Villains and Vigilantes- 850

PORT CITY, also known as “The Dream City” by many of its citizens, is the county seat of Dominion County, Virginia. It has a total population of 566,623. The city is located on the northern shore of Chesapeake Bay. The city is the political and economic center for the county as well as a hub for banking and commerce for the entire state of Virginia.

The city of Port City was first mentioned in the year 1890, when the neighboring county of Warwick settled its boundaries with Dominion County. Before then, no records exist of any city within Dominion County. It is acknowledged that Darragh O’Leary was named as the founder of Port City by the citizens at that time. Since then the O’Leary family has always been a presence within the city. Port City grew to become a delivery point for a great number of Trade Ships, becoming crucial for the distribution of goods and supplies throughout the states.

On the 29 of February, 1896 a catastrophic explosion was reported to have consumed the entirety of Port City. A forest fire raged for several days afterward, preventing aid from approaching the city. A week later, once the smoke had cleared and the danger had passed, Port City remained, apparently unscathed and in pristine condition.

By 1902, the city and its port had begun to flourish. As large amounts of goods began to ship in and out of the port, new businesses began to establish themselves. In 1902 Cassius Pireth established the financial institution, Pireth Bank & Trust. He began to make loans to anyone with a sound business plan. The year 1910 led to some difficulties for Pireth Bank & Trust, to counter the cash flow difficulties, Collin O’Leary Sr. was brought on as a financial partner to keep the bank fluid. Through Cassius Pireth’s efforts Port City’s economy benefited greatly. However in the stock market crash of 1929, the city’s economy suffered and Pireth Bank & Trust wound up with large real estate holdings as the loans on the businesses went unpaid. It is rumored, but never proven, that the O’Leary family became the controlling interest of Pireth Bank & Trust around this time.

The decade that was the Great Depression (1929 - 1939), took a heavy toll on Port City, though not as severely as other parts of the country. The port remained active, moving goods in and out of the country, but crime rates soared. The overall atmosphere of the populace was negative. The Mayor at the time, Jacob Haversback, struggled to maintain order. However the actions of Kathy “Goodie Two-Shoes” Jennings served to bolster the spirits of many a Port City resident. She was a bright spot of hope, and the most popular radio host of her era. The highest rated portion of her nightly “Goodie Two-News” broadcasts were the segments where she recounted the adventures of “Sanssón” and his conflicts with Professor Occult. This was the first documented acknowledgement of a masked vigilante and a masked villain, in Port City.

Sanssón’s vigilante escapades dealt primarily with the street level crime perpetrated by a criminal organization known as “The Slaugh” as well as his nemesis Professor Occult. Throughout that decade, Sanssón was credited with stopping robberies of businesses within Port City, ending extortion rings, interrupting muggings, preventing the assassination of a visiting Irish dignitary, the list goes on. Most accounts of his activities indicate that he came and left without a sound, melting into the shadows and disappearing from sight.

As the country entered into the second World War, Port City’s economy again flourished. A military base was established not far from the port itself, Fort Otek. Locating on a section of the bayfront that would accommodate seagoing vessels for the different branches of the United States Military. It was and still is a  multi-purpose base housing members of all branches of the U.S. armed forces. In the year 1994 it was renamed Fort McLernan Military Base.

During the years of World War II, saboteurs, spies, profiteers, and other elements were threats that popped up in Port City and Dominion County. These threats were often met by new vigilantes, many inspired by Sanssón, who was still a presence within the city as was his nemesis Professor Occult. Such names as Donnybrook, The Night Bird , Queen & Country, The Ferryman, Night Star, Dr. Heroic, and Lucky Lass were credited for their efforts in stopping these threats. This group of heroes eventually banded together to operate as a unit, the first super-team in Port City. Known as “The Citizens” they operated loosely as a team for five years before disbanding after a tragedy. Tragedy aside, The Citizens performed as stalwart protectors of the city and the people within. Their relationship with the leadership and police force was amicable, as they infrequently worked alongside each other for the betterment of Port City.

After four and a half years as a successful team, The Citizens, who had seen their fair share of success and failures, came against a force that was greater than their collective experience could deal with. Most of their conflicts were with saboteurs, sympathizers and hoodlums. Their first encounter with a powered opponent was their last. No official report was ever filed within the Port City Police Dept., however Kathy Jennings, in what would be her final radio broadcast, revealed some scattered details.

