SHARPSHOOTERS
HISTORY
The Sharpshooters are a group of mercenary assassins assembled by the Crime Cartel.
The individual members had all been incarcerated and were part of a group of villains broken out of prison by the
Cybernetiks at the behest of the Cartel. Bullet and Point Man had already been
working together, and Flechette and Sabot were a team, but it was the Crime Cartel that suggested all six join together.
The newly formed Sharpshooters were behind a series of attacks in Superior City
intended to disrupt the elections at the behest of their benefactors in the Crime Cartel. The team avoided capture and left the city,
again going their separate ways. The Crime Cartel keeps the group on retainer, bringing them together for specific missions, while
allowing the individual members to pursue their own jobs.
The members of the Sharpshooters are:
BULLET
- Alter Ego: Derek Vonnegut
HISTORY
Derek Vonnegut is the name used by a man who was almost literally born to kill. Raised from infancy by the
World Crime League in its island fortress in Malaysia, the person known as
Derek Vonnegut was intended to be the greatest operative in the world. Thefts, assassinations, and more than a few
"accidents"; events that disrupted nation states and all the work of Derek Vonnegut, the lethal Bullet of
the World Crime League.
Bullet's reputation grew, but so did is arrogance. He slowly came to feel that the League was actually holding
him back, so he decided to leave. The World Crime League is not the kind of organization that one simply leaves,
however, so Bullet killed his handlers and fled. He didn't bother to hide, leveraging his reputation to get freelance
work and even started to assemble his own group of assassins, including Pointman. The League does not forget or forgive,
and eventually an assassination squad came after Bullet and his new crew. Most of Bullet's team were killed in the
ensuing fight and the battle lasted long enough for authorities to arrive, leading to Bullet and Pointman's arrest.
He was in prison when the Crime Cartel approached him about the Sharpshooters.
POWERS & WEAPONS
Bullet is a versatile operative with a wide array of skills, all geared to causing chaos and death. He is an expert
in unarmed and armed combat, and can pilot nearly any air, land or sea vehicle out there. Bullet is trained in various
espionage techniques, which he has used to steal valuable information and artifacts from private and government entities
across the globe. He has extensive engineering knowledge, which is typically leveraged for sabotage, or in maintaining
his own equipment in the field.
On missions, Bullet can usually be found to be armed to the teeth and then some. Garbed in Kevlar armor and often
wearing a jet pack for increased maneuverability, Bullet would typically carry multiple automatic pistols,
submachineguns, and grenades. He has also been known to use a sniper rifle or assault rifle in the mission called for
it. Bullet has also been seen to carry more advanced equipment like ion guns, laser weaponry, and other high-tech or
experimental weaponry on some missions.
SIXGUN
HISTORY
Wyatt Haliday grew up in a broken home in the Suicide Slum area of Metropolis. When his Metagene activated, Wyatt
leveraged his new powers into a better life. Being a walking arsenal made him highly in demand as an enforcer and firepower
and Wyatt started pulling in big money. Wyatt hadn't forgotten his family, and used a portion of his ill-gotten gains to
move them to a better neighborhood. For their part the family opted to turn a blind eye to where the money was coming from,
at least at first.
Wyatt, now having adopted the Sixgun name, eventually attracted some big time attention in the form of Intergang. Sixgun
couldn't resist the increased payday, unfortunately running with a major organization like Intergang meant running up
against major opposition. In Sixgun's case it was the Man of Steel himself, Superman, who showed up to stop an Intergang
operation that Wyatt was providing support for. Sixgun was arrested and his family could no longer deny what he was doing,
opting to cut off contact with Wyatt.
While his family's decision has caused Sixgun to have some second thoughts about his chosen lifestyle, he is still much
in demand. The Crime Cartel arranged for Sixgun to be transferred from Stryker's Island Penitentiary to a prison on the
west coast, where he was part of the breakout that included the other future members of the Sharpshooters. Like the other
members of the group, Wyatt went his own way after their inaugural operation, making his way to Los Angeles. Unfortunately
for Sixgun he was tracked down by members of the Enforcers of Justice
and recaptured.
