TAROT

T.A.R.O.T. (Technological Accession, Revenge, and Organized Terrorism), sometimes styled simply as Tarot, is an international criminal organization that began as a splinter of the scientific terrorism organization H.I.V.E. (Hierarchy of International Vengeance and Extermination). Under the leadership of a new H.I.V.E. Queen this splinter merged with the remnants of the international criminal cartel known as the Arcana, itself under the leadership of Lord Havok (Maxwell Lord). The new organization then expanded further into its final form.

HISTORY

The first known appearance of the H.I.V.E. splinter that would become Tarot was when the criminal scientists kidnapped Dr. Felicia Albrecht to use her as a test subject. It was initially thought that her transformation into the feline humanoid known as Cat, though this was later shown to not be the case. Justice Inc. uncovered the H.I.V.E. base in New York City and disrupted the group's plans.

By the next time the group appeared the leadership of H.I.V.E. had been taken over by a scientist calling herself Nightlight, who was hoping to use the resources and expertise to realize a plan of her own to build an anti-matter cannon with which to take control of the world. At the same time H.I.V.E. had attempted to kidnap Cat to try and discern how her transformation had been achieved (as all subsequent efforts to duplicate the experiment had failed). By mistake the H.I.V.E. operatives captured the former Titan known as Pantha, which brought Pantha's colleague Red Star into conflict with the organization. Red Star teamed with Justice Inc. and together they rescued Pantha and defeated H.I.V.E. and the anti-matter cannon.

Recovering from this defeat, Nightlight (now calling herself the H.I.V.E. Queen) re-equipped and re-organized her H.I.V.E. faction. The faction began a series of operations targeting Justice Inc., as much to gain revenge as to premptively prevent further interference in their plans. Again targeting Cat, and using metahuman operatives including Blaze and Hi-Rez. This plot is thwarted by Justice Inc., but at the cost of the life of team member Goldstar. H.I.V.E.'s next move was to resurrect the criminal organization SKULL in New York City and use them in an effort to take over the criminal underworld in that city by causing a gang war among the criminal families. This plot was also thwarted by Justice Inc.

Finally unlocking the secret of Cat's genetics, H.I.V.E. began the creation of a slave race of mutated humanoid animals in a a secret lab in South America. Agents of SKULL and a team of super villains were sent to destroy Justice Inc., but the plan failed and drew the team's attention to H.I.V.E.'s activities in South America. Justice Inc. were able to defeat H.I.V.E. and free the slaves. Cat left Justice Inc. to assume leadership of the newly freed humanoid animals, but months later H.I.V.E. would strike against them. Justice Inc. came to the rescue again, and this time were able to capture significant numbers of the senior H.I.V.E. leadership (though the H.I.V.E. Queen escaped). After this the again fractured H.I.V.E. organization was taken over by Adeline Kane, ex-wife of Deathstroke the Termininator, and she proceeded to transform the organization into one dedicated to the elimination of superhumans.

With those former H.I.V.E. members still loyal to her, the former H.I.V.E. Queen set out to create a new organization and so Tarot was born. The core of Tarot was formed when the Queen made a deal with Lord Havok (Maxwell Lord) to merge her H.I.V.E. splinter with the remains of the Arcana group, the portion that Lord Havok had control of after destroying the previous leadership of the Arcana. Following on with the card motif of the organization they recruited the members of the criminal Royal Flush Gang while also absorbing the remnants of the SKULL criminal group from New York City.

Filling out their senior membership from the ranks of super villains, Tarot began expending in earnest. The group's first major accomplishment was to seize control of the island nation of Zandia and put several of their senior members in positions of authority in the government. The group can now use the island as a secure base of operations from which to launch their criminal activities.

Tarot is organized along the lines of the deck of Tarot Cards, with the senior members holding permissions that are named for the Major Arcana cards and the lower level members being organized according to the suits and cards of the Minor Arcana.

MAJOR ARCANA

Here are the senior members of Tarot, according to the card of the Major Arcana they represent. Not all of the Major Arcana positions have been filled yet.

EMPRESS

PERSONAL DATA

HISTORY

Very little is known about the woman who created and leads Tarot. By accounts she is a brilliant, if morally dubious, physicist who developed a means to generate large amounts of antimatter. Since her designs held the potential to be used as a devastating weapon of mass destruction, no legitimate organization with the necessary technology to implement the designs would work with her. Seeking out other organizations the scientist realized that the terrorist group H.I.V.E., recently splintered into multiple factions after much of the senior leadership had been killed in a confrontation with the New Teen Titans, might fit the bill. She convinced the leaders of one of the larger surviving groups and was soon in charge of a project to build her Antimatter Generator for the H.I.V.E. splinter.

Known simply as Employee #45, with the alias Nightlight, the scientist coordinated with the splinter's resources across the globe and they successfully completed the generator, housing it in an orbiting H.I.V.E. satellite base where it would power a massive energy cannon with which H.I.V.E. could dominate the world. The plan was ultimate thwarted by Justice Inc. and the satellite and generator were destroyed, but Nightlight escaped. She soon seized control of the H.I.V.E. splinter group and set about trying to rebuild the organization with herself as the new H.I.V.E. Queen.

