by C. C. Ekeke
However, Paragon went from living legend to the most hated man in America in 2005 after the telepathic villain the Controller forced Paragon to slaughter the Midwest Miracles and devastate downtown Chicago. After Titan fought him to a standstill, Paragon snapped out of his trance. After seeing what he’d done, Paragon fled the planet and has not been seen since.
Paul Davian: Davian is one of Presley’s crew and works with her as a fixer for the highest bidder. He can unleash gale-force winds through his sneezes. Like the rest of Presley’s crew, he was slaughtered by a remote-controlled Dynamo.
Priscilla “Presley” Lau: Presley Lau is a teen superhuman criminal and former love interest of Hugo Malalou. She is gifted with an accelerated healing factor. Presley lived in Pittsburgh in an abusive household. One day, she tried to stop her father from beating on her mother. This action got her thrown out of the open window to her death. However, thanks to her healing powers, she survived the fall and woke up totally recuperated in the morgue. From there, she skipped town and headed off on her own. Eventually, she met up with other supers like Vargas, Thin Shady, Paul Davian, Gabby, and Nikhilesh Patel, forming a group of fixers who sold their services to the highest bidder. After gaining some low-key notoriety, they were hired by Morningstar of the Vanguard to help her kill Titan and frame Lord Borealis.
During her time in San Miguel, while working a cover job at Beach Bum Burger, she met Hugo Malalou. The two bonded and eventually began dating. Despite some of her crew not trusting Hugo, Presley started to have real feelings for him and saw him as a great addition to their team.
However, after Presley covertly goaded Hugo into fighting and nearly killing Baz Martinez, their relationship grew rocky. They broke up after Hugo refused to help them eliminate Quinn. However, Morningstar decided to cut her losses after Presley and her team failed to eliminate Quinn and had a preprogrammed Dynamo suit butcher the whole crew. Presley barely survived and was in a coma for a number of days. But when she woke up, Geist got all the information he needed about Morningstar’s guilt and allowed her to leave town before the OSA arrested her.
The Protectorate: This is New York City’s premiere superhero team and one of the longest running teams in America, founded in 1983. The roster has changed drastically throughout the team’s existence. But one of its longstanding members since the beginning has been Doc Gotham.
Redwraith: Redwraith is an urban legend originating out of Seattle used to spook criminals. In truth he is a vampire vigilante who has been active for several years, only coming out at night.
Quinn Bauer: Quinn Marie Bauer is a news reporter employed by SLOCO Daily and is one of the main characters in the Pantheon Saga. Born and raised in coastal Massachusetts, Quinn attended Brown University, where she met two of her best friends Annie Machado and Devon Strauss. After a disastrous attempt to find work in New York City, which ended up with her breaking up with college boyfriend Bobby Cafferty, she went back home for a year to regain focus and apply for other news media jobs. The breakthrough happened when she networked with an older Brown alum who was friends with Helena Madden, EiC of SLOCO Daily.
Annie Machado already lived out in San Miguel and had been encouraging her to move out there. After a successful informational interview with Helena led to a job at SLOCO Daily, Quinn moved across the country to the Central Coast of California. After several month as a Social Media Specialist, Quinn moved into a position as a full-time journalist. In her short time as a news reporter, she solved who Titan’s real murder was and uncovered a scheme between San Miguel’s organized crime and Paxton-Brandt. Quinn is an enthusiastic and bright young woman who loves journalism and getting to the truth. She doesn’t have powers or incredible combat training or genius intellect to fight bad guys, just street smarts, empathy, and a determination to uncover the truth and expose corruption. Quinn is also very protective of her friends, even if it will result in her death. As Quinn takes on in-depth investigative news stories, she has formed a variety of relationships with members of the superhero community. This includes Geist, Longshadow, Sentinel, Seraph, and Aegis.
Ramses El-Saden: Ramses is Brie’s older brother, who graduated from Paso High three years before her. He currently attends University of California San Miguel while commuting from home. He and Briseis are close to where she was one of the only people he’d told about his sexuality. Unfortunately, when Ramses came out to his parents, his father disowned him on the spot. He currently lives with his mother and has no relationship with his father.
