History Characters / VillainsCode

* EvilCounterpart: To Professor Quantum, in a way. To be fair, he may be a supervillain, but he doesn't do anything outright evil. Unlike Professor Quantum, Wade is far more involved in the day-to-day running of the guild.

* MultiethnicName: There doesn't appear to be an explanation why Ivan has a Slavic first name and a German last name.

* TheAtoner: [[spoiler:Becomes this during the climax, fighting alongside Lance and some of the capes to put an end to his former mentor's betrayal]].

* PhysicalGod: According to Ivan, [[spoiler:he ''ate'' one, which is how he got his powers]].

* BrokenBase: As a kid, Balaam was enthralled by Fornax. After becoming a meta himself, he strove to become as powerful as Fornax in order to emulate his idol. Then he got into the guild and discovered that, not only is a guild of supervillains not concerned with, well, supervillainy, but the man, who was once known as Fornax, is one of those maintaining the status quo. Balaam still rewatches old recordings of Fornax's fights with capes for nostalgia's sake.

* OneWingedAngel: Balaam turns into a bat-winged horned demon during his fight with [[spoiler:Ivan, who then claims that Balaam's idea of what demons look like is terrible]].

* FriendToAllChildren: Kristoph's power is only activated, when he detects the sin of killing of serious hurting a child. Then he makes sure that the sinner never hurts another child again.

* TheChick: Sort of, she may be the only female on the team (until Lucy joins, that is), but she's hardly the feminine type.

* UnexplainedRecovery: Nexus has been killed at least once before, but he always comes back sometime later. [[spoiler:It's implied he has shares a HiveMind with his [[AlternateSelf alternate selves]], so, when one dies, then another arrives to take his place]].

* [[ProudWarriorRaceGuy Proud Warrior Race Gal]]: Gork's people are big on honor and protocol. This is why she joined the guild instead of the AHC, as the capes had initially treated her as a hostile lifeform, putting her off from working with them.

* JerkassFacade: While initially a bit of a jerk, Warren quickly warms up to the other apprentices, especially as they're forced to work together for their final test. It's heavily implied that his initial jerkassery is a result of Balaam's influence. [[spoiler:He refuses to follow his mentor into betrayal and fights to show that he's ''not'' like Balaam, even enchanting Cyber Geek's {{BFG}}, allowing it to blast through the shield surrounding AHC headquarters]].

* FictionFiveHundred: Wade Wyatt's company, thanks to his genius. It's explained that the company where Ivan and Tori work, Vendallia Industries, is actually a subsidiary of Wade's company.

* MagnificentBastard: Balaam is known as a schemer and [[spoiler:has orchestrated the events of the final third of ''Hephaestus Rising''. He initially cooperates with Apollo, but then betrays the cape when it's convenient]].

* TwoferTokenMinority: A Hispanic woman, although her race gets mentioned only once, and her being a woman has ''zero'' effect on how others treat her and how she behaves. The novel might as well have been written for a generic gender-neutral character (well, except for Donald being interested in her and her being taken on a girls' night out).

* FalseFlagOperation: [[spoiler:In the climax, Balaam has Pod Person send a whole army of copies of himself to attack the capes in order to make it seem as if the whole guild was doing it]].

* HolographicDisguise: Professor Quantum builds Ren a bracelet that allows him to appear human, which Ren is very grateful for. In fact, the bracelet is more than a mere holo-image. Ren's claws actually feel like normal hands, his skin (at least the outer layer) feels real, and one has to press really hard to feel the rough scales beneath. He can also speak a lot easier when using the disguise. Apparently, the bracelet is programmed with several different faces, allowing Ren to remain anonymous, even if one of his disguises is compromised.

[[folder:Kristoph]]
A young man in his, apparently, mid-[=20s=], who never does anything supervillainous. However, all new guild recruits are brought before him. If he senses that they have committed the gravest sin possible - harming children - then he ends them in a very painful and graphic way that is in no way quick. According to Ivan, at those moments, Kristoph is one of the most powerful metas in the world.
* AlwaysSomeoneBetter: In the climax, Kristoph [[spoiler:casually breaks through Ivan's powerful ward in order to ask him to let him (Kristoph) handle Balaam's punishment]].
* DidWeJustHaveTeaWithCthulhu: Tori's reaction to meeting Kristoph, after Ivan explains what Kristoph does. While she's frightened at first, Ivan's explanation makes her want to buy Kristoph a beer.
* FriendToAllChildren: Kristoph's power is only activated, when he detects the sin of killing of serious hurting a child. Then he makes sure that the sinner never hurts another child again.