Her efforts led to further confrontations with Justice Inc., incurring losses which slowed the new Queen's efforts to rebuild H.I.V.E. to its former glory. Eventually her group came into conflict with a rival would-be H.I.V.E. Queen With a similar goal. As Nightlight had no loyalty the organization itself, she abandoned her plan to create a new H.I.V.E. and instead took the resources most loyal to her personally and split off on her own. Using this as a starting point, the former H.I.V.E. Queen found additional allies and built the Tarot organization around this core, with herself as the Empress of the ruling Major Arcana.

POWERS & WEAPONS

The Empress is a brilliant scientist and engineer. In addition to the Antimatter Generator and space cannon she also developed the special suit she wore as Nightlight, which provided her with a sealed environment allowing her to work in the vacuum of space. This suit was also equipped with gravity generators that let her generate strong gravitational attractions between objects, and an offensive system she could use to stimulate a target's nervous system to cause them debilitating pain. She has incorporated the weaponry and systems from the Nightlight suit into the one she wears as the Empress of Tarot.

EMPEROR

PERSONAL DATA

HISTORY

Joseph Kerensky, aka Joe Carny, was the self-proclaimed "King of Hoboes", a drifter and confidence man who was selected by Green Lantern's foe Hector Hammond to be the King of Spades in Hammond's new incarnation of the Royal Flush Gang. This incarnation was defeated by the Justice League of America and the members scattered. They were reformed by a man they thought was the Joker but was in fact a new Gambler, descendant of the Golden Age villain of the same name. By this time King had discovered he was a metahuman whose power was effectively immortality.

This reformed Royal Flush Gang fell afoul of the Titans and were eventually betrayed by the Gambler. The Gang would reform occassionally, usually at the behest of an employer seeking to use them as pawns or footsoldiers in one scheme or another. The offer by the H.I.V.E. Queen to become part of her new organization seemed like another such case, until King and the others realized that the offer was being made to each of them as individuals, with positions of authority in Tarot. King was happy to become the Emperor of the Major Arcana, with the responsibility and great power and influence that came with it. Since Tarot has siezed control of Zandia, the Emperor has become the co-head of state for the island nation in addition to his position within the Tarot organization.

POWERS & WEAPONS

The Emperor is a metahuman with the power of immortality. He can be injured and even killed like any normal person but he will always recover, even after being clinically dead. The Emperor carries a scepter that can fire powerful blasts of energy and can enable the wielder to fly.

BLACKTHORN

PERSONAL DATA

HISTORY

Dr. Lewis Lang was an archaeologist employed by the Superior City Museum of History. Dr. Lang had a reputation as a gifted, if eccentric and occasionally accident-prone, archaeologist. Among some newer acquisitions was a sliver of petrified wood that was part of some Druidic artifacts recently unearthed in England. While examining the artifacts Dr. Lang accidentally scratched himself on the sliver of wood. The sliver was actually a piece of the body of the evil Druid known as Blackbriar Thorn, who had transformed himself into wood. The enchanted essence of the wood infected the doctor, transforming him into the malevolent Blackthorn.

As the malevolent Blackthorn, Dr. Lang began causing chaos at the museum only to be confronted by the New Enforcers of Justice. Forced to flee, Blacktorn went into hiding to assess his newfound power. Horrified by what he saw as the needless destruction of nature in the name of progress, Blackthorn began attacking major cities as well as industrial sites and mining operations he saw as a threat to nature, intent on restoring nature's dominance. These attacks brought Blackthorn into conflict with several super heroes, but he would always escape.

With the help of Necron, the Empress was able to convince Blackthorn to join Tarot as the Heirophant of the Major Arcana, promising to help him restore the balance of nature in the world. Since Tarot took over the island of Zandia, Blackthorn has been using his power to restore several portions of the island to their natural state.

POWERS & WEAPONS

As Blackthorn, Dr. Lang possesses an array of powers derived from Druidic nature magics. He can control the four mythic elements of earth, air, fire, and water as well as control plants of all kind, including the ability to accelerate their growth and enable them to move more freely than normal, using the plants as footsoldiers. Blackthorn can also cast illusions, and has an innate ability to sense the presence of magic. His skin has the texture and durability of wood, providing some protection from physical attacks. Blackthorn's main weakness is that he has to be in contact with the earth in order to use his powers.

NECRON

PERSONAL DATA

HISTORY

While working on his doctoral thesis in Chemistry, Theodore Klein came across some old texts on alchemy. The books piqued his interest as they related tangentially to his studies. After earning his doctorate, Klein began to collect old texts as a hobby – not just on alchemy but also texts alleged magic, including some that turned out to be legitimate grimoires. Klein began applying the scientific method to the techniques (aka spells and rituals) in the texts, weeding out the true magic from the mumbo-jumbo. Within six years, and with no outside assistance, Klein managed to become one of the most powerful mages on the planet. He made no distinction between light and dark magic, though he drew the line at human sacrifice (animal sacrifice was another matter, they were just test subjects the same as for any other kind of scientific experiment in his mind).

Eventually Klein decided to publish a paper on his unusual research subject. When the University administration read the paper they were horrified. Klein was fired from his position and his research confiscated. When word got out the University came under fire from both religious activists and animal welfare groups. The police filed animal cruelty charts against Klein. When he got out on bail he was horrified to find the University had destroyed all his research materials and notes, including the computer backups. The University president was holding a news conference describing how the taint of Klein's evil experiments had been exorcised from the campus.

