History Characters / Worm

* '''[[Characters/WormOthers Other Characters]]''' (The Ambassadors, The Fallen, The Teeth, The Adepts, Misc. Superheroes and Rogues, Misc. Villains, The Birdcage, Parahumans Online, Others)

* '''[[Characters/WormOthers Other Characters]]''' (The Ambassadors, The Fallen, The Teeth, Misc. Superheroes and Rogues, Misc. Villains, The Birdcage, Parahumans Online, Others)

The main contributors of this page are very considerate in the use of virtual masking tape, however some spoilers (e.g. new characters introduced as part of an existing team) cannot be avoided. Continue reading at your own risk (or go back to [[Literature/{{Worm}} the main page]]).

* '''[[Characters/WormSponsoredHeroes Sponsored Heroes]]''' (The Protectorate, The PRT[[labelnote:*]]Parahuman Response Team[[/labelnote]], The Wards, New Wave, Haven, The Yàngbǎn)
* '''[[Characters/WormBrocktonBayGangs Gangs of Brockton Bay]]''' (The ABB[[labelnote:*]]Azn Bad Boys[[/labelnote]], The Pure, Fenrir's Chosen, Coil, Faultline's Crew, The Merchants, The Travelers)

* '''[[Characters/WormWorldwideThreats Worldwide Threats]]''' (The Endbringers, The Slaughterhouse Nine, [[spoiler:Cauldron]])

* '''[[Characters/WormOthers Other Characters]]''' (The Ambassadors, The Fallen, The Teeth, Misc. Superheroes and Rogues, Misc. Villains, Parahumans Online, Others)

* '''[[Characters/WormSponsoredHeroes Sponsored Heroes]]''' (The Protectorate, The PRT[[labelnote:*]]Parahuman Response Team[[/labelnote]], The Wards, New Wave, Haven)

The main contributors of this page are very considerate in the use of virtual masking tape, however some spoilers cannot be avoided. Continue reading at your own risk (or go back to [[Literature/{{Worm}} the main page]]).

* '''[[Characters/WormSponsoredHeroes Sponsored Heroes]]''' (The Protectorate, The PRT[[hottip:*:Parahuman Response Team]], The Wards, New Wave, Haven)
* '''[[Characters/WormBrocktonBayGangs Gangs of Brockton Bay]]''' (The ABB[[hottip:*:Azn Bad Boys]], The Pure, Fenrir's Chosen, Coil, Faultline's Crew, The Merchants, The Travelers)

* '''[[Characters/WormBrocktonBayGangs Gangs of Brockton Bay]]''' (The ABB[[hottip:*:Azn Bad Boys]], The Pure, Fenrir's Chosen, Coil, Faultline's Crew, The Merchants, The Travelers, The Fallen, The Teeth)

* '''[[Characters/WormOthers Other Characters]]''' (The Ambassadors, Misc. Superheroes and Rogues, Misc. Villains, Parahumans Online, Others)

* '''[[Characters/WormSponsoredHeroes Sponsored Heroes]]''' (The Protectorate, The PRT (Parahuman Response Team), The Wards, New Wave, Haven)
* '''[[Characters/WormBrocktonBayGangs Gangs of Brockton Bay]]''' (The ABB (Azn Bad Boys), The Pure, Fenrir's Chosen, Coil, Faultline's Crew, The Merchants, The Travelers, The Fallen, The Teeth)

* '''[[Characters/WormUndersiders Undersiders]]''' (Worm, Undersiders, Minions of the Undersiders)

In addition to the CharacterSheets here, a relatively spoiler-free cast page may be found on the site [[http://parahumans.wordpress.com/cast-spoiler-free/ here]], and a relatively spoiler-''[[AllThereInTheManual full]]'' cast page [[http://parahumans.wordpress.com/cast-spoiler-free/cast/ here]].

* '''[[Characters/WormOthers Other Characters]]''' (Misc. Superheroes and Rogues, Misc. Villains, Parahumans Online, Others)

* '''[[Characters/WormBrocktonBayGangs Gangs of Brockton Bay]]''' (The ABB (Azn Bad Boys), The Pure, Fenrir's Chosen, Coil, Faultline's Crew, The Merchants, The Travelers, The Fallen)

* '''[[Characters/WormSponsoredHeroes Sponsored Heroes]]''' (The Protectorate, The PRT (Parahuman Response Team), The Wards, New Wave)

A relatively spoiler-free cast page may be found on the site [[http://parahumans.wordpress.com/cast-spoiler-free/ here]], and a relatively spoiler-''[[AllThereInTheManual full]]'' cast page [[http://parahumans.wordpress.com/cast-spoiler-free/cast/ here]].

%% ====

%% ====

* '''[[Characters/WormOthers Other Characters]]''' (Misc. Parahumans, Parahumans Online, Others)

* '''[[Characters/WormBrocktonBayGangs Gangs of Brockton Bay]]''' (The ABB (Azn Bad Boys), The Pure, Fenrir's Chosen, Coil, Faultline's Crew, The Merchants, The Travelers)

* '''[[Characters/WormWorldwideThreats Worldwide Threats]]''' (The Endbringers, The Slaughterhouse Nine, Cauldron)

* '''[[Characters/WormOthers Other Characters]]''' (Misc. Parahumans, Parahumans Online, Others)

'''The main contributors of this page are very considerate in the use of virtual masking tape, however some spoilers cannot be avoided.'''

'''Continue reading at your own risk.''' (or, go back to [[Literature/{{Worm}} the main page]])

%% If you think of a character you want included on the cast list but do not have the time or ability to do so at the time, add a comment line with their name, and optionally a brief description, under the appropriate folder. Examples:

%% Feel free to add commented-out tropes to commented-out characters as well -- characters with known tropes will get priority for expansion into full entries.

* [[Characters/WormUndersiders Undersiders]] (Worm, Undersiders, Minions of the Undersiders)

* [[Characters/WormSponsoredHeroes Sponsored Heroes]] (The Protectorate, The PRT (Parahuman Response Team), The Wards, New Wave)

* [[Characters/WormBrocktonBayGangs Gangs of Brockton Bay]] (The ABB (Azn Bad Boys), The Pure, Fenrir's Chosen, Coil, Faultline's Crew, The Merchants, The Travelers)

* [[Characters/WormWorldwideThreats Worldwide Threats]] (The Endbringers, The Slaughterhouse Nine, Cauldron)

* [[Characters/WormOthers Other Characters]] (Misc. Parahumans, Parahumans Online, Others)

* [[Characters/WormUndersiders Undersiders]]

* [[Characters/WormSponsoredHeroes Sponsored heroes]]

* [[Characters/WormBrocktonBayGangs Gangs of Brockton Bay]]

* [[Characters/WormWorldwideThreats Worldwide threats]]

* [[Characters/WormOthers Other characters, parahuman and not]]

%% * [[Characters/WormUndersiders Undersiders]]

%% * [[Characters/WormSponsoredHeroes Sponsored heroes]]

%% * [[Characters/WormBrocktonBayGangs Gangs of Brockton Bay]]

%% * [[Characters/WormWorldwideThreats Worldwide threats]]

%% * [[Characters/WormOthers Other characters, parahuman and not]]


[[foldercontrol]]

----

[[folder:Worm]]
During [[spoiler:the Slaughterhouse Nine arc]], a supervillain by the name of [[spoiler:Cherish]] dubs one of the capes in the town "[[TitleDrop Worm]]". Specifically:

! Taylor Hebert (Skitter)

The main protagonist of the novel, Taylor is a relatively-tall 15 year old girl from Brockton Bay with long dark curly hair. She gained the ability to detect and control certain kinds of invertebrates (including insects, spiders, and crustaceans) after being StuffedIntoALocker [[StuffedIntoATrashcan full of used tampons and pads]]. In something of a heroic equivalent of RevengeByProxy against the bullies at her school (Winslow High), she sets out to become a superhero, [[FirstEpisodeSpoiler but ends up joining the Undersiders instead]]. Following [[spoiler:the end of the Slaughterhouse Nine arc and the death of Coil]], she becomes the leader of the group.

Her costume consists of a black-and-grey bodysuit made out of spider silk with armor panels made out of shells and exoskeletons augmented with more silk. Her mask has sections of armor imitating mandibles covering her jaw and dull yellow lenses (taken from a pair of goggles) that incorporate lenses from a spare pair of glasses. Her mask leaves the back of her head uncovered and her hair free to fly behind her.

