MASTERS of SPEED
HISTORY
The Masters of Speed are a gang of criminal speedsters who use their powers to commit robberies. The team was formed
by Hellbent, Runaway, and Fullbore when they realized that there was safety in numbers. Through his own investigating
and also by working with the Exchange, Hellbent was able to
locate other speedsters. After assessing the candidates to make sure they could work together as a team each was approached
individually and recruited to the Masters of Speed.
The team with its current roster has been operating for a couple of years. Using profits from some of their earlier
robberies they contracted Fabricators Inc. and had a
mobile headquarters built. The headquarters appears from the outside to be a semi with
double trailers, but the interior is equipped with living quarters and advanced technology to maintain the illusion that
it is a regular transport truck. The Masters of Speed use the mobile headquarters the travel from region to region
across the continental United States relatively undetected; choosing a target area and engaging in robberies for a short
period before using the headquarters to lay low and secretly move to another target area.
Thanks to their mobility the Masters of Speed usually tried to target cities without a major super-hero presence to
reduce the risk of their crimes. They broke this unofficial rule when they started committing crimes in
Superior City, a risk they were willing to take for the prestige of
competing in and potentially winning an Enemy Award. Unfortunately
this brought them into conflict with the New Enforcers of Justice
and the Masters of Speed were captured and incarcerated in Mercy Island Prison.
Fortunately, or unfortunately, for the team the prison was actually under the control of the villain
Carnage. He recruited the Masters of Speed into his villain
army which he used to take over Superior City. When the Enforcers of
Justice and other heroes defeated Carnage and his army the Masters of Speed were once again captured and sent to prison.
Their mobile headquarters was never discovered, however, and is still out there operating on automatic. It is likely only
a matter of time before the one or more of the speedsters are able to affect an escape and eventually the Masters of
Speed will be back to their old modus operandi.
MEMBERS
HELLBENT
PERSONAL DATA
HISTORY
Drake's metahuman abilities developed during adolescence. He grew up an only child, abused by his alcoholic father; his
mother having died in childbirth. Drake had two forms of escape while growing up, a fascination with the great military
tacticians of history, and running. At age sixteen, while competing in a track and field competition, Drake found himself
overcome with a strange weakness. He stumbled and another participant in the race ran full into Drake, and then passed right
through him. The other boy collapsed suddenly and Drake found himself charged with strange energy, energy that let him run
faster than he ever had before so he stood up and continued the race. Unused to the speed at which he was moving Drake began
to run into, and through, more racers and in turn each would collapse and Drake would find himself moving even faster. He
won the race easily, passing the finish line in a blur.
His win was short-lived, however. Officials noticed the strange weakness in the other competitors and a scandal erupted,
centering on accusations that Drake had somehow drugged the other runners. Drake's father was furious and proceeded to beat
the teenager. Drake activated his new powers and ran through his father again and again until he had drained every last
ounce of energy from the man, leaving him dead on the floor. Drake notified the authorities and did not try to run. He was
arrested and tried as an adult; even though the jury was sympathetic to him due to the history of abuse he had sustained
from his father something about Drake still upset them and he was sentenced to twenty years in prison.
Drake spent the first several years of his sentence taking the time to practise and master his powers, in the process
killing an abusive guard and two other prisoners. When he felt he had learned enough, Drake used his powers to escape from
the prison where he was being held. Using his speed Drake quickly left for another part of the country and adopted a new
name. He donned a costume that concealed his identity and, calling himself Hellbent, Drake used his powers to steal, using
the money to pay for some college courses while deciding what to do with his life.
During the course of one of his robberies Hellbent encountered another criminal speedster, Fullbore. Fullbore in turn
introduced Drake to Runaway, with whom he soon became smitten. Hellbent and Runaway started a romance, while with Fullbore
the trio became the core of the Masters of Speed.
POWERS & WEAPONS
Hellbent possesses superhuman strength and the ability to move at superhuman speeds. He also has the unusual ability to
drain the life force, for lack of a better term, from a target. When using this power Hellbent becomes immaterial, like a
ghost, and passes through his target. The target is weakened, drained of some of their life energy, and Hellbent becomes
more powerful with his strength, resistance to injury, and superspeed all increasing in proportion to the amount of life
energy he has absorbed. Multiple attacks in a short span of time can drain enough life energy from a victim to kill them.