The loss of his research and position was too much and Klein snapped. He used magical bolts to slay everyone at the news conference, salvaged what remained of his research, and fled. Klein went underground, but tried to continue his research to recover what had been destroyed. Without the resources of the University behind him Klein had to resort to theft and sometimes murder to acquire research materials and he became a full-fledged super-villain. Klein began calling himself Necron and has faced off against a variety of heroes, both mystical and non-magic, as he sought to regain his lost power.

Necron has managed to regain some of what he lost. Initially he focused on defensive magics, weaving a number of permanent protective spells around himself. One of these spells was botched leaving Klein in near-permanent pain, a condition that has led to an addiction to opiate painkillers. The lack of offensive magical capability also forced Neron to use more subtle methods, like stealth and fear, to achieve his goals. When the Empress was recruiting members for the Major Arcana, she took an interest in Necron because at heart he was still a scientist like herself. Eager to gain access to the resources an organization like Tarot could provide for his research, Necron agreed to become the Magician of the Major Arcana.

POWERS & WEAPONS

Though he has lost much of the power he once possessed, Necron is still an accomplished mage. He has permanently imbued himself with spells protecting himself against physical, mental, and mystical attacks; these spells are always active, even if Necron is rendered unconscious. Necron has also become a master of spells that grant him the ability to fly, to throw bolts of magical energy, and to cast realistic illusions. Given time to prepare, Necron can have a variety of other magical spells and rituals on hand to deal with just about any situation. Necron is also in possession of a small number of mystic artifacts, but he typically keeps them hidden in a secure location unless he knows he is going into a situation where an artifact's powers would come in handy.

Necron is an accomplished scientist with specializations in chemistry and computer science. His researches into magic have also made him a knowledgable occultist, and Necron has also mastered a number of languages, both modern and ancient, as well as some thought lost like Ancient Atlantean.

SISTER SALVATION

PERSONAL DATA

HISTORY

Wanda Wayland was a test pilot fired from her job for refusing the advances of her boss. Blacklisted, Wanda was desperate to find work when she was recruited by Hector Hammond, and enemy of the second Green Lantern, to be a part of a new Royal Flush Gang. Wanda became the Ten of Spades and battled the Justice League with the Gang. After the Gang's defeat, Ten went off on her own, becoming the leader of a gang of teenage runaways dubbed "Ten's Little Indians". Ten and her gang were absorbed back into the Royal Flush Gang when it was reformed by the Gambler (a descendant of the Golden Age villain of the same name) who was posing as the Joker at the time. The reformed Royal Flush Gang battled the Titans and several more iterations of the Justice League, facing defeat each time.

Though not exactly known for their successes, the Royal Flush Gang still attracted the attention of Tarot when it was looking for experienced operatives to recruit. The Empress' offer was welcomed by the Gang, who discarded their old identities for the new opportunity. Ten became the High Priestess of the Major Arcana, adopting the new identity of Sister Salvation, pleased to be in a position where she can put her skills to better use than she was able to in the Royal Flush Gang.

POWERS & WEAPONS

Sister Salvation is a skilled leader and tactician. She also has military training in hand-to-hand combat and small arms weapons. Having served as a test pilot she is well versed in the operations of a variety of aircraft, including unusual and unique ones like the flying "playing card" platforms often used by the Royal Flush Gang. As a member of the Major Arcana of Tarot, Sister Salvation has access to a wide range of high tech weapons and gadgets.

HIDE & SEEK

PERSONAL DATA

HISTORY

The pair known as Hide and Seek are Australians, both having been residents of Sydney when the city was attacked by the Alien Alliance during the Dominator-led Invasion of Earth. Struggling to survive in the rubble, the pair were then caught up in the detonation of the Dominator Gene Bomb, which activated the metagene in both of them. The mute woman now known as Hide initially had no control over her powers, and only her hunger and thirst convinced her that she was not dead. With her invisibility and intagibility, and inability to speak, she was unable to interact with anyone around her and was slowly going mad while trying to scrounge for food and shelter in the post-Invasion wreckage of Sydney. The man called Seek was also having difficulty adjusting to his powers, with his enhanced senses threatening to overwhelm his mind.

While trying to get a handle on his powers, Seek realized that something was pulling on him, drawing him to one area of the ruined city. This was how he discovered that he and Hide were somehow connected. For her part, Hide was overjoyed to find someone who could actually see her. Even more surprising was the discovery that the strange link between the pair allowed them to sense each others thoughts and communicate telepathically. Working together the pair began to steal food and loot the ruins.

As Sydney recovered from the Invasion, the pair used their ill-gotten gains to set up in a nice home. Together they began to work on perfecting control over their powers. Hide learned to activate and deactivate her powers at will, and Seek learned to focus and interpret the information his enhanced senses were giving him. Once they had mastered their powers the pair went out into the world offering their services for a variety of tasks from tracking missing people (or people who did not want to be found) to industrial espionage and other high-end theft.

The pair have been inseparable ever since, and have since become lovers. Their interdependence is so strong that they will try and kill anyone who attempts to keep them apart. It is this relationship as much as the duo's powers that led the Empress to recruit them as the Lovers of the Major Arcana.

POWERS & WEAPONS

Hide has the power to disappear almost completely. When her powers are activated she becomes invisible to virtually all means of detection, including all forms of electromagnetic sensors (from regular sight to thermal and even x-ray detection) as well as to motion and sound detectors. She leaves no scent, and is even invisible to telepathic scans. Hide also becomes intangible, able to walk through solid objects like a ghost. She has learned to make parts of herself tangible while keeping the rest intangible, which allows her to operate devices and pick up objects while her powers are active.