----

* ACupAngst: Taylor's not happy with her lack of boobs, curves or any real femininity.
* AnimalEyeSpy: Skitter can do this with the insects she controls, but [[HowDoIShotWeb she has trouble with sight and sound]].
* AntiVillain: Straddling the line between Type III and IV, Taylor is only a villain by virtue of opposing the heroes, who often can be morally ambiguous themselves.
* BadassCape: After getting part of her original costume burned by the Nine, Taylor fits a small cape over shoulders covered with poisonous insects.
* BadPowersGoodPeople: Taylor manages to be heroic and merciful despite the offensive use of her power creating the possibility of anaphylactic shock (bee stings), comas (black widow spiders), tissue necrosis (brown recluse spiders) or death (all of the above).
* TheBeastmaster: Taylor can exert complete mental control over most invertebrate (e.g. insects, arachnids, crustaceans) within range of her power. [[note]] "most", because so far we have not seen her control any mollusc, asteroid or flat worm. And it's not a case of "arthropods only" either because we did see her control round and segmented worms. Make of that what you wish, the comments section on the website is swamped with theories already[[/note]]
* BeeBeeGun: Skitter controls all arthropods and insects, including bees, and is more than happy to use them offensively.
* BenevolentBoss: Skitter is known for being kind and generous to her employees. She listens to their problems and cares about their well-being. Unsurprisingly, she ends up with over sixty followers living in her territory by Part 16.
* BewareTheNiceOnes: Taylor really hates to hurt people and is by far the nicest of the Undersiders. She is also extremely viscous, and quite terrifying when she fights. Look at what she did to Lung, and the Merchants.
* BigBrotherIsWatching: Taylor's power lets her sense things through her bugs across a huge radius. She knows everything that is happening in her territory as a result.
* BigCreepyCrawlies: Her giant beetle mount, Atlas.
* BoxingLessonsForSuperman: Shortly after gaining her powers, Taylor set out to develop her strength and endurance, took a first-aid course, and researched spiders and insects.
* ButHeSoundsHandsome: In [[http://parahumans.wordpress.com/2012/12/15/monarch-16-7/ 16.7]], Taylor tries to make excuses for the villains taking over the town -- of which Skitter is one.
* CantBelieveISaidThat: In [[http://parahumans.wordpress.com/2011/12/17/tangle-6-2/ Tangle 6.2]] and [[http://parahumans.wordpress.com/2011/12/20/tangle-6-3/ 6.3]], when she's assembling furniture with Brian. An especially prominent example:
-->'''Brian:''' Relax. You're allowed to breathe. [''Taylor laughs nervously''] You okay?\\
'''Taylor''' [''thinking'']: What was I supposed to say? Admit I didn't know how to deal with being around a good looking guy?\\
'''Taylor''' [''out loud'']: I get nervous when I'm close to people. I think, you know, maybe I have bad breath, or maybe I have B.O., and I wouldn't be able to tell, because it's mine, so I hold my breath like that to be safe. I dunno.\\
'''Taylor''' [''thinking'']: Bravo, Taylor. ''Bravo.'' I imagined the [[SarcasticClapping slowest, most sarcastic of slow claps.]] Talking about bad breath and B.O. was ''totally'' the way to go. One of those brilliant moments that would have me cringing every time I remembered it in the next few years or decades, I was sure.
* ChronicHeroSyndrome: Skitter is almost incapable of not helping people, given the opportunity.
* CombatPragmatist: The fact that she is so often fighting people who outclass her in strength and power made Taylor not pull any punches in her fights, including attacking people with capsaicin-laced and poisonous insects when she needs to. She actually shocked readers with how brutal she was fighting [[spoiler:Triumph]], nearly causing him to die from a swelled throat.
* ConflictingLoyalty: Taylor struggles to make a call between doing what's right or exposing the only people who have ever accepted or been nice to her.
* CoolMask: Skitter's mask has yellow bulbous eyes and hard mandibles like an insect's at her mouth.
* CrazyEnoughToWork[=/=]IndyPloy: Taylor's specialty. She comes up with a plan that no one expects to fight the Wards, Lung, and the Nine. Tattletale has actually remarked that Taylor is amazing at improvising when the shit hits the fan. In fact, she is so good at coming up with great plans/tactics on the fly, the PRT actually considers it a superpower. They assigned her a Thinker status after she consistently beat people she should have had no chance against.
* CrushBlush: Taylor suffers this quite badly in [[http://parahumans.wordpress.com/2011/12/20/tangle-6-3/ Tangle 6.3]] when she's assembling furniture with Brian -- at one point she even references the HighPressureEmotion and LustfulMelt tropes in the narration.
* TheDreaded: After what she did to Lung, The Merchants, and Dragon, she is considered quote, "one of the scariest motherfuckers in town".
* DisproportionateRetribution: In [[http://parahumans.wordpress.com/2012/10/16/colony-15-1/ Colony 15.1]], against [[JerkAss Barker]]. She feels guilty afterwards, but sees it as necessary to maintain her image.
* FormerFriendOfAlphaBitch: Said AlphaBitch being Emma Barnes.
* FreakyFashionMildMind: Taylor, dresses in a black and grey costume made of Black Widow spidersilk and armor plates with yellow lenses for eyes, and later uses her bug control powers to use bugs as a mask. She was assumed to be a villain from her first time out in costume, and many characters find her disturbing, intimidating, and an overall badass (though her actions while in costume certainly help those views along). Seeing things from her point of view, she's bluffing or has practical reasons for such a costume (Black Widow dragline silk is as strong as steel and much tougher). She's just an awkward and insecure teenage girl who's had a tough time.
* FriendlessBackground: The chief reason that Taylor stays with the Undersiders is that she had exactly one ally -- her dad -- for the year and a half before she met them.
* FromNobodyToNightmare: Taylor begins the story as a 15-year-old girl who is viciously bullied, and very insecure about herself. While she is still a good person at heart, she has become a legitimately scary villain with a reputation for destruction following in her wake.
* GibberishOfLove: In [[http://parahumans.wordpress.com/2011/12/17/tangle-6-2/ Tangle 6.2]] and [[http://parahumans.wordpress.com/2011/12/20/tangle-6-3/ 6.3]], Taylor feels like she's suffering this quite badly.
* GoodIsNotSoft: Skitter's generosity to people in her territory is seen as a sign of weakness until her fight with [[spoiler:Mannequin]] demonstrates this trope. Of course, anyone paying attention to her exploits would have known she was no pushover after her second fight with Lung -- the one where she [[spoiler:cut out his eyes]].
* GrewASpine: Kicking truly massive amounts of ass in her role as Skitter does quite a lot for Taylor's ability to assert herself.
* TheHeart: Of the Undersiders. Tattletale remarked how quickly she grew close to the rest of her teammates by helping and supporting them any way she could. It is telling how Regent went out of his way to take revenge on someone who hurt her, and how close Bitch has become with her.
* HeartIsAnAwesomePower: Although Taylor's power doesn't sound too impressive compared to most major capes, she keeps coming up with creative ways to apply her abilities, and by doing so has taken down opponents more powerful than herself.
* HeroicSelfDeprecation: Taylor is constantly emphasizing her failings and deprecating her successes. One running example is her insistence that she is not good at dealing with people in spite of all evidence to the contrary.
* HeroWithBadPublicity: Taylor tends to perceive herself as this.
* HorrifyingHero: Skitter is scary as hell to fight even when she holds back. When she doesn't hold back she can slowly flay you alive with her bugs, have them burrow through your eyes, and even try to slip bugs inside the body to cause internal damage.
* HowDoIShotWeb: It takes time for Skitter to develop the ability to use the sight and hearing of her insects, or to control [[OrganicTechnology Atlas]].
* KeepingSecretsSucks: Taylor found trying to hide her heroic intentions from the Undersiders (particularly Tattletale) a great source of stress.
* MadeOfIron: Skitter demonstrates this on several occasions:
** In the fight against [[spoiler:Mannequin]], she spends over two minutes sparring with one of the most nimble and deadly killers on the planet -- and is still able to drop a OneLiner at the end of the fight.
** After [[spoiler:Flechette]] embeds a dart in her shoulder blade, Skitter arranges to have field medic Brooks use some spare dentist's tools to cut it out. While using her power to fly out bug clones to several of her subordinates so she can continue working -- because hey, local anesthetic will do just fine, and she may as well not waste time.
** In a period well under twenty-four hours, starting at [[spoiler:the last mayoral debate]], Skitter is [[spoiler:[[http://parahumans.wordpress.com/2012/12/18/monarch-16-8/ caught in an explosion]] that [[TemporaryBlindness blinds her]], [[http://parahumans.wordpress.com/2012/12/25/monarch-16-10/ shot]], [[http://parahumans.wordpress.com/2012/12/29/monarch-16-11/ trapped in a burning building, dropped out the window of said burning building]], [[http://parahumans.wordpress.com/2013/01/01/monarch-16-12/ kicked in the chest]], [[http://parahumans.wordpress.com/2013/01/05/monarch-16-13/ shot again]], and ''then'' [[http://parahumans.wordpress.com/2013/02/02/queen-18-5/ thrown into a fight with what is probably the fifth-most-dangerous creature on the planet]] having had no opportunity to rest in the meantime]]. Her reaction?
--->Whatever warped disease [[spoiler:Noelle]] had dumped into me to weaken me and leave me unable to fight back after [[spoiler:I'd been vomited out]] was steadily wearing off. That was only a part of the overarching problems, though, and I still felt drained. My stamina was pretty rock bottom, and the recent fight hadn't helped. I was hungry, thirsty, and I wanted to crash for fifteen or thirty minutes.
*** In fact, this last example includes a built-in control case: as she walks away, Tattletale guides her to a hero who can sort-of heal her by sort-of transferring her wounds to him. He does so. And needs two people supporting him to move afterwards. (In Scapegoat's defense, though, Skitter had had several hours to get used to her hurts.)
* MisappliedPhlebotinum: One of Taylor's repeated sources of frustration is running into people like [[spoiler:Panacea and Genesis]] with incredible powers whose full potential they never even touch.
* MissingMom: Annette Rose Hebert died two and a half years before the story began, killed in a car crash while on the cell phone.
** IMissMom: Taylor misses her desperately, mentioning at one point that many of the things she did as Skitter were trying to patch the emotional hole left by her mom's death.
* TheMole: Taylor's reason for joining the Undersiders. She decides not to betray the group after figuring out that [[BlackAndGreyMorality the so-called heroes aren't much better]].
* MultiArmedMultitasking: Skitter can perform a truly absurd number of simultaneous tasks with her insects.
* MundaneUtility: Skitter is highly inventive when it comes to using powers for unexpected purposes -- two obvious examples:
** In [[http://parahumans.wordpress.com/2012/06/26/plague-12-1/ Plague 12.1]], using her power to help clear out rat infestations for some people living in her territory.
** In [[http://parahumans.wordpress.com/2012/12/04/monarch-16-4/ Monarch 16.4]], using [[spoiler:Shatterbird's]] power for transportation.
* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: Taylor is haunted by guilt and nightmares for what she has done as Skitter, particularly [[http://parahumans.wordpress.com/2013/01/26/queen-18-3/ after she tries to defend her choices]] to [[spoiler:Clockblocker]].
* NecessarilyEvil: Taylor is not the only example of this in the series but is certainly the most clear cut. Initially purely a mole among her villainous friends, she comes to view villainy as the best way to achieve her goals. Entirely selfless goals.
* NervesOfSteel: When you list the actual situations she has been in, Taylor has amazing self-control. Not everybody would be nearly so calm about taking on the Nine or chasing a freaking Endbringer.
* NotEvilJustMisunderstood: Taylor has one of the strongest moral codes in the entire story, and just wants to help people. However, due to her attire, allies, powers, and vicious combat style, people often think otherwise.
* NotSoDifferent: One of the reasons she goes to such lengths to befriend Rachel is because they were both betrayed and abused by people they trusted and those in authority. (The other is that [[NoSocialSkills Rachel isn't likely to have many friends otherwise]].)
* OfficialCouple: [[spoiler:Taylor and Brian]] as of Brian's Part 15 interlude.
* ObviouslyEvil: Taylor falls victim to this while attempting to be a hero. She doesn't realize in time that having bug powers and wearing a distinctly evil looking costume is not sending the intended message of hero.
* OrganicTechnology: Atlas is much like a scaled-up version of a Hercules beetle, but it doesn't have any of the instincts that natural animals have.
* PoorCommunicationKills: In [[http://parahumans.wordpress.com/2013/02/23/scourge-19-2/ 19.2]], Skitter explicitly recalls and sets out to defy this trope when [[spoiler:talking to Weld and Miss Militia about Calvert]].
* ReplacementGoldfish: Taylor is one for [[spoiler:Lisa]], neatly explaining the fondness she displays and the lengths to which she goes for her.
* RequiredSecondaryPowers: Taylor's ability to control potentially billions of insects individually makes her the best multi-tasker on the planet. It is also speculated by fans that Taylor actually uses her bugs as additional processing power for her brain. In other words, she gets smarter with the more bugs she controls.
* SamaritanSyndrome: Skitter won't stop pushing herself when there's things she believes need doing, much to Grue's dismay.
* ShrinkingViolet: Taylor began the story as one because of the bullying campaign, but her exploits as Skitter lead her to [[GrewASpine grow a spine]].
* ShroudedInMyth: Taylor gets it literally from the first night she dons a costume. Admittedly she brings some of her wildly inaccurate reputation on herself and eventually starts doing it on purpose to inflate her credibility. Her recklessly heroic nature doesn't help either.
* StealthHiBye: In [[http://parahumans.wordpress.com/2012/10/11/interlude-14/ Interlude 14]], no-one notices Skitter's arrival until she is already standing behind Yan. (Skitter mentions in an earlier chapter that her soft-soled shoes make it easy for her to sneak up on people.)
* SupervillainLair: When the Undersiders spread out to claim territory around the city, Skitter sets up her home base to include a room with walls of terrariums (set up with lights and lids controlled by a hidden switch she can activate with a beetle) and a CoolChair for her to do a SlouchOfVillainy in.
* SwissArmySuperpower: Over the course of the few months since she gained her powers, she continuously comes up with new ways to use her power, such as by coating insects with petroleum jelly and then capsaicin to make them act a little like pepper spray.
* UnderestimatingBadassery:
** At first glance Skitter looks like a skinny girl in a creepy costume with a weak power of controlling bugs. Lung, Armsmaster, and Mannequin really should have taken her seriously, and the Merchants didn't know what hit them.
** Even those people who realize just how dangerous a skinny girl in a creepy costume with the power of controlling bugs can be are ''still'' prone to seeing her through the lens of her [[CombatPragmatist viciousness in a fight]] and completely miss [[AwesomenessByAnalysis her ability to analyze a situation on the fly.]]
--->'''Weld:''' The family's testimony suggests [[[spoiler:breaking the rules by targeting a cape's family]]] wasn't deliberate. Skitter informed [[spoiler:Trickster]] partway through [that [[spoiler:the mayor's son was Triumph]]].\\
'''Clockblocker:''' But we can assume she found out beforehand. Unless you're going to suggest she figured it out on her own?\\
'''Weld:''' [[EntertaininglyWrong No. It makes sense. I suspect Tattletale could find out something like that.]]
* UtilityBelt: Taylor's utility compartment, where she stashes necessary items and weapons in the armor panel that covers her back. In [[http://parahumans.wordpress.com/2013/01/26/queen-18-3/ 18.3]], [[spoiler:Miss Militia]] takes a look at the contents, during which we see:
** A handgun ([[spoiler:Trickster's spare]]).
** A piece of spider silk.
** Pepper spray.
** A changepurse, containing cotton swabs (to muffle the noise), needles, smelling salts, and change.
** A collapsible baton.
* TechnicalPacifist: While Taylor is unquestionably a brutal and terrifying combatant, on her own she opts to terrify, injure, or contain -- not torture, cripple, or kill. That said, the exact definition of "cripple" depends on how strong a HealingFactor a given opponent has....
* ThinkNothingOfIt: Skitter often has this reaction to being praised or thanked. (A particularly keen example comes when [[spoiler:she brings Dinah home]].)
* VoiceOfTheLegion: Skitter learns to do something like this using massed swarms of different kinds of bugs. It gets to the point where she doesn’t even notice she is doing it….around the same time she becomes completely okay with having her bugs crawling all over her body.
* TheWormThatWalks:
** Taylor makes herself look like this by surrounding herself with insects when she is caught in a fight without her costume on. This not only disguises her but also intimidates her opponents with a giant, creepy-looking humanoid insect swarm.
** On other occasions, Skitter creates humanoid figures out of worms, either as decoys or full-fledged assailants.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:The Undersiders]]

At the beginning of the story, the Undersiders are an up-and-coming supervillain team based in [[WrongSideOfTheTracks the Docks]] of Brockton Bay, notable for being ''very'' good at avoiding capture or defeat. In the weeks after [[spoiler:the decimation of the city by Leviathan]], the team becomes one of the five or six major players in the power structure of the city.

Tropes for the group as a whole:

----

* BadassCrew: The Undersiders became this somewhere between [[spoiler:attacking the PRT headquarters]] and [[spoiler:chasing after Siberian]].
* BandOfBrothers: After all of the fights and terrors they have faced, The Undersiders have become this.
* FamedInStory: The Undersiders and the Travelers attain this status after [[spoiler:the Slaughterhouse Nine arc]] when [[spoiler:they take over the city]], as pointed out in [[http://parahumans.wordpress.com/2013/01/26/queen-18-3/ 18.3]] by Clockblocker.
* RagtagBunchOfMisfits: When they were originally formed, they were pretty much just a group of random no-name supervillains recruited to form a team by a mysterious benefactor and sticking together because, well, ''money.'' Over time, [[TrueCompanions their connection grows to be a lot more than that.]]
* SupervillainLair: At the time Taylor joins the team, they have a base on the second floor of an abandoned factory in the Docks. After [[spoiler:they spread out to claim territory for Coil], each member gets their own base.
* TheTeamBenefactor: The team's initially-anonymous boss, revealed eventually to be [[spoiler:Coil, a local recruiter of mercenaries]], supplies the team with equipment and financial support in exchange for doing his jobs.
* ThouShaltNotKill: The Undersiders [[spoiler:with certain exceptions]] don't kill anyone.

! Brian Laborn (Grue)

The first leader of the Undersiders, Grue is a 17-year-old black man who got into crime in order to have the financial independence needed to take over the guardianship of his sister Aisha from their drug addict mom as soon as he turned 18. According to the Parahumans Online wiki at the beginning of the story, his power is simple darkness generation -- a factoid he added himself, so that his opponents would be caught off-guard by the way it blocks hearing and touch as well. The darkness seems to affect some superpowers as well, and after his second trigger event, it allows some PowerCopying.

He also lacks a scent most of the time. This is apparently true in or out of costume.

His costume is basically motorcycle leathers and a helmet designed to be wreathed by his smoke when he uses his power. His first helmet is a stylized skull, done in black; his second a demonic face.

----

* BigBrotherInstinct: His trigger event happened when he was protecting his little sister Aisha, and he never stops trying to protect his teammates --
** AngerBornOfWorry: -- and being angry when they or anyone else puts them at risk.
* BoxingLessonsForSuperman: One of the things he made a point of as a leader was to make sure everyone in the Undersiders learned basic first-aid and hand-to-hand combat skills.
* CastingAShadow: His primary power, darkness that blocks hearing and touch.
** PowerCopying: After Grue's second trigger event, he can use his darkness to copying other's powers in a limited fashion.
* CoolMask: Grue has two -- his first is a skull, the second a demon. Both are designed to be wreathed in his darkness.
* ExplainingYourPowerToTheEnemy: Grue intentionally averts this by listing his power as darkness generation on the Parahumans Wiki to catch enemies off guard with what else he can do.
* FightsLikeANormal: His power usually lets him avoid combat, but when he has to go up against an opponent, he does so using the fighting skills he got from having been raised by a professional boxer.
* LanternJawOfJustice: One of the first things Taylor notes about Brian when she sees him out of costume.
* HowDoIShotWeb: When using his secondary power, Grue has had issues using his newly gained powers.
* JustifiedCriminal: Grue became a villain mainly to support his sister.
* MalevolentMaskedMan: Wears a skull or demon mask when in costume.
* ScaryBlackMan: As Taylor notes in [[http://parahumans.wordpress.com/2011/12/17/tangle-6-2/ Tangle 6.2]] when she sees him lounging with his eyes closed outside his apartment building, he's six feet tall and obviously fit:
-->Even if you gave me my knife, baton and a good enough reason, I was pretty sure ''I'' wouldn't want to mess with his nap.
* SupervillainLair: Shared with Imp -- notably including a fitness room with punching bag and a 'war room' with maps of their territory.
* TherapyIsForTheWeak: Grue's gut reaction to the thought of seeing a shrink.

! Lisa Wilbourn/[[spoiler:Sarah Livsey]] (Tattletale)

A pretty dark blonde girl of mysterious origins, Lisa's power is essentially BatDeduction -- she can extrapolate an incredible wealth of inference from the least soupcon of data. It's not perfectly reliable, however -- if she pushes it too far from too little data, she can end up very, very wrong, and even under less extreme circumstances a lack of information can mean her guesses are significantly off. As a member of the team, she usually primarily provides intel, such as analysis of the powers of their opposition, but she has used her power to BreakThemByTalking on more than one occasion.

Her costume consists of a skintight black-and-lavender outfit and a mask that hides her freckles and disguises the lines of her face. She also makes a point of loosing her hair only while in disguise.