!!Alliance of Heroic Champions

!!!Recruits

[[folder:Donald Moss (Cyber Geek)]]
A computer programmer working at Vendallia Industries and an avid gamer. On the night of the Confluence, he had just completed his custom-built gaming PC, some of the parts for which had... questionable sources. His apartment building was hit by a lightning bolt, frying his new machine and also granting Donald the power to pull any video game weapon, armor, or tool into RealLife. After he is forced to out himself publicly, he is recruited by the AHC and asks to be called Cyber Geek.
* BashBrothers: Donald and Ren, joining the AHC at the same time, become fast friends, despite having completely different personalities (e.g. nerd and jock, respectively). Despite this, they work well together, especially when they have to fight, with Donald manifesting video game guns for ranged combat and Ren taking care of close-range enemies.
* {{BFG}}: During the fight with the interdimensional monster at the club, Donald summons a Buster Burster Blaster from the game ''Blaster Brahs''. He has trouble even lifting the thing and manages to get a few shots off at the monster by propping the gun onto a railing or a piece of furniture. Then he mentally smacks himself on the head, recalling that the game designers specifically added heavy armor to the game to justify players lugging around such a big weapon and summons Master Brah's Armor around himself, allowing him to field the gun with ease.
* DatingCatwoman: Almost happens, as Donald is interested in Tori but has trouble asking her out. He also has no idea that she's a meta and a villain.
* {{Nerd}}: A more-or-less typical example. An avid gamer, who will excitedly talk people's ears off about video games and the rig he plans to build. He likes Tori but has trouble asking her out, especially after becoming a full-time cape (and not knowing that she's a villain).
* SummonMagic: Donald is able to pull any weapon, armor, or tool from a currently-running video game right out of the screen. The item has the same exact characteristics as in the game, which is why he spends a lot of his free time "training", i.e. playing games and leveling up his items, so the ones he pulls into RealLife have better characteristics. When the AHC marketing team suggests hiring programmers to design some weapons for him, Donald explains that his power works only on items from popular video games, so they would actually have to come from the game designers adding them to the game. Some characters suggest his power may involve a collective ClapYourHandsIfYouBelieve. Due to the fact that the wrist computer Professor Quantum gives him doesn't have a stable Internet connection, he has to rely only on games that can run offline, and the computer is constantly running a dozen games at any given time, so Donald doesn't have to spend time booting them up.

[[folder:Ren Tanaka (Medley)]]
A former college football player, who tries to use an experimental drug to fix his blown-out knee during the Confluence. The drug turns him into a chimera-like monster with no chance of turning back. Distraught, he is recruited by Apollo and is given the code name Medley by the AHC marketing team. Despite their different personalities, Ren becomes fast friends with Donald.
* BashBrothers: See Donald above.
* HolographicDisguise: Professor Quantum builds Ren a bracelet that allows him to appear human, which Ren is very grateful for. In fact, the bracelet is more than a mere holo-image. Ren's claws actually feel like normal hands, his skin (at least the outer layer) feels real, and one has to press really hard to feel the rough scales beneath. He can also speak a lot easier when using the disguise. Apparently, the bracelet is programmed with several different faces, allowing Ren to remain anonymous, even if one of his disguises is compromised.
* HybridMonster: The drug has turned Ren into a hulking mish-mash of different beasts.

[[folder:Irene (Cold Shoulder)]]
A recently-recruited cape code-named Cold Shoulder due to her ice-based powers. She's added to the Donald-Ren BashBrothers to provide some versatility to the team.
* TheChick: Sort of, she may be the only female on the team (until Lucy joins, that is), but she's hardly the feminine type.
* AnIcePerson: Irene can fire blasts of cold and freeze an area around her. She can also manifest a large ice construct with her inside, allowing her to engage in close combat.