Seek possesses a range of superhuman senses. His sense of hearing is augmented well above human levels and he can hear the faintest of sounds as well as being able to perceive frequencies well outside the range of normal human hearing. His sense of smell is acute enough to discern minute traces of a scent, and he can use this to track a person or object over vast distances. Seek can see across a wider spectrum than normal, down into infrared and up into the ultraviolet range. He also possesses telescopic vision that lets him see over large distances. Either due to a combination of his enhanced regular senses, or a set of new senses, Seek also possesses an innate sixth sense that warns him of danger, as well as the ability to see through nearly any form of illusion and pierce any disguise. This sixth sense also allows him to detect the presence of specific individuals across great distances.

For unknown reasons there is a link between Hide and Seek. Seek is always aware of the location of Hide, and can theoretically locate her anywhere on the planet. The two also share a mental link that allows them to "speak" to each other telepathically and may be tied to Seek's ability to always sense Hide. Since starting on their criminal career the pair have become accomplished thieves, experts at breaking and entering, tracking, stealth, and other skills of their chosen trades. They have also become skilled martial artists to better defend themselves during confrontations.

BLAZE

PERSONAL DATA

HISTORY

Jack Cooper's metahuman abilities emerged when he was in his early teens. He learned to hide his powers, using just enough of his speed to earn a reputation as a gifted athlete without tipping anyone off to his special abilities. Through high school Jack was a star running back on the football team, and was being courted by universities when it all fell apart. The summer before starting college Jack was called in for a full physical, including tests to determine if he had metahuman abilities. He had been careful over the years not to do anything that might raise suspicion, but someone must have suspected something and tipped off the authorities. Maybe it was a disgruntled rival athlete, maybe it was someone from high school with a grudge, who knew. In any case the tests revealed that Jack had powers and the offers of athletic scholarships dried up.

With no academic future, his grades were not good enough to get him in anywhere on their own, and no appreciable skills, Jack was left scrounging for whatever meager paying jobs he could find. Growing angry at the world for the hand he had been dealt, Jack decided to use his powers for his own personal gain. He started small, with quick smash-and-grab jobs that lent themselves to his superspeed abilities. He eventually stepped up his game and attempted to rob a bank. The authorities arrived before he could do more than grab what was in the teller drawers, but Jack was still able to use his speed to escape.

Though the bank job had not netted him much money, it had raised Jack's profile and attracted some attention. Jack was approached by the other-dimensional criminal known as Paradox and recruited into a new iteration of the villain team the Fearsome Five. Outfitted with a costume and taking the name Blaze, Jack operated with the Fearsome Five until their defeat at the hands of Justice Inc.. Afterwards, Blaze found himself recruited by the H.I.V.E. organization controlled by Nightlight. He remained with this version of H.I.V.E. through its transformation into Tarot, where Blaze was rewarded for his loyalty with the position of The Chariot in the Major Arcana.

POWERS & WEAPONS

Blaze possesses the power to move at superhuman speeds. He can run at several times the speed of sound, and has superhuman reaction time as well. Additionally, when Blaze is moving at superspeed the air around him heats up to the point of ignition, surrounding him in an aura of fire and leaving a blazing trail behind him as he moves (the source of his villainous codename). The fiery aura is only present when Blaze is moving at superhuman speeds. Blaze's body has also adapted to be tougher than a normal human. He has superhuman endurance and his skin is almost completely bulletproof. His superhuman metabolism also lets him heal at several times the normal rate.

A side effect of Blaze's superspeed and metabolism is his need to consume large amounts of calories to maintain his power. This typically translates to the need to eat the equivalent of a full meal every hour or his powers begin to fade.

BLITZ

PERSONAL DATA

HISTORY

Blitz is a super-powered German mercenary whose true identity and origins are unknown. After causing chaos in Europe he came to the United States for the greater challenges he felt he would face taking on the American superheroes. Blitz became a villain-for-hire, renting out his prodigious strength to the highest bidder among those needing muscle for their criminal activities. He eventually found himself employed by H.I.V.E. and would battle the heroes from Justice Inc. on several occasions. Blitz left H.I.V.E. with the Queen when she split off to form Tarot and accepted a position as one of the Major Arcana.

POWERS & WEAPONS

Blitz possesses superhuman strength, able to lift several hundred tons, and is virtually invulnerable having been seen to shrug off direct hits from high-explosive missiles. Blitz also possesses superhuman speed and reflexes, able to run at hypersonic speeds and react thousands of times faster than a normal human. He can also fly, reaching escape velocity speeds.

BRAINSTORM (II)

PERSONAL DATA

HISTORY

Patricia Storm is the neice of Axel Storm, the original Brain Storm who fought against the Justice League. Axel had discovered that certain types of stellar radiation seemed to have an effect on him, increasing his intelligence during periods when Earth was being bombarded by those types of cosmic energy. Axel constructed a helmet out of a metallic compound he found was able to concentrate the radiation. While wearing the helmet, not only was Axel's intelligence boosted but he gained other powers as well. Christening himself Brain Storm, Axel wound up battling the Justice League on several occasions.

While attending university in Europe, Patricia was approached by a mysterious stranger who told her that she was susceptible to the same stellar radiation as her Uncle Axel. The stranger provided her with a tiara allegedly made from the same metal as Brain Storm's helmet. As the stranger had promised, wearing the tiara granted Patricia similar powers to those exhibited by her uncle. The stranger then recruited Patricia into the team of next generation villains called Legacy under the codename Brainstorm.

