Darth Wiki / Shadows & Vengeance

"I don't turn the other cheek, I slit my enemie's throat in their sleep and disappear into the shadows"

— Herra

The story of three young black female siblings returning from military service only to learn that their father Atlas Leveaux was killed by police officers in a random traffic stop. Of course the more they dig they find all kinds of terrible things related to the local government and police forces. Luckily for them they have just taken over a clan of ninjas called The Hidden^note Also informally known as The Shadow made up of remnants of the Iga-ryu (伊賀流) and the Koga-ryu (甲賀流), unfortunately for their hometown when they return home bodies start to pile up. Lots and lots of bodies. The story takes place primarily in Louisiana (specifically Baton Rouge), and Japan. Themes found within deals with Institutional corruption, institutional racism, how far is too far for revenge and justice. Story is inspired by Real Life socio-political events, and the styles of Frank Miller, late 70's early 80's Shaw Bros films, Ninja Assassin, Abel Ferrara, Blade, Blaxploitation, Heroic Bloodshed (but with guns AND swords), Zack Snyder, Southern Gothic and the ultra-violence of Manga Entertainment, and Japanese Action Cinema.

The concept itself is Ninja Assassin meets Charmed (with heavy dusting of Queen Sugar), meets Killing the Badge meets David Simon meets Frank Miller. And high dosage of sex, blood, violence, and severed limbs.

Part of The Starr Verse

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Main Cast:

The Leveaux Family:

Made up of five young adult close nit siblings, Essentially the heads of the Hidden

• Herra Leveaux: The stern, no nonsense, eldest sibling. Also the defacto leader of the Leveaux siblings. In between deployment she became a successful stunt woman and occasional actress.
• Athena Leveaux: Like her older sister became a stunt woman, then a respected up and coming action star. As of now however, both of their careers are on hold. She has the POV half the time.
• Phaedra Leveaux: The youngest of the girls, once discharged decided not to re-enlist for the time being. Her day job is that of a model.
• Ares Leveaux: The young brother of the clan, at the moment re-deployed so he's out of play for now.
• Apollo Leveaux: The second youngest boy, and youngest sibling over all (at the start of the story he was just 17). After the funeral he was sent back to Japan by his sisters. Also to finish his training.

The Hidden aka The Shadow:

The Hidden (or The Shadow) as a organization is basically The Hand meets Ozunu Clan. They have been around for a very long time.

• Master Hisakawa great grandson of founder Madam Hisakawa, and the former grand master of The Hidden. Died of natural causes at the age of 105. Rumor has it he was much older, in fact he didn't look a hundred anything. He look as if he was 70 something if that. All his heirs were either dead or estranged. Leaving the Leveaux siblings the only inheritor of The Hidden and his fortunes.
• The Mist Hero Secret Service to the Leveaux family.
• The Shadow Spec-Ops are ANBU Black Ops meets Sam Fisher. High risk covert missions in urban areas. A relatively new unit upgraded, and restructured by the Leveaux family. They're basically squads of Snake Eyes Named after the Greek alphabets. The most decorated units are Zeta, Delta, Sigma, Omega, and Alpha.
• The Shadow Lotus: A all female unit used for spying, wears creepy white masks.
• The Shadow Council: Hidden lieutenants. Second only to the Leveaux family in terms of hierarchy and leadership.
• The Shadow-Ryu: The main fighting force of the hidden. Consisting in a little over 1500 shadow warriors, and over six hundred or so students.

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Examples:

• Absurdly Sharp Blade: The Katanas, the Shinobigatanas, the Kamas, the Kyoketsu Shoge, Kusarigama
• Accomplice by Inaction: The view of the Leveaux siblings when concerning "good cops".
• Ace Custom: Herra's twin, hiltless Ninjatō longswords. Athena has one as well, but primarily uses her black beautifully crafted Katana.