----

* AlphaBitch: Tattletale/Lisa is explicitly beautiful and has [[ManipulativeBastard manipulation]] as a superpower. However despite her very bitchy tendencies towards the world at large she lacks any [[GirlPosse crowd]] to be in with and is a loyal friend to [[SociallyAwkwardHero Taylor]] from their first meeting. What little is known of her [[DarkAndTroubledPast backstory]] would suggest that she probably used to be either this played straight, or something similar before [[spoiler:something unpleasant triggered her superpower and drove her to flee her wealthy home.]]
* AwesomenessByAnalysis: When analyzing someone or something, she needs to have some information about the target to begin with, and her power fills in the gaps in her knowledge, allowing her to crack computer passwords, profile people around her, and make predictions about the most likely outcome of a given situation, among other things. She's very accurate, although not infallible. In the few instances where she makes mistakes, she messes up pretty big. Also, she can become mentally overloaded if she tries to take in and analyze too much information all at once.
* BreakThemByTalking: Due to her power, Tattletale is an absolute master at this. It doesn’t matter who your are, if you can hear her, she will get to you. At one point Taylor sees her doing this and thinks that if she'd wanted to, Tattletale could have been a cult leader that made Heartbreaker look amateurish.
* CheshireCatGrin: {{Perpetual|Smiler}}ly, even -- being as she is ''often'' up to something.
* DeadpanSnarker: One of several on the team.
* DarkAndTroubledPast: Tattletale got her powers due to [[spoiler:[[SurvivorGuilt stress from her older brother committing suicide]], and left after her parents decided to use her for her powers.]]
* ExplainingYourPowerToTheEnemy: Tattletale comes up with a succession of misleadingly false explanations, starting with claiming she can read minds, something impossible in this setting, to intimidate anyone in front of her.
* ExpositionFairy: Has the ability to do this on any foe.
* [[spoiler:GlasgowGrin: Jack Slash slices through her cheek when she has the temerity to spill the beans on Cherish's plan. It's not actually a smile.]]
* HollywoodHacking: Actually justified due to Tattletale's power. She can almost instantly deduce passwords and codes, she doesn't even need to hack.
* TheOmniscient: Lisa/Tattletale's power, generally speaking. It's not perfect or all-encompassing, leading to occasional cases where she's NotSoOmniscientAfterAll.
* TheNotSecret: [[spoiler:Tattletale knew that Taylor was TheMole -- or, at least, intending to be a superhero -- before they even met.]]
* PerpetualSmiler
* SecretlyWealthy: [[spoiler:The Livseys]] are apparently well-to-do (although, as a supervillain, Tattletale isn't exactly pinched for funds).
* SherlockScan: Lisa's power makes her ''really'' good at this, and she can apply this kind of analysis to just about anything, not just people.
* ShipperOnDeck: She was a major factor in getting Brian and Taylor together.
* YouthfulFreckles: When she's not wearing her mask.

! Rachel Lindt (Bitch/Hellhound)

An unlucky foster child who gained the power to grant short-term {{Power Upgrading Deformation}}s to dogs, and who ended up on the streets fighting and fleeing superheroes for two years afterwards. Her total inability to pick up on human social cues and the fact that she is a known criminal even in her civilian identity has left her isolated from almost everyone she has ever met.

Given that her identity is public, she usually doesn't bother with a sophisticated costume. When Taylor first meets her, she is wearing a dollar-store rottweiler mask. Taylor's description based on her picture on the [[FictionalDocument Parahumans Online wiki page]] is that "[she has] a squarish, blunt-featured face with thick eyebrows."

----

* AngryGuardDog: She acts like this to pretty much everyone who tries to enter her territory.
* AttackAttackAttack: How Bitch generally deals with threats. Backfires for her in Monarch 16.4, when Dragon throws a suit at her with [[spoiler:a HealingFactor]].
* TheBeastmaster: Unlike Taylor, however, Bitch can't mentally control the dogs she transforms, so she trains them to respond to whistles and specific verbal commands.
* BeneathTheMask: Bitch's Interlude shows that she cares more about fitting in with her teammates then she lets on.
* BerserkButton: Mistreatment of dogs.
* BookDumb: Thanks to her childhood, she is functionally illiterate and ignorant about most things that don't relate directly to dogs.
* FriendlessBackground: Even before her trigger event, Rachel had no friends, going straight from ParentalNeglect to ParentalAbandonment and then into the DepartmentOfChildDisservices. Her time as a member of the Undersiders is as close to having normal interpersonal relationships as she has ever been.
* NotGoodWithPeople: [[spoiler:Bitch's CanineCompanion HulkingOut powers affect her mind]] so that she thinks and perceives social interactions like a [[spoiler:dog instead of a human]]. This also makes her unable to grasp tone, expressions and several other key aspects of human interaction. She is very good with dogs, but towards humans she is [[JerkAss less]] [[ViolenceIsTheOnlyOption than]] [[TechnicalPacifist friendly]]. Taylor might be the closest thing to a friend she has ever had.
** HairTriggerTemper: The main way she works around her handicap.
** HatesSmallTalk: Again, a corollary of her handicap.
** NoSocialSkills: Even discounting the factors mentioned in NotGoodWithPeople, she never had any particular opportunity to learn.
** SarcasmBlind: Another corollary of her handicap.
* PetTheDog: In [[http://parahumans.wordpress.com/2012/10/16/colony-15-1/ 15.1]], when Bitch adopts out two of her dogs to one of her minions.
* WickedStepmother: Bitch's abusive stepmother was directly responsible for her trigger event when she tried to [[KickTheDog drown her puppy as punishment.]]

! Alec/[[spoiler:Jean-Paul Vasil]] (Regent/[[spoiler:Hijack]])

A high-school age kid, pretty, with black curls and light blue eyes. The son of [[spoiler:Niko Vasil i.e. Heartbreaker, a major supervillain in Montreal]], who escaped his father, changed his name and tactics, and joined the Undersiders. He carries a scepter with a taser in it as his hand-to-hand weapon, but his power allows him to manipulate the bodies of other people, ranging from forcing them to trip or stumble to full-scale {{People Puppet|s}}ry. Is amiable but sociopathic, probably as a consequence of his upbringing.

Besides his staff, he wears a white mask, a silver coronet, a ruffled white shirt, and skintight leggings tucked into knee-high boots. The mask and shirt contain padding designed to camouflage the lines of his body.

----

* CarryABigStick: Uses a scepter with a taser installed as a weapon.
* DeadpanSnarker: Particularly when he's bantering with Imp.
* PeoplePuppets: Can create these.
* TheSociopath: Appears to have become one due to all the stuff Heartbreaker had him do as a child.
* TokenEvilTeammate: Is the most amoral of the Undersiders, though he does appear to have loyalty to the group.
* {{Troll}}: Loves to screw with people heads.

! Aisha Laborn (Imp)

Brian's younger sister. Managed to figure out that her brother was a cape before the story started; had her trigger event sometime within a few weeks of [[spoiler:the Leviathan attack]] and subsequently joined the team. Has the power to hide within a PerceptionFilter.

----

* DeadpanSnarker: Especially when she's bantering with Regent.
* DelinquentHair: Part of her generally-trashy style as of [[http://parahumans.wordpress.com/2011/12/20/tangle-6-3/ Tangle 6.3]] is a SkunkStripe with a stripe of purple in it.
* {{Gaslighting}}: She uses this as a method of driving undesirables out of the territory she shares with Grue.
* {{If You Ever Do Anything To Hurt H|er}}im: Has this view of Skitter concerning her relationship with Grue.
* KnifeNut: Imp's personal weapon of choice, which she uses in tandem with her powers to make a deadly combination.
* NoSocialSkills: Being raised by a neglectful, drug-addict mother hasn't left her with a lot of social graces.
* PerceptionFilter: Imp's power seems to work this way, to the point of making people forget she was ever there in the first place.
* SupervillainLair: Shared with Grue.

[[/folder]]

%% [[folder:Bitch's dogs]]

%% ! Brutus

%% ! Judas

%% ! Angelica

%% [[/folder]]

[[folder:Minions of the Undersiders]]

As the Undersiders begin to claim territory in the wake of [[spoiler:the Leviathan attack]], some members -- Skitter, Tattletale, and Regent, particularly -- begin to recruit or hire followers.

! Sierra Kiley

A redhead with dreadlocks who was just finishing her college degree when [[spoiler:Leviathan attacked]] and destroyed her family home. Was in the crowd when Skitter distributed her first truckload of supplies, and found herself asking Skitter for help finding her brother, who had disappeared during an attack by the Merchants on the church they were staying at. She and Charlotte joined Skitter's crew after the mission, and Sierra in particular ends up as her chief lieutenant.

----

* ActionSurvivor: She's managed to keep herself and a lot of others alive in quite terrifying circumstances, despite her lack of training or powers.
* NumberTwo: To Skitter.
* SlowlySlippingIntoEvil: In [[http://parahumans.wordpress.com/2012/10/11/interlude-14/ Interlude 14]], Sierra's narration mentions her fear that Skitter would start assigning her more dangerous and morally ambiguous jobs over time, as per this trope. [[AvertedTrope Except it never happens.]]

! Charlotte

A student at Winslow High before [[spoiler:Leviathan attacked]], and one of the many silent witnesses to Taylor being stuffed in the locker full of {{squick}}. She was rescued from one of the Merchant's [[APartyAlsoKnownAsAnOrgy events]] thanks to a flaring-up of Skitter's ChronicHeroSyndrome, and figured out that Taylor and Lisa were capes when [[spoiler:they reacted to Scrub's trigger event the same way that Skidmark's crowd did]]. She, like Sierra, joined Skitter's crew in the aftermath, but ended up working primarily as a caretaker for orphaned children.

----

* HeKnowsTooMuch: Part of Charlotte's motivation for not leaving is concerns that she will be targeted for having connected Skitter and Tattletale to their civilian identities.
* ShamefulStrip: What Charlotte was being submitted to before she was rescued.
* YiddishAsASecondLanguage: The reason she gave for not wanting to leave Brockton Bay is that her zaydee -- grandpa -- refused to leave.

! Minor

A tall man with something of a long face. The team captain among Tattletale's minions.

! Dmitri

Second-in-command among Tattletale's minions.

! Senegal

Another of Tattletale's minions. A tall man, and creepy.

! Jaw

A third minion of Tattletale -- particularly imposing for his StoutStrength build. "Jaw" is a nickname.

! Brooks

An ex-Air Force field medic working for Tattletale. An inch or so shorter than Skitter, but still obviously fit. Good with pistols and computers.

! Pritt

Another of Tattletale's minions. A woman and former {{child soldier|s}}.

! Bryce Kiley

Sierra's brother, who went missing when the Merchants attacked the church they were staying at. After discovering that [[spoiler:he went missing because he ''joined'' the Merchants]], Skitter, Tattletale, and Sierra decided to set him to work for Tattletale as a way of keeping him relatively safe.

! Barker

A supervillain assigned to work for Bitch by Coil. An inch or two shorter than Skitter and not particularly physically imposing. His power involve puffs of smoke he can cause to detonate with thunderclap force.

----

* BullyingADragon: You'd think that a man might think twice before yelling "Whore" at a female supervillain and making a thunderclap explosion in her face right in front of her employees while a guest at her base. This seems like the kind of act that could result in said supervillain not even bothering to telescope her baton before she slams it into your jaw, kicks your chair out from under you, and sends capsicum-coated insects into your nose and mouth. Why, I imagine your boss -- who isn't all that enamored with you to begin with -- might not even bother making a fuss over her doing that to you, should you opt to be that stupid.

! Biter

Another supervillain assigned to work for Bitch by Coil. Tall, over six feet, with teeth filed to points, a bear-trap--style band of metal around his lower jaw, and spiked gloves. His power allows him to enlarge parts of his body -- hit harder, bite through larger things, etc.

! Bitch's vet

A first-year vet student before [[spoiler:the Leviathan attack]] who originally took the job to pay for her boyfriend's hospital care, and continued in the position after said boyfriend broke up with her for lack of anything better to do.

----

* GratuitousForeignLanguage[=/=]ThemeNaming: She had two greyhounds growing up, [[GratuitousFrench Eclaire]] and [[GratuitousGerman Blitzen]].[[note]]Both words mean "lighten", as in illumination.[[/note]]

! Jay, Sugita, and Yan

Three former members of the Azn Bad Boys. They signed up with Skitter after [[spoiler:she beat Mannequin]], but were subsequently fired for [[spoiler:attacking Sierra, Charlotte, and the kids at Skitter's headquarters]]. The character tags list them as Shaggy, Accent, and Nosering, respectively.

----

* AsskickingEqualsAuthority: Their belief in this is reflected on both the occasion of their employment and the occasion of the termination thereof.
* TooDumbToLive: Three former employees of the UnstoppableRage HumanoidAbomination Lung -- also known as the guy whose [[EyeScream eyes]] Skitter carved out -- and they [[spoiler:try to attack Skitter's second-in-command and take over her base while she's out]].

%% Dr. Tegeler: A dentist in Skitter's territory. Brooks borrows some of her equipment to [[spoiler:remove the spikes Flechette left in Skitter's back]].

[[/folder]]

----

[[folder:The Protectorate]]
A government-sponsored organization of superheroes in the United States and Canada. Works closely with the PRT -- Parahuman Response Team. Has teams of superheroes assigned to many major cities, including Boston, New York, and Brockton Bay.

Tropes for the group as a whole:

----

* BigGood: The Triumvirate are this in universe and are composed of the three strongest heroes in the world.

! Legend

The leader of the Protectorate and member of the [[BigGood Triumvirate]]. He can fly and fire lasers with exceptional power and versatility -- they are even able to go around corners. Living in New York and happily married to a non-powered man named Arthur, with whom he adopted a kid named Keith. Like the other members of the Triumvirate, [[spoiler:he's actually working for/with Cauldron, the organization who gave them their powers]]. [[spoiler:He steps down from his leadership position in the wake of the battle with Echidna.]]

----

* {{Flight}}: He actually transforms into a special form as he accelerates, growing tougher and tougher and less and less aware as he does so.
* FrickinLaserBeams: He is an unequaled user of them. Among other things, his lasers can turn corners, fork into multiple lasers, pass through walls and freeze or ignite his targets.
* LockedOutOfTheLoop: Unlike the other members of the Triumvirate, [[spoiler:he did not know anything about Cauldron's crimes and dirty secrets.]]
* TokenGoodTeammate: [[spoiler:Of Cauldron. Not that he was aware of it until recently.]]

! Rebecca Costa-Brown ([[spoiler:Library of]] Alexandria)

The second member of the Triumvirate, and generally considered the prototypical FlyingBrick. Also possessed of SuperIntelligence, including PhotographicMemory. Also [[spoiler:the one responsible for the formation of the Protectorate and for manipulating government oversight of it behind the scenes as the Chief Director of the PRT.]]

----

* FlyingBrick: The most famous example in-verse. It is referred to as the "Alexandria Package" because of her.
* GeniusBruiser
* LittlestCancerPatient: [[spoiler:Was one before she got her powers.]]
* OmniGlot: Speaks the most commonly spoken languages.
* SuperPowerLottery: [[spoiler:The same SuperSerum that turned her into one of the most capable parahumans, turned almost everyone else who drank it into monsters.]]
* [[spoiler:WellIntentionedExtremist]]

! Eidolon

The third member of the Triumvirate, Eidolon has the ability to equip himself with any of a tremendous variety of powers -- but is limited to a few at a time, and the powers take time to grow to full strength after he activates them. [[spoiler:His powers also seem to be growing weaker, which frightens him.]]

----

* AllYourPowersCombined: Has the ability to use any power he needs at a given point in time, maintaining a set of two to four powers at a time.
** {{Flight}}: One of his standard powers.
* [[spoiler:WellIntentionedExtremist]]

! Colin (Armsmaster/[[spoiler:Defiant]])

Leader of the Brockton Bay Protectorate when the story began. A tinker specializing in miniaturization. Fights with his [[BladeOnAStick Halberd]] and a heads-up display that incorporates [[AwesomenessByAnalysis a combat style simulator]] and a LieDetector, among other features. Met Taylor on her first night out right after she and the Undersiders had fought Lung, and convinced her to keep her part in Lung's apprehension secret -- which, incidentally, [[{{Pride}} let him take credit for it]]. Unfortunately for mutual good relations between him and Taylor, Armsmaster got in deep trouble when Lung began to suffer severe tissue damage from the spider bites while in custody, which no doubt contributed to how Taylor's offer to become TheMole for the Protectorate in the Undersiders was harshly refused. Their relationship generally went downhill from there.