As a member of Legacy, Brainstorm faced the New Enforcers of Justice on multiple occasions. Incarcerated after Legacy's last defeat, Brainstorm and her teammate Random were recruited into Tarot to become members of the Major Arcana.

POWERS & WEAPONS

Patricia wears a tiara that appears to duplicate the functions of the original Brain Storm helmet. While she is wearing the tiara, Patricia gains similar powers of molecular-level psychokinesis. So far the tiara has been shown to grant Patricia the ability to animate normally inanimate objects, teleportation, and the power to alter living creatures on a sub-cellular level, though these changes to the target's cellular structure appear to be temporary.

JEOPARDY

PERSONAL DATA

HISTORY

The man of mystery known only as Jeopardy is a thrill seeker. It is believed he developed his powers at a young age, perhaps his early teens, when his metagene activated under unknown circumstances. Because his powers combine to make it difficult, if not impossible, for bad things to happen to him Jeopardy is constantly seeking new and more extreme forms of stimulation and challenge to avoid becoming terminally bored. School was not a challenge as he would ace any test with ease due to his luck powers, and his superhuman physique made many sports a breeze. Jeopardy has never been in need of a regular job as his luck always he had more than enough money to survive, to the point where he is now banned from every casino on the planet.

Jeopardy took on ever-increasingly dangerous pastimes over the years to keep himself from getting bored or complacent. He has served in several warzones, worked as a smuggler and private detective, and become champion of several underground fighting tournaments over the years. The newest challenging profession that Jeopardy has chosen for himself is supervillain. He was discovered by the Empress almost by chance, if such a thing applies to him, and she felt Jeopardy was the perfect fit as the Wheel of Fortune in the Major Arcana of Tarot.

POWERS & WEAPONS

Jeopardy is extremely hard to kill. He has superhuman endurance, enabling him to withstand otherwise lethal injuries and his body can fight off nearly any known disease or poison with ease. Jeopardy's resilience extends to survival in otherwise hostile environments, which he can typically endure for up to an hour without any adverse effects. He also has superhuman recuperative abilities, recovering from even near-fatal injuries in a matter of minutes to hours at most. A noteworthy side effect of his enhanced physical endurance and resistance is Jeopardy's ability to channel excessive amounts of adrenaline through his system for a short period, during which he is able to boost his physical strength to superhuman levels, to the point of being able to lift a fully loaded cargo truck with ease.

On top of his enhance physical abilities Jeopardy has the uncanny ability to unconsciously manipulate probabilities towards his favor. This supernatural “Good Luck” seems to be always in effect, and as a result bad things rarely happen to Jeopardy. Weapons fired at him tend to misfire or jam; he might suddenly discover an unlocked car with the keys still in it just when he needs to make a quick escape; computer files with incriminating evidence against him will become corrupted; and many other such unlikely beneficial occurrences just seem to happen to Jeopardy.

Jeopardy could easily get by in life just on his superhuman abilities, but he is constantly seeking a challenge and so has learned a variety of useful skills. He has learned some basic martial arts techniques, and is familiar with the use of firearms, and Jeopardy has even picked up some detective skills from a brief stint as a private investigator. Jeopardy is naturally charming, which when combined with his portability manipulations allows him to influence others to a high degree, almost bordering on hypnosis.

THINKER (II)

PERSONAL DATA

HISTORY

In high school Clifford Carmichael enjoyed lording his intelligence over the other students, bullying behavior that continued into university. Cliff's bullying and pranks against those he considered lesser intellects backfired when he unintentionally caused his cousin to become paralyzed. Crippled with guilt Cliff entered treatment at a mental institution where doctors were experimenting with the mental enhancement technology of Clifford DeVoe, who had battled the original Flash over the decades as the Thinker.

Using Cliff as a guinea pig the doctors used the Thinker tech, which increased his already high intelligence. Cliff used his increased intelligence to devise a way to improve on the technology, developing a microchip version which he had implanted in himself. Whether as a side effect of the technology or just his own true personality coming to the fore, Cliff adopted the identity of the new Thinker and became a cyber-terrorist. One of his first acts was to try and track down and kill the mysterious figure known as Oracle, who provided online support to various heroes.

Thinker's attempt to kill Oracle failed and he was drafted in the Suicide Squad after being caught. He betrayed the Squad after several missions and fled. While in hiding the new Thinker was approached by the Empress and invited to join Tarot. Seeing the opportunities such a position offers, as well as the protection from the Suicide Squad afforded to him as part of Tarot, the Thinker agreed, becoming one of the Major Arcana.

POWERS & WEAPONS

Cliff Carmichael is highly intelligent and skilled in computers and engineering. With the Thinker technology his intelligence is increased to superhuman levels, with the equivalent boost to his technical skills. As Thinker the implanted technology also gives him the ability to project illusions into the minds of targets and control others' minds as well as granting Cliff telekinetic powers.

SKULL

PERSONAL DATA

HISTORY

Dr. Albert Michaels is a scientist and former director of S.T.A.R. Labs. A corrupt individual, Michaels was also secretly providing technical support to the criminal organization SKULL, giving them access to advanced weaponry. At S.T.A.R. Labs New York branch Michaels was conducting research into alternate energy sources when he tapped into another dimension composed almost entirely of pure electromagnetic energy. Michaels developed an experimental power generator that tapped into this dimension and a short time later, during a battle with a the villainous Ultra-Humanite, the hero Tarantula from Justice Inc. wound up overloading the generator to defeat the villain.