Even if he does not use his strength or speed, Hellbent must periodically use his life draining ability on a victim or he
starts to weaken as his powers start to feed on his own life energy.
Thanks to his studies Drake is a skilled tactician. That combined with natural leadership abilities makes him the ideal
leader for the Masters of Speed.
RUNAWAY
PERSONAL DATA
HISTORY
Dyan Sagan was a chemist working for a cosmetics division of Stagg Industries. When she discovered that one of her
formulas had somehow apparently given one of the test animals, a monkey, the ability to move at superhuman speeds Dyan
smuggled the animal and her notes out of the lab. Dyan's supervisor, George Celski, had already stolen one of Dyan's
earlier ideas and taken credit for it so she certainly did not want a repeat of this. Unfortunately for Dyan, George was
already keeping an eye on her and when she took the test animal and her notes he figured she must have been on to
something big. George broke into Dyan's home and confronted her about her actions. When he discovered that she had somehow
stumbled onto a formula that grants superpowers he realized it would be worth millions and immediately left, planning to
take credit for the discovery himself.
Desperate and despondent, Dyan took the formula herself and raced back to the company office herself. She had hoped to
get there before George but she was too late. Taunted by her supervisor Dyan snapped and began beating him at super speed.
When she had finally gotten a hold of herself she looked down on her bloody hands and George's pulped face, fearing she
had killed him in her rage. Worse, George had already phoned ahead to let the senior executives know about "his"
amazing discovery and three of them had entered the office in time to see Dyan's assault. In a panic Dyan fled, returning
home long enough to grab her notes and some clothes before burning down her house. Dyan then used her superspeed to flee
to another state (the monkey fled the burning building and escaped somewhere into the wild).
Hiding out in a dingy motel Dyan risked turning to the news to see if her actions had been reported. She learned that
George had survived her attack, but the story the company was telling made no mention of the formula or superpowers.
Instead the company was portraying Dyan as some kind of psychotic who had snapped after George had allegedly spurned her
advances. It became clear that the company wanted Dyan's formula and so were painting her out to be a dangerous fugitive.
Now forced to conceal her identity and live underground, Dyan began using her superspeed to rob convenience stores for
food and money. Later she encountered Fullbore and was introduced to Hellbent, with whom she has fallen in love. It is her
love of Hellbent and her need to for safety that keeps Dyan, now calling herself Runaway, with the Masters of Speed. As one
who mostly views their crimes as being out of necessity she is vocally opposed to the team using violence during their
crimes. This sometimes puts her at odds with other members of the team, but so far Hellbent has been able to smooth over
relations to keep the Masters of Speed functioning.
Stagg Industries is still actively hunting Dyan, with George Celski having been promoted and placed in charge of the
operation to locate her and her formula. So far, however, they do not seem to have made a connection between Dyan and the
lone female member of the Masters of Speed.
POWERS & WEAPONS
Dyan's formula did not give her true superspeed. Instead the formula, which was based off of a variety of animal
pheromones, has given her several animal-like abilities, the most notable being superhuman reflexes and the ability to run
at speeds reaching several hundred miles per hour. Like many animals that can move at high speed, however, Runaway can only
do so in short bursts before she tires and must rest. Since first gaining her powers, Runaway has learned the formula has
also enhanced her senses allowing her to see in the dark, hear sounds at frequencies outside the normal human range of
hearing, smell well enough to track by scent and discern details of chemicals simply by taste. Also, her skin has become
more resistant to damage, enough to stop small calibre gunfire, and she has an increased resistance to toxins.
Dyan is an expert chemist and has become highly skilled with computers. She has also been receiving training in martial
arts so she can defend herself. To help her in hand-to-hand combat, and with some breaking-and-entering, Runaway's costume
has been equipped with retractable, razor-sharp, nearly indestructible claws built into the gloves.
FULLBORE
PERSONAL DATA
HISTORY
Fullbore is the result of a secret military experiment. A soldier, Harry Coyle was one of a half-dozen participants in
an experiment that crippled or drove insane everyone involved, except Harry. In Harry's case the experiment activated his
metagene, giving him powers. The military kept Harry under lock and key, studying him in an attempt to discover why he alone
gained powers. Harry began to fear that the military would kill him once they were finished, so he used his abilities to
escape. The military, fearing that Harry had gone insane like several of the other experimental subjects, started a massive
manhunt and began warning the public that a dangerous super-powered maniac was on the loose.
