Re: [OOC] Super Mercs
 

The Story of Myrmidon (Part 1):

This story is a transcription of the audio archives recorded by Captain Marvelous and compiled in "The History of Heroism." Captain Marvelous recorded this and other stories for this compilation while he was dying of radiation sickness from his encounter with Demolicious, and published posthumously. We express our condelences and our gratitude to Captain Marvelous' estate for permission to reprint it here.

"You know, I was one of the few people that could tolerate Pontarches. Who is Pontarches? Pontarches Achilleion -- that's the real name of Myrmidon. Everybody knows him by the name Myrmidon now, of course. He hasn't exactly been hiding his identity. In fact, I think he changed his legal name to Myrmidon -- but I am not sure. Anyhow, of the original JLA I was the only one would really tolerated him.

The other members used to joke that my super power was putting up with him, but being magically infused with power from the God of Mercy allows you to put up with quite a bit I suppose -- I had that advantage at least.

Memory is a funny thing. For example, almost everyone has forgotten that Myrmidon was one of the founding members of the JLA. Oh don't get me wrong -- the JLA has had a hand in helping everyone forget and they sure are glad that people have. But you would think that the best known super being a member of the best known supers group would be something people would remember -- but few do.

It was a rocky marriage of convenience from the beginning. We were all "truth, justice, etc." while Myrmidon was more about getting the job done. We all put on a good face in public, but there were at least a dozen times when things got so heated that they came to blows within the JLA -- something that is unimaginable now (what with cameras beaming everything in our headquarters to the whole country via C-Span).

You could be forgiven for thinking that Myrmidon was kicked out of the group for his -- shall we say -- violent proclivities. But while that was a source of tension within the JLA, that wasn't actually why the other members pushed him out. Thanks to the support we received from the government, we became quite adept at hiding his indiscretions. When Myrmidon killed the Wrangler in '78, we found a stand-in to frog-march into prison. Someone somewhere is guarding an empty cell in a maximum security 'supers' prison. When Myrmidon killed Destructo in '81, we were able to cremate his remains after forging an autopsy saying that he had died of a heart attack during the battle. All told, in the dozen or so years he was a member of the JLA, we successfully covered up the 300+ people he killed. Most were easy to cover -- thugs or street-level supers -- and only about 20 required any real effort to hide.

No, that wasn't the reason we kicked him out. Instead it was what happened in the hotel in Chicago in '84. Of course it wasn't the first time Myrmidon had been caught with underaged girls. The rumor about him and the entire Forest Lake's High School cheerleading squad is (surprisingly) true. The rumor about him and Glory Girl was also true -- Gloriana tried to kill him for having a six-month affair with her 17 year old sidekick (especially since she and Myrmidon were having an affair of their own at the same time!). But things were different in Chicago. This particular underaged girl happened to be the President's 16 year old daughter, and after he watched the video tape that Myrmidon took of the events (which the agents confiscated), he contacted the JLA. I took that call, and out of respect for the office of the Presidency I won't repeat what was said. Nevertheless, that day Myrmidon was unceremoniously given emeritus status.

I will say this -- some people condemn Myrmidon for his proclivities to chase after young girls. I won't defend him like some people do by saying it was a different time -- it really wasn't acceptable then, either, and he is probably still chasing them today. I will say two things in his defense, though. First, he never had a thing for young girls -- he had a thing for girls. Young or old, it really didn't make a difference to him (does that make it any better? I wonder...). Second, no one really knows how old Myrmidon is. Sure he looks like he is in his 30s, but he looked the same age the day I met him. As far as I know, chasing women his own age might mean he spends his weekends trolling the retirement homes. Heck, it might mean trolling the cemetaries. I am not sure there are any women his age around. Still, that may just be the God of Mercy in me talking...I know a lot of people aren't prepared to forgive him for that.

Anyhow, back on topic. I have heard the rumors that the President was also to have used resources to make at least six attempts on Myrmidon's life after that. I can't confirm that, but I can confirm that the JLA were never brought in on any of them. If he did put out hits on Myrmidon, none were successful. Some argue that the fire that consumed the Presidential retreat in '86 while the President was staying there with his family (and from which they barely escaped) was Myrmidon sending a message to stop the attacks on him. Regardless, they either made their peace or agreed to hate each other because Myrmidon was accepting spec missions from the President by '87.

After the administration changed, Myrmidon found himself needed less -- and so he went overseas more often. Even I don't know everything he has done, but I do know that there wasn't a government in the world he hasn't done wetworks for at some point and time -- Russia, Israel, China, Japan, Korea (North and South), Australia -- you name it. If it was off-book, he would take the job. Sometimes he even ran afoul of the JLA. Did you know that I caught him once -- well me and two other members of the JLA. We took him in, and they were all set to book him when a man in a suit wearing sunglasses came in and flashed a badge to the officer. Next thing I know, Myrmidon is talking with us like old times while he walks out the door of the station. You would think that with what he has done in his life that somebody, somewhere would put him in jail for it, but he has never been behind bars a night in his life.