Unknown to Michaels or Tarantula, the dimension the generator tapped into was the place where the otherworldly conqueror Overlord had been trapped in after his confrontation with the original Enforcers of Justice. Overlord took advantage of the increased flow of energy through the generator during the fight with Ultra-Humanite and was able to possess Dr. Michaels' body. With Michaels under his control Overlord used the scientist's access to technology and connections to SKULL to eventually lead an invasion of Earth.

Though his body was freed from Overlord's control, the experience changed Dr. Michaels. His exposure to the exotic energies granted him powers, but the trauma of the events drove the scientist insane. Dr. Michaels became the villain called Skull, occasionally referred to as the Atomic Skull, and he seized control of the remains of the SKULL criminal organization. Michaels and SKULL caused trouble along the east coast, notably in New York City and Metropolis, but were always defeated by the super heroes of the cities they were active in. With SKULL at its weakest Michaels was approached by the Empress, who was forming Tarot and offered Michaels a leadership role is he and SKULL joined her. Michaels agreed and the resources and men from SKULL merged with the Empress' H.I.V.E. remnant to form the core of Tarot, with Michaels becoming one of the Major Arcana as Skull.

POWERS & WEAPONS

Skull's exposure to the energy dimension appears to have turned him into a natural power generator. His body is constantly producing electromagnetic energy, which builds up in Michaels' nervous system. If the buildup is allowed to continue unadjusted for more than a few hours it risks causing permanent neurological damage, so Skull mush siphon off the excess energy periodically. Michaels has build a regulator harness that helps drain off the excess energy, but he also has the ability to channel the energy into bio-electric blasts. These blasts are extremely powerful, Skull has generated blasts strong enough to injure even Superman.

Albert Michaels is an expert in nuclear physics and alternate energy sources and is a skilled engineer, especially in technologies related to his scientific field.

CHEMIX

PERSONAL DATA

HISTORY

Dr. Martin Andrews was a biochemist working for the secretive Project Cadmus who started researching artificially activate and manipulate the dormant metagene in non-powered subjects with a dormant version of the gene. His research caught the attention of the US military, who were interested in the potential of made-to-order super soldiers. Martin provided frequent reports and updates and after a few years was anticipating imminent success in developing a procedure from his research. The military sent the Doctor's findings for independent review, and the results were alarming. Not only couldn't Andrews' results be replicated, the military researchers felt his methods were dangerous and strongly recommended it be stopped and under no circumstances should it be allowed to proceed to human experimentation.

Faced with his work being confiscated, Andrews raced to finish his procedure. As the Military Police were barging down the door to his lab, Andrews used the untested procedure on himself. There was a massive explosion which destroyed the lab, but miraculously Andrews survived. As more soldiers raced to the scene Andrews was ecstatic to discover that the process had worked and he had developed superhuman powers. Andrews found that he could sense chemical reactions around him and immediately used it to disable the soldiers' guns. When they kept coming for him he turned his powers on them, killing the soldiers by destroying their internal organs.

Despite his success, Andrews' notes had all been lost in the lab explosion or confiscated by the military. Andrews was on the run, hunted by the authorities, and had to go underground. He turned to crime to make ends meet and became known as Chemix. He was tracked down by the Empress while she was still running a H.I.V.E. faction and recruited him. Andrews was happy to have access to lab facilities again and served mostly as a scientific resource for the H.I.V.E. group. When the Empress turned the organization into Tarot she offered Andrews a more senior position and so Chemix became one of the Major Arcana.

POWERS & WEAPONS

Chemix has the ability to control chemical reactions. With concentration he can accelerate or slow down the reaction rate of any chemical process occurring in his sight. He can stop the explosive reaction in bullets to cause guns to misfire, or accelerate an oxidization reaction to cause a metal object rust away to nothing in seconds, or even spped it up to the degree that the rust reaction becomes fire. Used on a living being, Chemix can increase the rate of decay of a person's cells to the point where they will crumble to dust in minutes. While he prefers to use his powers on inanimate objects, Chemix has no qualms about using them on people.

Dr. Andrews is an expert in biochemistry, and has extensively studied the processes behind how the metagene gives a person superhuman powers.

LORD HAVOK

PERSONAL DATA

HISTORY

Maxwell (Max) Lord was a rising corporate executive when he fell under the control of the alien cyber-entity called Kilg%re. Under the Kilg%re's influence Lord climbed the corporate ladder to eventually head his own multinational corporation. Using his position Max influenced the United Nations into providing support for the newest iteration of the Justice League, turning the team into a global peacekeeping force under the UN's aegis with Max in place as the liaison between the team and the Security Council. Max eventually broke free from Kilg%re's control and despite the revelations of his manipulations behind the creation of the Justice League International, the League let Max stay with the team.

After the detonation of the Dominator Gene Bomb at the end of the alien Invasion of Earth, Max learned he was a metahuman and he developed the ability to implant powerful hypnotic suggestions into a person's mind. Max continued to work with the Justice League until it eventually broke away from the United Nations. After separating from the League, Max was diagnosed with a brain tumor and he apparently died a short time later.