• Agent Provocateur: The Hidden is this to the local PD. And the local PD is this to protesters like Black Lives Matter.
• All Your Powers Combined: Leveaux family fusing Japanese supernatural martial arts mysticism with American mysticism of the Southern Gothic occult variety. They're unaware of the latter though. And assume their powers are coming just from the former.
• Aliens in Cardiff: Ninjas in Louisiana....why not?
• Amazon Brigade: The Hidden's The Shadow Lotus.
• Ambiguously Bi: Athena is bi, Phaedra is bi curious, Herra on the other hand is Armoured Closet Bi^note  She gets better after a heart to heart with her siblings, Ares is hetero but has a thing for beautiful trans-women who can pass as female.
• Ancestral Weapon: Herra's wants to make her twin Shinobigatanas (Black Steel & Shadow Steel) this. And pass them down to her son and daughter when they're ready.
• Animal Eye Spy: Phaedra who can warg black birds including her pet, a large black Tamaskan wolfdog named Stalker.
• Armoured Closet Gay: The Leveaux siblings suspect this about their mother, who was staunchly homophobic. But especially lesbophopic, and Biphobic.
• Arsenal Attire: The Hidden, especially the female disciples.
• Asskicking Leads to Leadership: This is how the Leveaux siblings rose through the ranks of The Shadow. Especially Herra.
• Attack Drone: Utilized by The Hidden.
• Awesomeness by Analysis: Athena and Herra, the local PD isn't too far behind surprisingly. They know there's someone lurking in the shadows that is behind all the bad things happening to them, they just don't know who or what. All they know is that they're too organized and sophisticated to be generic street gangs. At first they thought it was some type of government group (some still do), but others believe it has to be someone with a grudge and a lot of connections and resources.
• Awful Truth: The damning DOJ report.
• Aw, Look! They Really Do Love Each Other: The Leveaux sibling argue A LOT, especially given the current circumstances they are in which can add a lot of tension. But their love for each other is strong.
• Bad Ass Creed: We are The Hidden, We are the shadow, We are everywhere, And death is swift and certain.
• Bad Ass Family: The Leveaux family, and the extended family including Delacroix cousins who's military service goes all the way back to World War I.
• Badass Longcoat: Athena, Herra, and Phaedra usually were black chic long coats. Though occasionally Athena usually wear a black or brown short leather motorcycle jacket.
• Bad Cop/Incompetent Cop: Louisiana is crawling with them.
• Beleaguered Bureaucrat: Some of the city officials definitely have their hands tied. It doesn't excuse everything, though.

• The Big Board: The Hidden have one, so does The PD trying to connect the dots.
• Big Fancy House: The Leveaux's family home. Was once a modest two floor country style home, but Atlas renovated, and expanded it up to eleven.

• Black Magic: The real reason for the Leveaux family's advancement in The Hidden (something master Hisakawa might have picked up on). Just like Jedi are force sensitive, the Leveaux family is sensitive to the occult. The family also have ancestral connection to Louisiana Voodoo.
• Blackmail: How the Hidden turn people into agents.
• Black Shirt:
  • Some of the citizens that unconditionally support the problematic police officers. Phaedra attributes this to fear just as much as prejudice.
  • Definitely in play with the lack of indictments by the grand jury in some cases. Even after a clandestine borderline Deus ex Machina smear campaign by The Hidden.
• Blame Game/The Stool Pigeon: Once the shit hits the fan compromised cops started spilling their guts and pointing their finger at other cops and vice versa, or even other police departments and even city officials.
• Blind Obedience: The Hidden to the Leveaux family. Though by this point the Leveaux family IS the Hidden.
• Boomerang Bigot: Some black cops fall under this. But sometimes it's hard to tell if they're this or just social climbers prone to professional ass kissing. However Herra believes that they shouldn't be given excuses.
• Boring, but Practical: A lot of time Hidden operations are just hardboiled detective like work, infiltration and spying. It could be weeks or even months before anything major really happens. During this downtime Herra and the gang go back to their day jobs filming movies, modeling, activism or whatever.
• Boyish Short Hair: Athena's short cropped curly hair, to her eventual short, but feminine stylish pixie cut, and Herra's short slicked back hair, to eventually her asymmetrical shoulder length bob.

• Cassandra Truth: This trope is the reason why Law Enforcement don't tell the media that they believe they are being set up. Also because the evidence is damning, half of it even being legit.
• Casual Kink:
  • The Leveaux siblings love casual sex, threesomes, group sex, etc. Herra is ok with all the above as long as its hetero sex at least for her, (she doesn't judge her siblings). She gets more open minded once she get over the non-hetero Sex Is Evil stigma with the help of her siblings.
  • Athena and Phaedra often have conversations about their love for rough sex, and maybe light bondage.
• Category Traitor:
  • Black cops are often accused. There's also legitimate cases of Boomerang Bigotry as well.
  • Cops that speak out about police corruption, and brutality are seen as this.
• The Chains of Commanding: On both sides of the conflict.
• Charles Atlas Superpower: The Hidden are all much stronger, both physically and mentally, than the average human, which likely plays along with the supernatural element behind their training and overall capabilities.
• Child Soldiers: The Hidden, until The Leveauxs put an end to it. They have to be at least 18 to enter the field now.
• The City: Baton Rouge initially.

