By Joe Singleton

Cyrus Ambrose Branch

Real Name:	Cyrus Ambrose Branch
Group Affiliation:	President and CEO-Branch Industries, Partner-Wolff Associates, alleged member of the so-called Wolf Pack
Legal Status:	American citizen with no criminal record
Place of Birth:	Augusta, Georgia
Marital Status:	Single
Known Relatives:	Charles Wilson Branch (Father), Mary Iona Branch (Mother), Georgia Diane Branch (Sister), Violet Elizabeth Branch (Sister)
Base of Operations:	Washington, D.C.
First Appearance:	The League of Explorers (Chapter Eight)
Origin:	Cyrus Branch had an almost normal childhood. At the age of three, he was diagnosed with achondroplasia, a disorder responsible for 70% of all dwarfism in humans. Being of a stubborn nature, Cyrus never let it keep him from doing less than his very best at anything. Though his stature prevented him from playing sports with children his own age, he discovered very early that there were more ways to excel than on the playing field. He became a voracious reader, beginning with children's fiction and working his way up to the New York Times Bestseller List by the age of ten. He read on every subject, refusing to limit his intellect to one narrow viewpoint. At the age of 14, he graduated high school with honors. He was accepted at several prestigious universities, but chose Yale for it's prestige. Obtaining a degree in business at the age of 18, he went on to study economics and computer science at George Mason University and M.I.T. It was during the pressures of his post-grad work that he noticed something odd happening around him. People who annoyed him inevitably became ill around him, while those whose company he enjoyed, who treated him well, enjoyed relative good health. He slowly came to the realization that he was somehow influencing the growth of bacteria in his environment. This led to experimentation, first on bacteria cultures, following rigorous scientific procedures, and later, by stimulating a bacterial infection in Nathan Hanover, a loud-mouthed frat-boy who was Ambrose's rival for the affections of a young undergrad student, Holly Strathmore. Hanover's infection landed him in the university hospital and nearly cost him his life. Two years later, Ambrose would found his first company, a pharmaceutical manufacturer called Branch Pharmacorp. Moving from there into medical devices, and petrochemicals, he formed Branch Industries. By his 30th birthday, he was making 2.4 billion dollars a year, globally. By age 35, he had amassed a fortune of over 60 billion dollars. All the while, he was honing his powers, using them when necessary to improve his negotiating position. With a little effort, he could reduce a rival's workforce by more than half, at critical times, due to common bacterial illnesses. Two years ago, at the age of 38, he was approached by Wolff Associates, a consulting and lobbying firm in Washington. Upon meeting Grayson Wolff's terms, and negotiating a few of his own, he was inducted into their inner circle, the so-called Wolf Pack. The Pack's only reason for existing is to amass power through manipulation, intimidation and influence peddling.
Personality:
Height:	4'2"
Weight:	141 Lbs
Hair Color:	Black
Eye Color:	Brown
Powers:	Ambrose has the power to influence the growth and behavior of microscopic organisms. He cannot create or alter the genetic structure of microbes, but he can encourage or retard their growth and he has trained himself to sense the presence of a wide variety of micro-organisms. Using this ability he can cause illness in people he has close contact with, by causing the microbes already within their bodies to multiply at an accelerated rate. He can also cause them to stop multiplying, decreasing or eliminating infection in some cases. He can even encourage one microbe to feed on another, to eliminate a particular infection, but this requires immense effort and concentration.
Quote:	"What's the difference between a congressman and a two-dollar whore? The whore never lies about what she is. "

 

