MYSTIC FORCES

These are the supernatural heroes, villains, and groups that have appeared in the various DC Heroes campaigns.

Contents

A to CD to FG to IJ to LM to OP to RS to UV to Z

A to C

ANTITHESIS

PERSONAL DATA

HISTORY

The Antithesis is an extra-dimensional entity that seems to feed on and project negative psychic energy. It was first encountered when it somehow became trapped in the Justice League's computer system. From there it began using its power to corrupt the members of the League, turning them into criminals. The corrupted Justice League members were stopped by their sidekicks and the Antithesis was freed from the JLA computer and sent to a limbo dimension. The sidekicks would form their own team, the Teen Titans, in the wake of this adventure.

Seeking vengeance on the Teen Titans for this defeat, especially on the team's leader Robin the Boy Wonder, the Antithesis reached out from the limbo dimension to transform on older foe of the team, Mr. Twister, into the creature called the Gargoyle. The Gargoyle was defeated by the Titans and sent to limbo as well. Years later the Antithesis and the Gargoyle attempted to destroy Nightwing, as Robin was now calling himself, with a psychic attack to drive him to despair but the hero was able to defeat the two with the help of his Titans teammates and the villains remained trapped in limbo.

The Antithesis next reached out to Earth and made contact with megalomaniacal Neo-Nazi Philip Adler, who was also the Avatar of Hate. The pair worked together to free the Antithesis from limbo so they spread hate and other negative energy across the world, which would further empower them. The events around their efforts threatened the entire world and are referred to as the Revelations crisis. Gargoyle was dispatched to aid Adler's efforts and the Antithesis was successfully freed from limbo. In the end, however, Adler betrayed the Antithesis rather than share power and it and the Gargoyle were banished back to the limbo dimension where they remain trapped.

POWERS & WEAPONS

The full extent and nature of the Antithesis' power is unknown. It appears to wield greater power in the limbo dimension, but that may only be because it is trapped there. The Antithesis' primary abilities appear to be psychic and involve the manipulation of individuals to corrupt them. The Antithesis seems to sustain itself by feeding off of negative emotions, and the more and stronger the emotions are the more powerful the Antithesis becomes by feeding off of them. The Antithesis was also shown to have the ability to bend reality in the limbo dimension and used this to transform Mr. Twister into the Gargoyle, but the Antithesis was able to do the same on Earth after it had been freed from limbo, so this power was not tied to limbo itself.

ANUBIS

HISTORY

Anubis is a servant avatar of the Egyptian god of the underworld of the same name. Anubis would be dispatched to the mortal world by his master to deal with threats against the Egyptian afterlife. In Ancient Egypt, Anubis was a frequent foe of the sorcerer Kheth-Amon, who was often seeking magical means to extend his own life, thus defying the god of the afterlife.

Anubis encountered Justice Inc. twice. The first time was in Ancient Egypt when he was helped in battle against Kheth-Amon by the time traveling Tarantula and Quiksilver. The second was in the present day when Anubis was dispatched to New York City to prevent Kheth-Amon from returning to the mortal plane. In both cases Anubis would return to the Egyptian underworld after the evil sorcerer's defeat.

POWERS & WEAPONS

Anubis possessed magically enhanced senses, especially smell which was strong enough for him to track a target over vast distances. Anubis' physical form was also highly resistant to damage, and almost impossible to kill. His magical abilities included flight and the power to fire blasts of magical energy.

Anubis' skills are rooted in Ancient Egypt, including a mastery of melee weapons from that period and unsual but powerfully offensive martial arts. Anubis also had knowledge of some magical rituals, especially those around reading omens and predicting events.