• Combat Stilettos: Female Hidden disciples, likewise Herra, Athena, and Phaedra.
• Comes Great Responsibility: Something that the Leveaux family struggles with in regards to The Hidden, and their own abilities too.
• Common Nonsense Jury: Juries flat out refuses to indict and convict corrupt cops. Even after borderline clandestine frame up's by The Hidden. To the complete bewilderment of the Leveaux family. At best you get hung juries.
• Connect the Deaths: Took a long time, but the PD and FEDS eventually figure out the assassinations are related. This trope is also why the siblings decided to handle their father's killers more carefully.
• Conservation of Ninjutsu: Ruthlessly subverted.
• Corporate Samurai: They tend to lend their services to Starr Industries, But they're only doing it because they're related to the owner and CEO Tishauna Starr. The corporation don't know they hired Ninjas though.
• Corrupt Corporate Executive: The CEO of a major private prison company, who is running a "kids for cash" operation. Similar to the one in Pennsylvania. Creating a large "School-to-prison pipeline" in the southeast. She's driven just as much by racism, and revenge^note Allegedly her father was killed by a young black man or kid as much as she is by greed.
• Cool Car: The Hidden don't like to draw attention to themselves, and tend to stay under the radar. For the most part the same with the Leveauax family preferring to stay in their family home just outside of Baton Rouge (Though Athena has a cool loft apartment in BR, and a condo in L.A.). Having said that, they all have ridiculously awesome cars, Herra a glossy black Jaguar C-X75, Athena's glossy black laferrari, and Phaedra's two tone glossy black and blue C7 Stingray Corvette.
  • Ironically this was probably one of the reasons their dad was pulled over. He was driving a BMW i8. He was also pulled over multiple times before his last fatal encounter.
• Cool House: Athena's cool industrial-like loft apartment.
• Cop Killer: The Hidden, and shockingly other cops.
• Covert Group: Surprisingly the Louisiana government put together a off the record task force to investigate who is smearing Law Enforcement.

• Culture Clash: The Leveaux sibling enjoy Japanese cuisines of Japan and the Hidden, but greatly prefer the food they grew up with. Like southern soul food, Cajun, creole and pasta dishes.
• Dangerous Deserter:
  • Which is why The Hidden has VERY stiff penalties for deserting. Because deserters might also posses dangerous knowledge from The Hidden. Also why The Hidden like to retrieve, and destroy corpses of fallen Shinobi.
  • The Hidden themselves might be this, breaking away from a larger clan and combining with the Iga and Koga.

• Dark Secret: An older cousin finally revealed to the Leveaux siblings that the family is sensitive to occult magic, some more so than others. Likely going back to American slaves, or freed blacks of creole descent.
• Darkness Equals Death: The Hidden uses darkness and shadows to disappear, and teleport.
• The Darkness Gazes Back: Det Williams encounters the Shadow Spec-Ops this way. And you could have built his mousuleom from the bricks he shat.
• Dartboard of Hate: Consisting of high valued targets, and riddled with shurikins, and throwing knives.
• Deep-Fried Whatever: Atlas LOVED deep fried chitterlings just as much as he loved them boiled, Same for his kids who grew up with his cooking. They're mother pretty much had the same cooking style.
• Deep South: Louisiana.
• Delinquent Hair: Phaedra's long sidecut hairstyle, with the shaved part died deep blue.

• Diamonds in the Buff:
  • Herra answers the door to her home wearing nothing but a 24k necklace when her date shows up. And again when she arrives at his house wearing a white mink coat.
  • Ares transgendered lover dance provocatively for him wearing nothing but a diamond studded cock ring wrapped around her very erect penis.
• Dirty Cop: The lines between dirty cop and officers just bending the rules can get REALLY blurry. But sometimes a spade is a spade.
• Dismotivation: In terms of fixing the broken legal system (that's if you think it's broken to begin with)
• Disproportionate Retribution: The Hidden tends to veer into this with how they did a lot of their frame ups. Completely destroying the lives of dozens of LEO's and local politicians.
• Dissonant Serenity: Herra, and to a lesser degree Athena.
• The Dreaded: The Hidden is this in general. But specifically speaking Herra, and The Shadow Spec-Ops,
• Drone Deployer: The Shadow Spec-Ops, and occasionally Herra, and Athena,
• Dual Wielding: The Hidden sometimes do this.
• Elegant Weapon for a More Civilized Age: The Hidden, who for the most part still hold onto ancient martial arts weapons.
• Elite Mooks: The Shadow Spec-Ops, The Shadow Council, The Shadow Lotus, and The Mist
• Epileptic Trees: A handful of the smarter detectives within the PD realize that something is not right with all of the legal troubles that they are in. They know someone is out to get them. Cue a lot of grounded but no less unnerving theories being hypothesized and shared between them.
• Escalating War: The Hidden is mindful of this trope, and doesn't want the shadow operations spiraling out of control. Having said that, they have EXPANDED their operations. Especially how the death of Atlas uncovered a whole bunch of other things that just didn't effect the Leveaux siblings
  This is much bigger than us now- Phaedra
• Evil Debt Collector: The over policing of poor black neighborhoods has elements of this....like A LOT. Bias in law enforcement built a system that use arrest warrants to squeeze money out of poor black residents. The city’s practices are shaped by revenue rather than by public safety needs, and this practice have also shaped it's municipal courts. A woman parked her car illegally once in 2007. It ended up costing her more than $1,000 and 6 days in jail. A singled missed, late or partial payment of a fine could mean jail time. Arrest warrants are almost exclusively used as threats to push for payments. Phaedra (who has a background in law) calls it "Assembly-line Justice"
• Evil Is Petty: Phaedra did some digging and came to believe Atlas might have been stopped not only because of his car, but because a week earlier he intervened on the behalf of 3 frightened 10 year old black boys who were stopped by police officers because they were riding their bikes on the sidewalk.
• Face Stealer: Phaedra uses it to creepy effect when setting up targets, and dismantling organizations from within. She copies the faces but doesn't actually outright physically steal them. She's basically Zartan....or Arya Stark.