Eris Kalantos

Real Name:	Eris Margaret Kalantos
Group Affiliation:	Special Security Associate-Wolff Associates, alleged member of the so-called Wolf Pack
Legal Status:	American citizen with no criminal record (expunged)
Place of Birth:	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Marital Status:	Single
Known Relatives:	Mikos Kalantos (Father) Sarah Margaret Galloway (Mother, deceased)
Base of Operations:	Mobile
First Appearance:	The League of Explorers (Chapter Eight)
Origin:	Eris Margaret Kalantos was raised in a dysfunctional household. Her father was an unemployed steel worker and her mother addicted to prescription drugs. At the age of eight, her mother died under suspicious circumstances, having ingested more than 30 different household chemicals, including a massive overdose of hydrocodone. It was ruled a suicide. Eris never shed a tear. Eris's father took to drinking heavily, after her mother's death, always glancing at Eris when he thought she wasn't looking and making a sign with his hand meant to ward off the Evil Eye. He would flinch whenever Eris would turn her golden gaze on him. She was beginning to learn the power she possessed. At the age of 15 she dropped out of high school and was living on the streets when an associate of Grayson Wolff found her and invited her to Wolff's Manhattan townhome. From the age of 16 until she was 21, she worked and trained with Wolff's elite agents, all supernormals, all amoral as wolves, themselves and all loyal to Wolff.
Personality:	Eris is coolness personified. She never gets angry, she never loses control, because for her, control is everything.
Height:	5'7"
Weight:	115 Lbs
Hair Color:	Black
Eye Color:	Gold
Powers:	Eris has the power to sow discord. Whether between two or more individuals, or within one individual's mind, she can drive men to murder, or a man to suicide. No living creature is immune to her power. She can regulate the degree of influence, from mild discomfort to full-blown hatred and she can direct the enmity to any target she chooses. Once felt, her influence is notoriously difficult to overcome, especially if she knows enough about her subject to play off his own fears and dislikes. Eris enjoys using her power and will sometimes practice on passers by, just for fun.
Quote:	"She made me hate her, I made her hate herself. "

 

Gil

Real Name:	Guillermo Novantes
Aliases:	Gilbert Newman, Giles Houselander, Norman Guilfoyle, Norman Hayes, Chester Lovegood
Group Affiliation:	SSpecial Security Associate-Wolff Associates, alleged member of the so-called Wolf Pack
Legal Status:	Citizenship undetermined, criminal records in multiple jurisdictions, no criminal record in the U.S. as Guillermo Novantes
Place of Birth:	Uruk, Sumer
Marital Status:	Widowed
Known Relatives:	Lugalbanda (Father), Ninsun (Mother)
Base of Operations:	Mobile
First Appearance:	The League of Explorers (Chapter Eight)
Origin:	Thousands of years ago, in what is now Iran and Iraq, there existed one of Earth's first civilizations, Sumer. In the Sumerian city of Uruk was born a son to the king, a demi-god himself. Ninsun, the mother, was a full goddess, making their son, Gilgamesh, two-thirds a god. Gilgamesh became the fifth king of Uruk around 2700 BC. With his divine heritage, he was superhumanly strong and resistant to injury, though not truly immortal. His life was eventful, many of his exploits having been recorded in the form of epic poems. He fought many demons and monsters, and built a protective wall around his city. With the death of his friend Enkidu, he became obsessed with extending his life, achieving immortality and the extant records state that he failed, dying and being buried in the bed of the river Euphrates. In truth, he had discovered the secret of immortality, though it did not work the way he'd hoped. Rather than a continuous, ever-lengthening lifespan, he would enter periods of metabolic dormancy, appearing dead for decades at a time, even centuries. Always, these periods are heralded by a decline in his over-all vigor, resembling decrepitude. During this phase, he must prepare a means of securing himself, usually involving interment in a crypt. The length of the period of dormancy bears some relation to the length of the active phase, a longer active phase requiring a longer dormant phase. The longest active phase was in the Middle Ages, when he was active for more than 350 years, beginning in 958 and ending in 1322. There followed his longest dormant phase, which ended in 1545. Over the millennia, he has learned much about the world, enough to rule it ten times over, but he has grown weary of the responsibility of command. After awakening in 1958, he found some distraction in the role of a super-villain, Black Bull, robbing banks and fighting the colorfully-clad heroes of the Freedom Squadron, mostly aging World War Two heroes trying to regain their former glory. During these battles, he was careful never to over-match the heroes, enjoying the give and take of a proper brawl to actually thrashing his well-meaning foes. Always careful to maintain the secret of his identity, he was never arrested and gave up the game after amassing a small fortune. For several years, he traveled, re-learning his way in the world. In 1975 he returned to the United States and founded a chain of health clubs. In 1991, he was contacted by a young entrepreneur who seemed to know his true identity. His first meeting with Cyrus Branch did not go well, but he soon learned that the little man had intelligence and the resources to aid him in his ultimate goal, true immortality.
Personality:	Gil is prone to bouts of depression, dating back to the death of Enkidu. He has had some success at moderating his depression with drugs, though they are never as effective with him as with normals.
Height:	5'6"
Weight:	180 Lbs
Hair Color:	Brown
Eye Color:	Brown
Powers:	Being 2/3 divine, Gil has superhuman strength, endurance and resistance to injury. He is strong enough to throw loaded concrete truck a city block and capable of withstanding small arms fire and normal (not supernatural)edged weapons. He also possesses the fighting skill of a seasoned warrior many times over.
Quote:	"I've seen it, before, yeah. "