The ARCANE

Team of mystical heroes

AURORA

HISTORY

Aurora is the crown princess of the Twelve Houses of the otherdimensional realm of Gemworld, but from a period some time in the future. She first appeared on Earth during the Revelations crisis. Having traveled back in time to the present-day on Gemworld, she rescued the sorceror Rift from the clutches of Amethyst, the current ruler of Gemworld and a Lord of Order incarnate. Amethyst had been attempting to acquire Rift's Zodiac Amulet, which was powered by six fragments of magical gems called the Zodiac Crystals. The Gems of Power used by the Twelve Houses of Gemworld were apparently also linked to the twelve Zodiac Crystals from Ancient Atlantis and Amethyst sought the Amulet to increase her own power.

Aurora claimed that in the future it would be her family that frees Gemworld from Amethyst's domination and they would do so with the help of Rift's team, the Guardians. Aurora also wielded the Zodiac Amulet, apparently having been given or inheriting it at some point in the futre. After help Rift escape Gemworld and further thwarting some of Amethyst's plans, Aurora apparently returned to the future where she had come from.

There is some speculation that Aurora is actually a direct descendant of Rift, possibly even his daughter. There are even rumours that her father is Rift and her mother is his teammate Guardienne. A future version of Aurora was responsible for transporting the hero Harbinger to the 150th Century when he was an infant.

POWERS & WEAPONS

Aurora is a highly trained sorceress, adept at the mystic arts. She appears to be well versed in casting spells, and able to hold her own in powerful magic battles. Aurora also wields the The Zodiac Amulet, a powerful mystic artifact with origins dating back to ancient Atlantis. The Amulet is a reservoir of magical energies and in the hands of someone knowledgeable in the mystic arts like Aurora it allows the user to accomplish almost anything imaginable.

AVATARS

Supernatural embodiments of elemental forces.

BLACK MOON SOCIETY

HISTORY

The Black Moon Society is the preeminent Dark Magic organization in the United States. The Society was formed during the Great Depression by a group of men bent on seeking magical power. Things began when a man named Randall Banks found a strange book in the attic of his family home. The book had a strange cover and was filled with blank pages; blank, that is, until a few weeks later when, during a solar eclipse, words began to appear. The book revealed itself to be The Tome of the Black Moon, a guide to magical power. Having confided in his friends, Randall now found those friends demanding a share of the power the book promised, threatening to reveal the secret otherwise.

The Book was divided among them men, each tearing out different pages and studying the dark arts presented within. Almost immediately conflict erupted, with some among the men attempting to steal the pages of the others. As time passed the writing on the pages began to fade again and the men scrambled to transcribe what they could from their respective pages before it was lost. Still the in-fighting continued, until finally an agreement was reached. The men divided the country into seven territories as each of the men sought to increase their power. There was both continued fighting, but also occasional cooperation and eventually the loose organization came to be known as the Black Moon Society.

Each of the original seven became the Master Mage of their Territory, and each also began to attract followers eager to learn black magic. The Master Mages dedicated the rest of their lives to increasing their power, while their respective followers became the Apprentices, who studied the mystic arts, and the Guardians, who serve as protectors and soldiers and operatives. Each Territory has slightly different rules, but generally when the Master Mage dies (or is killed), the most powerful Apprentice usually takes over as the new Master Mage; though not necessarily in a peaceful transition, some Territories have had years-long wars of succession before a new Master Mage asserts himself (and then has to spend years consolidating power and trying to recover anything lost to other Territories).

The Modern Age of Heroes has opened a new door to the Black Moon Society. Among the myriad of super powered heroes and villains are those who draw their power from magic, either as sorcerors themselves or by possession of one or more powerful mystic artifacts. In their pursuit of power the Master Mages have now begun to target these magic users, capturing or killing them to learn their secrets and acquire their artifacts. Any openly magic hero (or villain) operating in the United States, and even those who try and keep their mystic origins secret, are most likely on the radar of at least one Master Mage of the Black Moon Society.

The current Master Mage of the Pacific Northwest Coven is a man named Howard Vinewood. Howard is one of the more conservative Masters, choosing to focus on increasing his own knowledge of the magical arts and on boosting the skill and quality of his Apprentices. He tries to avoid conflict, especially with the super hero and villain communities, but a recent surge in mystical activity in his Territory may prove too tempting to not become more actively involved.