[[folder:Lucy Donovan (Hat Trick)]]
One of the capes recruited by the AHC during the Confluence, personally chosen to Apollo as the fourth member of his pet Donald-Ren-Irene team. While her magician-like powers don't particularly lend themselves to direct combat, she's invaluable in the support role. Her code name is Hat Trick.
* TheChick: Unlike the more serious and businesslike Irene, Lucy is cheerful and friendly.
* MagiciansAreWizards: Lucy bought an amateur magician's kit from a store, not realizing that the Confluence has imbued it with actual magic. Upon putting on the props, they bonded to her body (she can still take them off, but they won't work for anyone else) and turned out to have magic properties related to stage magic. Her cape can be used to cast illusions, her rings can bind anyone, her playing cards can be shaped as whatever she wants, and the scarves coming out of her sleeves can be used to grab people from a distance.
* NiceHat: Lucy's top hat can be used to store and retrieve any object. The objects come out in the exact same condition as they went in. She can apparently also unleash white doves from the hat that do what she commands them to.

!!!Champions' Congress

[[folder:Apollo]]
A highly-ambitious cape, whose power comes from a shard of divinity that, apparently, belonged to his namesake, the Apollo of Greek myth. He is kind of like a ComicBook/{{Superman}} wannabe with similar (but weaker) powers and mistaken belief in his own righteousness. He is a professional butt-kisser and careerist, playing the office politics game for ten years in order to get himself appointed to the Champions' Congress. He has gathered a group of loyal followers, who help him achieve his goals. Apollo arrogantly sees himself as the next Lodestar, the legendary hero of the past several decades.
* DeathEqualsRedemption: [[spoiler:After Balaam unleashes Fornax, Apollo realizes that he's done as a hero no matter what. He also sees that Fornax is gunning straight for him in his madness, which means that, for now, Fornax is ignoring everyone else. Thus, Apollo does his best to keep Fornax on his tail in order to give the other capes as much time as possible, even at the cost of his own life. After Tori manages to bring Ivan back from the brink, moments before Fornax beats Apollo to a pulp, Apollo offers to fly to Rookstone in order to stop Balaam from releasing dangerous metas. Unusual for this trope, he survives, although the Champions' Congress removes him from his position and punishes him for his part in this mess]].
* KnightTemplar: Apollo is disgusted by the AHC allowing supervillains to operate right under their noses and wants to do what heroes are meant to do - destroy villains.
* MagnificentBastard: Apollo is a masterful schemer and liar, ingratiating himself in with members of the Champions' Congress in order to, one day, replace the retiring Lodestar. [[spoiler:He secretly works with Balaam to enact their plan to take over their respective organizations in order to get back to the "golden age" of superheroes and villains, without all the red tape and a so-called peace. Unfortunately for Apollo, he turns out to be not quite crafty enough to see through Balaam's deception, who easily outwits him]].
* PhysicalGod: Apollo's powers come from a shard of divinity from, apparently, the real Apollo.
* ThePowerOfTheSun: Sunlight (coupled with the shard of divinity) imbues Apollo with many powers, many of which are similar to ComicBook/{{Superman}}'s, including flight, EyeBeams, SuperStrength, and the ability to see through magical disguises.

[[folder:Helen (Lodestar)]]
A legendary superhero called Lodestar, whose power comes from a comet that hit her when she was nineteen. She's one of the most powerful metas in existence and the only one to join the AHC without an ulterior motive. She is the only cape that has managed to bring down Fornax decades prior. Since then, Ivan sees her as the quintessential hero, and the two of them have become close friends.
* AbsurdlyYouthfulMother: Helen worries about using her powers again, as doing it even once undoes all the aging she has done since then. Given that she has a daughter, she's worried how Penelope will react to her mommy suddenly looking like a nineteen-year-old girl. Even worse, when Penelope realizes that her mother is functionally immortal and can revert back to that youthful persona at will, effectively resetting all the aging "progress". [[spoiler:To her relief, Penelope takes it all in stride, although it's possible she's just too young to understand the ramifications]].
* CannotSpitItOut: Neither Helen nor Ivan are able to say the real reason he keeps visiting her, knowing the realities of their situations and being mature enough to know that [[DatingCatwoman relationships like that never work out]].
* TheCape: The ultimate example of this in this 'verse. According to Ivan, every other cape got into the AHC for their own reasons, but only Lodestar ever did it just because it was the right thing to do.
* FlyingBrick: Lodestar is, basically, this world's female ComicBook/{{Superman}}. As far as anyone knows, she's unbeatable and the only one capable of taking down Fornax. [[spoiler:The first book's ending reveals that Nexus that learned that someone in TheMultiverse has managed to kill a Lodestar]].
* MagicMeteor: Helen became Lodestar, when a comet fell on her and imbued her with great powers. Many have pointed out the similarities between rapidly-descending Lodestar and a falling comet.
* RetiredBadass: After decades of fighting villains, Helen has been slowly pulling away from the public eye and barely shows up in person for the meetings of the Champions' Congress. She finally retires officially in order to free her Congress seat for Apollo. Helen lives a quiet suburban life with her daughter Penelope, occasionally visited by Ivan, whom Penelope treats as an HonoraryUncle. [[spoiler:Ivan turning back into Fornax forces her to come out of retirement]].
* WhoWantsToLiveForever: Helen can, potentially, live forever, although she can also choose to die naturally. All she has to do is never call to her power again, and she will be functionally human. However, every time she becomes Lodestar, her body resets to the same state she was in when the comet fell on her, as a nineteen-year-old girl. However, Helen is a mother now, so she's not sure she wants to outlive her daughter.