 

Grayson Oliver Wolff

Real Name:	Grayson Oliver Wolff
Aliases:	Gray
Group Affiliation:	President and Senior Partner Wolff Associates, alleged head of so-called Wolf Pack
Legal Status:	AAmerican citizen with no criminal record
Place of Birth:	Portland, Maine
Marital Status:	Divorced
Known Relatives:	Lacey Harrington-Wolff (ex-wife), Carter Liam Wolff (son), Celeste Laura Wolff (daughter), Charles Lawrence Wolff (son), Quentin William Edwards (son-illegitimate)
Base of Operations:	New York City, New York
First Appearance:	The League of Explorers (Chapter Eight) (name mentioned)
Origin:	Grayson Oliver Wolff was born to unassuming middle-class parents, in an unassuming middle-class home. He remained unremarkable throughout his youth, until at the age of 19 ye seemed to become the most popular Freshman at the University of Maine. People went out of their way to do him favors, helped him with school work, lent him money, and showered their affections on him. He cut a path through the co-eds at U of M like a combine harvester and yet, not one of them ever turned up pregnant. His grades began to rise, and his fortunes, as well. He was accepted into a prestigious internship with a major Manhattan law firm, the summer of his junior year and he was encouraged to go to law school by the senior partner of the firm. He switched to pre-law and followed up law school at Harvard, stepping from law school into a junior partnership at the same law firm he'd interned with. Meanwhile, he was studying this power he seemed to have, to make people want to help him, work with him, be with him and he determined that it was some form of telepathy, that allowed him to stimulate the pleasure centers of a person's brain to a greater or lesser degree, producing anything from a mild camaraderie to hopeless devotion, directed at him. In their minds, they associated the feeling with his presence and they reacted accordingly. He married Lacey Harrington shortly after making partner at the firm and two years later, made senior partner. Five years later, he founded Wolff Associates and opened offices in Manhattan and Washington, D.C. Over time, he learned to moderate the influence, to prevent open war between his paramours, eventually manipulating the situation until he had a "harem" of 20 women who acted as his personal assistants, as well as being his concubines. This caused such friction in his marriage that even he was unable to overcome his wife's resistance, and she divorced him nine years ago. In the 20 years since law school, he has founded his own law firm, Wolff Associates and become leader of the legendary "Wolf Pack", purported to be the most devious and influential lobbying group in the world.
Personality:	Grayson Wolff is a closet hedonist. By day he plays the calm, cool Senior Partner and the amoral influence peddler. By night, he's an amalgam of Hugh Hefner and Al Capone.
Height:	5'10"
Weight:	190 Lbs
Hair Color:	Gray
Eye Color:	Hazel
Powers:	Wolff has a limited form of telepathy that allows him to stimulate the pleasure centers and certain decision-making centers of the human brain. He can weaken resistance in most people and by moderating the various influences, make them feel such pleasure at agreeing with him that they remain loyal even after he ceases to actively influence them. His range is limited to a few dozen yards and his influence is usually more pronounced in those whom he's taken the time to get to know, before going to work on them. Once he has someone under his influence, it is very difficult to counter. After awhile, simply being in his presence will trigger the same response as his power, without any effort from him. It is known that certain mood stabilizing drugs can provide resistance to Wolff's influence.
Quote:	"Do me this one favor? Come on, you know you want to. "