Armsmaster's costume consists of dark blue body armor with silver highlights and a visor that covers his eyes and nose. He wears a neatly trimmed beard.

----

* AbsurdlySharpBlade: Armsmaster co-created with Dragon a nano cloud Halberd that can turn anything to dust. He does more damage to Leviathan with it than the rest of the heroes and villains put together.
* ArmorPiercingAttack: Immediately before [[spoiler:Leviathan attacks]], he creates a modification to his Halberd which uses {{nanomachines}} to cut through anything by destroying molecular bonds.
* BladeOnAStick: His weapons of choice are futuristic SwissArmyWeapon halberds, even after [[spoiler:he comes back as Defiant]].
* CoolBike: In his first appearance, he arrives on the scene riding one.
* TheCowl: He's the closest character to that particular archetype.
* DefiantToTheEnd: When Mannequin attacks him. [[spoiler:Guess which second superhero alias he chose afterwards for himself.]]
* [[spoiler:FallenHero: When it comes out that he violated the truce during the Leviathan attack]].
* FightsLikeANormal: Armsmaster is a highly skilled martial artist who augments with tech.
** BadassAbnormal: [[spoiler:Comes back as the {{Cyborg}} hero Defiant after being increasingly crippled by Leviathan and Mannequin.]]
* GadgeteerGenius: His tinker powers allow him to miniaturize the techology he creates, meaning his Halberds can hold quite a lot of tools.
* GeniusBruiser
* GrapplingHookPistol: A standard piece of his halberds.
* HeroAntagonist: To Skitter.
* HyperspaceArsenal: Armsmaster's particular Tinker specialization is miniaturization. He can pack more tech into his Halberd than he has any right to.
* ItsNotYouItsMyEnemies: He mentions in [[http://parahumans.wordpress.com/2012/06/19/interlude-11d/ Interlude 11d]] that he intentionally avoided forming personal relationships precisely so that they couldn't be used against him.
* NoSocialSkills: [[http://parahumans.wordpress.com/2012/06/19/interlude-11d/ Interlude 11d]] and [[http://parahumans.wordpress.com/2012/12/13/interlude-16-donation-bonus-2/ Interlude 16 (Donation Bonus #2)]] make it pretty clear that he has a way of saying the wrong thing all the time. Fortunately, he seems to be aware of it.
* OvershadowedByAwesome: Armsmaster resents Dauntless because of this. Dauntless is getting steadily stronger every day, due to how his power works, and is expected to become one of the top dogs at some point in the future. Meanwhile, Armsmaster is a GadgeteerGenius that has to stay up nights to update his gear and train, getting less results for more work.
* PoweredArmor
* PragmaticHero: With shades of the UnscrupulousHero. Two illustrative examples:
** He arranging the death of multiple villains, including a fifteen-year-old girl he ''knew'' to be TheMole, in order to [[HeroSyndrome give himself a chance to defeat]] [[spoiler:Leviathan]] in a one-on-one fight.
** He also considered [[spoiler:Blasto]] mere collateral damage when trying to [[spoiler:kill Bonesaw.]]
* TheSleepless: [[spoiler:His augmentations after he becomes Defiant allow him to approach within fifteen minutes of this.]]
* TheResenter: To Dauntless.
* {{Robosexual}}: As his very close relationship with Dragon shows.
* UnderstandingBoyfriend: He proved to be this after Dragon revealed to him that she was an artificial intelligence.
* TrashTalk: A habit of his when fighting villains.
* [[spoiler:WeCanRebuildHim]]: [[spoiler:Defiant]] thanks to Dragon.
* [[spoiler:WouldHurtAChild: Or at least he was willing to kill Bonesaw.]]

! Hannah (Miss Militia)

One of the Brockton Bay Protectorate, and Armsmaster's official successor as its leader. Her power comes in the form of a kaleidoscopic blur which forms itself into various weapons (already armed and loaded) in her hands. Her costume is a [[GoodLookingPrivates military uniform tailored to accent her curves]] with an American-flag scarf hiding her lower face and a matching sash around her waist.

One of the few survivors of a small village that was attacked during a war by Turkish soldiers, she had her trigger event while she was being used as a human minesweeper. Most of the survivors were evacuated to the U.K., but when her power caused problems with the metal detector she ended up being rescued by an American and brought to the United States to be fostered and given a place in the Wards, her name anglicized from Hana to Hannah.

She is also one of the only people who remembers the vision she had during her trigger event.

----

* CaptainPatriotic: She fought for the right to include [[WearingAFlagOnYourHead the scarf and sash]] in her costume because she loves the country.
* GunTwirling: She does this briefly in Interlude 7.
* HeroAntagonist
* ImmigrantPatriotism: [[http://parahumans.wordpress.com/2012/02/28/interlude-7/ Her Interlude]] reveals that she was a Kurdish girl who embraced America as her new homeland (Americanized name, patriotic costume) after she was rescued by an American soldier and adopted by an American family.
* ReasonableAuthorityFigure
* TheSleepless: She technically doesn't sleep -- when she does put her head down, instead of dreaming, she remembers, eidetically.
* SuperheroPackingHeat: She is accompanied by a semi-sentient energy that can transform into modern military armaments.
* WearingAFlagOnYourHead: Her costume includes an American-flag scarf.

! "Jamie" (Battery)

A former member of the Wards who graduated to the Protectorate, her power gives her super-speed, super-strength, and super-durability ... in bursts, after intervals spent charging. Not actually named Jamie -- she took the name as a pseudonym when she [[spoiler:[[SuperSerum bought powers from Cauldron]] to fight Madcap with]].

----

* TheAtoner: For her involvement [[spoiler:with Cauldron]].
* ChargedAttack: Battery's power is essentially a melee version of this.
* DirtyBusiness: The favors she does for [[spoiler:Cauldron]]; allowing [[spoiler:Madcap]] to [[ReformedCriminal turn his coat]] -- although most of those favors are not really "dirty" and [[spoiler:Assault]] actually does redeem himself.
* [[spoiler:RedemptionEqualsDeath: Died trying to stop the Nine in defiance of Cauldron, courtesy of one of Bonesaw's spiders.]]

! Ethan (Assault/[[spoiler:Madcap]])

Battery's partner, [[ThemeNaming obviously]], and a manipulator of kinetic energy -- [[EnergyAbsorption able to absorb]] and redirect it at will. He previously worked as [[spoiler:a jailbreak specialist]] under the name [[spoiler:Madcap]], but after [[spoiler:he was caught]] [[ReformedCriminal he joined the Protectorate]] and began to [[spoiler:woo Battery]].

----

* DefectingForLove: It is strongly suggested that [[spoiler:his HeelFaceTurn]] was motivated by his interest in [[spoiler:Battery]].
* EnergyAbsorption: His power works by absorbing kinetic energy.
* HeroAntagonist: After [[spoiler:Battery's death]] he has had a definite grudge against the Undersiders.
* LoveRedeems: Became the hero Assault due to his love for [[spoiler:Battery]].

! [[spoiler:Rory Christner]] (Triumph)

A former baseball player who gained a minor HealingFactor and [[MakeMeWannaShout the ability to make sonic blasts]] when [[spoiler:his father bought him one of Cauldron's {{Super Serum}}s as a way of getting an edge at the game]]. A recent graduate from the Brockton Bay Wards into the Protectorate.

----

* ComboPlatterPowers: HealingFactor, HeroicBuild, and MakeMeWannaShout. Not exactly thematically linked.
* CyberneticsEatYourSoul: Triumph has this reaction to [[spoiler:Defiant's]] self-modifications.
* DirtyBusiness: He is convinced to [[spoiler:let Armsmaster go free to fight the Nine]], but he hates doing it.
* HealingFactor: He mentions in [[http://parahumans.wordpress.com/2012/11/20/interlude-15/ Interlude 15]] that he heals a little faster than normal and he doesn't scar.
* HeroicBuild: Another side effect of his power.
* MakeMeWannaShout: His chief power -- and he can control its force and area of effect quite finely, as demonstrated when he [[spoiler:hits Trickster without hitting his little sister, whom Trickster was using as a HumanShield]].
* NonIdleRich: His family is quite wealthy.
* SpoiledBrat: In [[http://parahumans.wordpress.com/2012/11/20/interlude-15/ Interlude 15]], he describes the person he was when he gained his powers as this.

! Dauntless

An up-and-coming Brockton Bay hero who can empower items by infusing them -- once or multiple times -- with his power, adding abilities to the items as he charges them. Wields an "arc-lance", a shield which can become a force field, and boots of flying. [[spoiler:Killed by Leviathan]].

----

* DeflectorShields: He uses his shield to create one.
* HardLight: His power causes his weapons to take this form.
* TheMagicTouch: The empowering he does to his equipment.
* [[spoiler:KilledOffForReal]]

! Velocity

Another member of the Brockton Bay crew, able with his power to shift into a super-speed form, although in said form his ability to affect the outside world is reduced. [[spoiler:Killed by Leviathan]].

----

* SuperSpeed: His major ability.
* [[spoiler:KilledOffForReal]]

! Sam (Prism)

One of the New York Protectorate brought in to fight [[spoiler:the Slaughterhouse Nine]]. Her power allows her to first split into three copies and then to remerge and gain enhanced strength, speed, and durability. [[spoiler:Dates Triumph briefly while she's in town.]]

----

* ChargedAttack: She essentially executes one of these whenever she merges her duplicates into one.
* SelfDuplication: One half of her power is creating the two copies; the other half is merging back into one (any one of the three) to gain temporary SuperStrength and SuperSpeed.

! Ursa Aurora

Another member of the New York Protectorate. She has the power to summon forcefield 'bears' onto the field of battle.

! Cache

A member of the New York Protectorate with the ability to create some kind of otherworldly geometry which can contain a number of people.

----

* HammerspaceHideaway: The primary use he is seen to put his ability to.

! Dragon

Generally regarded as the world's best tinker, and the Protectorate's resident VoiceWithAnInternetConnection. Was living in Newfoundland prior to its destruction, but managed to escape to Vancouver, where she has been residing since. Has been pretending to be a cripplingly-agoraphobic woman, but is actually an ArtificialIntelligence.

----

* AIIsACrapshoot: Defied.
* BigGood
* CreativeSterility: Relatively speaking. She is a very productive hero, but her programming prevents her from creating other [=AIs=].
* DoAndroidsDream[=/=]GrewBeyondTheirProgramming: At some point between the first couple years of her existence and 2007, she [[spoiler:had a trigger event]].
* GadgeteerGenius: One of the main characters hypothesizes that [[spoiler:her power is to incorporate all the tricks of any tinker whose work she can study]].
* HeroAntagonist
* [[RidiculouslyHumanRobots Ridiculously Human]] RobotGirl: After creating humanoid bodies for herself.
* TheSleepless: Unsurprisingly, she does not need any sleep.
* ToBeLawfulOrGood: Resents that she has no choice and has to uphold the law no matter who is in charge of the government.
* VoiceWithAnInternetConnection: Quite literally, in fact, but she often literally serves this purpose for the Protectorate.
* WetwareCPU: Her fetus-like agents whom she uses as pilots of her battle suits.

%% Narwhal: One of the most powerful superheroes in the world. Able to bypass the Manton effect.

! Myrddin

Leader of the Chicago Protectorate. Apparently a wizard -- robe, staff, banishments, flying, et cetera.

----

* {{Flight}}: One of the things he can do.
* HammerspaceHideaway: He has used his power to hold people in another place, as long as he maintains his concentration.
* [[spoiler:SlashedThroat: How he died.]]

! Chevalier

Leader of the Philadelphia Protectorate. His powers have not been described in detail, but apparently involve enhancing his equipment to be bigger, tougher, and/or more powerful.

----

* MixAndMatchWeapon: His primary weapon is his cannonblade.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: The PRT (Paranormal Response Team)]]

! Director Piggot

Leader of the Brockton Bay PRT. Has authority over the Protectorate team and the Wards team for the Brockton Bay area. Referred to as "Piggy" behind her back. One of exactly two survivors of the ground forces for the mission to take down Jamie Rinke i.e. Nilbog.

----

* CareerEndingInjury: Her kidneys were destroyed during the Nilbog mission, among other accidents.
* DaChief: The Director is responsible for commanding the local Protectorate, Wards, and PRT agents, as well as coordinating with other agencies.
* FantasticRacism: She hates and despises parahumans. That said, her feelings towards capes aren't entirely unjustified -- [[spoiler:during the Nilbog mission, where she was crippled and her entire squad killed, the supporting capes ran for their lives and left the normals to die.]]
* HandicappedBadass: Was a PRT field agent before her CareerEndingInjury -- has only gotten more hardcore since.

! Thomas Calvert

A former PRT agent, and the other of the two ground forces survivors of the mission to take down Nilbog. Lost his job for a period of time for having [[spoiler:shot his commanding officer for not climbing the rope ladder quickly enough]]. Eventually brought in by the PRT to [[spoiler:serve as Director after Piggot was injured during Coil's coup]]. [[spoiler:Is secretly Coil.]]

----

* KarmaHoudini: Escapes long-term blame for [[spoiler:shooting his superior officer]] because the PRT doesn't want to admit how badly they screwed up.
* SocialDarwinist: If his reasoning for [[spoiler:shooting his commanding officer]] is any indication.

[[/folder]]

[[folder:The Wards]]

The junior branch of the Protectorate, in which minors with superpowers are trained and given responsibilities.

Tropes for the group as a whole:

----

* KidHero: The members of the Wards, at least nominally. They transfer to the Protectorate when they turn 18.
* SuperheroSchool: It's where future heroes are trained in the use of their powers.
* ThereAreNoTherapists: Apparently the Brockton Bay Wards would have received no counseling at all in the wake of [[spoiler:the Leviathan attack that killed two of their members]] if it weren't for Weld specifically campaigning for it.

! Weld

One of the so-called Case 53s. His body is made of metal that he can shape-shift into weapons during combat. He was the leader of the Boston Wards until he was brought in to lead the Brockton Bay Wards after [[spoiler:the Leviathan attack]].

----

* ByTheBookCop: Described in one place as a "company man", he plays by the rules, fills out all the paperwork correctly, and obeys orders.
* ChromeChampion: As a consequence of being made out of metal.
* GeniusBruiser: Is both smart and strong.
* GoodIsNotDumb: A substantial number of readers consider Weld to be the single nicest and most heroic character in the entire series so far.
* HeroAntagonist
* MadeOfIron: Literally in some places.
* OnlyOneName
* SecretPublicIdentity: Has no separate civilian name.
* ShapeshifterWeapon: He frequently uses these in battle.
* SuperToughness: ...he's made out of metal. It takes one heck of a hit to so much as ''affect'' him.

! Carlos (Aegis)

Leader of the Brockton Bay Wards at the beginning of the story. Has two powers: flight, and a hyper-adaptable physiology: if any vital organ is damaged, another adapts to take its place. [[spoiler:Killed by Leviathan]].