• Fascist, but Inefficient: Phaedra discusses this with her siblings during their weekly report with each other. She noted that in collecting money from municipal violations from those who are too poor to pay, the system will often waste an inordinate amount of resources prosecuting them for that inability, including jail time, the overall cost of which far exceeds any money they might recoup from the offender.
• Flash Step: The Leveaux siblings mastered this fast.
• Fluffy the Terrible Averted and zig zaged with Stalker. If he trusts you, Stalker is as friendly and cuddly as they come; if he doesn't, he's as deadly as his name suggests.
• Framing the Guilty Party: The Hidden does this to a whole police force, and the local government. Though to be honest this wasn't even necessary as there's plenty of legit dirt anyway. Doesn't always work though
• The Gift: The Leveaux siblings are naturally gifted when it comes to martial arts. But also occult magic, and other supernatural abilities that other Hidden disciples don't have. Another way to look at it is that The Hidden = Low-magic, The Leveauxs = Low magic as well; BUT has a lot of untapped potential for ''high-magic' abilities.

• Glowing Eyes: The Leveaux siblings have very piercing light brown eyes that sometimes give off a dull glow in certain light sources, especially the sisters. Something that seems to run in the family.
• Glowing Mechanical Eyes: The goggles of the Shadow Spec-Op has this effect, which also make green light trails.

• Government Conspiracy: Downplayed; and On a local level. But it's believed not to be limited just to the local government, as similar situations of bad policy seems to be prevalent in other cities. Giving incentive for The Hidden to spread.
• Greater-Scope Villain: The Oboro Clan is slowly becoming this in the background
• Grey-and-Gray Morality: The Hidden vs. several police forces and ineffectual politicians. Turns into a Black-and-Gray Morality when going up against rogue cops (who turns out to be undercover white supremacists).
• Gun Kata: The Leveaux sibling's, especially Herra. They are also instructors to Hidden operatives, but they're the sole experts. Good enough to make even John Preston give pause.
• Hanlon's Razor:
  • Some of the local government's blunders are this, but it's also juxtaposed with situations that had real malicious intent so... It's shit icing on the shit cake as Athena would say.
  • Det Hendricks REALLY latches on to this, as an explanation for police & local government wrong doing when having a heart to heart with his wife about his job. He's not wrong, but he'll be gravely disappointed when he learns that A LOT of misconduct doesn't fall under this trope.

• A Hero to His Hometown: Mr Atlas Leveaux was a very well respected philanthropist, and businessman in his hometown of Baton Rogue.
• Hero Secret Service: The Mist is this to the Leveaux family.
• Hidden Supplies: The hidden have these everywhere. Medical supplies, MREs, money, weapons etc