POWERS & ABILITIES

The Master Mages are all powerful and learned practicioners of the mystic arts, espcially in the darker aspects. They also possess a variety of mystic artifacts of varying power they can draw on if needed. The Apprentices vary in power and skill depending on their talent and learning, while the Guardians may have learned a few minor incancations but most are there as muscle or other specialities such as those with experience finding and recovering artifacts - individuals ranging from archaeologist specializing in raiding tombs to professional thieves robbing museums, private collectors, or even those adept at stealing from other magic users. The different Covens also have a range of non-human servants, demons and other magical creatures summoned and bound to the service of the Master Mage.

D to F

DAEMEN

HISTORY

When the demonic Abraxis learned of our dimension he summoned twelve individuals willing to sacrifice their souls for power. These twelve performed a ceremony opening a gateway to give Abraxis a toehold in this dimension. Abraxis transformed the twelve into superhuman husks he called Daemen and sent them to four different time periods to construct Simulacra that would allow Abraxis to fully enter this dimension.

The time traveler Waverider assembled four groups of heroes to stop the Daemen, but the teams were not able to stop Abraxis from manifesting. With the aid of the Spectre, Waverider freed the Justice Society of America from the otherdimensional limbo they were trapped in. The Justice Society had sacrificed their freedom to fight a neverending repeat of the final battle of the mythic Norse apocalypse, Ragnorok, to prevent it from spilling out into the real world and destroying the Earth. Waverider was able to momentarily freeze time in the limbo dimension to all Spectre to temporarily release the Justice Society from the loop. The JSA confronted Abraxis in his own realm, weakening him enough that the heroes sent to the four different time periods were able to destroy the Simulacra. Abraxis was defeated and the portals to his realm closed. The Spectre then imprisoned the Daemen in the limbo that had held the JSA, freeing the heroes by having the Daemen take their place.

The Daemen were freed from the limbo dimension during the Revelations crisis when the creature known as Brimstone was manifested powered by the tainted Spear of Destiny. The Daemen wreaked havoc and destruction across the Earth until Brimstone was momentarily defeated by the sacrifice of the Human Bomb. Because Brimstone was powered by the Spear, and the Spear was linked to the Ragnorok limbo, the creature was sent into the limbo and the Daemen were drawn with it. However the Daemen were no longer linked to the looping battle and this threatened to unleash the limbo Ragnorok onto Earth.

To protect the Earth a group of young heroes dubbed the Seven Thunders were assembled and sent into the limbo dimension. In there they were able to defeat Brimstone and the Daemen, trapping them again in the limbo and halting the Ragnorok loop. The Daemen are still trapped in the otherdimensional limbo.

MEMBERS

EBONY BANSHEE

Paranormal investigator turned demonically-powered hero.

FLORA

Environmental activist with powers over the plant world.

G to I

HEART of REASON

Manifestations of a mystic power among women of a mysterious bloodline protected by a secret Order.

J to L

KI

HISTORY

Ki is an immortal Dragon Spirit who has battled against the forces of evil over the millennia. In Ancient Egypt, time traveling members of Justice Inc. met Ki who helped them battle the evil sorcerer Kheth-Amon. In more recent times Ki came to Earth to help the Guardians during the Light and Darkness War.

In a far flung possible future Ki, now referred to as the Dragon Empress, was an ally of the forces of Light in the war against the forces of Darkness. She was responsible for training the future Harbinger.

POWERS & WEAPONS

In her human form, Ki possessed enhanced strength and dexterity. She wielded a magical blade and could teleport. In her oriental dragon form she had armored scales and could fly and breathe fire.

M to O

M'L'KHAN

PERSONAL DATA

HISTORY

M'l'khan, or Mellikon, is a demon from Hell. His rank and power have varied over the eons, but his motives have remained relatively consistent – to acquire power and influence in Hell, to acquire mortal followers who pledge their souls to him, and to corrupt the good and innocent on Earth. So, pretty typical stuff for a demon from Hell.