Rebecca Reyes: Rebecca is a renowned and veteran TV reporter and ex-girlfriend of Titan. Reyes was one of the first journalists to interview Titan when he began his superhero career. The two began dating during those formative years in the early to mid-1990s. And while Titan was deeply in love with Reyes, the reporter was using him to boost her career. What ended their relationship was her tell-all book about their relationship without his knowledge or approval. Titan was deeply hurt and dumped her. Reyes lost a lot of respect from colleagues and was despised by the city of San Miguel and much of the country. Reyes did love Titan deeply, but valued her career over the relationship. Since then, she has been a fixture on National News Network as a news host and contributor on other programs. Reyes also has developed a reputation for her dalliances with other superheroes in the following years, including Robbie Rocket. Lately, Reyes has developed a rivalry with Quinn Bauer and attempted to derail her interviews with the Vanguard.
Roadblock: J.R. McAllister aka Roadblock is a member of the current Extreme Teens roster. He is covered in granite-like stone except for his eyes, sporting superstrength and a rock-hard hide. He can shift between his human flesh and rocky exterior at will. His best friend on the team is Joven Santos aka Cyberpunk.
Robbie Rocket: Robbie Rocket aka Robert Nemeth is a superhero and a member of the Vanguard. He was active in Canada as a teen around 2011 until he got recruited to the Vanguard around 2015 as part of their international focus. He possesses the ability to bodily generate thermo-chemical energy and cause his body to be propelled through the air at great speeds and maneuverability. Rocket is known for his laissez-faire and easygoing attitude and enjoys the excesses of being a famous superhero. He and Sentinel don’t get along due to their fundamental differences in work ethic. He can control his speed and direction through sheer act of will and release this energy from his feet. While in flight, Rocket can also manifest an impenetrable “blast field,” which acts as a personal shield.
Rod Chapel: Director Rod Chapel is the current head of the OSA, answering directly to the U.S. President. He is a holdover from two previous presidents due to his accomplishments at the agency, having served as director for eight years. Chapel believes that while supers should have rights, they need to be policed closely due to the power many of them wield. Under his tenure, the OSA has expanded its surveillance on superhumans, grown both the SURTR division and created Acquisition Services.
Rodney “Rod” Johnson: Rod was Richard St. Pierre’s partner for at least six years. He knew that St. Pierre was Hurricane and actively supported his efforts to clean up the streets of East St. Louis.
Rodrigo: Known around Amarantha a Fastball, Rodrigo is a young Amarathine super w3ho is fighting against the oppression imposed on the island by the non-super Royal families. His power is the ability to sheath his body in a potent forcefield and somersault around by a self-generated momentum. He is a human wrecking ball.
Roland and Rory Buchanan: Roland and Rory are Jordana’s younger twin brothers and Quinn’s cousins.
Rowan Michelman: Rowan Giselle Michelman is Spencer’s younger sister by three years. She is currently attending a private boarding school in New York state. Rowan is openly friendly and not a natural schemer like her older sister. She’s the favorite child of their father Ezra.
Sara Hirsch: Sara is the younger sister of Greyson Hirsch and the daughter of Aaron and Dorit. She has a generally positive outlook on life and loves her family, and is still figuring out w
hat to do with her life. Sara is not a fan of the strife between her father and brother, but only takes an active stand after their fight at the beginning of Age of Heroes.
Savelina Malalou: Savelina is the mother of Hugo and AJ Malalou, living in the San Miguel suburb of Paso Robles. She is the wife of the late Angelo Malalou. She’s a strong, steady, and understanding woman who works as an OR and critical care nurse in San Miguel. Her husband’s suicide had devastating effect on her, but she stayed strong for her sons since she was all they had for a parent. Thanks to her family as well as neighbors like Betty Ortiz helped her get through the tough year that followed Angelo’s death.
It pained Savelina to see how hard this death hit her eldest son, Hugo. Normally, Savelina puts up with no BS regarding her family, yet she has a weak spot for her younger brother Sione, who constantly squeezed her for cash until Hugo put a stop to the man’s freeloading.