Harry laid low, but had to start using his powers to steal food and money to survive. It was during this time that he
first encountered Dyan Sagan, who was in a similar situation. He slowly came to realize that this was his life now, so he
embraced his new role as a super-powered criminal and started calling himself Fullbore. He encountered Hellbent and the two
found they made a good team, and Fullbore then brought Dyan, now calling herself Runaway, into the fold with the trio becoming
the Masters of Speed.
POWERS & WEAPONS
Fullbore can run at several hundred miles per hour; however his reflexes are not high enough to deal with moving at those
speeds. As a result when he is running Fullbore usually cannot easily change speed or direction and typically uses obstacles
to slow down or stop. Luckily his powers have also made him very tough and hard to kill. Despite his lack of maneuverability,
Fullbore does possess an uncanny awareness of his surroundings, with an extrasensory ability like radar or sonar that gives
him a detailed 3D "map" of his immediate area even in pitch darkness.
Shortly after the Masters of Speed formed the team purchased a reinforced costume for Fullbore that offers him additional
protection, and offensive power, when he is charging around at top speed.
WHIPLASH
PERSONAL DATA
- Alter Ego: Jackson Seiber
HISTORY
Jackson Seiber was a CIA assassin who was on a mission in Qurac when a
nuclear weapon was detonated there by the terrorist Chesire. The radiation triggered Jackson's metagene, granting him superspeed
and the ability to absorb radiation and other energies. With his newfound powers Jackson decided to go freelance and left the
CIA. Adopting the codename Whiplash, Jackson began a crime spree that attracted the attention of Hellbent and Fullbore and they
invited him to join the Masters of Speed.
Whiplash is by far the most violent of the members of the Masters of Speed, with a thirst for causing pain that borders on
sadism. Hellbent and Fullbore were not aware of Whiplash's true nature when they recruited him and have come to regret it. The
other members have become uncomfortable with Whiplash as well but, given his volatile and confrontational nature, Hellbent and
Fullbore have been reluctant to deal with him. For now they simply try to keep him under some degree of control and try to keep
things smooth within the team. The fact remains, however, that Whiplash is responsible for over half a dozen deaths he caused
during Masters of Speed crimes. It is not certain how long things can continue before the team has to deal with Whiplash, and
there is no way that will end well when it does occur.
POWERS & WEAPONS
Whiplash possesses superspeed, meaning that not only can he move at superhuman speeds but his reflexes and reactions are
enhanced in proportion to his speed. He can think, act, react and move hundreds of times faster than a normal human. He also
has the ability to absorb large amounts of energy that is directed at him. Heat, electricity, radiation, and more exotic forms
of radiation all get absorbed and dissipated by Whiplash's body. Whiplash also has a degree of control over the force of friction
on his body, which may be an aspect of his superspeed, his energy absorption power, a combination of both, or of neither. He can
increase the force of friction, something he usually uses to increase the grip on the soles of his feet. Whiplash uses this
increased grip to run along walls and ceilings and up the side of buildings. He also uses it to brake hard, coming to a sudden
stop while moving quickly. One of his more sadistic, and favorite, maneuvers in combat is to grapple an opponent, get the
opponent up to speed, and then suddenly come to a stop. The sharp decrease in speed is often enough to snap the victim's neck in
the process. This maneuver is the reason Jackson took the name Whiplash.
As a former CIA operative Jackson is trained in spycraft and is an expert with many different types of firearms and has training
in multiple martial arts.
WINDSONG
PERSONAL DATA
HISTORY
Klaus grew up in East Germany, in a small town near a chemical plant. As a boy he loved skating, and would spend hours
practising on a frozen pond near the factory. Klaus showed great potential and had been tagged for the East German Olympic
program when the Berlin Wall came down and German reunification meant a combined German team would be competing in the
Olympics. As luck would have it a West German industrialist learned of Klaus and offered to sponsor him. With the top level
equipment and facilities Klaus was able to hone his skill and he qualified to represent Germany in the next Winter
Olympics.