The man who would become Father Lucifer was one of Mellikon's worshippers, trading his own newborn son's soul in exchange for power and using the child in a series of annual rituals to increase his own and Mellikon's powers. Even after losing the child (who would grow up to be the hero Damien Omen) Father Lucifer continued to service Mellikon, recuiting a team of metahuman youngsters (called Lucifer's Six) and selling their souls to Mellikon. Father Lucifer even went so far as to perform a ritual that let Mellikon manifest himself on Earth by possessing the body of the hero Firestrike, the brother of one of Lucifer's Six. This brought M'l'khan and Lucifer's Six into conflict with Firestrike's teammates from the Enforcers of Justice, but they were able to escape the heroes.

M'l'khan, still in Firestrike's body, accompanied Father Lucifer and Lucifer's Six as they plotted to acquire more power for the demon. In New York City the group began recruiting gang members and giving them demonic powers with a drug infused with Mellikon's magic. Their activities attracted the attention of Justice Inc., who attempted to thwart their evil plans. During the conflict Mellikon was betrayed by Father Lucifer, who performed a ritual that stole most of the demon's power and transferred them to himself. Weakened, Mellikon left Firestrike's body and fled back to Hell. To add insult to injury, a short time later several members of Justice Inc. accompanied Firestrike's sister Angela on a mission to Hell where they were able to free Firestrike's soul from Mellikon's grasp. They also released his hold on the soul of Angela and Firestrike's older brother, Reaper of Lucifer's Six (Mellikon's corruptive influence was not undone, however, and Reaper remains evil).

Demoted in the ranks of Hell due to his loss of power, and the embarassment of his being tricked and defeated by mortals, M'l'khan sought a means to rise once more. Eventually M'l'khan reluctantly struck a bargain with a demon named Neron to regain some of his power. As Neron's deals always wind up coming at too high a cost, M'l'khan began seeking ways to annul the agreement or find another way to avoid eventually having to pay the price. M'l'khan was also not above covertly meddling with Neron's various schemes, like the time he helped the hero Ebony Banshee escape from Hell after the latter had been imprisoned by Neron.

Looking for a way to boost his power Mellikon travelled back to Earth where he assumed the identity of David MacMillan, a talent agent working in Empire City. As MacMillan he sought to trick the super-model Kyle Grant, who was also the mystic hero Rift, into signing a contract that would grant the demon control of Kyle's mystic power. Mellikon was less interested in the power than he was in preventing another demon, Lord Satanus, from getting control of it. Kyle actually signed with MacMillan, but when he learned of its demonic nature he was able to break out of the deal by voluntarily rejecting the fame and fortune the deal had given him. M'l'khan did not really consider this a failure, as the main intent had been to thward Lord Satanus. M'l'khan stayed around Empire City, as he had learned that the child Damien that he had imbued some of his power in all those years ago was now one of Rift's teammates in the Guardians.

Father Lucifer and Lucifer's Six came to Empire City seeking to tap into a source of magic, and when he learned that the adult Damien was in the city Lucifer had him kidnapped and attempted to persuade him to join forces. The rest of the Guardians attacked Lucifer and the Six to rescue Damien, and during the battle Mellikon made his presence known. After defeating the treacherous Father Lucifer and exiling him to Hell, Mellikon offered Damien the choice to assume the demonic mantle that Lucifer had intended for him, or he could give up all the power and take his soul back. Damien chose to have his soul restored which Mellikon gladly did, having already won by retrieving his stolen power from Lucifer and knowing that when the Damien's soul returned to his body, the demonic energy would be forced out and would come back to him as well. Restoring Damien's soul also had the effect of returning the hero to infancy, the state he had been in when Mellikon originally took his soul.