POWERS & WEAPONS
Sixgun is a shapechanger, with the metahuman ability to alter the form of his arms. Sixgun's power has a strange
limitation, perhaps psychologically driven, but in any case he seems to only be able to change his arms into the forms of
weapons. While this includes the ability to replicate swords, axes and other bladed weapons, Sixgun prefers to use his power
to turn his arms into guns. Shotgun, machinegun, grenade launcher, anything that can fire a projectile or explosive; these
are all part of Sixgun's repertoire. The one downside to Sixgun's ability is that, while he can generate ammunition for the
weapons he manifests, prolonged use weakens him as his body works to replace the mass he expends for the ammunition.
Fortunately for Sixgun, the weapons he transforms his limbs into are perfect replicas, meaning he can load them with
conventional ammunition. As such he carries several clips of different calibre rounds as well as grenades, mini-rockets, and
other explosives.
Due to his preference for firearms as the weapon of choice he transforms his arms into, Sixgun has become an expert
marksman.
HONG KONG KID
HISTORY
Tommy Wu really loves guns, to the point where he once considered legally changing his name to Winchester Glok before
deciding he didn't want to indicate preference to any particular firearms manufacturers. Guns are a family tradition for Wu,
dating back to the Opium Wars of the 19th Century. Wu's own father was a renowned gunfighter and assassin, who perfected
techniques for using two automatic pistols at once, techniques he passed onto his son. With so much pressure to follow the
family tradition Tommy mastered everything he could about guns, becoming a well-known weapons designer in addition to
becoming an expert marksman.
His reputation had already been earned by the time Hong Kong was transferred back to Chinese control, so the young man
decided to take his talents abroad. Starting in Europe, Tommy eventually made his way to the United States where he wanted
to match his skill as the Hong Kong Kid against the rising number of superhumans appearing there. His successes against
super-powered opponents only boosted reputation and the Hong Kong Kid was much in demand from coast-to-coast. His first
career setback came when he was finally captured by the Manhunter during a
pitched battle across Pacific City. Since the arrest then led to Tommy's
recruitment into the Sharpshooters it may not turn out to be much of a setback at all.
POWERS & WEAPONS
The Hong Kong Kid is a world leading expert in firearms. He is one of the top-ten best shots on the planet and has mastered
the use of all kinds of guns, and Tommy is also a noted weapons designer and has modified or outright built all the weapons he
typically carries. Clad in Kevlar and an armored trenchcoat, the Hong Kong Kid goes into the fray with a literal arsenal. His
preference is his custom twin silenced rapid-fire needle guns, but he also carries multiple pairs of modified conventional
automatic pistols and submachineguns.
SABOT
HISTORY
Sabot and his partner (and lover) Flechette made a name for themselves as mercenaries working across Africa,
the Middle East, and Eastern Europe. They are particularly well known for their actions in the Balkans, actions
that have them wanted by the United Nations on suspicion of committing war crimes. The Balkans was also where
both their lives changed. During one operation in the siege of a small town a sniper's bullet severed Gromitz's
spine, leaving him completely paralyzed.
Luckily for Varke, he and Flechette had accumulated a lot of money in their Swiss bank accounts. That money
poured out and went into the design and construction of an exoskeleton to restore Gromitz's ability walk. Beyond
that, the exoskeleton was armed and armored, turning Gromitz into walking tank called Sabot.
With both he and Flechette now possessing enhanced abilities they took their work to the continental United
States, which ultimately brought them into conflict with super heroes. A confrontation with the hero team
Vigil led to the destruction of Sabot's exoskeleton and both he and
Flechette were arrested. As part of the deal to have the pair join the Sharpshooters, the Crime Cartel has provided
Sabot with an improved version of his exoskeletal warsuit.
