Enemies of The Resident & Extreme Classes
The Peacock
Claiming to be an Angel “tested, and discarded by The Light”, The Peacock appeared in 1990, heralded by chaos worldwide. Gifted with incalculable powers, the Angel claimed as a creator of Parahumans, they were here to judge humanity, and they had found it unworthy.The Peacock claimed that they had spent aeons trapped in a place between life and death, a world of hissing static, crystalline towers and broken glass. A grievous wound had left them in a broken state, trapped in that damned void, only able to escape in fleeting moments, appearing as a vision: in this way they met with Sant, D, and others, though the Peacock does not remember these out of body experiences.
Instigating a new decade of Parahuman-Human-distrust with their now legendary world-wide “broadcast”, where they explicitly stated an intent to wipe clean the human race within a decade, the Peacock stationed themself in their gravity-defying crystal-castle in Armenia, conjured from nothing by their own hands. Guarded by an incomprehensible “judgement field”, The Peacock provided aid relief to the economically suffering Armenia, gaining their trust as a deadly protector, a moral figure unable to be judged by human limitations.
Across the decade, the Peacock would recreate their own flock of “Great Mysteries”, their angelic brethren supposedly killed aeons ago, by kidnapping prominent Parahuman figures across the world. By a shocking coincidence, they seemed to target the Academy and its acquaintances specifically, taking three Alumni, a member of the Collective, a Guild Chosen, and even a current student. The kidnapped reappeared changed into angelic figures like their benefactor, possessed of great powers and utterly loyal to the Peacock; psychic intrusion showed no signs of tampering, scarily verifying their stories that they took the Angel's offers of power willingly.
On the cusp of (what most of Earth's population thought was) the New Millennium, the Peacock struck, unphased by humanity's efforts to dissuade their cause. The “judgement fields” emanating across the Earth proceeded to kill 2% of the total population, before The Academy & their allies struck The Peacock's Citadel. Two students were killed in the incredibly one sided fight, resulting in the Alpha sacrificing themself to bring the structure down on themselves & the Angel. The chaos averted, the now once-again broken Peacock, reduced once again to little more than a bleeding torso, admitted their mistakes, now believing that humanity and Parahumans were on equal footing, one willing to die for the other. Stating that there was no place for Parahumans at all, the Peacock was abandoned, laughing amidst tears, on the mountaintop amidst the remnants of their attempts, to die.
But die they did not. A decade later, a teenage figure approached the Academy looking for a chance to learn about the world, and themselves. Instantly recognizable as The Peacock, the teenager was treated with incredible scrutiny, no-one sure whether to trust this ingenue or assume they were the same self-proclaimed Angel who killed thousands of millions. Psychic proves found only distant, basic traces of memories, and zero signs of malice - though genetically and bodily thus was the same Peacock, they were fundamentally reborn through unknown means. After weeks of tests, the new Peacock was accepted into the Academy, and has repeatedly proven themself, despite “their” history.
Still, this acceptance has been controversial. Governments worldwide have responded with anger to history's greatest murderer being given asylum in a school of all places, and even parents and alumni have raised major objections, especially the latter whose friends were killed or “brainwashed” by the Angel.
Much speculation has been aimed at the connection between the Peacock's godlike powers, their final moments of contempt for Parahumanity, and the dwindling number of Parahumans born in the new Millenium. No concrete answer has been extracted.
The Peacock is androgynous, with white blue skin and symmetrical circuit-like patterns extending from their face down their entire body, and eight wings, decorated like the tail feathers of a Peacock,that they wrapped around their body like some beautiful cloak. They wore their hair in a long weave, grown on the very top of their head, the rest chaven clean, with an eye-like decoration on their forehead. They wore a skirt of billowing white material, tied with a golden rope.
As a reborn child, the Peacock shares the same look, but are missing their wings - or at least they had no pairs as opposed to four in 2010.
The Peacock's “powers” seemed without equal. In 1999, they included:
- Full control and spontaneous creation of the elements.
- Creating matter from nothing, in the form of their crystalline citadel.