• Hiding in Plain Sight: Athena and Herra have old (maybe even ancient) Shinobi artifacts, and scrolls in plain sight in their studies. Unless you were a prolific Japanese historian you wouldn't notice them. Similar to how Chancellor Palpatine had hidden Sith artifacts in public display in his office.
• Hopeless War: Phaedra is worried about their campaign turning into this due to the deeply rooted government corruption and dysfunction of the system.
• A House Divided: The Leveaux siblings don't always see eye to eye on dealing with issues related to their campaign against Law Enforcement. Neither does the Shadow Council with the siblings...or with each other in regards to how The Hidden is run as an organization. They all work through it though.
• Inherent in the System: Phaedra thinks this is just an excuse to not fix the system.
• Internal Reformist:
  • The Leveauxs did this to The Hidden. Also modernized the Shadow Ops teams by requiring them to get modern military training like Marine, navy seals, in addition to using fire arms, and night vision goggles, drones, and other modern gadgets etc. Also the age of field agents was raised to 18 years. Also created a cyber security division.
  • Darkly speaking the white nationalists are doing this with police departments.
• Improbable Aiming Skills: Elite Hidden disciples, whom is also capable of using firearms.
• Intelligence Equals Isolation: Herra, and Athena growing up. Even now as a adults Athena especially is a homebody, and tends to keep to herself. She shows up to set on times, is professional but is quiet and keep to herself.
• Intrepid Reporter: Erica Green (and a few others) has been trying to expose police misconduct, private prison industrial complex, and the racial bias that goes along with it LOOOONG before The Hidden got involved.
• Irony: Black police officers saying that they fear other cops, especially when they're off duty. Herra found this amusing in a Schadenfreude kind of way.
• It Runs in the Family: The Leveauxs sensitivity to the paranormal and the occult, unbeknownst to them ^note at least initially, till a older cousin filled them in on the family legacy.
• It's Personal: For the CEO of one of the major private prison companies. Her father was allegedly killed by a black man (or possibly a black youth). So for her, it's just as much about resentment and revenge as it is business. Of course it's personal for The Leveaux siblings as well.
• Jade-Colored Glasses: Det. Cynthia Johnson; A very cynical example, along with some subtle shades of Boomerang Bigotry. Particularly concerning policing the black community. She definitely gives off this vibe during the town hall community meetings when discussing police brutality. One attendee remarked to Athena that the bitter attitude just exudes from her.
• Jaywalking Will Ruin Your Life: Just ask Atlas who died over a very minor traffic violation. Further more Phaedra points out that how mostly small offenses can lead to huge problems when low-income people have trouble paying the fines. If someone can't pay the fine off immediately, many additional fines will be added until paying the fine off is all but impossible, at which time they will be jailed for failure to comply; if the defendant attempts to contest the charge in court, they're more often than not issued a court-appointed lawyer who is so overworked they have no time to actually look at a case, and instead prompt their clients to just settle with a plea deal that is usually horribly unfair. There is also the problem that some states require you to pay for these lawyers yourself − if you can't, you're fined, and the process starts all over again, causing a Vicious Cycle. Black residents are particularly targeted this way, usually fund police thru fines, bench warrants and jailing people for non payment—abuses. Phaedra notes that it’s an economic system that processes poor POC like raw materials. Starting with police, prosecutors, lawyers, courts, and prisons. If the war on drugs stopped, this lucrative system would be destroyed. That’s why the abysmal outcome is ignored. It's based on a false premise.
• Jurisdiction Friction: The Hidden uses this to their advantage to great effect. Causing tons of friction between the FEDS, politicians, and cops.
• Just Following Orders: This is the FEDS response to New Orleans, and Baton Rouge cops/public officials (behind closed doors) over the investigations and indictments. Basically saying they HAVE to bring charges and investigations. Because the sheer amount of damning evidence that was released, not to mention the amount of info the public has thanks to the media.
• Kicking Ass in All Her Finery: The Leveaux sisters, and other female disciples of The Hidden
• Lady of Black Magic: Herra, Athena, and Phaedra.

• Like a Son to Me: The Leveaux kids was this to Master Hisakawa.
• Limited Wardrobe: The Leveaux siblings usually wear chic black formal clothing, or black casual wear like pants, dresses, turtlenecks etc. Other than that they rarely go outside their comfort zone. Phaedra only subvert it when modeling.
• Living Lie Detector: This is how Herra knew the District Attorney was lying through their teeth.
• Living Shadow: Athena's creepy shadow clones, with their terrifying Monochromatic Eyes.
• Mama Bear: Herra, to her younger siblings, but also to her twin son and daughter who are just 12.

• Master Swordsman: The Shadow Spec-Ops, but especially the Leveaux siblings.

• Mind over Matter: Part of Herra's ever growing late manifesting powers. She's basically a low level Jedi/Sith minus the light sabres.

• Mission Creep: This is slowly starting to happen with The Hidden
• Mook Maker: Starting at the age of 12 The Hidden turn kids into Shinobi by using a supernatural form of Powers as Programs. Additional training is used to refine the skills. By the time they turn 18 they're full Shinobi.
• More Dakka: The Baton Rouge police force (and surrounding PD's) after they became more militarized after receiving military surplus.
• Monochromatic Eyes: Athena's creepy shadow clones, and Phaedra when she wargs
• Most Common Superpower: The Leveaux sisters are lean and toned, but they're definitely not lean in the chest area.
• Murder Is the Best Solution: Actually became an issue when the bodies started piling up. Causing the girls to debate, and reevaluate their tactics. The only time they were covert, was when dealing with their father's killers. Mostly because they didn't want to draw any attention to themselves. Phaedra also points out that it's best to bring them to justice cause it could help bring down more people.
• Naked in Mink: One of Athena's female lovers gives her a strip tease wearing nothing but a white mink coat, and stilettos. Herra shows up to her date's house like this.
• Naïve Newcomer: The Leveaux family when it comes to politics and the judicial system.