Despite the death of his body, Max's mind was saved by Kilg%re and transferred into a new host. In this case Max's new body was the robotic form of Lord Havok, one of a group of extra-dimensional villains called the Extremists. The trauma of his death and "resurrection" as the new Lord Havok twisted Max's mind and became obsessed with testing the newest incarnation of the Justice League. The League dealt with the threats Lord Havok sent their way and never learned who was actually behind them. While threatening the League, Lord discovered a group of secret power brokers that were also after the League. Lord Havok infiltrated this group, which called itself the Arcana, and killed the group's leaders before seizing control of it for himself.

Before he could decide what to do with his new resources, Lord Havok was approached by the Empress. She offered him a leadership position in the new organization she was forming in exchange for him bringing the Arcana's resources into the new group. Lord agreed and took a position in the Major Arcana while the resources of the now-defunct Arcana were folded into Tarot.

POWERS & WEAPONS

The Lord Havok body possessed superhuman strength, invulnerability and the ability to fly. The body could also absorb energy and use that energy to augment its already prodigious strength. When the Kilg%re put Max's consciousness into the Havok body it gave Max the ability to morph the robot body into multiple forms. These varied from being able to increase the size of the robot shell to being able to adjust its form and appearance into a facsimile of his original body. The Lord Havok body was now also able to generate protective force fields.

Even after death and having his mind transferred to the Lord Havok body Max retained his metahuman ability to manipulate the minds of others. While still in his human body using this power was taxing to Max and he would develop nosebleeds when he used it even a little; and major uses risked causing hemorrhaging. In the Lord Havok body Max no longer has this physiological limit to the use of his power. Max's new nature as a cybernetic consciousness lets him interface with and manipulate computer systems.

RANDOM

PERSONAL DATA

HISTORY

Nicole Clinton is the neice of David Clinton, who battled the second Atom as the time travelling villain Chronos. Nicole is highly intelligent and attended university, choosing to specialize in physics and mathematics. She turned her studies towards formulating theories to understand how many of the technologies developed by her uncle worked.

Continuing her academic pursuits, Nicole's research finally reached the point where she could not go any further without access to some of Chronos' actual technology. Unfortunately, all of her uncle's equipment had either been destroyed or was being held by the government. All her efforts to get access to the equipment failed, so Nicole was surprised when a mysterious figure approached her and offered to provide her with some of her uncle's equipment.

In exchange for the technology, Nicole agreed to join with several other individuals who had similarly been given access to equipment that had once belonged to their relatives, all of whom had been super villains like Nicole's uncle. The group was christened Legacy and began committing crimes with their new equipment, with Nicole using the alias Random (not feeling comfortable taking the Chronos mantle without her uncle's permission). This brought them into conflict with super heroes and eventually Legacy were defeated and incarcerated.

After the last defeat, Random and her teammate Brainstorm were broken out of prison by Tarot and invited to become members of the Major Arcana.

POWERS & WEAPONS

Random is equipped with a number of Chronos' inventions that give her the ability to manipulate time in the local area. She can slow down or speed up time, making it appear to observers that she possesses superhuman speed. She can also "rewind" time, traveling backwards in time by several seconds or minutes to relive (and change) recent events. To an outsider this makes it appear that Random can predict an opponent's every move. She also possesses technology that allows her to regress a target along their personal timeline.

Harlequin III

HARLEQUIN (IV)

PERSONAL DATA

HISTORY

Little is known of the history of the woman calling herself Harlequin. She claims to have discovered her powers when she was still a child. She first appeared when she confronted Alan Scott, the original Green Lantern, seeking to claim him as a partner and lover. Scott had recently had his youth restored to him and the Harlequin sought to replace Scott's wife Molly (who had started out as the original Harlequin in the 1940s, becoming the villain to attract the attention of Green Lantern). Despite Harlequin's powerful illusions, Alan Scott rejected her and drove her away.

Harelquin next appeared in league with the Ultra-Humanite as a member of his Injustice Syndicate. As part of this team she faced off against Justice Inc. and during the conflict she attempted to seduce both the hero Tarantula as well as his grandfather, who had been the original Tarantula in the 1940s. Justice Inc. ultimately defeated Ultra-Humanite and the Injustice Syndicate, but Harlequin used her powers to escape capture.

Remaining underground for a short while, Harlequin emerged working for H.I.V.E. under the H.I.V.E. Queen. This led to her becoming a member of Tarot when that group formed from the H.I.V.E. splinter she had been part of, and she became one of the Major Arcana.

POWERS & WEAPONS

Harlequin has powerful illusion casting abilities. She can create realistic illusions that are convincing enough to cause physical harm in some cases. Her illusions seem to also have a psychic aspect to them, as they can cause mental trauma as well as physical, and the psychic aspect may also explain why her illusions can be so believable.

SPECTRA

PERSONAL DATA

HISTORY

Violet Harper was a problem child who grew into a cruel, almost sociopathic young woman. Getting in over her head, Violet and her then boyfriend were killed by an assassin while in the small European nation of Markovia. Shortly after her death, Violet's body was taken over by an extra-dimensional being called an Aurakle. In Violet's body, the now amnesiac Aurakle had no memory of who she truly was or how it came to possess the strange powers she was exhibiting. The Aurakle was found by the hero Batman, and joined his new team The Outsiders as Halo. With no memory she began going by the name Gabrielle Doe, until Batman was able to track down her believed true identity as Violet Harper. Gabrielle believed she was Violet until eventually she learned the truth. The other Aurakles tried to take her back to their dimension, but Gabrielle resisted and remained on Earth. She continued as a member of various iterations of the Outsiders.