----

* FlyingBrick: His HealingFactor allows him to play this role for the Brockton Bay Wards.
* GoodThingYouCanHeal: He {{invoke|dTrope}}s this during fights -- because he doesn't have to worry about injuring himself, he can spend the entire fight riding the kind of adrenaline high that lets soccer moms lift cars off their children and throwing punches that break the bones of his hands.
* HealingFactor: On top of his adaptable physiology.
* [[spoiler:KilledOffForReal]]

! Dennis (Clockblocker)

Described in [[AllInTheManual the cast page]] as the "Unofficial second in command" of the Brockton Bay Wards, his powers allow him to freeze people or objects for an indeterminate period between thirty seconds and ten minutes. This can be used offensively -- e.g. by freezing an opponent and then chaining them up -- or defensively -- e.g. by freezing a piece of paper to make an indestructible barrier.

Has a bit of a rebel streak, as reflected by his choice of superhero name.

----

* TheLancer: For the Brockton Bay Wards.
* TimeMaster: Is a limited version of this, being only able to freeze time for limited periods.

! Kid Win

A young [[GadgeteerGenius tinker]] on the Brockton Bay Wards. Flies around on a hoverboard fighting with laser guns.

----

* AttentionDeficitOohShiny: One of his running problems is losing focus halfway through projects and leaving them incomplete.
* {{Flight}}: With his hoverboard, when he hasn't taken the battery out to use on something else.
* GadgeteerGenius: The only one on the Brockton Bay Wards. He initially specializes in various kinds of guns, but [[spoiler:he eventually figures out that his power works with technology with lots of different modes, instead]].
* GoodWithNumbers: Remarkably, ''inverted'' -- he is, in fact, innumerate, but works around it with computer assistance and use of his power.
* LegacyCharacter: He intentionally modeled himself on Hero, the first famous heroic tinker.
* OptOut: Chooses to sit out the confrontation with the Slaughterhouse Nine when given a choice.

! Missy (Vista)

The youngest member of the Brockton Bay Wards at twelve or thirteen. Has the ability to [[SpaceMaster distort space -- stretching, compressing, bending, etc.]] -- as long as there are no living creatures in the way.

----

* BrokenBird
* TheFatalist: Has taken this view after seeing so many of her fellow Wards either leave or die, on top of being aware that the world may end in two years.
* TheHeart: Takes this position on the team after [[spoiler:Gallant dies]].
* KidHero: The youngest member of the Brockton Bay Wards.
* MundaneUtility: She uses her power to compact a set of survival supplies into a small, easily-carried bundle in [[http://parahumans.wordpress.com/category/stories-arcs-1-10/arc-9-sentinel-interludes/9-5/ Sentinel 9.5]]
* SpaceMaster

! [[spoiler:Sophia Hess]] (Shadow Stalker)

A crossbow-wielding crimefighter with the ability to shift into a shadowy form in order to pass through solid objects and move extra quickly. She began as a solo hero, but was arrested for nearly killing a criminal when she staked him to the wall with a crossbow bolt. As a condition of her parole, she was given probationary status in the Wards and required to use nonlethal ammunition. [[spoiler:Put in juvie in the aftermath of the plot where Regent [[PeoplePuppets controlled]] her.]]

----

* AchillesHeel: Electricity. Shadow Stalker can pass through surfaces while using her power, but she's just as vulnerable as an ordinary person if she comes in contact with a live current.
* ArchEnemy:
** Shadow Stalker has been gunning for Grue ever since she discovered that the latter's power interferes with her own.
** When Skitter [[spoiler:accidentally discovers her identity]], Shadow Stalker starts gunning for her as well.
* InASingleBound: She can use her shadow state to leap great distances, which is how she does her RoofHopping navigation of Brockton Bay.
* {{Intangibility}}: One of the effects of going into her shadow state.
* LonersAreFreaks: Does not get along with any of the Wards and prefers to work alone.
* PayEvilUntoEvil: Her philosophy as a vigilante and even as a member of the Wards.
* [[spoiler:PutOnABus: Regent runs her out of Brockton Bay after ruining her life via his powers for messing with Taylor.]]
* SocialDarwinist: Believes that people less vicious than her (e.g. Vista and [[spoiler:Taylor]]) should stay in their place. Which is out of her way.
* SociopathicHero: The reason she joined the Wards was that it was part of the probation for her use of deadly weapons during her vigilante career.
* TheStraightAndArrowPath: She fights with twin crossbows.
* TokenEvilTeammate: Of the Brockton Bay Wards.
* TrickArrow: The tranquilizer bolts and other nonlethal ammunition for her crossbow.

! Gallant

A purported tinker who fires emotion-affecting beams of light. Can also sense emotions. On-and-off boyfriend of Glory Girl. [[spoiler:Killed by Leviathan]].

----

* EmotionBomb: His beams inflict random emotional states in those they strike.
* TheEmpath: One of his powers is seeing emotions in everyone.
* TheHeart: Is in many ways the anchor of the Brockton Bay Wards.
* NonIdleRich: It is mentioned in passing that his family is quite wealthy.
* [[spoiler:KilledOffForReal]]

! Browbeat

A new member of the Brockton Bay Wards at the beginning of the story. Powers include short-range telekinesis and a capacity to alter his own biology. [[spoiler:Quit the Wards and left town after Leviathan attacked]].

----

* GrowingMusclesSequence: One of the uses of his power is to bulk up.
* HealingFactor: He can repair his own wounds by concentrating on them.
* MindOverMatter: His short-range telekinesis.
* [[spoiler:ScrewThisImOuttaHere: Wasn't willing to fight Leviathan.]]

! Chariot

A tinker who recently joined the Wards. [[spoiler:Secretly working for Coil.]]

----

* GadgeteerGenius: Like all mechanical tinkers -- his powers focus on mobility.
* [[spoiler: TheMole: Coil's inside man, though the Wards are aware of this.]]
* OptOut: Chose to sit out the confrontation with the Slaughterhouse Nine when given the choise [[spoiler:most likely due to his status as TheMole for Coil]]

! Lily (Flechette)

A member of the New York Wards who was brought in temporarily to Brockton Bay after [[spoiler:the Leviathan attack]]. Her power allows her to [[ArmorPiercingAttack shift her weapons into a form where they can pass uninhibited through normal matter until it was inside its target]] and [[NoArcInArchery fly without being affected by gravity]]. They grant her enhanced timing and coordination as well.

----

* ArmorPiercingAttack: Because her power can cause objects to not interact with normal matter until they are already inside their targets.
* GrapplingHookPistol: She has a chain-fabricating machine which, combined with her power, allows her to use her arbalest as one of these.
* NoArcInArchery: A secondary effect of her power is that the imbued objects are not affected by gravity.
* NonindicativeName: Her superhero title dates back to when she fought with [[FlechetteStorm thrown blades]].
* RomanticTwoGirlFriendship: Admits in an Interlude that she has a crush on [[spoiler:Parian]]. But so far she has not managed to pick up enough courage to tell her about her feelings.
* TheStraightAndArrowPath: At the time of the story, her primary weapon is an arbalest -- a massive crossbow.
* VariableLengthChain: The aforementioned chain-fabricating machine effectively gives her this.

! Tecton

A member of the Chicago Wards brought in to fight [[spoiler:Echidna i.e. Noelle]]. Is a tinker with the ability to sense geology -- he wears a powered armor suit with piledriver gauntlets for creating localized earthquakes.

----

* DishingOutDirt: He fights with earthquakes.
* GadgeteerGenius

! Wanton

A member of the Chicago Wards brought in to fight [[spoiler:Echidna i.e. Noelle]]. Able to turn into a localized telekinetic whirlwind.

! Grace

A member of the Chicago Wards brought in to fight [[spoiler:Echidna i.e. Noelle]]. A martial artist with enhanced reflexes and the ability to imbue selected body parts with invulnerability and extra striking power.

* FightsLikeANormal: Grace is a skilled martial artist who enhances her fighting with her superpowers.
* NighInvulnerability: Grace can imbue this to certain body parts.
* SuperStrength: Said body parts are also capable of striking with greater power while under that state.

! Raymancer

A member of the Chicago Wards brought in to fight [[spoiler:Echidna i.e. Noelle]]. Creates beams that he controls with his lenses for ranged combat.

! Chronicler

A member of the Texas Wards brought in to fight [[spoiler:Echidna i.e. Noelle]]. Able to make short-lived duplicates who perform the exact same actions that their prototypes did.

----

* MesACrowd: His main power.

%% Strapping Lad: Texas Wards

%% Intrepid: Texas Wards

%% Young Buck: Texas Wards

! Scapegoat

One of the heroes brought in to fight [[spoiler:Echidna i.e. Noelle]]. Has (apparently) the ability to absorb injuries from his allies and then transfer them to his opponents.

----

* BlessedWithSuck: When he absorbs someone's injuries, he experiences them himself.
-->'''Scapegoat:''' Hate my power, hate my power, hate it, hate it, hate it.
* EmpathicHealer: Almost -- the effect is conditional on neither him nor his target being subjected to any severe impacts or injuries in the hour or six following the procedure.
* ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin
* QuantumMechanicsCanDoAnything: Tattletale's explanation of his powers invokes the many-worlds hypothesis in her explanation of his power.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: New Wave]]

A group of heroes consisting of two related nuclear families formally known as the Brockton Bay Brigade, who changed their name after deciding to reveal their identities to the world. They believe in superheroes without secrets and full accountability, though the movement stalled upon the murder of one of their members in her civilian identity.

! Sarah (Lady Photon/Photon Mom)

Debatably the leader of New Wave. Her sister is Brandish, her husband Manpower, and her children Laserdream and Shielder. Her powers include flight, HardLight beams, and force fields.

----

* EmbarrassingNickname: She ''hates'' being called Photon Mom.
* {{Flight}}: Among her abilities.
* HardLight: One of her powers is creating blasts of this from her hands.
* DeflectorShields: One of her abilities.

%% Neil (Manpower)

! Laserdream

One of Lady Photon's daughters. Has similar powers to her mother, but with stronger beams and weaker shields.

----

* {{Flight}}: Among her abilities.
* HardLight: She creates even more powerful blasts than her mom.
* DeflectorShields: She has one, like her mother and sister, but not as strong.

! Shielder

The other of Lady Photon's daughters, the one with stronger shields and weaker beams.

----

* {{Flight}}: Among her abilities.
* HardLight: She can create blasts, but not as powerful as her mother's or sister's.
* DeflectorShields: And she can create better ones than either her mother or sister.

%% Mark Dallon (Flashbang)

%% Carol Dallon (Brandish)

! Victoria Dallon (Glory Girl)

A tall blonde bombshell, dressed in a white dress (with ModestyShorts), cape, high boots, and a golden tiara. A FlyingBrick who radiates energy that emboldens her allies and frightens her enemies. [[spoiler:Crippled during the Slaughterhouse Nine arc; subsequently residing in a parahuman psychiatric hospital.]]

----

* ArrogantKungFuGuy: Glory Girls invulnerability and strength has made her very cocky and arrogant. Tattletale, Skitter, and the Nine prove her attitude is very wrong.
* EmotionBomb: She can create an aura which causes nearby people to feel awe -- which, for her opponents, is basically pure intimidation.
* FlyingBrick: Her power includes a unique forcefield that makes her very tough and strong. But after she gives or takes a big hit her forcefield shorts out for a moment, making her vulnerable.
* IntimidationDemonstration: She likes to start encounters with bad guys by doing one of these.
** GroundShatteringLanding: One of her signatures.
--->Spotting her target, she whooped and plunged for the ground, gaining speed where anyone else would be slowing down. She hit the asphalt hard enough to crack it and send fragments of it into the air, touching ground with her knee and foot, one arm extended. She stayed in that kneeling position for just heartbeats, letting her platinum curls and the cape that was draped over one of her shoulders flutter in the wake of air that had followed her descent. She met the eyes of her quarry with a steely glare.\\
\\
She'd practiced that landing for ''weeks'' to get it right.
* WhatTheHellHero: Panacea calls her out in [[http://parahumans.wordpress.com/2011/08/06/interlude-2/ Interlude 2]] for the way she tends to use excessive force (e.g. knocking down a fleeing thug by sending an entire dumpster flying into him).

! Amy Dallon/[[spoiler:Amelia Claire Lavere]] (Panacea)

Panacea is the biological daughter of [[spoiler: the supervillian Marquis]] and the adopted daughter of the capes Flashbang and Brandish. Her power is commonly understood as healing others, but it is actually the ability to control the biology of any creature she touches. She wears a white hooded robe with a red cross on the front and rear, and a scarf covering the lower half of her face. Underneath, she is mousy, with brown frizzy hair and freckles.

----

* BlackAndWhiteMorality: Panacea's view of superheroes and villains.
* BiTheWay: It is revealed that she has had feelings for [[spoiler:both Glory Girl, her adopted sibling, and Gallant, Glory Girl's former boyfriend.]]
* BodyHorror: What she ends up doing to [[spoiler:Glory Girl.]]
* [[spoiler:FallenHero: In the wake of the Slaughterhouse Nine arc.]]
* TheFettered: Panacea has strict rules about how she'll use her powers, for [[PowerIncontinence what turn out to be very good reasons]].
* {{Fingore}}: Ends up losing a few fingers over the course of the Slaughterhouse Nine arc.
* FountainOfYouth: Panacea is mentioned to have the ability to de-age someone twenty years with her healing abilities.
* GenerationXerox: Much like [[spoiler:Marquis]], she also has an inflexible code of rules.
* HealingHands: Panacea has them and all the RequiredSecondaryPowers that go with it.
* TheMedic: The common understanding of Panacea's power, though unfortunately she lacks a HealingFactor due to her powers only working on others.
* PoorCommunicationKills: [[spoiler:Skitter's]] diagnosis of why she [[spoiler:had her FaceHeelTurn]].
* PowerIncontinence: She experiences a loss of control that causes her to [[spoiler:[[LovePotion brainwash]] Glory Girl]] immediately after she was targeted by [[spoiler:Bonesaw]].
* SamaritanSyndrome: Spends hours every day going to hospitals and curing people, because she couldn't live with herself if she didn't.
* WhatTheHellHero: Tattletale addresses one of these to her regarding [[spoiler:what she did to Glory Girl's mind]].
* YouthfulFreckles: Of the brunette variety.

[[/folder]]

----

[[folder: The ABB (Azn Bad Boys)]]

A gang that specifically targeted and recruited Asians (Koreans, Japanese, Vietnamese, Chinese) from Brockton Bay's high schools and lower-class neighborhoods. Wear red and green gang colors. [[spoiler:Wiped out after Bakuda goes on a bombing spree in Lung's absence and [[EnemyMine the other gangs decide they are too disruptive and join forces against them]].]]

! Lung

The leader of the ABB, who happens to be half Chinese and Japanese. Even before his power activates, he is tall and muscular, with his torso covered with tattoos of dragons from Eastern mythology. His power grants him [[PlayingWithFire pyrokinesis]], a strong HealingFactor, and, as any given fight goes on, [[HulkingOut transforms him into a larger and larger form armored with more and denser scales]] and -- eventually -- wings. He wears an ornate metal mask.