• Noble Bigot with a Badge: There's few cases of this. But the Leveaux siblings (Especially Herra) are not impressed.
• No Good Deed Goes Unpunished: This may likely have contributed to Atla's death. Feeding the homeless, which became a weird ordinance violation, intervening on the behalf of three scared young black pre-teens who were getting harassed by cops for riding their bikes on the sidewalk. All the above likely rubbed some people the wrong way.
• No Sympathy: Det. Cynthia Johnson; at the community meeting she shows nothing but condescension and dismissiveness to the community's concerns.
• N-Word Privileges: The Leveaux siblings use it in casual conversation among themselves.
• Obstructive Bureaucrat: Possibly the district attorney, whom Herra sense is lying.

• One-Man Army: Herra, Athena, & Phaedra.
• Omniglot: Herra, Ares, and to a lesser extent Athena and Phaedra.
• Operation: [Blank]: The Hidden have several, but the main ones are Operation Shadowfall, Operation Shadow Vengeance,
• Opt Out: Phaedra, and to a lesser extent Athena when it comes to some questionable Shadow Ops Herra put together. Also some of the reports that was leaked to the local media took awhile to get exposure as several Intrepid Reporter kept running into editors backing out of publishing the story. The DOJ report changed their minds.
• Outside-Context Problem:
  • The Hidden is this to the local government of Louisiana. A world where people within the local government was so use to either corruption or status quo protectionism, and Real Politik they never expect it to realistically change. So when The Hidden arrive they was completely caught off guard by The Hidden's Shadow Ops and tactics. Creating a almost watershed moment of forced reform, destroying countless careers....and lives.
  • The Oboro Clan is this to The Hidden. While not necessarily unknown, none of The hidden expects the ancient clan to actually still be alive...well alive-ish
• Paranoia Fuel: Two folds; On one hand you have law enforcement infiltrated by white nationalist, and on the other hand you have The Hidden, who can be any where, or even anyone.
• Parents as People: Averted with Herra...for the most part.

• Perky Goth: Phaedra, Well about as perky as you can realistically be given her situation.
• Plausible Deniability: Great tactic used by law enforcement and city officials. It gets undermined by the Hidden's smear campaign, which put some black cops in a tough position in regards to the African-American community.
• Police Are Useless: If not cowards or corrupt, they're this.
• Police Brutality: Along with institutional enablers, this is the driving force behind the Revenge of the Shinobi
• Polyamory: Apollo has FOUR Japanese girlfriends who sometimes stays with him when he's in town living with his sisters in the family home no less. Athena has 2 guys (one from the Shadow Ops), and three girls.
• Psychic Nosebleed: Herra due to her growing Telekinesis, And eventually, her kids
• Puberty Superpower: For the Leveaux siblings. Though other abilities manifested much later like their 20's and 30's like Herra's Telekinesis, and Athena's shadow clone ability for example.
• The Quiet One: Athena, who is assertive and can carry a conversation if she has to. But otherwise is totally quiet around strangers. Unless she wants and or need something, which is the only time she'll be out going..
• Rabid Cop: Officer Slater, and a few others.