 

Quetzalcoatl

Real Name:	Ezequiel Ramos
Group Affiliation:	In a previous age, Quetzalcoatl was a member of the Aztec and Mayan(as Kukalkan) pantheons, in the modern age, none
Legal Status:	Guatemalan citizen with no criminal record
Place of Birth:	Unnamed village in the mountains of Guatemala
Marital Status:	Married
Known Relatives:	Esperanza Ramos (wife)
Base of Operations:	Mobile
First Appearance:	The League of Explorers (Chapter Eight)
Origin:	Ezequiel Ramos is a child of two worlds. He grew up with his grandfather's stories of the glories of their peoples' past. He also grew up watching television whenever he got the chance. He imagined the gods and heroes of the ancient Maya as the super-heroes of their day. One day, he discovered an ancient copper vessel buried near his home. Made of thick slabs of copper, the casket had many ancient symbols hammered into the metal. The local bruja advised that Ezequiel take the vessel to the village of San Rafael, where an expert in the ancient symbols waited examine it, alerted by the bruja's magic. Carrying the casket of metal on his back, Ezequiel tripped and fell as he neared his destination, falling down a ravine and breaking open the brazed joints of the metal box. A thick amber fluid poured out and soaked into Ezequiel's skin, invigorating him and empowering him as the avatar of the feathered serpent god alternatively known as Kukalkan, or Quetzalcoatl.
Personality:	Ezequiel is, like most of his people, a bit of a fatalist, but his innate humor and hard-working nature keep his ancestral fatalism at bay. He thinks it is the funniest joke ever that he was chosen as the avatar of a god.
Height:	As Ezequiel 5'7"/as Quetzalcoatl 6' 1"
Weight:	As Ezequiel 155 Lbs/as Quetzalcoatl 215 Lbs
Hair Color:	Black
Eye Color:	Black
Powers:	As the avatar of Quetzalcoatl, Ezequiel is super-humanly strong and nearly invulnerable to harm. He has the power to manipulate matter on a molecular level. Using this power, he is able to amplify his own strength and heal his own injuries and those of others. He is able to expand his shield to more than 20 feet and can throw powerful concussion blasts. His power is fueled by a mystical affinity for the Sun and the planet Venus. His endurance is such that he can exert himself for 3 full days before tiring and is able to drive himself even harder when fighting against the Dark Powers. He is able to cast a blinding rainbow burst to distract his enemies. As a matter of honor, he never uses his matter manipulation powers for attack. Quetzalcoatl's strength is sufficient for him to throw a loaded delivery van 100 feet. He is able to withstand small arms fire and flames, and his shield protects him from concussive attacks to a great degree. He is able to fly at super-sonic speeds and even able to fly at very high altitude without ill effect. While invulnerable to most natural and supernatural threats, he has no special resistance to magic items made from obsidian. Quetzalcoatl possesses enhanced natural senses, approximately 20 times greater than normal, as well as mystical senses that allow him to sense movements in the ether, detect magic, and sense Dark Powers when they are active. Quetzalcoatl speaks and comprehends all human, avian and serpentine speech.
Quote:	"The people cry out for justice and I am here! "

 

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