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MIDNIGHT SQUAD
Roster
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Tammy Arcanus ( Numina) (Former Member) -
Current HQ: Unknown
Turf: Unknown
Benefits/Rewards
·Unknown, although possibly missions against groups such as the Circle of Thorns and information about supernatural threats. Since the Rikti invasion, the Midnight Squad has been reduced to little more than a knowledge base and research resource. Some members evidently
mentor young heroes, although they do so cautiously.
History
"Unlike many of the other hero organizations
that have blossomed and then faded in Paragon City's past, the Midnight Squad has endured in one form or another since the 1920's. This amazing
record of success stems entirely from the fact that the Squad has never been a formal team of heroes like the Freedom Phalanx
or Dawn Patrol. Instead it is more like a very exclusive private club, the only requirement for which is that you know a great
deal about magic and the occult. Members come and go, but the club remains.
"The group originally started as a sort
of reading and study group for paranormal investigators in the 1920's. Many of the original members had respectable jobs as
professors, historians, museum curators, and scientists. They could not be seen publicly meeting and discussing controversial
subjects like demons, magic, ghosts, and spirit worlds. So they met in secret, often late at night in the home of one of their
many wealthy patrons and members. Their goal was to gather and digest as much information as they could about the occult,
cutting through all of the superstition and lies to reveal the inner truths of the magical world (if indeed there were any).
"The group was catapulted into the ranks of hero organizations in 1933 when a mysterious sorcerer who called himself
the Dream Doctor approached them. The good doctor was well aware of the secret meetings, although the group's members were
not aware of him. A powerful magician in his own right, the Dream Doctor's magical powers came naturally to him. He was not
well versed in the history and traditions of the occult. He had come into conflict with a group of evil sorcerers called the
Circle of Thorns and he needed help. He paid a visit to one of the private club's midnight meetings and asked for
their assistance.
"The academics in the group had never thought of themselves as heroes, but they were shocked and
horrified at the Dream Doctor's descriptions of the foul Circle of Thorns. The group agreed to help, and many of them were
actually quite excited at the prospect. One of the members came up with the name Midnight Squad, inspired by their late night
meetings. A few of the members even went so far as to make costumes and wear masks. The group joined the Dream Doctor and
helped defeat the Circle of Thorns, at least in part. Thus an ongoing war between the Midnight Squad and the Circle of Thorns
began, and continued to be waged for decades to come.
"Over the years the Midnight Squad has gone through hundreds
of members and many incarnations." In the 1940s and 50s, the Midnight Squad was evidently a fairly public organization; in
1953, the group even took advantage of the Citizen Crime Fighting Act, which made the Midnight Squad an officially licensed
hero organization that could deputize its members. "For a time in the sixties and seventies its members wore tights and masks
and fought like traditional super powered heroes, using magic instead of mutations. But ever since the 1980's the group has
become less and less public." In the mid-eighties, the Midnight Squad helped the Back Brawler locate the source of a devastating
new drug known as Supes, but beyond that, they conducted very few high profile missions. "In the world of magic it is a very
risky thing to let your enemies know too many details about you. Far better to operate in the shadows and keep your presence
hidden from prying eyes. By the early nineties the group had largely faded from public life, although it still remained quite
active in the war on evil.
"During the Rikti War, the Midnight Squad played a tremendously important role, but they
also paid an awful price. The Rikti advanced technology was quite vulnerable to mystic assault, and the alien invaders soon
realized this weakness. As they fought both the Circle of Thorns and the Midnight Squad they became determined to both learn
more about magic and also neutralize its threat. The Midnight Squad became a prime target for Rikti assassins, and the group's
main headquarters was destroyed in a fusion bomb blast. Many of its more heroic sorcerers were captured in battle and are
still missing to this day, presumed dead.
"Today the Midnight Squad is but a
shadow of its former self. There are few true heroes left in the organization. All that survives is the knowledge base the
group has acquired over the decades. It's much more a research resource than an organization fit to fight. The few remaining
members guard their collections of tomes and relics feverishly, fearful of letting their last bit of power slip through their
fingers. They're more than willing to help other heroes take up the burden of direct conflict with evil powers, but they have
no courage for battle themselves. A few of the members have taken to actually mentoring young heroes interested in using magic
to fight evil, but even they do so with care, making sure they don't expose themselves to any of the many dangers they see
lurking around every corner. In a way the group has come full circle, reverting back to its origins as a group for academics
and occultists who pursue and process knowledge and then give it to others to do good with."
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