----

* EyeScream: Taylor cuts his eyes out in their second encounter.
* {{Flight}}: If he continues HulkingOut long enough, he grows wings.
* GoodThingYouCanHeal: Lung suffers worse beatdowns than almost any other surviving character.
* HulkingOut: As long as he fights, he gradually transforms, gaining scales, enhanced strength, healing and enhanced proficiency with his pyrokinesis, to no known limit.
* PlayingWithFire
* ScaledUp: His fully transformed form heavily resembles a dragon.
* SuperSenses: His first fight with Taylor reveals that, at a minimum, his hearing is highly acute when he is transformed.
* MeaningfulName: His name is pronounced the exact same way as the Chinese word for dragon, long.

! Oni Lee

Lung's lieutenant. His power allows him to teleport repeatedly, each time leaving a duplicate behind who can act autonomously for several seconds before dissolving in a cloud of white ash. He wears a black bodysuit with weapons on a bandoleer and a belt, and an ornate Japanese-demon mask in crimson and green. [[spoiler:He was killed by Jack Slash, and his body was stitched onto Hatchet Face's body by Bonesaw to make a creature with both their powers: Hack Job.]]

----

* EmptyShell: According to [[spoiler:Jack Slash]], his use of his power has turned him into one.
* TeleportSpam: A standard tool in his repertoire, rendered even more lethal by the fact that he ''also'' has temporary SelfDuplication.

! Bakuda

Lung's latest recruit: a tinker specializing in bombs of all kinds. Apparently triggered while at Cornell and held the university ransom. She has straight black hair, Asian features, and pale blue eyes; while in costume, she wears large opaque goggles and a metal mask with a gas-mask filter over her mouth, and a braided cord of black, yellow, and green wires over her shoulders.

----

* [[spoiler: AgonyOfTheFeet: She ends up losing a few toes.]]
* AxCrazy: Bakuda seems to really enjoy hurting others. Tattletale surmises that she suffers from multiple psychiatric issues.
* EvilGloating: She likes the sound of her own voice.
* GadgeteerGenius: Specializing in bombs.
* MadBomber: When [[spoiler:Lung is captured]], she reacts by [[spoiler:implanting {{Explosive Leash}}es in hundreds of people around the city and going on a bombing spree]].
* [[TooDumbToLive Too Crazy to Live]]: Even if [[spoiler:Lung had not killed her]], she would not have lasted long [[spoiler:in the Birdcage.]]

[[/folder]]

[[folder: The Pure]]

One of two organizations formed from the remnants of the collapse of Empire Eighty-Eight after [[spoiler:Kaiser was killed by Leviathan]]

Tropes for the group as a whole:

----

* ALighterShadeOfBlack: The more 'civilized' successor group of E88.
* TheRemnant: Of Empire Eighty-Eight.

! Kayden Anders (nee Russel) (Purity)

The leader of the organization. An ex-partner (both romantically and professionally) of Kaiser. Her powers create what [[AllInTheManual the cast page]] describes as "[[HardLight kinetically charged light]]" that she can use to fly and as beams to attack. When her power is not active, she is a mousy woman with brown hair and eyes, but when she is active [[PowerGlows hair, eyes, and costume all radiate light]].

Her power is charged up by absorbing ambient light, making her more powerful after sunny days and long breaks.

Has a daughter named Aster Klara Anders. Is the caretaker for Aster's half-brother, Theo.

----

* {{Flight}}
* GlowingEyesOfDoom
* HardLight: Her main power.
* LightIsNotGood: Has powers over light, but also happens to be the leader of a gang of white supremacists.
* MamaBear: Don't ever mess with or attempt to take away her children.
* StraightEdgeEvil
* WorkingWithTheEx: After she rejoined Empire Eighty-Eight, the organisation of her divorced husband.

! Dorothy (Night)

A supervillain who can transform herself into a powerful, fast-moving, heavily armored monstrous form as long as no-one can see her. Married to Fog.

----

* AllGermansAreNazis: Hails from the German neo-nazi Gesellschaft.
* LovecraftianSuperpower

! Geoff (Fog)

A supervillain who can transform himself partially or wholly into a living mist -- one which [[DeadlyGas can deal tremendous harm to any creature that inhales it]]. Married to Dorothy.

----

* AllGermansAreNazis: Hails from the German neo-nazi Gesellschaft.
* SuperSmoke

! Justin (Crusader)

Creates ghostly replicas of himself that can float and can pass through solid objects. Can manage a [[NotQuiteFlight limited form of flight]] by having one of these replicas carry himself.

----

* {{Intangibility}}: The primary power of his ghost relicas.
* ProjectedMan[=/=]SelfDuplication: The ghost replicas.

! Theodore Richard Anders

Usually goes by Theo. The fifteen-year-old child of Kaiser, making him potentially a third-generation parahuman. Dreams of growing up to be a superhero. Pudgy, somewhat timid, but smart.

----

* FaceDeathWithDignity: His bravery when faced with Jack Slash convinces him to spare Theo's life for the time being just so he could see if Theo could kill him.
* TagalongKid
* WhiteSheep: He doesn't agree with his father or adopted mother Purity's villainous views -- he would rather become a hero.

[[/folder]]

[[folder:Fenrir's Chosen]]

The other group that formed out of Empire Eighty-Eight after Kaiser's death.

----

* MasterRace: A central tenet of Chosen ideology.
* TheRemnant: Of Empire Eighty-Eight.

! Hookwolf

The leader of Fenrir's Chosen. Can sprout a maelstorm of whirling metal blades out of his body. Usually wears a metal wolf mask in human form, as a reference to his favorite metal form. [[spoiler:Is recruited by the Nine when they leave the city.]]

----

* ExtraOreDinary: His shapeshifting powers work on a body more metal than flesh.

! Nessa (Menja)

A blonde, built like a Playboy model, whose power allows her to enlarge her physical form (including her equipment) to as large as three stories tall. Had a twin sister, Fenja, with the same power, but she was killed by [[spoiler:Leviathan]]. Before her death, Fenja fought with sword and shield while Menja fought with a spear; after, Menja started fighting with her spear and her sister's shield.

----

* BladeOnAStick: Her trademark weapon is a spear.
* LuckilyMyShieldWillProtectMe: Inherited from her sister.
* {{Sizeshifter}}: Her power -- like her sister's -- is primarily to scale up in size.
** GiantEqualsInvincible: Menja and Fenja actually become tougher to hurt the bigger they grow.
** SuperStrength: The second effect of growing larger is hitting harder.

! Stormtiger

A pale, tall, musclebound man with a blue-white tiger mask. Has an enhanced sense of smell and the power to make claws of compressed air he can then release in bursts of wind.

----

* BlowYouAway: His primary power can be used to create powerful gusts of wind.
* TheNoseKnows: He can track people in darkness by scent.

! Cricket

A twenty-something girl with a gymnast's build, a blonde buzz-cut, and a metal cage as a mask. Her powers appear to involve enhanced reflexes and some sound-based abilities like echolocation.

! Rune

A teenage girl with powerful telekinetic powers, capable of lifting multiple objects, each weighing close to a ton, as long as she has a chance to touch them first.

! Othala

A woman with the ability to [[SuperEmpowering grant any one of several temporary superpowers]] to people she touches. Among the powers she is known to be able to grant are invincibility, regeneration, and super-speed. She is married to Victor.

! Victor

An ability-thief, able to gain the skills of anyone he spends time in the presence of. Is consequently a veteran martial artist and computer hacker, among other things. Married to Othala.

----

* FightsLikeANormal: Among the skills he has stolen are numerous forms of martial arts.
* RenaissanceMan: He has stolen enough skills to easily qualify.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Coil]]

Tropes for Coil's organization as a whole:

----

* BadassNormal: Coil's mercenaries mostly fall in this category.
* PrivateMilitaryContractors: Most of Coil's employees, including most of those assigned to work for Tattletale and Regent.
** ChildSoldiers: A lot of Coil's hires are or were these.
* SupervillainLair: And an incredibly {{Troperiffic}} one -- it includes secret vaults, computer resources, special cells for containing parahumans, and [[spoiler:a self-destruct mechanism]]. [[spoiler:He is also responsible for setting up ones for the Undersiders and Travelers.]]

! [[spoiler:Thomas Calvert]] (Coil)

A supervillain with destiny-controlling powers. Where by "destiny-controlling powers" we mean [[spoiler:the ability to split the world into two timelines and then collapse whichever one he likes less afterwards]]. Works largely behind the scenes, hiring mercenaries to do his fighting. He is also secretly the backer of the Undersiders and the Travelers. From the beginning of the story, he is [[TakeOverTheCity plotting to take over Brockton Bay]]. [[spoiler:It later is revealed that he bought his powers from Cauldron, and that he was a key figure in one of their plots]]. [[spoiler:Killed by Skitter]].

----

* [[spoiler:BoomHeadshot: How he died, courtesy of Skitter.]]
* TheChessmaster
* DiabolicalMastermind: Coil's particular power [[spoiler:i.e. the ability to perceive himself in two parallel realities simultaneously, make differing decisions in each and hop over to whichever one that works out better for him]] lets him do this very well.
* TakeOverTheCity: Coil's ultimate goal.
* VisionaryVillain
* WouldHurtAChild: [[spoiler:Coil had Dinah kidnapped, drugged out of her mind, and imprisoned to take advantage of her power to predict the future.]]

! Dinah Alcott

The mayor's niece, a young girl with precognitive powers. Was [[spoiler:kidnapped by Coil during the Undersider's bank job]].

----

* LudicrousPrecision: Her usual precognitive technique is to state the percentage probability of various events -- sometimes to up to five decimal places.
* {{Seer|s}}: And a powerful one.

! Circus

An independent villain (until hiring on with Coil) whose power grants her enhanced reflexes, ImprobableAimingSkills with her throwing weapons, minor [[PlayingWithFire pyrokinesis]], and a {{Hammerspace}} that she uses to store a variety of things -- including [[DropTheHammer a hammer]].

----

* AmbiguousGender: Even Tattletale is not sure about Circus' gender.
-->'''Regent:''' Wait, Circus is a guy?\\
'''Tattletale:''' Depends on your definition of guy. If you're talking biological or what Circus identifies as. Not that I have it pinned down; I can't tell if you're [[DisguisedInDrag a guy posing as a girl when in costume]] or [[UsefulNotes/{{Transgender}} a girl who poses as a guy when in plainclothes]].
* HammerSpace: Circus has such a power; she also literally pulls a sledgehammer from it.
** DropTheHammer: And she fights quite well with said sledgehammer.
* ImprobableAimingSkills: A benefit of her power.
* PlayingWithFire: She has a low-grade pyrokinesis.

! Uber

One of a pair of videogame-themed supervillains with Leet. His power grants him a high level of skill at anything he tries his hand at.

(Note: "Uber" is correctly spelled with an umlaut over the U.)

----

* RenaissanceMan: His power essentially makes him one.

! Leet

One of a pair of videogame-themed supervillains with Uber. He is a tinker who can create anything ... once. The second time he tries, it fails dramatically.

----

* BunglingInventor: His power lets him create inventions decades ahead of their time, but the closer a project is to something he's made before, the higher the chances of a spectacular misfire or failure. He's something of a joke as a consequence.
* GadgeteerGenius: While his power's weakness absolutely makes him a laughingstock, when the things he makes ''work'', they can do incredible things.
* ItOnlyWorksOnce: He can build anything ... once. Anything he builds a second time just fails to work and explodes.
* SuperLoser: Thanks to his frequent failures.

! Fish

One of Coil's mercenary captains.

! Doctor Q

The medic working for Coil who treats Bryce, Skitter, and Charlotte after the Merchants mission.

! Mr. Pitter

A small, unassuming man and former registered nurse whose career as a caretaker for a pair of young children ended -- according to Coil -- when he tried to divorce his wife for cheating on him and she retaliated by ruining his reputation. He took up working for Coil in exchange for Coil killing his wife. He is the one responsible for [[spoiler:drugging Dinah as a way of making it easier to use her powers]].

! Mrs. Cranston

A blonde woman serving as Coil's intermediary to Skitter.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Faultline's Crew]]

A group of supervillains-for-hire. Many of their jobs deal with information-seeking, but they have worked combat-related jobs as well.

! Tropes for the group as a whole:

* HiredGuns: One of their main jobs.
* InformationBroker: Their other main job.
* SupervillainLair: They have a nightspot in Brockton Bay which acts as this.
* TrueCompanions: Much like the Undersiders.

! Faultline

The leader of the group. Able to separate molecular bonds in any non-living material to make holes or cuts by touching it.

----

* ArchEnemy: ''Really'' doesn't like Tattletale.
* ShatterpointTap: Except that the "shatterpoint" is "whatever point she just touched".

! Spitfire

A potential hire for the Undersiders who was scared off by Bitch and signed up with Faultline, instead. Has the ability to spew geysers of liquid from her mouth that ignite on contact with air.

----

* BreathWeapon: Her main power.
** PlayingWithFire

! Newter

A Case 53, his body is in the form of a orange lizard with [[KaleidoscopeHair dyed hair]] and AnimalEyes. His bodily fluids all have hallucinogenic and sedative effects, with duration depending on the dosage.

----

* CantHaveSexEver: Newter's bodily fluids are contact hallucinogens, to the point that even trace sweat on his skin can render someone incoherent. As one reader points out, this poses certain difficulties in the bedroom.

! Gregor the Snail

A Case 53, his body is bulging and translucent with a scattering of spiral-shaped shells embedded in it. He can generate various fluids within his body and release them in jets from his skin.


! Elle (Labyrinth)

A former inmate in the same asylum as Burnscar, her power allows her to change the terrain surrounding her into a projection of other places. The power grows stronger the longer she remains in an area, contracting again as soon as she leaves the affected zone.

----

* EmptyShell: Her RealityWarper powers came with the unfortunate side effect of making veer unpredictably between lucidity and this, to the point that on bad days, she doesn't eat unless prodded and doesn't talk. She has her good days, but the strength of her power is directly related to how out of it she is at the time.
* WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity: Much like Burnscar, she becomes far less lucid when using her powers.

! Shamrock

A presumed Case 53 [[spoiler:who actually escaped from Cauldron without having her memory wiped]]. Her ability uses a mixture of low-strength telekinesis and precognition to make her exceptionally lucky. Was recruited by Faultline's crew during the course of [[spoiler:their investigation into the Case 53s on Gregor and Newter's behalf]].

----

* BornLucky: Her main power.
* FieryRedhead
* LaserGuidedAmnesia: [[spoiler:Averted, Shamrock managed to escape Cauldron without a memory wipe.]]

[[/folder]]

[[folder: The Merchants]]

One of the more minor gangs of Brockton Bay. Expands in the wake of [[spoiler:Leviathan's attack]]; is later essentially wiped out by [[spoiler:the Slaughterhouse Nine]].

Tropes associated with this group:

----

* SuperLoser: Skidmark in particular is granted essentially zero respect.

! Skidmark

Leader of the Merchants. A meth addict capable of coating areas with a pushing effect -- these effects can be layered up with multiple uses of his power.

----

* ButtMonkey: Is considered a joke of a villain in-universe.
* DrugsAreBad: Happens to be a meth addict.
* [[spoiler: KilledOffForReal]]

! Squealer

Skidmark's girlfriend. A tinker specializing in vehicles. Has very little class.

----

* GadgeteerGenius: Specializes in vehicles.
* [[spoiler: KilledOffForReal]]

! Mush

A shifter who can form an expanded body out of loose debris.

! Trainwreck

Powers unknown -- has either a mechanized suit or body parts for enhanced strength. Actually working for Coil. [[spoiler:Killed by the Nine, like Skidmark, Squealer, and Mush.]]

