ASSASSIN'S GUILD
The Assassin's Guild is an association of professional killers originally organized by Enforcer.
HISTORY
To further increase his profile, the shapechanging villain Enforcer formed an organization of metahuman mercenaries that he
called the Assassin's Guild. The initial lineup consisted of Enforcer, the Predator,
Stryke, and the short-lived group called the Killer Elite (made up of Bolt, Deadshot, Deadline,
Chiller and Merlyn). The Assassin's Guild's first known appearance was when Enforcer sent several members out to kidnap all of the metahumans
that had been members of the original Enforcers of Justice team. The captured heroes
were rescued by members of Justice Inc., but not before Enforcer was able to achieve his goals
with the kidnappings. The members of the Guild all escaped capture.
Enforcer's own activities slowly took him away from involvement in the Guild, and dissention amongst the Killer Elite led them to leave
the group. When Predator declined to assume leadership of the group Stryke took on the role himself. Stryke decided to tighten up the group,
and adjusted the Guild to act more like a union. He recruited several other villains to form a core membership to help stabilize the
organization, notably the armored mercenary Barrage, the cybernetic killer Ripsaw, and the speedster Twinspin. The villain Shrapnel was
briefly a member as well, but his increasing level of violence led him to be expelled.
With the core membership stable the Guild began building its reputation as a reliable source of talent for perspective clients and also
as an organization that can offer protection to its members. Individually and in groups the core members have continued to operate,
leveraging the benefits of the Guild to increase their profile and earnings. More recently Stryke has begun another recruitment effort to
expand the ranks of the Guild.
MEMBERS
The known members of the Assassin's Guild are:
STRYKE
PERSONAL DATA
HISTORY
The history of the mercenary known as Stryke is a mystery. He first appeared on the East Coast of the United States as a member of
the Assassin's Guild. It is believed that he obtained his advanced power armor from the hi-tech arms dealer known as the
Armorer, though he already had a reputation as an assassin prior to this. After
reluctantly taking over the leadership of the Guild from Enforcer, Stryke decided to reform the organization into a more streamlined and
focused version. Selecting Barrage, Ripsaw, Shrapnel and Twinspin to form the core of the Guild the organization became a means to better
offer their services to potential clients while also offering mutual protection.
Stryke continued to take solo assignments while managing the Guild, and would also sometimes team up with other members if an
opportunity presented itself. Stryke was captured in Pacific City on such a mission, while
teaming with Barrage. The pair were arrested after a confrontation with the hero Manhunter
and the authorities sent the two to Mercy Island prison. This turned out to be a result of manipulations by the villain
Carnage, who secretly controlled the prison and was looking for recruits for
his ultimate plan. Stryke and Barrage became part of Carnage's assault on
Superior City, and when the city's heroes eventually stopped the plot Stryke evaded
capture.
Stryke remained in Superior City and was next seen working for the Imperium Romana
during the recent Gang War in the city. This brought him into conflict with the
Enforcers of Justice but he was again able to avoid being arrested. He has since
left the west coast and has turned his attention to bolstering the ranks of the Assassin's Guild.
POWERS & WEAPONS
Even before acquiring his high-tech armor Stryke was a lethal combatant. He is an accomplished martial artist, an expert in multiple
forms with a high focus on kicks, especially the Muay Thai style. He augments his martial arts prowess with an acrobatic style and an
expertise in numerous exotic weapons. Stryke is also an expert in infiltration and stealth, skills he uses to get close to targets
undetected.
Stryke's armor is designed to augment his already prodigious combat skills. The armor augments strength, endurance, speed and reflexes
to superhuman levels. It increases his mobility beyond the superspeed by also giving Stryke flight capability and special adhesive contact
points that let him move across any surface in any orientation. Offensively the suit has razor-sharp blades that slide out from hidden
sheathes in the arms, a pair of high-calibre machineguns, and the ability to launch a high-tensile net to capture targets that need to be
taken alive. Night vision and 360° radar augment Stryke's senses.