The final Goodie Two-News broadcast, revealed that The Citizens along with Sanssón had a run-in with Professor Occult and what he described as his Atomic Wraiths. Creatures that were a weird mixture of radioactive and spectral energies. In what could only be described as a slaughter, The Citizens and Sanssón were handed a debilitating defeat. Sanssón and Donnybrook were relatively unscathed at the end. The Night Bird, haunted by the disappearance of both Queen and Country, eventually succumbed to madness. The Ferryman, who walked away with severe injuries was never seen again, at least in costume. Night Star and Dr. Heroic were both killed in the encounter. Lucky Lass, blinded in the fight, swore to her dying day that Queen and Country had been driven away to a hospital, by a concerned citizen in a 1942 President Skyway model Studebaker vehicle.

The end of World War II brought a lot of changes to Port City. The Department of Strategic Services was shifted into a new structure after the war. One of the divisions within the Department was spun off into its own organization. F.I.S.H, the Federal Intelligence Security Headquarters was created to deal with the growth of the super-human population. Its leadership kept offices in Washington, D.C. while Port City welcomed the first divisional headquarters. The agents that worked in this office were kept busy with the increased vigilante/superhero activity that exploded in the years after WWII.

In addition to the establishment of a F.I.S.H. division, several other changes occurred in the late 40’s and early 50’s:

• The construction of Shamrock Pier, a boardwalk style amusement and shopping destination along the coast of Chesapeake Bay. The O’Leary family was instrumental in donating the land where Shamrock Pier was constructed.  

• The growth of the Dominion County Regional Airfield into Pireth International Airport, named after Cassius Pireth Sr..   

• The construction of the Ashford Arms, one of the finest hotels and dining establishments on the eastern seaboard. 

• In 1951, Joel Haversback moved back to Port City and began construction on the Haversback Academy. The Academy was a private school that established itself as a pipeline into the Ivy League colleges of America. 

• The opening of a Smithsonian satellite museum, handling the exhibits that could no longer be contained in the main branch in Washington, D.C.

As the 1950’s moved along, several superheroes became household names in Port City. Bounty Hunter Grace Whitney, Mr Rocket, Kid Donnybrook (a legacy hero), The Fever, The Science Guys, The Historian, Roller Queen, Jeannie Genius and her Robo-dog, and Miss Olympia. Though these heroes were the most prominent, they were by far not  the only ones. The last reported sighting of Sanssón was in 1952, he was seen investigating the construction site of Shamrock pier when he vanished into the shadows beneath.

Throughout the 1950’s commercial and industrial development progressed in Port City. The Blackguard corporation bought land on the outskirts of the city in Dominion County and began construction on a large building. Having landed a lucrative contract from the Federal Government, the Blackguard Corporation launched what later became the east coast version of Silicon Valley. Years later, this section of Port City would be referred to by residents as “Tech Haven”. The six story Blackguard structure took over a year to construct and stood alone in that area of the Port City outskirts for half a decade. Additional structures for other companies were built in the early 1960’s as “Tech Haven” began to formally develop. The second structure to be constructed was the Science Guys’ research building and headquarters. The Science Guys named it Quinque Scienttiae, but it has since been nick-named “The Five”, quite often Jeannie Genius could be seen visiting there.

As growth and development continued throughout the 1960’s, so did F.I.S.H.’s oversight of Super Human activity. The division located within Port City was quite often the pilot program for new policies and procedures when handling super powered situations. Aggressive policies set by the U.S. Government led to stressful times for the agents of F.I.S.H.. Tensions within the community, accompanied by one problematic encounter with foreign super powered operatives forced the change in how powered individuals were allowed to operate. Starting in the 1960’s, F.I.S.H.

began issuing  licenses to individuals choosing to operate in a crime fighting capacity. The Division headquarters in Port City is where all licensing information in the United States is maintained, along with “The Lockdown Procedure” a secretive triple blind method for proving the identity of powered individuals while maintaining their anonymity (at least of those that choose to).

The 1970s into the 1980s saw several more businesses establish themselves in Port City, some of the more notable being:

• Chauncey's on the Bay - a boat/floating restaurant on Chesapeake Bay 

• Cheesy Pete's Pizza - home of the sombrero pizza 

• Morningtide Cable & Internet 

• Argent & Green Accounting - one of the largest accounting firms in the country 

• The Goblet - a traditional english pub, the interior was disassembled in England and carefully reconstructed within its current location.

• The Downtown Kids Club - confusion surrounds this one, as no official record exists of it being built, but it is remembered as always being a fixture of downtown Port City 

• Sandstone Walk-in Clinics

• Haversback Memorial Hospital 

• Colonial Championship Wrestling

The 1980s also saw a few new Super Teams assemble and operate with Port City as their base of operations. The largest of these teams was the Taskmasters. Their leader Vamperio along with the Crimson Crusher established strong working relationships with the Port City Police Department. This was the first time that the police openly accepted the assistance of powered vigilantes. The Taskmaster organization grew to such heights that they eventually shifted to more global concerns, before disbanding in the 1990s, the result of a financial scandal involving their operational costs.