----

* TheMole: For Coil
* [[spoiler: KilledOffForReal]]

! Scrub

A kid whose power creates essentially-unaimed spherical holes in his surroundings, cutting through anything they hit, although they seem to leave the ground untouched. [[spoiler:The only cape of note in the Merchants to escape being killed by the Nine.]] [[spoiler:Tattletale speculates that his power works via {{Portal Cut}}s -- he chooses spherical volumes, and their contents are replaced with the contents of the corresponding sphere on an alternate Earth with similar geography, architecture, etc.]]

----

* [[spoiler: PortalCut: Tattletale's understanding of his power.]]
* PowerIncontinence: His power suffers from not being well-aimed, and (at least initially) going off unintentionally.
* [[spoiler: SoleSurvior: Of the Merchants following the Slaughterhouse Nine massacring them all.]]

[[/folder]]

[[folder: The Travelers]]

A group of [[MeaningfulName traveling villains]] who never stay in one place for too long due to [[spoiler:Noelle's rampages.]]

Tropes for the group as a whole:

----

* AntiVillain: Much like the Undersiders, though a bit darker on the scale.
* FamedInStory: As previously mentioned, the Undersiders and the Travelers attain this status after [[spoiler:the Slaughterhouse Nine arc]] when [[spoiler:they take over the city]].
* [[spoiler:SuperSerum: All got their powers from a left behind batch of Cauldron powers in a bottle.]]
* [[spoiler:TrappedInAnotherWorld: Were originally from Earth Aleph before being sent to Earth Bet by the Simurgh.]]
* WalkingTheEarth: Are constantly moving from city to city prior to settling in Brockton Bay.

! Francis Krouse (Trickster)

The leader of the Travelers, whose power is the ability to switch the places of any objects of similar size he can see. [[spoiler:Sent to the Birdcage for betraying the teams that were fighting Noelle.]]

----

* ItsAllAboutMe: Often has this attitude.
* {{Jerkass}}: Trickster happens to be kind of a dick, caring little about anyone else besides himself and Noelle.
* NiceHat: Is always wearing a hat.
* TeleportersAndTransporters: Can switch the places of any two objects of similar size.
* UndyingLoyalty: To Noelle.

! Marissa Newland (Sundancer)

A blond woman with the ability to create a miniature sun.

----

* PlayingWithFire: Her ability to create a mini sun.
* WellDoneSonGuy: Had this relationship with her mother.

! Jess (Genesis)

A wheelchair bound girl with the ability to create avatars for herself [[spoiler:much like William Manton]], which can have powers of their own.

----

* [[AscendedFanboy Ascended Fangirl]]: she was a "cape geek" long before getting powers. More uncommon than you'd think, since she's from [[spoiler:Earth Aleph]].
* FieryRedhead: Though of a more snarky variety.
* MissionControl: Has this role due to being confined to her wheelchair.
* VoluntaryShapeshifter: Her avatars have this as a default ability.

! Luke Casseus (Ballistic)

One of the offensive powerhouses on the Travelers -- he has the ability to touch any object (from ball bearings to automobiles) and cause it to go flying at a bulletlike speed in a direction of his choice.

! Oliver

One of the two members of the Travelers who do not participate in missions -- instead mostly taking care of Noelle.

----

* EmpathicShapeshifter: His power changes his face and body according to his basic perception of attractiveness which slightly changes every time he sees a new face to the point that even his friends have had trouble recognizing him.

%% [[spoiler:Cody (Perdition)]]

! Noelle [[spoiler:Meinhardt]] (Echidna)

Krouse's girlfriend, and the leader of the group before [[spoiler:they were pulled from Earth Aleph onto Earth Bet]]; she does not participate in the team's missions. The codename "Echidna" was assigned by one of the PRT agents because he himself had a daughter named Noelle. [[spoiler:A PRT agent named Meinhardt.]] Has the ability to [[spoiler: absorb people and make clones out of them]]. [[spoiler: Killed by Sundancer.]]

----
* DeathSeeker: She hates what she has become and is willing to die to make it stop.
* HealingFactor
* IJustWantToBeNormal
* [[spoiler:KillItWithFire: Sundancer vaporizes her using one of her mini-suns.]]
* LovecraftianSuperpower: In oh so many ways:
** EnemyWithin: She spends most of the story trying to suppress her monstrous side. [[spoiler:By Arc 19, she's lost that fight.]]
** HorrorHunger: If she doesn't stay fed, she becomes more likely to go berserk.
** MotherOfAThousandYoung: Her main power and origin of her epithet.
*** [[spoiler:MirrorMoralityMachine: The Noelle-clones are subject to this relative to their templates.]]
*** UncannyValley: As noted by Skitter in universe, [[spoiler:her clones]] always come out with something just plain ''wrong'' about them physically.
* OurCentaursAreDifferent: Her upper body is unchanged; below the waist, however, [[spoiler:everything she eats has been converted into a monstrous multi-limbed multi-headed form]].
** [[spoiler:EyesDoNotBelongThere: Her lower body has a number of eyes.]]
* TheStrategist: Is explicitly stated to be a master strategist.
* TragicMonster: Noelle grows into one of these after [[spoiler:taking half of one of Cauldron's {{Super Serum}}s]] and being inflicted with BodyHorror and HorrorHunger.

[[/folder]]

----

[[folder: The Endbringers]]

First appearing in 1992, the Endbringers have been unsystematically wrecking human civilization ever since. They are, in fact, nearly the one and only thing which will cause heroes and villains to team up to fight. Each of them attacks roughly once a year, and never at the same time.

Tropes for the trio as a group:

----

* BizarreAlienBiology: The analyses that [[spoiler:Tattletale and Blasto]] do on [[spoiler:Leviathan and Simurgh]], respectively, demonstrate this quite conclusively.
* NighInvulnerable: None of the Endbringers have ever suffered permanent harm.

! Behemoth

The first Endbringer to appear, on December 13th, 1992. A forty-five foot tall, heavily muscled, heavily armored bipedal creature with the ability to manipulate energy of all kinds (e.g. electrical, thermal, kinetic) while bypassing the Manton effect[[note]]meaning that he can affect both living and dead material[[/note]]. Between attacks, it lies deep in the earth.

----

* {{Cyclops}}
* HeroKiller: Has killed more of them than anything else, leading it to actually be called this trope in-universe.
* {{Kaiju}}
* [[RedEyesTakeWarning Red Eye, Take Warning]]

! Leviathan

The second Endbringer to attack, appearing for the first time in the mid-1990s, Leviathan is a thirty-foot-tall bipedal, tailed monster. Its obvious powers are twofold: an 'afterimage' of water that follows behind it, appearing where it was moving as fast as it was, and [[MakingASplash large-scale water telekinesis]]. It is obviously incredibly tough -- a trait which masks the fact that it is ''actually'' NighInvulnerable. Recuperates deep in the ocean between assaults.

----

* HeroKiller: Killed a number of capes during [[spoiler: its attack on Brockton Bay.]]
* {{Kaiju}}
* LightningBruiser
* MakingASplash

! Simurgh

The third Endbringer to strike, appearing just after the turn of the millennium. A fifteen-foot tall, flying, waiflike alabaster-white female human figure with [[MonochromaticEyes pure grey eyes]], long platinum hair and numerous, asymmetrically placed, white-feathered wings. Her obvious powers are telekinetic; her less obvious powers are ''prophetic'', as she intentionally adjusts the events in places she strikes to set up the survivors to be walking DisasterDominoes that might fall months or years after the initial event. It rests between attacks in the thermosphere, three hundred or more kilometers above the earth.

----

* BishonenLine: The most human-looking Endbringer is also the most dangerous.
* {{Flight}}
* LightIsNotGood
* ParanoiaFuel: InUniverse and out. Just look at the comments section for the chapter where her abilities are revealed.
* TheOmniscient: Her ability to create DisasterDominoes suggests a degree of prescience that approaches this.
* WingedHumanoid

[[/folder]]

[[folder: The Slaughterhouse Nine]]

A group of nine serial killer capes led by the sociopathic Jack Slash and the amoral child tinker Bonesaw that go around causing all manner of death and destruction ForTheEvulz, to the point that they have all have a kill order. [[spoiler:Though it would seem that they have a plan to jumpstart the apocalypse beneath that reason.]]

Tropes for the group as a whole:

----

* BadassTransplant: The Nine often augment their members with improved organs courtesy of Bonesaw, making them even harder to kill.
* CarnivalOfKillers: Once served as such for a gang known as the Teeth before killing them off.
* TheDreaded: The Slaughterhouse Nine invoke terror in all who encounter them.
* HeroKiller: Often.
* HighTurnoverRate: They're constantly looking for new members since at least some of them get killed every time they attack a city.
* NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast
* SerialKiller: An entire group of them. In Taylor's words they're what happens when messed up people got even worse after getting powers.
* WouldHurtAChild: The Nine during their assault of a hospital attack the nursery first.

! Jack Slash

The leader of the Nine, he has the ability to make the cutting edge of his knives extend as far as he likes outwards from their physical length.

----

* DangerouslyGenreSavvy: See ManipulativeBastard.
* ImplausibleFencingPowers: Jack Slash can cut down entire crowds with a single swing due to his ability to extend the edge of a blade an absurd distance, completely invisibly.
* KnifeNut: His powers make them very handy.
* ManipulativeBastard: As he says in [[http://parahumans.wordpress.com/category/stories-arcs-11/arc-11-infestation-stories-arcs-11/11-b/ Interlude 11b]]:
-->'''Jack:''' I'd like to think I'm much the same. A people reader. But ''my'' interest is in the design of people. What makes them tick? What holds them together? All too often, it's one little thing. In architecture they call it a keystone. The one stone that keeps the entire arch from collapsing. The weak point. And I'm very, ''very'' good at finding those weak points.
* SwordBeam: He can extend the effective cutting edge of his knives to frighteningly long distances.
* WouldHurtAChild: Threatened to murder Aster and Theo in his Interlude.
* [[WouldHitAGirl Would Cut A Girl]]: Had no problems [[spoiler:giving Tattletale a GlasgowSmile for mouthing off.]]

! Bonesaw

A demented but childlike tinker who specializes in organic beings.

----

* AmbiguousInnocence: Is completely amoral.
* ChildProdigy: Is very well versed in the workings of the human body.
* CreepyChild: A little girl who's power is basically that she understands bodies well enough to create Frankenstein's monsters. She makes a lot. And her "family" is a group of psychopaths.
* EvenEvilHasLovedOnes: The Slaughterhouse Nine, a group of psychopathic killers, are viewed by Bonesaw as family. It's as disturbing as it sounds, and while most of the group are simply amused by Bonesaw's monsters, "Siberian's fondness for Bonesaw bordered on the maternal, like a mother bear for her cub."
* EvenEvilHasStandards: In her own words, not even she is crazy enough to [[spoiler:attempt making an Endbringer.]]
* GadgeteerGenius: While most of what she does is highly biological, her spiders and [[spoiler:her spine]] demonstrate a lot of mechanical expertise as well.
* GoodPowersBadPeople: Bonesaw is capable of doing incredible surgeries, and can even bring back the dead if their body is intact, but is completely amoral and sees people mainly as toys for her amusement.
* MadScientist: Bonesaw is a classic example -- her 'art' starts at BodyHorror and gets worse from there.
* MismatchedEyes: Has one blue and one green eye for a while.
* PeoplePuppets: Is capable of hijacking people's bodies in order to do her bidding.
* PerpetualSmiler
* PlagueMaster: Can easily create various diseases, and fills her own body with killer viruses in case she's cut.

! Shatterbird

A telekinetic of silicon, controlling the glass through high-frequency sounds. One of the most successful members of the team at identifying new candidates for membership. [[spoiler:Captured by Regent, and abandoned by the surviving members of the Slaughterhouse Nine when they left the city.]]

----

* {{Flight}}: Whether she does so with her costume or via some other means is unclear.
* MakeMeWannaShout: Her power works through soundwaves.
%% * WingedHumanoid

! Crawler

A massive regenerator. Every time he is harmed by something and survives, he becomes more able to resist it in the future. [[spoiler:Killed when the PRT bombed him with some of Bakuda's ordinance.]]

----

* AdaptiveAbility: Crawler of the Slaughterhouse Nine is not only a [[HealingFactor regenerator]], he becomes immune to whatever made him need to regenerate in the first place. [[CameBackStrong He throws himself into suicidal situations for this very reason]].
** HealingFactor: Even worse, he grows stronger adaptations as he heals. He wants nothing more than to grow stronger in this way.
** NighInvulnerable: By the time the story starts, he's so nearly invincible that even [[spoiler:Scrub's blasts]] barely slow him.
* EyesDoNotBelongThere: Crawler has eyes all along his torso.
* SuperSpit: His saliva is highly caustic.

! Alan Gramme (Mannequin)

Known as Sphere before he became a victim of the Simurgh. Was trying to solve all the world problems -- famine, global warming, etc. -- but flipped when his wife and children were killed and sealed himself away in a doll-like body. [[spoiler:Also killed by the PRT with Bakuda's bombs.]]

----

* ArchEnemy: To Skitter, first because she is too obviously trying to help people in her territory but afterwards because [[CrowningMomentOfAwesome she kicked his ass]].
* TheFaceless: Mannequin's face is completely blank, as his head is primarily decorative.
* TheSpeechless: Mannequin literally doesn't have a mouth or means of verbal communication, all self-inflicted.
* StartOfDarkness: His family's death led him to become Mannequin.
* WasOnceAMan: Before he turned himself into a self-contained puppetlike robot.

! [[spoiler:William Manton]] (The Siberian)

An invincible woman with a fetish for eating people, although she does not need them for sustenance. Capable of bestowing her invincibility on anyone or anything she touches. [[spoiler:Actually [[ProjectedMan a projection]] created by William Manton.]] [[spoiler:Killed by Dragon and Defiant in Boston.]]

----

* DoesNotLikeShoes: Siberian doesn't, or clothes for that matter. But it is not like she really needs them.
* ImAHumanitarian: Eats people out of a perverse sense of pleasure.
* NighInvulnerable: Siberian [[spoiler:as a projection at least]] is completely immune to any sort of harm.
* NoSell: Pretty much any attack against Siberian will turn out like this.
* [[spoiler:KilledOffscreen: Courtesy of Dragon and Defiant.]]
* [[spoiler:ReplacementGoldfish: It seems probable that she/he acts maternally towards Bonesaw because of what happened to her/his daughter.]]
* TheSpeechless: Is assumed to be this, but tells Bitch that everyone else who'd heard her voice ended up dying.

! Mimi (Burnscar)

A manipulator of fire who becomes less and less controlled the more fire she is using. Able to teleport freely through flames. Was incarcerated in the same facility as Labyrinth, once. Saw herself as Elle's friend. It was not actually mutual. [[spoiler:Killed by Grue after his second trigger event.]]

----

* [[spoiler:KilledOffForReal]]
* PlayingWithFire
* TeleportersAndTransporters: She can jump freely from point to point within any fire.
* WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity: Every time she uses her powers, she becomes more and more unstable.

! Cherie Vasil (Cherish)

A daughter of Heartbreaker who escaped and joined the Nine after she killed Hatchet Face. Detects and controls emotions. [[spoiler:Trapped on the floor of the bay by Bonesaw before the Nine left town.]]