During one adventure Gabrielle was badly injured and was in a coma for several months. During this time, the original mind of Violet Harper began to recover and reassert itself in her body. Eventually Violet was able to take control and she betrayed the Outsiders, who were then being sought by the authorities after being framed for murder. Violet's plan backfired, however, when an enemy of the Outsiders mistook her for Halo and attacked, killing her again (Gabrielle's mind transferred to another body, ironically that of the woman who had hired the man who had fired the killing shot, a shot that also killed the woman and allowed the Aurakle Gabrielle to transfer to her body).

Violet's body was buried, but a short time later it was retrieved by the international terrorist Kobra. Kobra's scientists were able to revive Violet's body, and without the Aurakle possessing her Violet was still in control. Additionally, the body seemed to still possess the Halo powers despite the Aurakle no longer being present. It is possible, however, that this was enabled by the Kobra scientists that revived her, as Violet seemed to exhibit slightly better control over the powers than Halo did. Violet became Spectra and was made a member of one incarnation of Strike Force Kobra, an elite team working for the terrorist.

After a confrontation with the Outsiders (including Halo in her new body), Spectra fled when the rest of Strike Force were defeated. Initially hiding from Kobra for fear of retaliation, Violet began seeking a means of escaping her debt to the terrorist. When the Empress came to recruit Violet, she leapt at the change and Spectra became one of the Major Arcana of Tarot.

POWERS & WEAPONS

Spectra seems to possess the same powers as Halo, a set of abilities matched to colorful auras she generates. The Red Aura generates powerful heat beams, the Orange Aura produces concussive force beams, the Yellow Aura creates blinding flashes of light, the Green Aura generates a stasis beam to contain enemies, the Blue Halo is a tractor beam that can push or pull a target, and the Indigo Aura produces a distortion effect that confuses or distract an enemy (often the effect includes the generation of holographic duplicates of Spectra). When Halo used the Violet Aura, it would allow Violet Harper's mind to take control of her body (perhaps a psychological allusion to her name); now that Violet is fully in control of her body again it is unknown what effect the Violet Aura produces. Unlike Halo, who could only use one Aura power at a time, Spectra has shown the ability to use two at once. When Spectra uses her powers, her costume changes color to match the color of the aura power she is using. Like Halo, Spectra also has the power to fly.

Violet Harper has possessed a photographic memory since she was a child.

JUDGMENT

PERSONAL DATA

HISTORY

James Collins was the brother of John Collins, a mentally ill man duped by Maxwell Lord into killing himself in a terrorist act as part of Lord's manipulations to create the Justice League International. James learned of Lord's actions and blackmailed him for millions over the years, secretly funneling the money into efforts to grant himself super powers. Maxwell Lord apparently died before James could take revenge with his new powers, so he had to instead settle for attacking the current iteration of the Justice League, believing the League to also be at least partially responsible for John's death.

As Judgment, James attacked during Maxwell Lord's funeral. After battling the Justice League and attempting to destroy their orbital headquarters, Judgment was finally defeated and captured. Imprisoned, Judgment was later broken out of prison by Lord Havok to assist him in his latest schemes. Judgement agreed and went with Havok, on condition that he would have the opportunity to destroy the Justice League. Ironically, Judgment did not realize that Lord Havok was in reality Maxwell Lord.

James worked with Lord Havok as the latter infiltrated and later betrayed and destroyed the leadership of the Arcana and took control of the organization. When Lord Havok joined with the H.I.V.E. Queen to form Tarot by merging their respective groups, James came along. As was apt based on his own codename, James then took the position of the Judgment card of Tarot's Major Arcana.

James served as Judgement for Tarot for less than a year before he met an untimely fate. As part of their cover as semi-heroic aliens, the White Martians known as the Hyperclan captured several villains including Judgment and executed them to send a "tough on crime" message. At this time Tarot has not found anyone new to fill the Judgment role in the Major Arcana and the position remains vacant.

POWERS & WEAPONS

Thanks to the operations he had performed on himself, Judgment gained explosive energy powers. He could emit this energy from any part of his body, frequently relying on energy blasts from his eyes or generating explosions in his immediate vicinity with a gesture. In close combat he would also use his powers to generate explosions around his fists, dealing additional damage when he punched. He could project his energy beams over great distances, though the power of the beams would diminish the further it went. Judgment was protected from the effects of his own powers thanks to a protective aura.

James also used his embezzled funds to build a suit of armor that helped enhance his explosive powers.

MINOR ARCANA

The rank and file of Tarot are organized into the suits of the Minor Arcana, with each suit having responsibility for a different area of the organization. There are four suits: Wands, Cups, Swords, and Pentacles; and rach of the four suits of the Minor Arcana has 14 cards: Ace, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, Page, Knight, Queen, and King. Each card is a rank in the Tarot organization, with there being a single individual occupying the rank of each of the Royal cards of each suit while there can be multiple members having one of the Ace or numbered card ranks in the branches of Tarot represented by the suits.

The areas of expertise of each branch of Tarot represented by the Minor Arcana suits are as follows:

Ace of the Royal Flush Gang has been given the position of Knight in the Swords hierarchy while Gang member Jack has been given a human-looking cyber-eye and is the Knight of Cups.

Warp Zone | DC Heroes | Villains | Tarot