Anyway, the problem came when countries started to retain him. Sure it was great money (they would give him huge sums of money in return for an continuing agreement not to operate against their country), and he really couldn't turn it down. But by the end, he was essentially only able to act against non-state players -- and there weren't enough of them to keep him interested.

All of these things worked together to prompt his extended stay in Tampa, Florida. He had been on a job there, and after he had cut his way through several dozen drug smugglers he found himself with time to kill before he had to be in Capetown, South Africa. As he always did, he ended up partying -- and his constitution allowed him to start partying on Wednesday and party non-stop through Monday morning. Let me tell you, there wasn't anyone in the JLA he couldn't outlast when it came to a party.

He had been drinking non-stop for nearly three days when he saw her -- the perfect woman, he described her as to me. Her name was Briss Carter, but of course he didn't know that at the time. Even in his drunken haze, he knew he had to have her. He clumsily approached her, but Briss told me later that he reeked by that point and could barely speak. Not surprisingly she wouldn't give him the time of day. But somehow when Myrmidon sobered up on Monday morning he remembered her from that Friday party.

He had to get to Capetown, but he cajoled and bullied various governmental and nongovernmental contacts into finding her. He even tried to call in a favor from the JLA -- we put the kaibosh to that right quick (in this day and age the JLA can't be see as spying on American citizens). But he got enough resources that they were able to find her. They reported back to him on her name and location, what church she went to, what college she went to, what her classes were, and so forth. But all of them reported to him that they had a devil of a time following her -- and each of them lost her at some point during the tail. In retrospect that ought to have been a clue, but Myrmidon just dismissed them all once he got that information.

From that point on, as far as I know, he stopped taking foreign assignments. It was three months before he finished his book of accepted business. That complete, he headed to Tampa to live. He bought a house in her neighborhood and joined her church. He took a job as a visiting professor at her community college (doing an absolutely horrible job, from what I have heard) and getting her to attend his classes. He hoped that she had forgotten him from his drunken introduction, but she told me later that she knew exactly who he was and what he wanted when he first moved in. That doesn't surprise me at all -- Briss was a bright girl, and Myrmidon has all the subtlty of a chainsaw.

She tolerated his attempts for a year -- and he was relentless. Briss managed to get him to change his ways, too. Or, rather, he changed for Briss without her ever really asking him to. She told him she would never go out with a drunken SoB like him, and he sobered up. She told him that she wasn't looking for a party slob, and stopped. She told him that she would only marry a member of her church, and that she would only date men she could potentially marry, and Myrmidon joined that church. Now I don't think for a moment that he actually converted or became a believer, but he was there every Sunday and was very generous when the collection plate came around -- if you know what I mean.

Re: [OOC] Super Mercs
 

The Story of Myrmidon (Part 2):

Meanwhile, through all of this time Myrmidon was putting his personal stamp on Tampa -- using the dead bodies of thugs and hooligans as a warning that he had claimed Tampa as his own and crime was not permitted in the city. In some ways, it was great -- do you realize that Tampa laid off two-thirds of its police force as almost no crime was being committed in the city? That was some lawsuit, though -- when the policeman's union sued Myrmidon personally for tortious interference with contract. The poor judge was terrified of Myrmidon, and the jury said they ruled for Myrmidon because they were afraid if they didn't, he would hunt them all down and kill them. Myrmidon wouldn't, though (I think...nah, he wouldn't).

But in other ways, it impacted the citizens in a negative way. You can't see that much blood and not be jaded. Mothers would tell their children that if they didn't go to bed, Myrmidon would come and get them. He became the boogeyman. A lot of people moved out, and Tampa became a police state without the police. Those conditions were perfect for a new hero to enter the scene -- and the Silk Spider was born.

Now I expect most everyone knows at this point that the Silk Spider was actually Briss, but Myrmidon didn't know that. From the very beginning, it was obvious that she was trying to provoke Myrmidon. She committed a number of high-profile robberies with a Robin Hood flair -- giving most (but not all, of course) to the poor. No matter what Myrmidon did to catch her, he never could. It was like she knew where he was at all times. Of course she did -- I met her during this time and she used to giggle when she told me how she would be in the middle of staking out a job and would pull out her phone and call Myrmidon to see where he was -- and he would tell her!

What really frustrated Myrmidon, though, was how she would warn those he was trying to bring to (his particular style of) justice. He would come crashing in to a loading dock, only to find the criminals had fled, and Silk Spider had left him a note mocking him for being too slow. One time, Myrmidon actually sent me one of these notes asking me to search it for DNA or fingerprints or what not so that he could catch the Silk Spider. Of course I already knew the Silk Spider was Briss, so I led him on a merry wild goose chase that ended with him looking for a left-handed, middle-eastern woman with abinoism. Good times...