Scott Packer: Scott is the son of Dave Packer, and Director of Ad Sales. While Scott is mostly liked around the company, it’s obvious that his job is the result of nepotism. And Scott is not afraid to at times use his position to get what he wants at the expense of others.
Sebastian “Baz” Martinez: Baz Martinez is a student athlete who attends Paso Robles High with Hugo Malalou. Baz is a star player for the Bearcats varsity basketball team and dating Brie El-Saden. For many years, basketball has been his escape from an abusive father who pushes his son to be the best at this sport, seeing it as an avenue to college and beyond. His arrogance, cruelty, and belligerence toward those he considers losers is often overlooked by the school thanks to him being on the basketball team.
At one point in grade school, Baz and Hugo were close friends. But as they got older and Baz starting getting more popular due to his good looks and basketball skill, the two grew apart. Simon Han becoming friends with Hugo and their geekery over superheroes also pushed Baz further away. Their friendship ended for good after Hugo told on Baz for smoking weed. Baz got an ass-whipping from his dad. In turn, Baz beat the crap out of Hugo. Baz took Hugo’s action as an unforgivable betrayal. Since then, the two have been enemies and Baz takes every chance to torment Hugo and Simon. Baz now surrounds himself with similarly arrogant student athletes like fellow basketball teammates DeDamien Harris, Cody Banks and Brent Longwell as well as football offensive lineman TJ Kim. Another reason why Baz hates Hugo is his enemy’s obsession with Brie El-Saden. Baz does love Brie but more often than not sees her as more of a trophy that a partner.
The Sensation Seven: Titan, Sentinel, Severine, Tsunami, Whiz Kid, Lady Liberty, December. The Sensational Seven were the nickname given to the Vanguard’s main roster between 1996 and 2005. The team was co-led by Titan and Sentinel, who complemented each other well. This roster was the true golden age of the Vanguard and saw the team reach peak popularity, not just in America but all over the world. They faced off against threats like Lord Borealis, Roman Dragunov, Doctor Know-it-All, Lethal Alliance, Villains for Hire, and others. This lineup fell apart after the death of Severine, Tsunami’s firing over posing for Playboy, and Lady Liberty’s temporary hiatus from superheroics.
The Sensational Six: Briseis El-Saden, Jordana Buchanan, Jen Thomas, Spencer Michelman, Lia Kim, Natalie Rodriguez. The Sensational Six aka Brie’s squad were a circle of popular and pretty high school girls the same year as Hugo who were either worshipped, desired, or despised around Paso High. Brie was the leader, Jordana was blunt and at times abrasive but sweet to those she cared about, and J-Tom was the kind one who genuinely got along with most people outside the group. Spencer was the cruel mean girl of the group who does the dirty work to take down Brie’s enemies. Natalie and Lia were shallow followers who did whatever Brie told them to do. A party the girls threw at the start of their ninth grade year, inviting many of the most popular upperclassmen boys, put them on the map in terms of popularity. The group recently imploded due to Jordana’s falling out with Brie over her relationship with Hugo as well as Brie’s erratic behavior and increasingly hostile treatment of the other girls.
Sentinel: Kurt Weston was a farm boy with no powers from rural Arkansas. He had a promising career as a linebacker until cancer derailed any college dreams. With no other options, Weston joined the Marines straight out of high school. The army, hoping to create super-soldiers for the military, held up a Sentinel program to test out their new serum, allowing anyone from the Army, Navy, and Marines to volunteer. Weston agreed to join, eager to serve his country, and feeling he had nothing to lose after his cancer returned. While many other soldiers were failures or even died, Weston somehow lived. The Super Soldier Serum enhanced Weston’s strength, durability, speed, agility, stamina, reflexes, senses, healing, and lifespan to superhuman levels. He is very muscular, athletic, and physically capable. The Super-Soldier Serum also healed all of his ailments, physical and genetic imperfections instantly, transforming him into the "perfect" specimen of human development and conditioning.