BARRAGE
PERSONAL DATA
HISTORY
Mark Burnside is a Special Forces veteran who discovered he had a knack with weapons and few to no morals about how he used them.
After receiving a dishonorable discharge, the details of which are vague, Mark went into business as a mercenary. He became much in
demand across the Third World as the person to call when you wanted someone eliminated and you didn't care how messy the job was.
Mark would make liberal use of explosives, heavy weaponry, or simply overwhelming force during assassinations, guaranteeing a kill
with little regard for collateral damage in the process.
Eventually demand for Mark's services began to decline as the number of metahumans entering the mercenary and assassin profession
began to grow. Realizing he needed to keep up with the competition, Mark used up a large amount of the not-insignificant wealth he
had built up over the years to commission the design and construction of a high-tech suit or armor that would turn him into a walking
arsenal. When the job was done Mark entered a new phase of his career as Barrage.
With his new weaponry Mark started building up a new reputation, which in turn opened up new job opportunities. His Barrage armor
contained enough offensive firepower to allow him to take on metahumans, and so Mark started taking on contracts where the targets
had superhuman powers. This in turn led to him being recruited by Stryke into his new incarnation of the Assassin's Guild. Unfortunately
for Mark taking on metahumans also attracted attention, especially once he started taking jobs on American soil. While working with
Stryke on an assignment in Pacific City both Barrage and his partner were stopped by
Manhunter and arrested.
Though not metahumans, Barrage and Stryke were sent to Mercy Island prison in Superior City.
This turned out to be due to the machinations of the villain Carnage, who
secretly controlled the prison and was using it to recruit supervillains for a scheme
to take revenge on Superior. When the plan kicked off, Barrage was thrilled at the free hand he was given to commit wanton destruction,
but when it became clear that Carnage's scheme was going to fail once the city's heroes were able to go on the offensive, Mark bailed.
He was able to flee the country and has resumed his mercenary career as Barrage overseas, staying away from the United States for now.
POWERS & WEAPONS
Mark is a highly trained soldier and expert in armed and unarmed combat. He is an accomplished military tactician and specializes
in planning missions involving large amounts of firepower. The Barrage armor that Mark uses is capable of supersonic flight, provides
the wearer with superhuman strength, and is resistant to damage from most forms of modern weaponry short of an air-to-air missile. It
is also equipped with high-power machine guns and a large number of miniature air-to-air and air-to-ground missiles that pack the
explosive force of projectiles several times their size. The weapon systems are augmented by an advanced targeting system, and the
armor is equipped with encrypted communications capability, an advanced radar system, and both thermal and night-vision capability.
RIPSAW
PERSONAL DATA
HISTORY
Trent Baker was the man people called when they needed someone killed in a way that sent a message. Baker's kills were always
done up close, often when the target was in a place they felt secure, and he did not leave the body in a pleasant state. Knives
were Baker's weapon of choice for most of his assassinations, feeling they provided a personal touch and were a more
"artistic" choice. Baker's methods earned him a strong reputation, but also earned him some powerful enemies. One such
enemy was a South American drug cartel whose leader was rather upset with what Baker had done to a cousin of his.
A team of some of the most vicious killers employed by the cartel was sent after Baker to exact revenge, and tracked him down
to Houston, Texas. The team assaulted the building Baker was using as his base of operations for an assignment and despite their
advantage in numbers and firepower the attack did not go as they hoped. On his home ground, Baker slowly stalked the members of
the team as they tried to find him in the building. Baker managed to kill all but two of the attackers before his luck ran out.
Panicking, one of the two remaining killers threw several grenades towards where Baker was readying to take them out. The explosion
was large enough to catch Baker and his assailants, and caused massive damage to the building itself. The floor under Baker gave
way and he was partially buried under rubble, and the explosion also started a fire that began to consume the building. Baker had
been maimed by the initial explosion and was further injured by the collapsing building, and now faced being burned alive while
pinned.