• Real Politik: This trope might be in play when it comes to a lot of institutional protectionism of cops by District Attorneys, and city officials.
• Really Gets Around: The Leveauxs, sometimes as a stress reliever. Erica Green up until she met her boyfriend.
• The Rival: The Oboro Clan to The Hidden centuries ago, and vice versa. The latter being a splinter from the former, for being "corrupted" from within. They have returned
• Right Hand Versus Left Hand: LEOs and people within those organizations fail to work together for the greater good of the whole due to personal ambition, poor communication, outright racism and racial spite, malice, corruption, ideological bias, and simple incompetence. Because of this; The Hidden exploits it to the full extent of their power.
• Right-Wing Militia Fanatic: According to both FBI, and Hidden reports and memos, the police have been infiltrated by these groups. The memos also states that law enforcement had recently become aware of the term “ghost skins,” used among white supremacists to describe “those who avoid overt displays of their beliefs to blend into society and covertly advance white supremacist causes.” . Just to be clear, we're not just talking local Louisiana police here. But American police forces in general. A fact the government forced the F.B.I. to bury.
• Rogues Gallery: In feudal Japan it was The Oboro Clan Whom has since secretly returned, formerly The Iga, and Koga clans, Certain groups of LEO's, politicians, special forces units, government officials etc. Lots of different international intelligence agencies like;
  • CIA
  • F.B.I.
  • SIS (MI6)
  • Security Service (MI5)
  • Mossad ^note  the only intelligence group outside of Naicho, who had a group of agents who found out about their existence. Herra and Zeta squad of the shadow spec-ops made sure none of them would live to say anything else. Though the Mossad still knows the bare minimum that there's a shadowy organization out there.
  • Naicho^note : higher ups know who the hidden are, and don't dare interfere with them (which is absurdly ineffectual, not to mention infiltrated by Hidden)
  • Formerly KGB, Currently the Federal Security Service.
  • The Public Security Intelligence Agency (公安調査庁 kōanchōsa-chō)
  • The National Intelligence Service (NIS)
  • And numeral criminal organizations such as;
    • Los Zetas
    • Cártel del Golfo
    • Cártel de Juárez
    • Cartel del Noreste
    • The Yakuza
    • The Triads
    • Tongs
    • Various motorcycle clubs
    • The Mafia (Irish, Italian, Jewish, Russian, Greek)

• Screw This, I'm Outta Here: After the smear campaign by The Hidden coupled with the DOJ reports, A LOT of people started to resign or transfer.
• Self-Made Man: Patriarch Atlas Leveaux after his first discharge from the service he became a very respected and wealthy business man. Also a very successful high stakes poker player. Where his wealth originally came from
• Secret Relationship: Herra eventually gets into one with a young white girl. The secrecy is because all of the negative baggage that came from the Leveaux's bitter homophobic mother.
• Selective Obliviousness: A lot of so called "good cops". Mostly because they're just trying to stay out of trouble, and keep their jobs.
• Self-Duplication: Herra, and to a lesser extent Athena. Herra can make fully formed duplicates, where as Athena makes duplicates along the lines of "shadow clones".
• Semper Fi: The Leveaux's, save for Apollo who's too young to enlist.
• Sex for Solace: The Leveaux siblings REALLY gets around. But sometimes it's just to relieve tension.
• Sex Is Evil: The mantra of the Leveaux siblings mother in regard to none-hetero sex; Something that the Leveaux siblings had to deal with in regard to their mother. It definitely fuel Herra's outlook of none hetero sex. The other siblings rebelled against this point of view when they became independent adults. Herra came around....eventually.
• Sex Is Good: Leveaux siblings philosophy after coming from under their mom's oppressive thumb of homophobia.
• Sheltered Aristocrat: To a certain extent the Leveaux siblings might be this. They're not naive to things like sexism and racism. In fact the girls dealt with sexism in the marine corp, and Ares might have been pulled over for driving while black once. But they definitely seem to be somewhat sheltered from a lot of modern social justice issues regarding race. A relative even scoffs about them, saying the Leveaux siblings believed that "they were safe" from police harassment and other similar problems, because of their upper middle class upbringing and military service. But in the end they got their "nigger wake up call". So basically while not naive they're definitely not "woke" either.
• Sherlock Scan: Four highly decorated homicide detectives investigate the aftermath of one of Herra's massacres of a group of rogue off duty cops. The lead detective points out that who ever did this was highly skilled and highly efficient. One of the younger detectives was quick to point out that this was likely done by more than one person. The older detective disagreed with her, saying that this was the work of just one highly skilled person. After he said that, the tension in the air was so thick you could cut it with a Shinobigatana.
• Shocking Defeat Legacy: Humorously Herra and Athena get's rather annoyed when people bring up the shocking defeat of LSU at the hands of Alabama at the 2012 Allstate BCS National Championship.
  - I like Alabama, Just not when they're going against LSU -Athena
• Shrouded in Myth: The Hidden, all that is really known is that they were a splinter group from another clan by the name of Oboro. Then merging with the Iga and Koga clans. Supposedly over Oboro becoming "corrupted" somehow. Other than that there's no real records and that info was from centuries ago with some things probably lost in translation.
• Silly Rabbit, Idealism Is for Kids!:
  • The Leveaux family got hit hard with this. They assumed because their father was such a upstanding pillar of the community, and a veteran who was still in service that they would get justice as smoothly as possible. Instead they got hit with a wall of obstruction and more or less propaganda that was basically character assassination. At the end of the day their dad was just another statistic.
  • At a community meeting involving local activists who deal with police brutality, one older black lady told Phaedra to "grow up".
• Sinister Surveillance: The Leveaux family is being watched by both the FEDs (over disparaging remarks Herra made about the Police), and by the local PD. Of course The Hidden is also doing this on government officials, and law enforcement agents.
• Slave to PR: An omnipresent driving force behind many situations. After all, politics it's part of the game. This is also why city officials are fervently trying to protect the local government and police force.
• Sleek High Rise Apartment: Athena has a very nice two story 5 bedroom high rise apartment in Las Angeles. Hilariously her siblings gave her all kinds of grief over the sleek opulent high rise when they finally see it for themselves. Constantly teasing and ribbing her over it.
• Smear Campaign:
  • The Hidden does this against the local PD, and other LEOs by leaking damning Intel to local reporters. The DOJ just added insult to injury with their scathing report, which was started after several more dubious police shooting happened in the city.
  • The Police is not beneath doing this to shooting victims.
• Smoke Out: The Hidden uses these, along with flash bombs since they can only hideaway if there's shadows. If not, these are the back up plan.
• Social Climber:
  • A lot of the black public officials, and LEOS have large traces of this. Along with heavy shades of Professional Butt-Kisser as well.
  • Det. Cynthia Johnson, who's more or less a cynical careerist stooge.
• Sour Supporter: Athena every now and then, when it comes to some of Herra's plans. She'll dissent only to actually go through with it.
• Southern Gothic: There's a lot of this trope in the setting
• Spreading Disaster Map Graphic: The Hidden has one showing the paths they should go to expand their operations. After the initial Shadow Ops The Hidden began cutting a terrifying bloody zig-zag path across the south east.
• Statuesque Stunner: The Leveaux sisters, all with in the 5'9 to 5'11 range give or take.