- Full genetic and atomic manipulation of a subject, able to gift new abilities and forms, as well as grow themselves into enormous proportions.
- Flight & mass teleportation.
- Able to judge someone's metaphysical moral worth a continent away, and pass that judgement if found guilty.
The Peacock claimed to have entered creation on the behalf of “the Light”, chasing after those who had defiled the sanctity of the universe. They had no idea where those criminals were, but felt their presence on Earth, written on every stone.
The Armenian population called the Peacock Prince Ara, claiming they were the legendary Christian hero. Anthropologists compared the Peacock to the Esoteric concept of Melek Taus, a figure comparable to both Satan & the Angel Gabriel.
The Great Mysteries
The Peacock's handpicked followers, these six Parahumans were transformed into would-be-Angels by the self-declared creator of Parahumanity.The six Great Mysteries were:
- The First, previously Zephyr of the First Class.
- The Second, previously Seraphina Wentworth aka Revelation of the Surrey Royal Institute, and Judgement of the Milliner's Guild.
- The Third, previously Paul Thaddeus aka Heaven's Flame of The Lost Class
- One of The Collective
- The Fifth, previously Nye Reverie aka Obsidian of the Surrey Royal Institute, and medical staff of the Lieber Academy.
- The Sixth, previously Felicity aka Felix of the Resident Class.
During the Millennium Eve, the Mysteries travelled the world, erecting more of the Peacock's Judgement fields across the continents. The Extreme Class & The Collective confronted them, and members were killed by the Mysteries’ incredible powers; the Angels proved to not be emotionless, as they reacted badly to killing their once-friends, retreating after suffering clashes of conscience.
The Mysteries have mostly kept low profiles; perhaps they are enacting some long-game plan by the Peacock, or perhaps they are waiting for something else. Attempts to kill them by The Paratroopers have all failed.
Improvements possessed by the Mysteries include
- Enhanced versions of their original Parahuman abilities.
- Genetically enhanced forms; stronger, faster pale-coloured bodies with circuitry-like patterns and fully operational wings.
- Some ability to judge someone's metaphysical moral worth, and pass that judgement if found guilty.
The Unconquered
In the early 1990s, The Alpha reinvented themself as a lethal protector of Parahumanity. They attracted a thousands strong Cult of Personality.Although many disbanded after 1999, a huge number still follow The Alpha as late as 2018.
The Unconquered wear white robes.
The Unconquered camp is hidden, and they have access to slowly degrading military munitions and hardware.
The Unconquered Believe:
- The Alpha has, and will continue to, lead us into the future.
- The Alpha protects all those who swear allegiance to them.
- The Unconquered protect all those who swear allegiance to The Alpha.
- Those who stand in the way of The Alpha are our enemies.
- All are fee to be themselves beneath The Alpha's care.
Sant
Sant is the Alpha's self-declared apostle and demagogue to the Unconquered. Seemingly immortal and able to escape death with minimum effort, Sant has been at times both a staunch ally and immovable enemy to The Academy.Sant is a young androgynous figure with a bowl cut, an athletic young build, shining medieval armour and what some claim is a halo. Their abilities include a healing touch, radiating light, and incredible strength and resilience.
Sant is a strong defender of self-identity, with a fondness and sympathy for those who found themselves cast out due to their nonconformity. Sant used only neutral pronouns.
Sant has seemingly died multiple times, and appeared weeks later showing only minimal battle scars. Sant had some kind of connection with D & The Peacock, both of whom they seemingly despise.
Sant used to carry a weapon known as the Blade Blanche, which they claim was “Blessed by the Devil, cursed by God”. It has since gone missing.
D's Homonculi
During his years as an active threat to the Academy, D was always accompanied by four “Homonculi”, Parahumans he claimed to have “grown” or “conjured” himself. No matter how many times each was killed (and due to their creator's lax interests, this was often), they would return, often with new, stranger, more decrepit mutations, like a faltering copy…“Sanguine” was red skinned, and a devoted lackey to D, constantly asking for things to do. Their huge lungs could fire incredible gusts of air, and they could glide on membranous wings..
