Meriquai Falls – Primer to the City of Spirits will include 14 example heroes and 14 example villains (well, 15 villains, actually, but Flipside is just the villainous version of Vixen and is discussed in a sidebar in Vixen’s background). These are not the entirety of the Meriquai Falls pantheon, to be sure. In fact, the sample villains are unaffiliated to any villain group, except for Night Sparrow who is a master villain and commands the street gang alliance known as the GeneTech Network.
As such, the plan for the future is to produce eminently affordable supplements detailing the various groups and organizations found within Meriquai Falls. One of those groups will, of course, be the Imperions.
The Imperions were first introduced in Meriquai Falls (Digital Hero 02). Led by the enigmatic shapeshifter Galvakar, the Imperions have attempted one master villain plot after another for nearly three decades. But why do they do so? What motivates them and why has their membership changed over time?
In The Beginning
The idea for the Imperions actually began over a decade before their official introduction to the world. In 1974, the city’s first recognized supervillain, the Manitou, used his own group of villains, the Totems of Retribution, to assault the Silver Mines in an attempt to drive the white men off of Meriquai sacred land. Gregario Petropoulis, the majority shareholder of Lyncon Technologies, was present for the attack. During the chaos, Buffalo made a vague comment about “Grandmother Spider’s heart,” which promptly got him punished by the Manitou.
This got Gregario’s mind to thinking. What was this “heart” and why was it so important that its mention would prompt the villain to punish his men? For nearly ten years, Gregario researched for answers. Finally, in the early 80s, Gregario stumbled onto ancient Meriquai tablets that hinted at the answers. An ancient artifact that actually contained the essence of a goddess? And it could possibly be hidden somewhere in the Meriquai Falls region? Gregario knew he had to possess this power. To transcend humanity and become a god? What sane man did not wish for this… to possess the power to change the world for the better?
So, for five years, Gregario quietly assembled a team of villains who would be absolutely loyal to him and assist him in finding and acquiring this power. Along with his wife, the were-spider known as Arachne, Gregario found two solo villains sympathetic to his cause. The first was the super-strong photokinetic, Incandentus; his near animal-like intellect and pet-like loyalty made him a perfect servitor. The second was the gadgeteer Tripwire; while Tripwire was a bit more independent than Incandentus, his brilliant mind for technology nearly matched Gregario’s own vast intellect and made for a perfect match for the team. Gregario commissioned Tripwire to construct an android to round out the team. Thus, the beautiful archer-android, the Huntress, was created.
The Imperions made their official debut caper in 1987, attempting to construct a super laser weapon capable of destroying the world. After a hard-won struggle and several minor defeats, the hero team Legend Force managed to defeat the Imperions right before they could fire the laser off into space towards the moon. The Imperions all escaped except for Tripwire, who was rescued from jail shortly thereafter.
The Team Implodes
While the Imperions enjoyed quite a bit of success when compared to other villains, the team was not without its problems. Gregario and Arachnes, being husband and wife, were utterly devoted to each other and Incandentus was quite loyal (like the family dog), but Tripwire and the Huntress were still wild cards. Tripwire possessed ambitions of his own, which occasionally put him at odds with his teammates. The Huntress was programmed to be utterly loyal to Gregario… which may have been her (and the team’s) undoing.
As time went on, Gregario entrusted more and more missions to the Huntress. Gregario trusted her because she was emotionless, competent, utterly loyal, and hardly ever failed. His wife, Arachne, however, saw the Huntress’ flawless physical beauty and assumed less savory motivations from her husband. Arachne’s jealousy grew to a point that she decided to have the Huntress destroyed.
Simply destroying the Huntress would not do, though. The Huntress would have to be destroyed in such a way as to force Gregario to realize the folly of having another similar android created. So Arachne embarked on what was to possibly be the worst decision of her immortal life.
Over the course of weeks, Arachne seduced Tripwire. It was very subtle at first. She did not want Gregario suspecting her activities. But as time went on, Tripwire’s resistance to Arachne’s overtures faded. Finally, Arachne felt the time was right and made her move. She confessed to Tripwire, lying to him about her unrequited desire for him. But she felt that the Huntress posed a danger to their affair, capable of reporting their dalliances to Gregario. So Arachne asked that Tripwire reprogram the Huntress to be loyal to Arachne rather than to Gregario. Tripwire, his resolve completely gone and desiring Arachne madly, readily agreed to Arachne’s demands.
That night would be the last night of the original team’s existence.
Tripwire tricked the Huntress into a “routine maintenance” session and quietly began to reprogram her. Unfortunately, the Huntress’ original self-evolving programming proved to be Tripwire’s magnum opus… and his end. When the Huntress realized what was really going on, she turned on Tripwire. She interrupted the reprogramming in mid-session, which caused some catastrophic code relooping that caused her to go beserk. She killed Tripwire and gravely injured Gregario and Incandentus before escaping into the night. Arachne got the two surviving villains medical attention, but never spoke of her involvement in the ordeal.
The Imperions, now down to three members, went on hiatus.
Rebirth
By the year 2000, Lyncon Technology’s research into nanotechnology had reached the point that it was able to save the life of Gregario’s daughter, Mellisa (albeit at a cost of some of her humanity). Heartened by the success nanotechnology had in giving Mellisa back her mobility, Gregario used specialized nanotechnology to transform himself into a genetic shapeshifter. Now calling himself Galvakar (after the Italian physicist Luigi Galvani), Galvakar felt he was ready to rebuild the Imperions and be a more hands-on leader.
Now with Arachne, Incandentus, and his daughter Cyber Dreamer, Galvakar reached out to more potential members. He found two who fit the bill perfectly.
The first was Walter Cameron. Walter was found blown clear of Count Dredmaus’ assault on the REVERB demonstration, nearly three miles downstream from the Falls. Walter had recently been rejected by a woman he had loved and now believed that the rest of his friends had abandoned him. Cyber Dreamer, smitten by his rugged looks and his fierce determination to live, convinced her father to give Walter some nanotechnological treatment of his own. Walter gained enhanced strength, speed, and claws, becoming Cougar.
A month later, a mutant named Tommy Flannigan inadvertently discovered his ability to create portals that could teleport anyone or anything over vast distances. Hearing that the Imperions were reforming, Tommy tracked who he thought was the leader down (Arachne) and petitioned for membership. After a series of grueling tests that Tommy barely survived, Galvakar begrudgingly allowed Tommy to join, dubbing him Nexus.
Up To Today
Over the course of the next decade, the Imperions enjoyed a string of successes and failures the likes of which they’d never enjoyed. The Imperions were instrumental in thwarting FENRIS’s first attempt to take over the city. But they were also the catalyst to the Multiverse Wars, where heroes and villains alike had to hunt down and reassemble the pieces to the Staff of the Phoenix in order to prevent reality itself from collapsing upon itself. The Imperions have made several attempts to assemble and activate one doomsday weapon after another. Although they have always failed, they have always succeeded in getting one step closer to realizing Galvakar’s true goal.
Into The Future
In Vixen’s future, the Imperions actually succeed. Galvakar finds the Heart of the Grandmother Spider. He kills Crimson-Hawk when the hero attempted to preserve the secrecy of the Heart’s location in one last desperate stand. Jackson Sullivan then leads the rest of the Omega Legion against the Imperions to prevent them from harnessing the Heart’s power. But the Legion is too late; they arrive to find the Imperions have already absorbed the Heart’s power and have been driven insane by its sheer intensity. The Legion is slaughtered to the last member, except for 12-year-old Vixen, who is somehow snatched by some unknown force and thrown back into the past.
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