[[folder:Quorum]]
One of the members of the Champions' Congress with thousands of distinct personalities in his head. Despite this, he is pretty level-headed and tends to be the uniting voice in the Congress.
* AlternateSelf: According to Nexus, there are no other Quorums in TheMultiverse, making him unique. [[spoiler:It's possible all the other Quorums' minds have somehow merged in his head, explaining the thousands of personalities]].
* LivingLieDetector: As Quorum puts it, a number of his personalities are masterful liars, which means he can easily spot another person lying. [[spoiler:This is how he knew that Apollo was planning something, so he deliberately sped up Apollo's rise to the Congress in order to be able to root out all of Apollo's accomplices]].
* MindHive: Quorum has thousands of personalities inside him.
* SuperStrength: While it's not explicitly stated, it's implied that this is one of his powers, as [[spoiler:Apollo shoving him only causes him to take a few unsteady steps forward instead of being flung against the wall at bone-crushing speed]].

[[folder:Vernon (Professor Quantum)]]
The original MadScientist, except he's on the side of the capes. Now known as Professor Quantum, his experiments opened the can of worms, altering the laws of physics, thus allowing metahumans to exist. He spends most of his time in his private island lab, experimenting on something, only getting involved in AHC business when he absolutely has to. He typically calls in to Champions' Congress meetings.
* AbsentMindedProfessor: Unlike other capes, Professor Quantum can't be bothered to actually fight crime personally. Instead, he acts as the scientific brains behind the AHC, producing much of their tech. He spends most of his time in his island lab. [[spoiler:He finally comes back to Ridge City aboard his heavily-armed boat at the end of the first book]]. Like the typical portrayal of a scientist, he's not very good with people and sees nothing wrong with having someone undergo surgery in order to enhance his abilities, while citing ''only'' a 22% chance of blindness as a result.
* MadScientist: His inventions rival those of Doctor Mechaniacal, his (sort of) EvilCounterpart.

!!!Others

[[folder:Stalwart Iron]]
A robotic hero and one of Apollo's followers.
* TheMole: [[spoiler:He was actually built by Doctor Mechaniacal, who still has some control over him and uses him to spy on the capes]].

[[folder:Erinite]]
A hero made of living crystal, capable of growing crystal shards on his body and hurling them at enemies.
* {{Flight}}: Somehow, being a living crystal, Erinite is able to fly.
* GlowingEyes: Erinite's eyes glow green.
* SiliconBasedLife: Erinite is composed of living crystal.
* SpikeShooter: Erinite's main mode of attack. He grows crystal shards on his body and then shoots them off with great force towards the enemy.

!!Unaffiliated

[[folder:Chloe Henson (Cliché)]]
A barista working at the coffee shop across the street from Vendallia Industries. During the Confluence, she was given the power to make her words come true, as long as what she says is a commonly-used saying. During the climax, she provisionally calls herself Cliché. She has learned to pattern her speech without using old sayings, just in case.
* {{Cliche}}: Chloe's power only works on phrases that are of this type. She can only keep one active at a time, so she usually defaults to "A penny saved is a penny earned", which acts as a minor cash flow, as long as she keeps herself from buying something she really wants (cash only, and it has to be something she can actually afford and really wants).
* WordsCanBreakMyBones: While it seems that her power is marginal at best, she quickly learns during the climax that it can be destructive and deadly under the right circumstances:
** "What doesn't kill you makes you stronger" can potentially give a person SuperStrength, as long as that person is willing to endure enough of a beating to increase his or her strength proportionally.
** "Liar, liar, pants on fire" does exactly what it sounds like, which, apparently, also works on {{Badass Boast}}s (since they're usually exaggerations). Now imagine someone's pants bursting into flame in the middle of a battle.
** "Fortune favors the bold" drastically increases a person's luck, as long as he or she does something bold. In Chloe's case, [[spoiler:she manages to kill a powerful meta-criminal through a string of accidents]].
** "It's just a hop, skip, and a jump away" allows her to teleport anywhere she wishes, as long as she performs the mentioned actions (and knows the difference between the three).