Anyhow, although he threatened to tear my head off when he found out about all of this, it actually worked out to his benefit. Because he was so relentless pursuing her as Silk Spider, she had to keep in touch with him to know where he was at all times. And because he was so relentless pursuing her as Briss Carter, he eventually won her over. They dated for almost another year while he was still trying to catch her in costume.

Once he started dating her -- the change in him was profound. He swore less, he drank less, and he even became a one-woman man (can you believe that?). In fact, you could almost enjoy being around him -- which is amazing in and of itself. Because he has never been someone you liked being around. You might respect him, and you might fear him. Heck, some people practically worship him. But no one likes him. Except Briss. And that made all the difference to him.

This situation was bizarre, though. I would get calls from Briss all of the time. I was the only one who knew him and knew who she was, so I got to hear everything. And no, I am not telling you. But they could have sold the rights to their story to a sitcom and it would have been the top-rated show on television.

Ok, just one story. Briss (as Silk Spider) had been trapped by Mrymidon, and she was genuinely fearful for her life. She was trying to escape Myrmidon in a car that she hotwired, but that just led to a high speed chase. Briss knew that Myrmidon was the better driver, and it was only a matter of time before he caught her. So she called him on her cell-phone during the chase! She told him some nonsense about being stressed out from school and that she had been crying and asked him if he could come over right away. It worked, too. Myrmidon let her escape as Silk Spider, and made his way over to her house. Briss scrambled to change in the car she had stolen and drove like a banshee through the back roads to beat Myrmidon to her house. When he knocked on her door, she was in her pajamas and had tears rolling down her cheeks (she was always a good actress).

When she called me, I had tears rolling down my cheeks as well (but mine were from laughing so hard!). But when I was laughing at Myrmidon, she told me how sweet she thought it was. I knew then that she was hooked.

Well, this all came to a head when Myrmidon was killing off some members of the El Savadore cartel. He had made his typical, brutal entrance, and most of the gang members died in the initial assault. Briss had planned on notifying them so they could avoid the attack, but car troubles made her so that she was late. By the time she arrived, he had killed almost everyone. The only person left was a young boy (maybe 14). Well Myrmidon was moving in to finish him, and Briss was all the way across the warehouse. There was no way she could see to save the kid, so she did the only thing she could think of. She called out to Myrmidon, got his attention, and took off her mask. It was the moment that ultimately cost her her life, but we are getting ahead of ourselves a bit.

She asked, no she begged Myrmidon to let the kid live -- for her sake. Briss told me that knowing how much Myrmidon hated Silk Spider, she was a little concerned that he would kill her on the spot. But he loved Briss more than he hated Silk Spider. He backhanded the kid, knocking him out, and threw him over his shoulder. He carried the kid to the police station -- that was the first and last time Myrmidon was responsible for an actual arrest, I think.

I don't know everything that happened between them over the course of the next month. Neither of them shared it with me -- apparently it was a private time for them. Silk Spider retired immediately, but Myrmidon stayed active (although less so than normal). A month later, though, Myrmidon stopped heading out. I got the call from Myrmidon (Briss ratted me out that I knew who she was all along) asking me to be his best man. I would tell you about the wedding, but from the television ratings it seems like everyone in the world watched it live when it was broadcast on CNN.

They had a happy marriage -- what was it that Tolstoy said? Every happy marriage is the same and every miserable marriage has its own story. There isn't a story with their marriage. It was perfect. He loved her more than life itself, and she knew it and loved him back.

Re: [OOC] Super Mercs
 

The Story of Myrmidon (Part 3):

It all came back to when she took off her mask, though. The kid saw who she was. He spent half a dozen years in juvenile, and when he turned 21 he was released. He thought he had information that the El Salvadorian mob would pay him for. He knew who Silk Spider was. The mob had been after her for years, after she robbed one of their 'banks,' and an uncollected hit had been put out on her. The kid didn't get the reward he expected when he told the El Savadorian's what they wanted to know -- they just put a bullet in the back of his head. But they now knew where to get their revenge.

I guess there isn't a smart way to assassinate a married socialite/elementary school teacher (the job Briss took after college), but those El Savadorians did it in about the dumbest way imaginable. It was pubic, it was messy, and they made sure that she died in Myrmidon's arms (they were no fans of his for all kinds of reasons). They were at the grand opening of the Briss Carter Pediatric Wing of the hospital (built with Myrmidon's money) when a gunman stood up in the crowd and shouted, "The El Salvadorians send their regards." He then put three bullets into her chest and one in her throat. They apprehended the gunman, but he never survived to be booked (Myrmidon saw to that).