Returning to his home town to visit his parents, Klaus could not resist going for a skate on the old frozen pond just as
he had as a child. While he was out on the ice a freak lightning bolt struck the pond and the ice cracked, sending Klaus
down into the electrified waters, waters that had been contaminated by spills from the chemical plant over the years. Some
nearby workers had seen Klaus go into the water and were able to pull him out, but Klaus soon fell into a coma. When he
regained consciousness in the hospital he was gravely ill and weak for several months, long enough that he missed his chance
to compete in the Olympics.
When he finally felt well enough to skate again, Klaus entered into a local competition. He performed admirably, but when
he went into the spin that was the finish of his routine he found himself spinning faster and faster until he lost control
and literally flew into the crowd of spectators. The accident caused a panic and the local people began to fear Klaus. He
fled, moving to the United States to stay with a distant cousin while trying to learn what had happened to him.
Klaus worked low-paying jobs in fast food restaurants and convenience stores while secretly practicing how to use his
newfound powers. His hope was to still be a performer of some kind, but his reputation from Germany had followed him and none
of the agents he tried to contact wanted anything to do with him. Two people who did want something to do with Klaus were
Hellbent and Fullbore. Though he had never considered using his powers for crime, Klaus was intrigued by the offer from the
two men and he eventually agreed to join the Masters of Speed. He chose the name Windsong, after a nickname he had been given
by a sports writer during his aborted Olympic career.
Like his teammate Runaway, Klaus is not fond of violence and goes so far as to try and avoid hurting anyone during a
robbery. This puts him at odds with Whiplash, who frequently taunts Windsong by calling him a coward and a sissy, little
realizing just how much power Klaus actually possesses. There may soon come a time when Whiplash pushes a little too hard and
he may regret finding out just how dangerous Windsong can be.
POWERS & WEAPONS
Windsong can move at superhuman speeds, but only while spinning. When in a superspeed spin, Windsong glides along like a
top and can move at over two hundred miles per hour while doing so, or he can simply spin in place. While spinning, Windsong
can also generate powerful gusts of air while spinning that he has learned to direct against opponents. By directing the air
burst beneath him Windsong can fly, or more accurately hop, distances of up to 50 yards. His spinning also seems to produce a
kind of force field effect that deflects projectiles and aerosol attacks directed against him. Windsong has learned to control
the angle that objects deflect off of his spin at, which can allow him to target where the reflected object will go. Because he
is moving so fast, Windsong also effectively has 360-degree vision while spinning.
In addition to his athletic ability, Klaus has some mechanical training he has picked up since joining the Masters of Speed.
Despite the limited training, Klaus has proven to have a knack for it and has become the team's resident mechanic.
MOMENTUM
PERSONAL DATA
HISTORY
Johnny Blue is a former boxing champion who was stripped of his title when it was discovered he had metahuman powers and had
been using them to win his bouts. Disgraced he was forced to work menial jobs to make ends meet, but Johnny missed the thrill of
being in the ring. He found a new thrill, however, when he was approached by Hellbent and Fullbore and invited to join the
Masters of Speed.
Though not a speedster, or even capable of any superhuman movement, Johnny's powers were still considered a good complement
to the team. He was given the codename Momentum and has become a solid member of the team. Despite his lack of superhuman speed
or strength, Johnny is still a skilled combatant and is one of the more ruthless members of the team, though nowhere near
Whiplash's level. He has killed on a couple of occasions since joining the team, but so far only in self defense. Momentum is
well liked by all the members of the team, including Whiplash, and has proven capable of keeping the latter under control on
more than one occasion.
POWERS & WEAPONS
Momentum has the ability to affect the speed of others, effectively slowing the effect of time on a target. When he does this,
to the target Momentum (and everything else around the target) appears to be moving at superspeed, but in reality it is the target
who is moving super slowly. At his full strength Momentum can effectively freeze a target in place, slowing time for them so
completely that when the effect stops it appears to them that no time has passed. The one aspect of Momentum's power that is
superhumanly fast is his ability to heal; Johnny recovers from injuries at a far faster rate than normal, and heals so thoroughly
that he is not even left with scars from those injuries. Runaway theorizes that he might even be able to regenerate lost limbs,
but Johnny is not eager to test this theory. Another effect of his fast healing, or maybe from his "slow" power, is that
Johnny's rate of aging appears to have slowed or maybe even stopped.