Rescue workers were shocked to discover that Baker was still alive when they pulled his burned and wrecked body from the
burning building. On life support, with his limbs crushed, severed, or burned to stumps and his body covered in third-degree
burns, Baker somehow managed to survive. On life support in a secure wing of a hospital he seemed to be going on willpower alone
as his body slowly failed. One night a group of masked individuals entered the hospital and spirited Baker away to a mysterious
location. The place was a lab of some kind, and a man in a lab coat told Baker they had the ability to rebuild his body and he had
the choice of letting them do that, or they could return him to the hospital where he would eventually die from his injuries.
Baker accepted the offer and the people who had taken him went to work. When Baker awoke several days later he discovered that
his body had indeed been rebuilt, but not how he had imagined it. Both legs and his left arm had been replaced by robotic limbs.
His right arm had also been replaced, but instead of a hand it was equipped with a large rotary blade mounted just above where
the wrist would be. His heart and one lung had also been replaced with cybernetic organs and a breathing apparatus had been
attached to his face. Baker was horrified and snapped, attacking everyone nearby. Shockingly everyone turned out to be robotic
androids, including the man in the lab coat that had made him the offer. The severed robotic head informed Baker that his reaction
was not unexpected and told him that they would be in touch with him at some point in the future to discuss his payment for their
services.
Knowing he needed work, but no longer able to remotely pass for a normal human, Baker reached out to his contacts in the
criminal underworld. They put him in touch with Stryke, who was looking for people to form the core of his version of the
Assassin's Guild. Baker saw the advantage of having a support network like the Guild would provide and he accepted. Based on his
new cybernetic weaponry, Baker started calling himself Ripsaw and has renewed his profession with vigor, building a whole new
reputation.
POWERS & WEAPONS
Before his injuries, Trent Baker was an exceptional killer, an artist with a blade. Baker was an expert tracker, capable of
locating his targets no matter where they had gone to ground, and a stalker who could gain access to even the most secure location
without detection. Rebuilt with cybernetics as Ripsaw he is now capable of superhuman feats. Ripsaw's robot legs let him run at
speeds over 100 mph and the ability to jump distances of over 50 yards in a single leap. His robot arm is anchored by a reinforced
spine and shoulders, letting Ripsaw lift several tons with the arm. Ripsaw's right cybernetic arm lacks a hand and in its place is
a razor-sharp rotary saw blade capable of cutting through solid steel. Ripsaw also has a cybernetic cardio and respiratory system,
giving him extended endurance and the ability to survive exposure to toxic gases.
TWINSPIN
PERSONAL DATA
HISTORY
Luc Valois was the youngest son of a French mobster. He demonstrated a predilection for violence at a young age and started
working with some of his father's enforcers in his mid-teens. Luc's family were killed when a rival bombed their villa; the
attack triggered Luc's metagene causing him to develop superspeed powers, which was the only thing that saved him from also being
killed in the explosion. Laying low long enough to learn to use his powers, Luc emerged and used his speed to murder the rival
mobster and most of the senior members of his organization.
With violence being one of the few things he excelled at, and with the added bonus of his new superhuman abilities, Luc decided
he would become a freelance assassin. He started taking jobs around Europe, but the flashy nature of his actions made him less
desirable for many assignments. Rather than tone down his style, Luc doubled down and commissioned a costume and a pair of
customized katana swords. He began calling himself Twinspin and offered his services for more special assassination jobs.
Luc caught the attention of Stryke, who extended an invitation for Twinspin to join the new incarnation of the Assassin's Guild
as one of the core members. Seeing this as an opportunity for more prominent jobs for better money, Luc happily accepted the offer.
POWERS & WEAPONS
Twinspin is a speedster, capable of moving at superhuman speeds. The maximum speed he can run at is unknown, though it is at
least several times the speed of sound. His speed power includes superhuman reflexes, with Twinspin capable of reacting hundreds
of times faster than a normal human. Twinspin's weapons of choice are a pair of specialized katanas, with blades reinforced to be
able to cut through steel. With his superhuman speed Twinspin can wield the blades faster than most opponents can see, which lets
him cut through a foe in less than a second. Twinspin is an accomplished swordsmen, something that can come as a surprise to
opponents that make the mistake of thinking his speed alone is what makes him dangerous.