With both his stolen power returned and having reclaimed the power stored in Damien, M'l'khan was more powerful than he had been in years. His power and rank restored, M'l'khan has resumed his old games. Though the demon has not overtly come into conflict with any of Earth's super human defenders lately, his manipulations are still having an affect in a variety of ways. For example one of M'l'khan's other mortal identities is James McLellan, a senior partner in the legal firm of McLellan & Rhodes. The firm has had a number of dealings with the New Enforcers of Justice in Superior City, mainly by providing legal counsel to various enemies of the heroes. One of the firm's lawyers is actually Thomas Pierce, a former hero and member of the original Enforcers of Justice.

POWERS & WEAPONS

As a demon from Hell, M'l'khan has a variety of mystic powers. He is a master of sorcery, able to cast spells and perform other feats of true magic with great skill and power. As a trickster demon M'l'khan is able to assume the shape and appearance of anyone he can conceive of, an ability he often uses to manipulate his victims by posing as someone they trust. M'l'khan can travel across dimensions, usually using this ability to travel between Hell and the Earthly plane. As a demon, M'l'khan can be injured but is virually impossible to truly kill.

MAALDOR The DARKLORD

HISTORY

Maaldor was born, or came into being, billions of years ago in an alternate universe. Even he has forgotten his origins, but he spent the eons wandering across his dimension following his every whim. With god-like power Maaldor became bored of his wondering and seeking a challenge, set out to conquer his entire universe. He found satisfaction in the subjugation of the universe and in the destruction he caused, and eventually he succeeded for there was nothing in his universe powerful enough to stop him. Maaldor's subjects referred to him as the Darklord, a title he was happy to accept.

Having conquered his universe Maaldor slowly became bored. Seeking new challenges he set his sights on a new field of battle – our universe. Seeking to find if this universe would be challenging enough Maaldor transported Superman and Power Girl, two of the most powerful beings he could detect, to his dimension and challenged them to battle. Despite their power the pair were no match for Maaldor and both would have been killed if Superman had not been able to trick the Darklord into turning his powers inward. His perception centered down into his own essence, Maaldor was unprepared for the darkness and chaos within and his cosmic power exploded outward then collapsed back in on itself. Consumed by his own power Maaldor's body imploded, forming a new dimension of pure evil and madness. Superman and Power Girl worked swiftly to seal this new realm off before it could destroy the universe.

Maaldor's consciousness survived, though he now embodied an entire universe. Seeking vengeance he reached out through the dimensional barriers and attacked Superman's mind, hoping to drive the hero insane. With the help of the mystic Madame Xanadu, Superman was able to defeat Maaldor's attack. When Maaldor next sought out Superman it was to ask for aid. His own insanity was making the Dark Dimension he embodied unstable. Seeing that this insanity would eventually break through to other dimensions Superman agreed to help, and with the assistance of the Phantom Stranger and the Joker of all people Superman was able to cleanse the Dark Dimension of the diseased portion of Maaldor's psyche.

Cured, the Darklord made another attack on Superman's universe, this time targeting another source of great power – the Central Power Battery of the Green Lantern Corps, located on the planet Oa. Maaldor successfully absorbed the power of the Battery and broke through the dimensional barriers, but was defeated and sent back to the Dark Dimension when the Green Lantern Arkkis Chummuck sacrified his life to restore the Emerald Energies to Oa. The attack had not been a total failure, however, as Maaldor retained a pathway to return to our universe. He manifested physically again when all universes came under threat from the Anti-Matter Universe during the Crisis on Infinite Earths. Maaldor joined with a group of other villains to travel back in time to try and stop the creation of the Anti-Matter Universe, but the entire group were slain by the renegade Oan known as Krona.

This was not the end of Maaldor, however. Though his physical form had been destroyed, Maaldor was a living universe now and his essence survived in the Dark Dimension. Recuperating, the Darklord had changed. Maaldor no longer sought conquest through force and show of power; that no longer provided him with the power he sought. Now the Darklord sought to spread his influence, to turn entire universe to the evil and dark that he embodied and then absorb them into his own Dark Dimension.