Even though he relied on his powers to win matches, Johnny is still a highly skilled boxer and a dangerous opponent in
hand-to-hand combat. As the only member of the Masters of Speed without the ability to move at superhuman speeds, Momentum has
been equipped with a high-tech jet pack that he uses to keep up with the rest of the team during robberies.
The BLUR
PERSONAL DATA
HISTORY
While working a jackhammer on a construction site, Jake Fenton struck something that exploded and bathed him in some kind
of strange energy. Whether it was some kind of meteorite or some form of technology has never been determined, though Jake's
theory is that he struck a piece of a crashed UFO. Whatever it was, the energy that bombarded Jake activated his metagene and
gave him vibrational powers.
Unable to turn off his powers, Jake was considered a freak and lost his job, his friends, and eventually his family. When
Hellbent and Fullbore invited him to become one of the Masters of Speed he figured he had nothing to lose and he joined,
calling himself The Blur (not realizing there was a young hero on the west coast called Blur).
With the Masters of Speed, Jake has found a new family of people who accept him as he is. Jake knows he is one of the most powerful
members of the team, but also knows he isn't the smartest so he is happy to follow Hellbent's lead and has no desire to take charge
of the team.
Though he feels accepted as a member of the Masters of Speed, and often acts as the team comedian and practical joker, deep
down Jake still resents what has happened to him and if an opportunity presented itself for him to become human again he would
take it in a heartbeat.
POWERS & WEAPONS
The Blur's body is constantly vibrating a high speed, so fast that he is a literal blur to anyone looking at him. He can
move at superhuman speeds and can even vibrate through solid objects. By vibrating the air The Blur can also fire off a form
of vibration blast as an attack. Jake's vibration field has an effect on energy that is directed at him, absorbing and
dispersing the high frequency particles before they can harm him. A side effect of this is that some high level energy
particles are slowed down, red shifting some electromagnetic energy to lower frequencies that Jake can perceive and
effectively giving him a form of x-ray vision.
Because he is always vibrating, The Blur gives off a constant low-level hum which can make it difficult for him to move with
any large degree of stealth.
MASTERS of SPEED HEADQUARTERS
The Masters of Speed's mobile headquarters appears from the outside to be a normal semi with double trailers. From the
inside however it is not normal at all. For starters, the headquarters is powered by a small nuclear fusion reactor, so this
is one rig that never needs to fill up on gas. On the rare occasions the reactor does need to be refueled, the Masters of
Speed simply need to pour some seawater into a processor attached to the reactor and it filters out the deuterium and tritium
isotopes that the reactor needs for fuel.
The semi is a fully autonomous vehicle, with a robot that sits in the driver's seat. The robot has a holographic projector
that allows it to appear as a person, with several different personas and looks programmed in. The exterior of the cab and
the trailers is also equipped with a camouflage system that can change the color and livery displayed, including the license
plate and any registration numbers. An automated computer system maintains catalog of several hundred legitimate truck
registries that it can emulate, down to printing out the proper paperwork, to allow the vehicle and the robot to appear as a
perfectly normal, and perfectly legal, transport truck and driver.
The first trailer contains living quarters for the members of the team. Each team member has their own sleeping cubicle,
with a computer for work and entertainment built into one wall. There is also a common bathroom and kitchenette plus a small
dining area. The second trailer contains the team's operational facilities. There is a workshop for maintaining the few high
tech gadgets the team uses, mainly Momentum's jet pack but also for performing minor repairs to the headquarters equipment.
There is a secure storage area where the team keeps the loot from their robberies until they are able to fence them, as well
as emergency reserves of cash (the team members keep their personal wealth in their own separate bank accounts). There is
also a tactical center, with computer and security systems that can show the status of the headquarters and a 360-degree view
of the surrounding area as well as being able to tap into local law enforcement communications channels. The computers all
have full, secure internet access so the team can do additional research on potential targets.
The headquarters was commissioned from Fabricators, Inc. and cost the team a lot of money, but it has more than paid for
itself. With the mobile headquarters the team always has a safehouse they can retreat to and, as the authorities have not yet
discovered its existence, a way to travel in complete stealth.