!!! Guild Council

!!! Others

!!! Champions' Congress

!!! Others

[[folder:Ivan Gerhardt (Fornax/Pseudonym)]]
A retired supervillain, known as Fornax in his glory days, currently goes by Pseudonym within the guild, where he represents retired villains on the Council. Takes on Tori as his apprentice and teaches her the importance of the Villains' Code.
* HonoraryUncle: To Helen's daughter Penelope. Also Tori, sort of, since their cover story is that she's his first cousin once removed (i.e. daughter of his cousin) and refers to him as "Uncle Ivan" in public.
* InASingleBound: Ivan's means of getting into the air in lieu of flying, although he conjures up magical supports for him to push off against in mid-air.
* MentorArchetype: The main thing Ivan has to teach Tori is to follow the Code. He understands the enormous responsibility of mentoring a new supervillain. Should she fail, it will be up to him to personally kill her (also because he's one of the few metas who can).
* MultiethnicName: There doesn't appear to be an explanation why Ivan has a Slavic first name and a German last name.
* OlderThanTheyLook: Despite being in his fifties, Ivan still looks about thirty, as a side effect of his power. It's never specified if he even ages.
* PhysicalGod: According to Ivan, [[spoiler:he ''ate'' one, which is how he got his powers]].
* RetiredBadass: Back when Fornax was an infamous supervillain, few capes could stand up to him. Only Lodestar was finally able to bring him to justice. After his son was born, he left that life behind and retired from supervillainy, although he still maintain his seat on the Guild Council. Despite being retired and actually enjoying living the quiet life of a divorced middle manager, he still has all his powers and woe be to anyone, who dares to re-awaken Fornax.
* {{Teleportation}}: One of Ivan's powers. He frequently uses it to get behind his enemies.
* ThatManIsDead: Ivan keeps insisting multiple times that Fornax is dead, he died the moment Lodestar showed him a photo of his infant son. That was when he decided that someone like Fornax could never be a father, only Ivan could. From a legal standpoint, Fornax is indeed dead, as the AHC has invoked the Orion Protocol to declare a number of supervillains, including Fornax, dead and give them all new civilian lives.
* VisitByDivorcedDad: Inverted. Ivan's son and daughter stay at his place every other weekend, as per his agreement with his ex. He makes sure that Tori stays at the guild for those days, as he doesn't want his two worlds intersecting.

[[folder:Balaam]]
A magic-using villain, who is on the Guild Council (representing magic-users, of course). He has a long-standing rivalry with Pseudonym. Unlike every other member of the Council, Balaam is known as a scheming bastard, who likes to play political games. He asks to take on Warren as his apprentice mainly so he would not be outdone by Ivan.
* BrokenBase: As a kid, Balaam was enthralled by Fornax. After becoming a meta himself, he strove to become as powerful as Fornax in order to emulate his idol. Then he got into the guild and discovered that, not only is a guild of supervillains not concerned with, well, supervillainy, but the man, who was once known as Fornax, is one of those maintaining the status quo. Balaam still rewatches old recordings of Fornax's fights with capes for nostalgia's sake.
* LifeEnergy: Through his arcane studies, Balaam has learned to increase his magical power at the cost of someone else's life. [[spoiler:He tricks a bunch of meta-gangs into allowing him to put a special mark on them, claiming it would increase their strength. In fact, its purpose is to give him their energy at the moment of death]].
* MagicStaff: Balaam carries one and uses it to focus his power.
* MagnificentBastard: Balaam is known as a schemer and [[spoiler:has orchestrated the events of the final third of ''Hephaestus Rising''. He initially cooperates with Apollo, but then betrays the cape when it's convenient]].
* OneWingedAngel: Balaam turns into a bat-winged horned demon during his fight with [[spoiler:Ivan, who then claims that Balaam's idea of what demons look like is terrible]].
* TwoferTokenMinority: A Hispanic woman, although her race gets mentioned only once, and her being a woman has ''zero'' effect on how others treat her and how she behaves. The novel might as well have been written for a generic gender-neutral character (well, except for Donald being interested in her and her being taken on a girls' night out).
* WouldHurtAChild: Balaam has no compunctions about killing people, including children. [[spoiler:This earns him a ''very'' FamilyUnfriendlyDeath at Kristoph's hands at the end]].