Once again setting his sights on Earth, this time the Darklord set out to corrupt and convert rather than outright conquer. To do this he has begun gathering followers and worshippers to help further spread his influence. Maaldor used the Ultra-Humanite to open a beachhead onto the Earth, empowering the villain who used an object called the Power Stone to channel the Darkness into a massive globe that threatened to cover the Earth. The plot was thwarted by the New Enforcers of Justice, but the breach into the Dark Dimension remained behind at the location that had been epicenter of the globe in Superior City.

To continue his efforts the Darklord recruited a young man who would become his Prophet; who in turn started bringing others into the fold. The Prophet traveled to Superior City to take advantage of the Pit of Darkness, as the breach had come to be called after its discovery, and also took control of Lucifer's Six away from their leader Father Lucifer, converting the youngsters to the cause of Darkness. The Pit of Darkness was starting to attract attention to the Darklord's presence, so when the Enforcers called in the mystic team The Arcane to help deal with it Maaldor chose to voluntarily close the breach. It appeared from the outside that it was The Arcane who had sealed the Pit of Darkness, though apparently at the loss of two of their members. In reality one of the two, the magician Wraith, had been tempted by the Darklord while in the Pit and had switched sides, agreeing to become the Darklord's spy against Earth's mystic defenders and turning on his teammate Ebony Banshee. The fate of the Banshee after this betrayal remains a mystery.

As the Darklord's power on Earth has expanded he is readying to move openly. To that end he has also been recruiting those would act as soldiers in his Army of Darkness. To that end he sought out someone to lead that army and has chosen the Avatar of Hate, Philip Adler (aka Kristallnacht). Despite his efforts, the Darklord's looming threat is not completely unopposed. The hero Harbinger has come back from the far future to rally the forces of Light to combat Maaldor's coming Darkness.

POWERS & WEAPONS

Maaldor possesses near unlimited power, though it is frequently restricted to the Dark Dimension. He is always seeking ways to break through to other universes. Before this was so he could find challenge by conquering the other dimensions, now however he seeks to expand his Dark Dimension into other realms spreading the darkness and evil that he embodies across the cosmos.

MINIONS OF SET

Powerful servants of the evil Egyptian god.

NIGHT FLICK

Vampire detective and super-hero.

P to R

REVENANT

PERSONAL DATA

HISTORY

Arasaka Konei was a young manga artist living in Tokyo when he was hired by the Kei Manga Corporation. However the company did not hire the young man for his talent, rather they needed his body. Kei had captured an alien being and sought a means to control it, and part of that was binding the alien's mind in a human body - Arasaka Konei's body. Arasaka was killed and his body usurped to be used in Kei's latest deception. The alien, the being called Nemesis, was not aware of what had happened and thought the body his own with the appearance of Arasaka.

This was not the end of Arasaka Konei, however. A little over a year later Arasaka Konei returned, this time as a vengeful being in a reconstructed version of his original body. This Revenant attacked Kei Manga Corporation, an attack that coincided with the arrival of several members of Justice Inc. who were investigating the company. Together they destroyed the corporation and, with its mission of vengeance apparently complete, the Revenant of Arasaka Konei disappeared.

POWERS & WEAPONS

When he was alive, Arasaka Konei was a reasonably talented manga artist. As a Revenant he possessed superhuman strength and was nearly invulnerable. Even if something managed to damage his undead form, Arasaka's body would heal itself almost immediately. The Revenant was also a powerful combatant in both hand-to-hand and with martial weapons. He could also project powerful magical blasts, usually directed from the bokken (wooden practice sword) that the Revenant carried with him.

RIFT

Fashion model, sorceror, super-hero, and wielder of the powerful Amulet of Zodiac.

S to U

SHADOW WOLF

PERSONAL DATA

HISTORY

The warrior called Shadow Wolf comes from the Shadow Forest in the hollow Earth realm of Skartaris. When the hero Tazer was trapped in Skartaris she encountered Shadow Wolf, who helped her fight off some attacking creatures. He remained by her side and when her teammates from the Guardians arrived in Skartaris he sided with them in some of the early battles of the Darkness War.

