others the justice that has been denied to his family. As a result, he spends a great deal of time on patrol, so much so that he has stopped more mundane crimes than the rest of the Justice Squadron put together.

The Drifter uses meditation and exercise as a way to control his passionate spirit. He is wiser than his years, and he shares his knowledge and wisdom freely. He has been known to occasionally take struggling rookie heroes, particularly highly-skilled normals, under his wing.

## Powers

Inukazo-style ninjutsu is a powerful martial art, though it is more suited to decisive strikes from the shadows than a prolonged hand-to-hand contest. In order to avoid unnecessary killing, the Drifter has retired his school's deadly short blades for a pair of titanium batons which he uses to pummel the weak spots of his foes. Of course his kit still includes a set of knives for when the need arises, along with caltrops, smoke bombs, garrote wire, and poison-tipped throwing needles. He can cling to walls with the aid of special set of gloves tipped with small spikes, and combined with his impressive leap and wire-assisted-swinging he has excellent vertical mobility in an urban environment.

His training also included a type of mysticism unique to those ancient martial arts that cultivate internal force. This power, along with help from friendly spirits loyal to his clan, allows the Drifter to cast a variety of small spells, tricks, and cantrips. The Drifter can appear to be in two places at once, disappear in a cloud of illusory insects, run on water, or even summon small animal spirits to aid him. Although none of these techniques are particularly powerful he applies them in clever and unexpected ways to catch his foes by surprise.

Intense training has given the Drifter incredible control over his body's functions, even those that should be totally involuntary. He can alter his body's temperature, control his heartbeat, hold his breath for hours, and even induce a death-like coma. He can slow or negate the effects of poison and can stare unblinking for hours, never losing focus. He can fight blindfolded with ease, and is rarely caught off guard even when asleep.

## Weaknesses

The Drifter's true identity is one of the most hunted men in the world. If he was ever exposed, hundreds of ninjas would be dispatched to assassinate him. Keeping this secret is complicated by the fact that some of his techniques, particularly the mystical ones, are unique to the Inukazo clan and any ninja with enough knowledge would be able to identify him by their use.

Although he has a trick for every occasion, both his ninja tools and his reserves of magic are highly limited. The Drifter must be judicious in applying them as he can easily run out of everything in a protracted battle and be left with nothing but his fists.