[[folder:Beverly (Bahamut)]]
A young woman with the ability to shift into the form of several types of dragons at will. She is Thuggernaut's apprentice and, eventually, chooses the code name "[[TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons Bahamut]]" (king of the dragons). Becomes a close friend of Tori's, and they become roommates at the end of ''Forging Hephaestus''.
* MySuitIsAlsoSuper: Beverly's costume is specifically designed to stretch, as she shifts into her dragon forms.
* OurDragonsAreDifferent: Beverly has several different dragon forms she can shift into, each with its own advantages and disadvantages. For example, her green dragon form is the toughest in melee combat, her red dragon form can breathe fire, and her white dragon form can fly. There may be others that Beverly hasn't yet learned to shift into.
* TwoferTokenMinority: While Beverly's race isn't mentioned explicitly, her story about her grandfather and him being offered the "Colored Division" of the League of Metas in TheFifties implies that she's black. Just like with Tori, her race has absolutely zero impact on the story or how she's treated otherwise. Then again, in combat, most people doesn't even know what she looks like, as she is usually in one of her dragon forms.
* VoluntaryShapeshifting: Beverly can turn into a dragon at will.

[[folder:Lance (Pest Control)]]
An apprentice with the ability to summon and control insects. His mentor is Arachno Bro. Lance eventually adopts the name "Pest Control".
* MagikarpPower: While initially dismissed as mostly useless, Lance quickly learns how versatile his power can be, especially as he studies more and more different insects, allowing him to summon and control them, especially meta-insects. People generally don't react well to suddenly being surrounded by a swarm of stinging meta-wasps. During the apprentices' test against robots, he is even shown using ants as a living crutch of sorts.
* PestController: As his chosen code name indicates, Lance can summon and control swarms of insects, as well as see and hear through them (provided they have those senses). As he learns more about different types of insects, his repertoire increases. He can also summon and control meta-insects.

[[folder:Warren (Glyph)]]
A more individualistic apprentice, although that may be more due to him being mentored by Balaam than anything else. Warren can cast magic by drawing runes on surfaces, eventually becoming known as "Glyph".
* TheAtoner: [[spoiler:Becomes this during the climax, fighting alongside Lance and some of the capes to put an end to his former mentor's betrayal]].
* GeometricMagic: Warren casts spells by drawing runes on surfaces.
* JerkassFacade: While initially a bit of a jerk, Warren quickly warms up to the other apprentices, especially as they're forced to work together for their final test. It's heavily implied that his initial jerkassery is a result of Balaam's influence. [[spoiler:He refuses to follow his mentor into betrayal and fights to show that he's ''not'' like Balaam, even enchanting Cyber Geek's {{BFG}}, allowing it to blast through the shield surrounding AHC headquarters]].
* MagicWand: Balaam presents him one during his graduation, point out that no self-respecting spell-caster can be without a wand or a [[MagicStaff staff]]. He thought about giving Warren a staff, but then realized that a wand is easier to [[GeometricMagic draw with]]. Balaam designs the wand to channel and augment Warren's power, as well as storing a single rune at a time for use in a hurry.

* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: Wade is the ''de facto'' head of the guild, typically handling most high-level administrative work, while also running his own corporation as part of his civilian persona, although, officially, the Council makes all the big decisions with Wade as only one of the members. Despite his status as a villain, Wade genuinely cares about what the guild stands for and is determined to maintain the peace with the capes by policing villains and punishing code-breakers.

[[folder:Thuggernaut]]
A tall, imposing, tough-looking villain with a kind heart. He offers to take Beverly under his wing, even though another high-level villain does the same. Knowing that Thuggernaut is likely to be a better mentor to her than one of Balaam's flunkies, Ivan and Wade decide to let Beverly become Thuggernaut's apprentice.
* CulturedBadass: While Thuggernaut will join his friends for a guys' night involving beer and poker, he would actually much rather go see an opera. He's even considerate enough to buy out all the seats behind him, knowing that his huge frame would make it nearly impossible to see the stage from those seats.
* GentleGiant: Well, gentle with his friends, anyway. If you happen to be an enemy, then don't expect much gentleness from this guy.
* HeterosexualLifePartners: Thuggernaut and Johnny Three Dicks.