Shadow Wolf left Skartaris with the Guardians and continued to assist them as the Darkness War fully erupted. During that period he also assisted the members of the Arcane and was present when the new Zodiak was discovered. Since then Shadow Wolf has joined the newest incarnation of the Arcane.

POWERS & WEAPONS

Shadow Wolf is a highly skilled warrior, trained in a variety of the martial arts and an expert with sword and with bow and arrow. He has a nearly supernatural tracking ability that lets him hunt a target across vast distances. During the Darkness War, the Visionary provided Shadow Wolf with magical weaponry that he continues to use.

V to Z

VAMPIRES

Immortal bloodsuckers that prey on humanity.

VISIONARY

Mystic detective and investigator of the occult.

WHITE SORCERESS

PERSONAL DATA

HISTORY

Marilyn Northcliff comes from a very long line of unusual people. Her ancestry includes ancient druids, Renaissance alchemists, and members of nearly every secret society in the book (and a few that aren't). Her father would have none of this, however, and moved from England to Nova Scotia in Canada with his wife and daughter in order to get away from the strangeness that seems to surround his family. This was not enough, however, as one day Marilyn's great aunt Andrea came to them to tell the family that the young girl was destined to become a powerful sorceress. Infuriated, Marilyn's father threw his aunt out of the house and then moved the family again, this time to a small farming town in Ontario in an effort to evade his family.

As such Marilynn spent most of her childhood unaware of her family's strange history and her own alleged destiny. When she was thirteen and on a school trip to Toronto, however, that destiny caught up with her. While at the hotel where she and her classmates were staying Marilyn was kidnapped by a group of men in black robes. They took her to an abandoned church where they were preparing a ritual, and it looked like Marilyn was going to be the sacrifice. Suddenly there were cries of alarm as a fire had broken out in the church. While the men who had kidnapped her began to panic, one of them cut the ropes holding Marilyn and ran out of the church dragging her behind him. Outside the man took off the robe and told her that his name was John Constantine and that he was there to rescue her.

Constantine did not take her back to the hotel or to the police; instead he took Marilyn to a dingy looking warehouse and told her she was still in danger and that they needed to hide out there for a short while. Marilyn started to get scared again when another person arrived, a dark haired woman in fishnet stockings with a top hat. The woman said her name was Zatanna and she was there to make sure Marilyn was safe. For some reason Marilyn felt she could trust this woman and she listened as Zatanna explained to her about her family's history with the supernatural and of Marilyn's own supposed destiny. Zatanna also explained that the men who kidnapped her and tried to kill her were from a cult of evil magicians, the Black Moon Society, and they wanted to get rid of Marilyn because they believed she was a threat to them.

Marilyn was skeptical until Zatanna took off the top hat and told Marilyn to reach inside while concentrating on something she wanted very badly. Marilyn reached into the hat and pulled out a stuffed rabbit, one she recognized as a favorite childhood toy that she thought she had lost years earlier. Zatanna explained that Marilyn had conjured the rabbit herself, using magic. Marilyn was not convinced but decided to stick with Zatanna and Constantine. After a few hours the three got into a car (that apparently Constantine had stolen) and left Toronto. They drove for the border, and despite the fact that it appeared that none of them had any passports or other means of identification and were driving a stolen car they were easily able to cross into the United States. After a few more hours they reached a small town near Chicago and came to a non-descript little house. Answering the door was none other than Marilyn's great aunt Andrea. Andrea took Marilyn inside and thanked Zatanna and Constantine, but did not invite them in. Zatanna explained that they were going to keep traveling for a while to throw off any possible pursuers, though based on the way Andrea was eyeing Constantine it just may have been that she did not feel like inviting him into her home.