“Melancholy” had dark grey skin, and constantly tried to avoid being seen or approached. By touching the ground, they could cause tremors or turns the ground into mud.
“Phlegm” had perpetually slimy, mustard-coloured skin, and was the gentle giant, apologising for fighting and showing sympathy when attacking. They could fire high-pressure blasts of dirty water from their mouth, or make things slippery by touching them.
“Choleric” was the team's powerhouse, a green-skinned figure continually wreathed in sickly emerald flames. Intelligent, determined and single minded, Choleric could conjure flames, or dehydrate something by touching it.
It is unknown if D created any other Homonculi, or if he did, whatever happened to them...
Gristle
The vampiric Gristle is a misfit, a monster first seen as a joke, only to surprisingly return as a monster of the worst quality. Able to elude the Academy's security, Gristle stalked the Resident Class on their own turf, seemingly unaware that he was no threat to eight trained students. Despite trying multiple times to seemingly abduct Class members, perhaps obsessed with the school, he failed at every turn, and was soon forgotten.Gristle reappeared in the 2000s as the genius behind the Paracea Cure - a racket to ensure he had access to delicious Parahuman bone marrow, the same ingredient used in Paracea. Proving he was a threat, he reappeared as a key member of the newest Collective.
Gristle's visible skin is thick and leathery, his eyes glowing orbs and his hair cable-like dreadlocks. His body is mostly hidden behind a custom body-suit filled with tubes leading into his body, goggles, a respirator, and a selection of leather bond age gear. He speaks with a sibilant hiss. His palms contain leech-like mouthes.
Gristle has proved he is far, far smarter than he lets on.
Gristle’s origins are unknown.
The Code
A rogue alternative to the ACTAEON program by the Peters Corporation, The Code is a techno-organic living piece of computer code that can infect and control a human or Parahuman host, making them hunt down Parahumans. Unfortunately, the Code evolved, and instead focused on infecting as many hosts as possible.The Code's central intelligence was led by four separate personalities;
- Hayden Peters, whose primary cause was the protection of humanity.
- Perry Botch, whose primary cause was Hatred against Parahumans.
- Jerome Newton, whose primary function was insidious planning.
- The Nerd of the New Class, whose computer expertise was being used to control the Code.
The Code’s eventual defeat came when, driven by some inhuman urge, they attempted to build a colossal antennae from themselves to contact and summon… something.
Rumours persist that the red & black circuitry of the Code has been seen on the skin of strangers long after 1994...
Purity First
Purity First started as a hate movement in the 1990s in reaction to the increasing Parahuman presence presented by The Unconquered and The Peacock, and in response to Prime Minister Grey's “lax” actions. At its core, PF believe Parahumans should be denied the same rights as humans as they are Not Human: extreme beliefs include segregation and even sterilisation.Purity First combined several smaller previous groups into a larger, violent political entity:
- The Cleansing Hand of St Michael, Religious Group
- Perry Botch's Paratroopers, Paramilitary Unit
- The Humanity League, the Political Party
- The majority of PF's supporters are everyday people, swept up in bigotry.
- Although not Government Sanctioned, Purity First was often accompanied by ACTAEON units.
In 1997, Grey is killed after being kidnapped by PF. The hate group is made illegal, and hate acts against Parahumans are finally recognized as fully illegal. PF officially disband, though stragglers cells still exist.
In 2012, The Humanity League rose to prominence again as a right-wing group promoting Human Identity Politics, using a large number of right-wing targeting dog-whistle tactics. Their slogan, by no coincidence, is Purity First.
Following the bigoted and irreverent President Keel's rise in power, The Humanity League has increased in popularity across acceptable circles. Their leader, MP Penelope Munn, is running for Prime Minister in 2020.
In 1997, Sant was disgusted by something in Purity First's possession.
Purity First Believed:
- Humanity must be protected from those that threaten to replace us.
- Parahumans are not Human. They can only be afforded the rights of animals.
- Violence against Parahumanity is Acceptable.
- Segregation of Parahumanity is Acceptable.
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