[[folder:Johnny Three Dicks]]
A brash, foul-mouthed villain, who is the main reason why the Council now has to vet all code name choices, although they allow him to keep his choice.
* MentalTimeTravel: While his meta-ability isn't focused upon, it seems his ability might have something to do with being able to throw his consciousness back in time a few seconds, in the event of death, giving him a chance to avoid it. According to him, this is the reason for his code name.
--> '''Johnny Three Dicks:''' (''after knocking out a cape, following several "rewinds"'') And that's why they call me Johnny Three Dicks, doll. No matter which way you try to come, you're still fucked.
* NonindicativeName: While it's difficult to be sure, there doesn't appear to be any indication that Johnny does, in fact, have three penises.

[[folder:Stacey (Stasis)]]
One of the members of the Guild Congress under the name Stasis. Her powers aren't clearly-defined in the book, but they appear to involve her being able to put her body into a unchanging state, thus becoming invulnerable to damage.
* AlternateSelf: According to Nexus, Stasis and Quorum are the only ones ''without'' one in all of TheMultiverse, which is why they are so interesting to him.

[[folder:Kristoph]]
A young man in his, apparently, mid-[=20s=], who never does anything supervillainous. However, all new guild recruits are brought before him. If he senses that they have committed the gravest sin possible - harming children - then he ends them in a very painful and graphic way that is in no way quick. According to Ivan, at those moments, Kristoph is one of the most powerful metas in the world.
* AlwaysSomeoneBetter: In the climax, Kristoph [[spoiler:casually breaks through Ivan's powerful ward in order to ask him to let him (Kristoph) handle Balaam's punishment]].
* DidWeJustHaveTeaWithCthulhu: Tori's reaction to meeting Kristoph, after Ivan explains what Kristoph does. While she's frightened at first, Ivan's explanation makes her want to buy Kristoph a beer.
* FriendToAllChildren: Kristoph's power is only activated, when he detects the sin of killing of serious hurting a child. Then he makes sure that the sinner never hurts another child again.

[[folder:Apollo]]
A highly-ambitious cape, whose power comes from a shard of divinity that, apparently, belonged to his namesake, the Apollo of Greek myth. He is kind of like a ComicBook/{{Superman}} wannabe with similar (but weaker) powers and mistaken belief in his own righteousness. He is a professional butt-kisser and careerist, playing the office politics game for ten years in order to get himself appointed to the Champions' Congress. He has gathered a group of loyal followers, who help him achieve his goals. Apollo arrogantly sees himself as the next Lodestar, the legendary hero of the past several decades.
* DeathEqualsRedemption: [[spoiler:After Balaam unleashes Fornax, Apollo realizes that he's done as a hero no matter what. He also sees that Fornax is gunning straight for him in his madness, which means that, for now, Fornax is ignoring everyone else. Thus, Apollo does his best to keep Fornax on his tail in order to give the other capes as much time as possible, even at the cost of his own life. After Tori manages to bring Ivan back from the brink, moments before Fornax beats Apollo to a pulp, Apollo offers to fly to Rookstone in order to stop Balaam from releasing dangerous metas. Unusual for this trope, he survives, although the Champions' Congress removes him from his position and punishes him for his part in this mess]].
* KnightTemplar: Apollo is disgusted by the AHC allowing supervillains to operate right under their noses and wants to do what heroes are meant to do - destroy villains.
* MagnificentBastard: Apollo is a masterful schemer and liar, ingratiating himself in with members of the Champions' Congress in order to, one day, replace the retiring Lodestar. [[spoiler:He secretly works with Balaam to enact their plan to take over their respective organizations in order to get back to the "golden age" of superheroes and villains, without all the red tape and a so-called peace. Unfortunately for Apollo, he turns out to be not quite crafty enough to see through Balaam's deception, who easily outwits him]].
* PhysicalGod: Apollo's powers come from a shard of divinity from, apparently, the real Apollo.
* ThePowerOfTheSun: Sunlight (coupled with the shard of divinity) imbues Apollo with many powers, many of which are similar to ComicBook/{{Superman}}'s, including flight, EyeBeams, SuperStrength, and the ability to see through magical disguises.