Andrea explained to her niece that she was part of a coven of white magicians that had been watching over Marilyn since she was a baby. When it became clear that black magicians, who feared what Marilyn was destined to become, had located the girl the coven moved quickly to protect her by sending Constantine and Zatanna (both powerful magicians in their own ways but not part of the coven) to keep her safe. Andrea then explained that Marilyn could never go back to her parents, that it would place both them and her in great danger. Reluctantly Marilyn saw that her great aunt was right and agreed to stay with her.

For the next couple of years Andrea and other witches in the coven began training Marilyn on how to use the powerful magical abilities she possessed. The pair moved around frequently to keep Marilyn safe and steadily her skill with magic increased. At the same time she has been trying to learn more about the destiny that supposedly awaits her, trying to use magic to divine what she needs to do.

Marilyn's destiny has now brought her to Superior City, where the Brookdale area in the city's east end sits atop a supernatural nexus. Marilyn lives with her aunt Andrea, who poses as her grandmother, while the teenager attending Sunnyside High School in Brookdale. The coven has also assigned her a mentor, an accomplished magician named Nicholas Graves who as cover works as the chief librarian at the nearby University of Oregon (Brookdale) campus. When she goes out to battle the supernatural threats that appear because of the nexus Marilyn wears a costume and goes by the name White Sorceress.

Recently the White Sorceress has begun to interact with the extensive super-hero community in Superior City. She was instrumental in helping the Enforcers of Justice and the city's other heroes in thwarting Carnage's attempt to take revenge on the city, and recently she has begun taking some additional training at the Superior City Academy, learning some of the skills that come with being a fledgling super-hero while still fulfilling her duties in Brookdale.

POWERS & WEAPONS

White Sorceress has powerful innate magic but is still learning to use and control it. She has harnessed basic offensive and defensive powers, allowing her to fire off blasts of magic and to surround herself with a protective force field. The White Sorceress also has a natural sixth sense that lets her detect magic near her.

Thanks to her studies the White Sorceress is becoming a skilled spellcaster. She has learned several spell that affect the mind, letting her communicate with others telepathically, read others' minds, and even control a person's mind. She is also becoming adept at illusion, from conjuring bright flashes of light up to detailed images that can fool almost anyone. For the physical world she is learning spells to freeze a target in place, and also to heal by transferring damage from the injured person into herself. White Sorceress also knows how to use mystic rituals to enhance her own magical senses, granting her a greater awareness and tuning her into the universe around her.

Besides the spells she has learned, the White Sorceress is also an accomplished student of the occult. Given the right books and materials she can perform any number of magical feats.

WRAITH

Rogue supernatural investigator.

ZODIAK

Hero powered by the signs of the Zodiac

ZODIAK II

PERSONAL DATA

HISTORY

Abdul "Abe" Khouri was an Arab-American who was studying archaeology in Empire City when his life changed forever. While cataloging artifacts Abe was engulfed in a shimmering aurora of light which caused him to pass out. When he awoke, the young man discovered he had acquired strange powers. Abe struggled to grasp what had happened to him and feared he was going insane. A few days later he was approached by the mystic hero Solitaire who was able to answer some of Abe's questions.

When the hero Zodiak had been killed the mystic powers he had possessed attempted to return to their source, the Zodiac Amulet used by the sorcerer Rift. As Rift had disappeared a year earlier, the power was instead drawn to one of the relics housed at Empire City University, which unbeknownst to anyone was an Ancient Atlantean artifact. The artifact focused the powers and caused the nearest person, Abe, to become a new host to the Zodiak power.

Abe has joined Solitaire and the mystic hero team The Arcane as he learns to use his new abilities.

POWERS & WEAPONS

While his powers come from the same source as the original Zodiak, they do not appear to be manifesting in the same way with the second Zodiak. Abe is still learning to use his abilities, and the power is still raw. Under Solitaire's tutelage he has been able to focus the powers into different effects that, while still related to the traditional signs of the Zodiac, are more versatile than those exhibited by his predecessor.