I have to say that Myrmidon frightened me at this point. I have never seen anyone that bloodthirsty -- and I fought Dr. Blood himself. Myrmidon began cutting a swath through the mob like you wouldn't believe. Their members. Their suppliers. Their contacts. If you had done business with them, you were a target. They eventually begged for peace, but Myrmidon didn't respond. He just kept killing.

Villages burned down, aircraft exploded in the sky, I mean you name it. He hunted down Cyberspace (you know, the hacker that compromised the banks in '99?). He apparently tortured him until he agreed to hack into a U.S. defense network satellite and force-launch several Tomahawk missiles into an El Salvadorian conclave. Cyberspace turned himself in as soon as Myrmidon left, but he was in the hospital for six months after the experience.

I guess Myrmidon needed the fight to avoid thinking of what he had lost, because once he ran out of people to kill -- it was like he shut down. You know, I have lost people I love before, but here I am ready to die and I have to hope that I might see them again. If nothing else, I have reached the end of my missing them. But for Myrmidon, I don't think he sees things that way. He was just looking at an endless life without Briss. He didn't handle things very well.

His first mistake was going back to drinking. I tried to keep him off of it -- telling him that a depressant was no cure for depression -- but he didn't care. Shortly after he started drinking, he started hooking up with random women again. I don't know what it is about him, but the man could always find a beautiful woman anywhere in the world. It isn't his looks and it certainly isn't his personality -- he is like a rock star. You know, the ones that look horrible but are dating the supermodel? Well that is what its like with him.


I went to check on him once. No one had heard from him in over a month, and the JLA actually wondered whether they should hold a funeral for him. But nobody cared enough to head to Tampa and see if he was alive or dead. When I got down there, I found him in his beach mansion. The place was trashed, a Ferrari was turned upside down in the front lawn, there was probably two-million dollars worth of cocaine here and there in the house (he must have been providing for the guests, because I knew good and well he never touched that stuff). There were probably two dozen women there, including eight of the Maxim 100 hottest women in the world list. The party looked like it had been going on for months...

I finally found him in bed with the new girl from the jeans commercial that is all the rage, and some little 19 year old nymphette that is an aspiring "actress" -- if you know what I mean. I kicked the girls out and tried to have a heart to heart with him, but he was too far gone to listen. I begged him to sober up, I told him this lifestyle would destroy him, and offer to get help, but all he did was grunt at me. I asked him what Briss would say if she could see him now, but that was the wrong thing to say. I saw it in his eyes when I said it -- guilt. He felt guilty because he couldn't save her and he was trying to bury that guilt with booze and women. But all that did was make him feel more guilty. It was a horrible thing to see -- and I worry that he is going to keep spiralling further and further down.

In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if I attended his funeral."

Final Note:
Captain Marvelous did not survive to attend Myrmidon's funeral -- in fact, Captain Marvelous died little over a month after giving this interview. He was buried in Arlington National Cemetery with State Honors. Myrmidon attended, but gave no comment to the media. He was also not seen talking to anyone else at the funeral -- including his former teammates with the JLA.

Re: [OOC] Super Mercs
 

OK I was more thinking he would get all his gear from the patron and not really need to take wealth. He is more the brawn behind the operation whereas his Patron came up with the idea and recruited him to do the wet works for him. So the actually character will be strong,agile and have an average to above average intelligence.

I won't be able to work on the character until tomorrow afternoon

Re: [OOC] Super Mercs
 

Question:

Since this world is Normal Mana, do we have the option of hiring out people to do Enchantments for us?

Re: [OOC] Super Mercs
 

Likewise, would normal enchanted items be okay? If so, would they be using the rules for 1 point of signature gear equaling 25 power, or 1,000 power?

I have tinkered with the idea of making a super-normal who relies on two or three powerful artifacts. In no-mana zones, he would still have a sword, a ring, and a cape (or something like that)...but they wouldn't do anything, and he'd have to rely on his skills. If they were stolen, he could try to get them back, but he would be working without his abilities.

Could be a fun twist/weakness to give him; he'd be REALLY good with his equipment, and just VERY good without it.

Re: [OOC] Super Mercs
 

Actually, I had been assuming in my head the "$33 per energy point" rule for magic on magic items. That's what it would cost to commission them, and combining that rule to the rule for signature gear gives the result that 1 CP ~ 300 energy points in magic items.

Re: [OOC] Super Mercs
 

@Skullcrusher: Again, specifics would help me make a ruling. If the gear the patron is usually providing is somewhere in the ballpark of what could be gotten through Signature Gear or Wealth, there's no problem.

Re: [OOC] Super Mercs
 

Ok i should be able to make my character today. His equipment is goign to be in the relm of modifications of exisitng equipment or cutting edge stuff that his Patrons company is working on for the government and Minute Man gets to "Test" the prototypes.

Re: [OOC] Super Mercs
 

Based on this, I am going to make a couple changes to my character sheet.