Another team that made a name for itself in the early 1980s was Violence Incorporated. A quartet of vigilantes, Captain Redneck, Bloodfury, The Vigilantian, and Tigroar struck fear into the hearts of their adversaries. Their methods were quite brutal and often resulted in wanton damage and destruction of property. Eventually this group broke up as well, The Vigilantian leaving for parts unknown, Tigroar returned to his home planet, Captain Redneck turned villainous, with only Bloodfury continuing to fight crime in Port City and across the United States.

The late 1980s marked a dark time for Port City. A group of heroes, who had successfully defeated a crime wave by a criminal group called “The Crushers”. Entered into a loose affiliation

that led to another success against Doctor Apocalypse and his villainous machinations. Their third outing, against the psychic entity known as Force and his terrorist organization was an abject failure that permanently ruined a large portion of the southeastern United States. This group of vigilantes became known as the W.H.E. (worst heroes ever) and their actions are responsible for the deaths of hundreds of millions of people. The states of Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, Arkansas, Mississippi, South Carolina, North Carolina are completely isolated behind a wall as a result of the failure of the W.H.E.. Those states as well as portions of Louisiana and Florida are now uninhabitable and contained behind a structure called "The Wall". The membership of the W.H.E all disappeared from the public eye after their mistakes were committed.

Great White Orca, Virus, Mercy, Clever Jack, Shi Shi, Boomer and Dopler are all names that still carry a negative connotation to the citizens of Port City specifically, and generally to most residents of the United State of America. Their failure to heed the most basic of requests from F.I.S.H. drove a wedge between the organization and licensed heroes that lasted for a decade. During the 1990s most powered individuals in Port City kept a very low profile, as the failure of the W.H.E. put a very harsh light on all other vigilantes at the time. In fact, most of the higher profile vigilantes that were left, made themselves useful by assisting in the construction of The Wall. Many believed this to be their way of making amends for the tragedy that was “The Wall”.

The 2000’s brought a new century and a new outlook for Port City. F.I.S.H. began to improve relations with Vigilantes across the nation as the horror involving “The Wall” began to lessen. Frank “Beef” Wellington, endorsed by the O’Leary family, became the new director for the Port City Division. He was instrumental in smoothing over some of the more troublesome relationships between F.I.S.H., the local police, and licensed vigilantes. This was also a turning point for Port City, as it really began to thrive economically. A revitalized Shamrock Pier, remodeled by the O’Leary family, began to attract newer, trendier shops, as well as adding new rides and other attractions.

The wave of businesses that opened in the 2000’s included:

• Perpetually 16 - a youth focused trendy clothes store. 

• The Hype - a Pop Culture Store with 3 locations in Port City. 

• Java Nation - a fleet of mobile coffee stands that serve hot and cold beverages. 

• Sushi-licious - “ding” a popular Japanese restaurant. 

• Techno Babble - A (medium) Big Box electronics store. 

• Port City Pins - a 20 lane bowling alley located on Shamrock Pier. 

• Arena Comics & Gaming - nuff said.

As the first decade of the 21st century came to a close, to the surprise of many, sightings of Sanssón started appearing on social media outlets. Around this time a new wave of costumed and public heroes began to emerge. Effigy, The Fallen, El Golfo, Steampunk Kid, Sveta, and Agent Ruth Bahur (F.I.S.H.) established themselves as protectors of Port City. They banded together to stop an out of control experiment at the Blackguard Corporation Building. The specifics of this incident were never released to the public. However it is known that Frank “Beef” Wellington lost his life during this event and John Halladay, Jr. was promoted into his place as director of the local F.I.S.H. division. To this day, many stories circulate in regard to what the incident was really about. During this time, those heroes also dealt with a kaiju that rose from the bay, summoned by a ritual performed in Shamrock Pier. Some citizens would have you belive this creature was Father Dagon, but that has not been proven. The best takeaway from the handling of these situations, is that competent heroes had once again surfaced in Port City. The stain that was the W.H.E. had finally been lifted.

The next several years saw additional heroes come to the forefront in the defense of Port City and its citizens. Thunderstruck, Jaguar, Lady Arcane are just a few of the new heroes that still diligently defend the city. As the second decade of the 2000s came to a close, Port City became the home to a Presidential Candidate and his running mate. Jacob O'Leary  and Joel Haversback, III successfully ran and won the election for the President and vice-president of the United States of America. They are preparing for a second term in office if their re-election campaign is successful. Closer to home, a recent Mayoral election saw a publicly acknowledged vigilante, Thunderstruck, make a bid for the office, only to come in third in the election. Tragedy did strike as both the winner and the runner up were killed within days of taking office. Once Thunderstruck took office, an attempt was made on his life as well.