[[folder:Helen (Lodestar)]]
A legendary superhero called Lodestar, whose power comes from a comet that hit her when she was nineteen. She's one of the most powerful metas in existence and the only one to join the AHC without an ulterior motive. She is the only cape that has managed to bring down Fornax decades prior. Since then, Ivan sees her as the quintessential hero, and the two of them have become close friends.
* AbsurdlyYouthfulMother: Helen worries about using her powers again, as doing it even once undoes all the aging she has done since then. Given that she has a daughter, she's worried how Penelope will react to her mommy suddenly looking like a nineteen-year-old girl. Even worse, when Penelope realizes that her mother is functionally immortal and can revert back to that youthful persona at will, effectively resetting all the aging "progress". [[spoiler:To her relief, Penelope takes it all in stride, although it's possible she's just too young to understand the ramifications]].
* CannotSpitItOut: Neither Helen nor Ivan are able to say the real reason he keeps visiting her, knowing the realities of their situations and being mature enough to know that [[DatingCatwoman relationships like that never work out]].
* TheCape: The ultimate example of this in this 'verse. According to Ivan, every other cape got into the AHC for their own reasons, but only Lodestar ever did it just because it was the right thing to do.
* FlyingBrick: Lodestar is, basically, this world's female ComicBook/{{Superman}}. As far as anyone knows, she's unbeatable and the only one capable of taking down Fornax. [[spoiler:The first book's ending reveals that Nexus that learned that someone in TheMultiverse has managed to kill a Lodestar]].
* MagicMeteor: Helen became Lodestar, when a comet fell on her and imbued her with great powers. Many have pointed out the similarities between rapidly-descending Lodestar and a falling comet.
* RetiredBadass: After decades of fighting villains, Helen has been slowly pulling away from the public eye and barely shows up in person for the meetings of the Champions' Congress. She finally retires officially in order to free her Congress seat for Apollo. Helen lives a quiet suburban life with her daughter Penelope, occasionally visited by Ivan, whom Penelope treats as an HonoraryUncle. [[spoiler:Ivan turning back into Fornax forces her to come out of retirement]].
* WhoWantsToLiveForever: Helen can, potentially, live forever, although she can also choose to die naturally. All she has to do is never call to her power again, and she will be functionally human. However, every time she becomes Lodestar, her body resets to the same state she was in when the comet fell on her, as a nineteen-year-old girl. However, Helen is a mother now, so she's not sure she wants to outlive her daughter.

[[folder:Irene (Cold Shoulder)]]
A recently-recruited cape code-named Cold Shoulder due to her ice-based powers. She's added to the Donald-Ren BashBrothers to provide some versatility to the team.
* TheChick: Sort of, she may be the only female on the team (until Lucy joins, that is), but she's hardly the feminine type.
* AnIcePerson: Irene can fire blasts of cold and freeze an area around her. She can also manifest a large ice construct with her inside, allowing her to engage in close combat.

[[folder:Lucy Donovan (Hat Trick)]]
One of the capes recruited by the AHC during the Confluence, personally chosen to Apollo as the fourth member of his pet Donald-Ren-Irene team. While her magician-like powers don't particularly lend themselves to direct combat, she's invaluable in the support role. Her code name is Hat Trick.
* TheChick: Unlike the more serious and businesslike Irene, Lucy is cheerful and friendly.
* MagiciansAreWizards: Lucy bought an amateur magician's kit from a store, not realizing that the Confluence has imbued it with actual magic. Upon putting on the props, they bonded to her body (she can still take them off, but they won't work for anyone else) and turned out to have magic properties related to stage magic. Her cape can be used to cast illusions, her rings can bind anyone, her playing cards can be shaped as whatever she wants, and the scarves coming out of her sleeves can be used to grab people from a distance.
* NiceHat: Lucy's top hat can be used to store and retrieve any object. The objects come out in the exact same condition as they went in. She can apparently also unleash white doves from the hat that do what she commands them to.

!!Others

[[folder:Tori Rivas]]

[[folder:Ivan Gerhardt]]

[[folder:Beverly]]

[[folder:Lance]]

[[folder:Warren]]

[[folder:Wade Wyatt]]

[[folder:Stacey]]

[[folder:Donald Moss]]

[[folder:Ren Tanaka]]

[[folder:Helen]]

[[folder:Irene]]

[[folder:Lucy Donovan]]

[[folder:Vernon]]

[[folder:Chloe Henson]]