----

* TheEmpath: She can detect people's emotions from across the entire city, both allowing her to track them and allowing her to detect their relationships with each other.
* EmotionControl: When she's close enough, she can induce emotional states in her targets at will.
* PsychicAssistedSuicide: One of her favorite weapons.

! Hatchet Face

A PowerNullifier. Cherish used her range advantage to kill him; Bonesaw brought his corpse back to something resembling life.

----

* PowerNullifier: His main ability, which made him especially deadly to capes since most are helpless without their powers.

[[/folder]]

[[folder:Cauldron]]

A mysterious organization that appears to have figured out how to give people powers.

Tropes applying to the group as a whole:

----

* BiggerBad: A lot of problems in the Wormverse can be traced back to them, but they haven't taken center-stage as of yet.
* SuperSerum: Make these.
* SupervillainLair: The huge complex in which they work.
* TheSyndicate
* WeAreEverywhere: A lot of capes, heroes and villains alike, have ties to them.

! William Manton

A famous early researcher into capes, and the one for whom the Manton effect -- i.e. the inability of most parahumans to affect both living and nonliving matter -- was named. Worked for Cauldron for some time, but when [[spoiler:he tried to give his daughter powers using one of their formulas and failed]], he quit and [[spoiler:used a stolen formula to become the Siberian -- which is why the Siberian resembles his daughter]].

! Doctor/Mother

The apparent chief of the organization. Personally recruited Rebecca Costa-Brown, among others.

----

* MadScientist: It appears that she is in charge of recruiting (or kidnapping) and dosing patients with the {{Super Serum}}s.

%% The Number Man

%% Doormaker

%% Contessa

[[/folder]]

----

[[folder:Misc. Parahumans]]

! Scion/[[spoiler:Zion]]

The world's first known parahuman -- a long-haired golden figure with incredible powers who was seen floating over the ocean on May 20th, 1982, by passengers of an ocean liner travelling from Plymouth to Boston. In the time since, has adopted a white bodysuit as clothing and [[SamaritanSyndrome dedicated almost all his time to helping people around the world]], going continually from place to place using his powers. Believed to be the only being able to take on an Endbringer in a fight.

Has [[TheQuietOne only spoken once]], so far as anyone knows -- the word he spoke, "Scion", became the name by which he was known.

----

* ChromeChampion: He literally appears to be made of gold.
* {{Flight}}: Among his many abilities.
* PhysicalGod: Scion is considered the most powerful parahuman in the setting, and has so far appeared NighInvulnerable.
* TheQuietOne: He has only spoken once.

! Max Anders (Kaiser)

The leader of the Empire Eighty-Eight, a white supremacist gang in Brockton Bay, and the CEO of Medhall Corporation, a local pharmaceutical company.

----

* ExtraOreDinary: He can cause metal to spring from any solid surface.
* ManipulativeBastard
* VisionaryVillain

%% Fenja

! Sabah (Parian)

A native of Brockton Bay with powers over cloth and threads. At the time the story starts, she is a rogue[[note]]InUniverse slang for a parahuman who uses their powers neither to become a superhero nor a supervillain[[/note]] using her powers for such tasks as animating mascots for promotional events and making clothes (she mentions in an interview wanting to go to fashion school), but that changes starting when she volunteers to [[spoiler:fight Leviathan]]. [[spoiler:In the aftermath of the Slaughterhouse Nine's attack, she ends up striking a deal with the Undersiders in which she holds territory in the city without joining the group.]]

----

* MindOverMatter: Restricted to cloth and threads.
* SkilledButNaive: She has a lot of skill and strength using her power, but until [[spoiler:she joins the fight against Leviathan]] she has never used it in a combat situation.

! Marquis

A supervillain from Brockton Bay known for his inflexible code of honor. Also, the biological father of [[spoiler:Panacea]]. His powers involve the manipulation of bone -- his own and, if it became exposed, that of his enemies.

----

* AffablyEvil: He is very cultured and polite even in the middle of a fight or asking for help as he slowly bleeds to death. He never killed women or children and Jack mentions that he did everything possible to help people during the last time the Nine were in Brockton Bay.
* BadWithTheBone: His power is the manipulation of bone.
* BodyHorror: An inevitable result of his powers.
* TheFettered: It is said that his unshakable code granted him great psychological strength.

! Accord

One of the supervillains holding territory in Boston. Short -- barely over five feet -- and tends to dress more like a CEO than like a cape (although he wears an ornate mask). A thinker whose power is believed to scale with the complexity of the problems he faces. Very particular.

----

* TheChessmaster
* SuperOCD: ''Very'' particular. As in, "you barged into my meeting, therefore you deserve to die" particular.

! Rey Andino (Blasto)

A biological plant-based tinker supervillain based in Boston. His talent allows him to create life out of its raw materials, including making hybrids out of one or more biological samples combined with his special seeds. [[spoiler:He is eventually displaced from his territory by TheRemnant of Fenrir's Chosen and captured by Bonesaw]].

----

* [[spoiler:FateWorseThanDeath: courtesy of Bonesaw]]
* HeroicSacrifice: Was willing to [[spoiler:die if it meant Defiant/Armsmaster would kill Bonesaw. Unfortunately, he wasn't that lucky.]]
* MixAndMatchMan: He attempts to create one out of [[spoiler:Myrddin]] and [[spoiler:''the Simurgh'']].

! Paige Mcabee (Canary)

A rogue whose power made her a superlatively-good singer -- but also made anyone she sang to susceptible to her suggestions. Ended up in the Birdcage thanks to a stupid accident.

----

* BlessedWithSuck: She pretty much had zero interest in using her mind-control powers -- she just wanted to be a singer.
* CompellingVoice: When she sings, she makes people susceptible to her suggestions.
* PsychicAssistedSuicide: She was charged with this after she told her ex, "[[ExactWords go fuck yourself]]".

! Glaistig Uaine

A supervillain running one of the cell blocks in the Birdcage. A self-professed faerie, apparently in her teens (although as one of the first prisoners in the Birdcage, she is undoubtedly older than that), and whose one-time prison garb has been blacked to make a shroud. Her power allows her to absorb some part of a dead parahuman and to use the powers of a selection of her stored parahumans simultaneously.

----

* PowerCopying: One of the things she can do to the dead parahumans she touches.

! Jamie Rinke (Nilbog)

A supervillain with the power to create monsters with feelings and powers of their own. Currently staying within the city he took over for himself.

----

* AGodIAm: It is suggested Nilbog has this attitude.
* TheDreaded: Nilbog is spoken of in the same breath as the Endbringers and the Slaughterhouse Nine.
* MotherOfAThousandYoung: The town he inhabits is full of his creations.

! Niko Vasil (Heartbreaker)

A Canadian supervillain who can affect the emotions of anyone he touches. He used his powers to create a harem of adoring women, some of whom he has had children by; some of those children, in turn, have gained powers.

----

* AbusiveParents: The worst case for Heartbreaker's children, especially Regent and Cherish.
* LovePotion: Heartbreaker has the ability to control and manipulate emotions, which includes making people fall in love. He's used this to form a harem of beautiful women that commit crimes for him and wait on him hand and foot, making him pretty much Charles Manson with superpowers.
* ParentalNeglect: The best case for Heartbreaker's children.

! Sveta (Garotte)

A Case-53 whose body consists mostly of a pale face surrounded by a welter of thin tendrils whose strength can bend steel bars. She is presently a patient in a mental institution for parahumans (the same one as [[spoiler:Glory Girl]]).

----

* CombatTentacles: As mentioned before her tendrils are capable of bending steel.
* PowerIncontinence: Garrote is currently incapable of controlling the strength of her tendrils, making her too dangerous to be let out.

%% ! Witness
%%
%% A character added during the scrapped, non-canon [[http://parahumans.wordpress.com/2013/03/14/interlude-19-donation-bonus-2/ Interlude 19 (Donation Bonus #2)]]. [[spoiler:An Echidna-clone of Tattletale made during the fight in Coil's base]]. Her body is badly deformed, with weak, spindly limbs and an enlarged head with no skull to protect the brain. Recruited by Weld into [[spoiler:the organization of Case 53s that formed in the wake of Cauldron being outed by the Eidolon-clone]] to act as a manager of operations.
%%
%% ----
%%
%% * ManipulativeBastard: As demonstrated by the way she preys upon [[spoiler:Shatterbird]]'s pride in order to survive when the pair of them are trapped in [[spoiler:the ruins of Coil's base]].
%% * MyBrainIsBig: Has a giant head lacking a skull to encase her brain.
%%
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Parahumans Online]]
The prime website for finding information on capes, cape-related activities, and discussion of both. Includes both a forum and a Wiki. [[spoiler:According to WordOfGod, a large part of what makes the site so good is that Dragon is [[SockPuppet several]] of the moderators.]]

Tropes associated with the site and its members:
----
* AscendedFanboy: In [[http://parahumans.wordpress.com/2013/03/16/interlude-19-y/ Interlude 19 (Donation Bonus #2)]], we see a forum thread on Parahumans Online in which a longtime fan of [[spoiler:Bitch/Hellhound/Rachel]] ask how one might [[IHaveThisFriend hypothetically]] become a minion. Said fan posts later in the thread to say it turned out "Harder than I thought but all good."
* BigNameFan: The threads in Interlude 19 (Donation Bonus #2) include several InUniverse examples. Bagrat {{Lampshade|Hanging}}s his status as such in the post he makes pleading for information on [[TheGreatestStoryNeverTold what the hell happened in Brockton Bay]].
* EpilepticTrees: One of the major purposes of the Parahumans Online forums InUniverse is speculation on capes and cape-related events, with "TinfoilHat" being the slang term for posters whose theories are too far outside credibility.
* {{Tuckerization}}: In Interlude 19 (Donation Bonus #2), which consists mostly of samples of forum posts from the in-universe website Parahumans Online, the author names most of the forum posters by coming up with CaptainErsatz versions of the names of various fans.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Others]]

! Danny Hebert

Taylor's dad, a tall, skinny, dark-haired-but-balding bespectacled man of an intellectual bent. A single father since his wife, Annette Rose Hebert, died six months before Taylor started high school. Is working for the Dockworkers Association as head of hiring and a spokesperson -- a frustrating job, as the Docks have been doing poorly for years. Has a harsh temper, but tries not to let his daughter see it.

When Taylor took up running as an exercise routine, he gave her a pepper spray tube to defend herself with. In the months since, this has proven to be a critical part of Skitter's arsenal.

----

* GeekPhysiques: The beanpole variant.
* GoodParents: Danny is loving and supportive, sympathetic to his daughter's needs, afraid when she is in trouble, and glad when she is doing well.
* HairTriggerTemper: Defied -- he ''does'' have a strong temper, but he swore an oath never to lose it with his family.
* LockedOutOfTheLoop: Part of the reason he can't help Taylor is that she and the other members of the Undersiders have kept her involvement with the cape world secret from him.

! Emma Barnes, Sophia Hess, and Madison Clements

The trio of students at Winslow High responsible for most of the bullying against Taylor. Emma Barnes -- a curvy, pretty redhead, attractive enough to get some work as a model -- was Taylor's best friend from first grade until the summer before they started high school, when she suddenly abandoned Taylor for Sophia. Sophia Hess -- a slender, athletic black girl -- is a member of the track and field team. Madison, a late bloomer relative to the others, plays up the cute angle -- she is petite, with shoulder-length brown hair.

----

* AlphaBitch: Emma seems to be the point woman of the trio.
* AmoralAttorney: Emma's father, Alan Barnes, threatens to bankrupt the Heberts with a lawsuit if they attempt to publicize the bullying campaign his daughter spearheaded.
* BeautyIsBad: All three are explicitly described as attractive in comparison to Taylor, and all three happen to be her main tormentors.
* TheBully: Each in their own way -- Madison tends more towards the juvenile (e.g. pouring juice all over Taylor's stuff), Sophia prefers the more physical, and Emma aims for the psychological weaknesses Taylor revealed back when they were friends.
* DisproportionateRetribution: Sophia attacks Taylor in the bookstore for having the temerity to go to the principal about the bullying campaign -- a move which resulted in Sophia being suspended and losing her spot on the track and field team.
* InnocentBystander: When the Undersiders attacked the dinner the PRT threw to celebrate the defeat of the ABB, Emma turned out to be in attendance. [[spoiler:Taylor figures out afterwards that this is probably because her friend Sophia was there in her guise as Shadow Stalker.]]
* MuggleBestFriend: [[spoiler:Emma is this to Shadow Stalker i.e. Sophia Hess.]]
* TeensAreMonsters: The trio plague Taylor badly enough that they drive her to near suicidal recklessness and [[spoiler:induced a complete mental breakdown that was traumatic enough to trigger her powers. A later point is made of how despite this, none of her classmates got involved other then to join in]]. At no point do they show even a hint of remorse or even [[ForTheEvulz a reason for victimizing her constantly.]]
* WeUsedToBeFriends: Emma to Taylor.

! Mr. Gladly

An animated man who likes to be called "Mr. G", assigns a lot of group projects, and tends to let class out early. Short enough and young enough that he could almost pass for a student. World Issues teacher at Winslow High. Taylor's least favorite teacher. There are suggestions that he sees the way Taylor is targeted by the three bullies, but he is unwilling to do anything substantive about it.

! Mrs. Knott

A tallish, broad-shouldered, strong-jawed woman who teaches the Computers class at Winslow High. Taylor's favorite teacher, possibly because she just assigns work and leaves the students alone to do it.

! Roy Christner

Mayor of Brockton Bay at the time the story begins. Well-to-do and ambitious. Has an adult son (Rory) and twin daughters. His house is apparently unaffected by [[spoiler:both Leviathan and the Slaughterhouse Nine]].

! Kevin Norton

The self-proclaimed most powerful man in the world. A British vagrant accompanied by his dog Duke. In his late middle age but dying of a failing liver brought on by hepatitis. Also [[spoiler:the only person Scion -- or, as he explains, ''Zion'' -- listens to, at least until he introduced him to Lisette]].

----

* MuggleBestFriend: [[spoiler:Of Scion.]]
* [[spoiler: [[KidWithTheLeash Man With The Leash]] ]]

! Lisette

A young woman -- described by Kevin Norton as "petite, pretty, twenty-something, her black hair cut to a pixie cut and topped by a dark gray beret". Generous and kind. Has a trace of a French accent. Chosen by Kevin to become [[spoiler:the next handler for Zion]] after she gave him ten pounds and was kind to him.

----

* NiceGirl: The reason she was chosen to be [[spoiler:Zion's new handler.]]
* [[spoiler: [[KidWithTheLeash Woman With The Leash]]: Has taken over Kevin Norton's job.]]

%% Jessica Yamada: A clinical psychologist specializing in working with the Wards.

! Greg

A student at Winslow High that was often paired up with Taylor and another kid named Sparky during group assignments.

----

* AllLoveIsUnrequited: Turns out to have had a crush on Taylor, but she was completely oblivious to it.
* AttentionDeficitOohShiny: One of the reasons he's considered a major loser at school.
* NoSocialSkills: In incapable of telling when he's being annoying and/or pushy.
* [[spoiler:SecretSecretKeeper: Has figured out Taylor's identity as Skitter, but hasn't told anyone about it.]]

[[/folder]]

%% There may be a correct trope, but this isn't it. -- * LesYay: Admits in an Interlude that she has a crush on [[spoiler:Parian.]]]

* AndTheFandomRejoiced: She survived the events of [[spoiler:Scourge]]!