From then on, he was sent into extremely difficult warzones, and each time came out successful. Sentinel was a huge reason why the Gulf War ended way earlier than expected. The military tried to recreate his experiment and did so once with Del Watkins, a Navy SEAL. However, Watkins’s programmed objective was to ensure peace at any cost, which turned him into a psychopath. Sentinel was forced to stop him, but Watkins escaped to harangue Weston in the future.
After a few more years of military service, Sentinel was recruited to join the Vanguard and be part of its Sensational Seven era. He became best friends with Severine. He and Titan were co-leaders. To this day, Sentinel remains a staple of the Vanguard, though he would occasionally go on side missions for the military or the OSA. At some point, Sentinel took on a sidekick named the Liberteen (Johnny Truelove). After a few years, the pressure and fame got to Truelove and he imploded. After this, Sentinel swore to never take another sidekick again. He is currently engaged to fellow teammate Seraph.
Severine: Severine was one of the most talented spies and assassins in the entire world and a member of the Vanguard during the famous Sensational Seven era. Severine belonged to a black ops program within the Action Division of France’s DGSE foreign intelligence agency for years before a US intel agent named Kat Sandoval recruited her. Though she possessed no superpowers, Severine’s skillset served the team well during her tenure on the team. This included an extensive mastery of martial arts and weaponry along with an intimate knowledge of espionage. She was close friends with Lady Liberty and best friends with Sentinel. Her friendship with Tsunami became strained after she backed out of doing a Playboy cover with her. Severine was killed in action around 2007, which marked the beginning of the end for Vanguard’s Sensational Seven roster.
Shelley Mattias: Shelley is a videographer who works at SLOCO Daily. She usually worked with Quinn Bauer and Colin Garner on projects. She’s a sweet and friendly girl with an understated wit but lacks confidence in her skills as a videographer due to inexperience.
Silver Age: Silver Age is a music band of retired superheroes and one of the biggest hero rock acts on the planet. Many of their songs are based on real life missions from the band members who were superheroes.
Simon Han: Simon Han is a student at Paso Robles High and the best friend of Hugo Malalou. Simon met Hugo when both were in elementary school. Hugo at the time was still good friends with Baz Martinez. Simon and Hugo grew close while Baz began playing school sports and started bullying both boys. Usually, Hugo and Simon were able to keep Baz and his cronies on their toes with witty insults. Simon and Brie used to be friends until he overheard her bragging about taking down one of her rivals. Since then the two have despied each other. Once Hugo finally began his superhero career, Simon served as his confidante and works comms while Hugo is out on patrol.
Simon is obsessed with superheroes and Japanese culture. His site, SoundsCoolerInJapanese.com, showcases English movie and video game tips dubbed over in Japanese. Along with this, Simon is in love with Grace Misawa, a fellow cl
assmate and a member of the Fab Phenoms dance crew. He also has a flair for producing and mix music.
Sione Tagaloa: Sione is the younger brother of Savelina Malalou and uncle to Hugo and AJ. While he comes across as charismatic, fun-loving and a great storyteller, Sione is a parasite who’s run into problems with the law and has a few baby mamas running around. He makes his first appearance in Generation next needing a place to crash after he escapes some people he owes money to in the Bay Area. His intention is to scam his sister out of money for his next “Get Rich Quick” scheme. Hugo made use of Clint, Geist’s hacker to gain intel on his uncle and blackmail him into leaving San Miguel.
Solomon Shen: Shen was a gladiator in the Amaranthine War Games. He has tactile telekinesis, which allows him to mimic superstrength, flight, superhuman speed, and superhuman durability. After AmeriForce overthrew the Royals, Shen became a freedom fighter who fought for superhuman rights. After the Amarathine Civil War ended, the five acting rulers of Amarantha’s largest cities met with the rebels at San Lorenzo Mission. All of them chose Solomon to be the next ruler of the island nation.
Sonya Bullet: Sonya Berrigan is known by her superhero alias “Sonya Bullet” and could fly at superhuman speeds. She was part of Triumvirate, America’s first superhero team in the 1970s with Paragon and Ace Steele.
Southern Justice: A Texas-based superhero team. The team’s costumes, codenames, and attitude are very reflective of their home state.