POWERS & WEAPONS
Sabot's exoskeletal warsuit provides extensive armored protection in addition to superhuman strength and
restoring his full mobility. Not only does the exoskeleton allow Sabot to walk and use his arms, he can run at
over 100 mph and he can cross several hundred yards from a standing jump. Beyond the enhanced strength, the warsuit
is equipped with high-calibre machineguns and an armor piercing sabot cannon. The suit also contains extensive
sensory enhancements, with telescopic vision that ranges from thermal infrared through the regular spectrum up into
ultraviolet nightvision. The suit also has omnidirectional extended range microphones that extend Sabot's hearing a
great distance and into frequencies not normally perceived by the human ear. To augment the offensive systems the
warsuit has laser targeting and a radar system.
FLECHETTE
HISTORY
The woman known only as Flechette is a specialist with heavy weapons, a skill she has employed as a mercenary
across many parts of the world, both on her own and with her partner and sometime lover, Sabot. While in the Balkans,
both Sabot and Flechette suffered crippling injuries. In Flechette's case she tripped a landmine that resulted in the
loss of both of her arms and extensive scarring. Following the lead of Sabot, who paid for an exoskeleton to
compensate for his paralyzing injuries, Flechette commissioned a pair of bionic arms to replace her missing limbs and
also had advanced armored polymers implanted underneath her skin.
Their combat abilities restored and enhanced, the pair of Flechette and Sabot headed to the United States, looking
for high-paying jobs to replenish their depleted funds. They started crossing paths with the nation's super heroes,
which led to their eventual arrest. For now she is sticking with her partner and has agreed to be a part of the
Sharpshooters.
POWERS & WEAPONS
An experienced mercenary, with a specialization in heavy weapons, Flechette is a lethal combatant. She designed her
cybernetic arms, adding a pair of automatic shotguns to the advanced limbs. In addition to the implanted heavy armament,
the arms are augmented by reinforcement of Flechette's shoulders and spine, which allows the arms to provide her with
superhuman strength. The implanted polymers she received also make Flechette's skin effectively bulletproof.
POINTMAN
- Alter Ego: Cesar Almerado
HISTORY
Cesar Almerado has a global reputation as one of the best snipers in the world. He holds the unofficial record for
the longest distance sniper kill and charges over one million dollars for a single assassination. Seeking the ultimate
assassination to cement his reputation, the Pointman planned to kill multiple world leaders in one go at a United
Nations conference. With his new experimental sniper rifle allowing him to take his shots from a safe location
kilometers away, Cesar lined up his first target. He took his shot as the Russian President was heading into the venue,
only to discover that it was not the actual President but a metahuman double. The hit was dead on, but the body double
had invulnerability and survived the hit. Desperate for at least one kill, Pointman opened fire at anyone he could get
his sights on. Several bodyguards and bystanders were killed before the Global Guardians, who had been assisting with
security at the conference, zeroed in on Pointman's snipers nest. Despite their speed the heroes were not able to
apprehend the sniper, who had fled the scene.
With the heat on him, Pointman sought some protection by joining up with the mercenary group being assembled by
Bullet. This only provided a momentary reprieve, as an assassination squad sent after Bullet let to an open
confrontation that drew the authorities. Bullet and Pointman survived the attack, but were both apprehended and jailed.
Seeing the benefit of numbers, Pointman then accepted the Crime Cartel's offer to be part of the Sharpshooters. As part
of that group, Pointman was responsible for the death of the hero Zodiak (who
was doubling as the hero Renegade at the time due to the latter's absence
from the city). Pointman escaped afterwards, but was eventually tracked down by the real Renegade and some of his
teammates and arrested for his many crimes.
POWERS & WEAPONS
Pointman is a sniper's sniper, a world class marksman who lives for the "perfect shot". He carries an
experimental long range laser sniper rifle as his primary weapon, and a .50 caliber handgun as his backup. Pointman
typically wears an armored uniform for protection, and has been known to bring along alternate weapons if the situation
calls for it.