• Stopped Caring: You would think after the DOJ report and the very convincing smear campaign by The Hidden that Det Cynthia Johnson would have did an about face in denying police misconduct...Nope, instead she just stopped caring. As if she was just "over it" all.
• Sugar-and-Ice Personality: Herra; she's distant but professional with outsiders, but is generally warm to her family. Even after heated arguments.
• Supernatural Martial Arts: The Hidden, doubly so for the Leveaux family however, who doesn't necessarily need the shadows to teleport or become invisible.
• Super-Senses: The Hidden can hear everything from your foot steps to your heart beat.
• Super-Soldier: The Leveaux siblings were this for The Hidden. Master Hisakawa saw their potential at an early age and wanted them to become this (and not just to advance the clan) for reasons yet to be known.
• Super Window Jump: The Hidden is prone to this, Including Herra, and Athena Wonder Woman (2017) style.
• Surveillance Drone: Deployed by the Shadow Spec-Ops
• Sword and Gun: The Leveaux sisters, and the Shadow Spec-Ops who has suppressed sub-machine guns.
• Talented, but Trained: The Leveaux siblings, despite being naturally gifted they was still trained like every other disciple of Hisakawa.
• This Is Something He's Got to Do Himself: Apparently the Leveauxs have two very rich cousins that are in a very popular rock band who offered assistance with their fight for justice, but turned them down. Mostly to protect them from scrutiny, and also because their celebrity would bring too much attention. Athena, Herra, and Phaedra are celebrities in their own right but not to that level.
• Three-Way Sex: Apollo with his four girlfriends, Athena every other tryst, Phaedra after Athena told her to try it.
• Training from Hell: The Hidden, and to a lesser extent the U.S. Marine corp.
• Tranquil Fury: Herra, sometimes Athena.
• Transformation of the Possessed: The Oboro Clan, being transformed by a Judeo Christian demon/entity.
• Treachery Cover Up: This was why the Leveaux family started to lean heavily on The Hidden. Because the more they digged, the more they found that they was never going to get actual justice with all of the institutional protectionism, and red tape that was thrown in front of them.
  • And the reason for the cover up is people trying to protect a system which livelihoods and careers were built upon, and depend on. So it's not in their best interest to fix the system.
    • Also, bureaucrats who claim to pursue "public safety" choose to exclude several million physical & sexual assaults by police from the "crime data" they publish. Then there's the fact that there's reporters who omit this fact from news stories about "crime rates". It's also complicated, because for local reporters on the crime beat their law enforcement sources are their daily bread & butter. Regardless though, they have to treat them like any other source & actually fact check. But they rarely do, likely do to fear of losing access. There's also probably pressure from up top too.
  • The F.B.I. being forced to bury the fact that Law Enforcement is being infiltrated by White Nationalists.
• Treachery Is a Special Kind of Evil: This is how police whistle blowers are viewed.
• Trenchcoat Warfare: Herra and Athena, with their long chic trench coat.
• Underboobs: Athena walks around her house and sleep wearing a short tight tank top, skimpy string bikini underwear and nothing else.
• Ur-Example: The Hidden is the source for all of the improbable use of Stock Ninja Weaponry. The origin of the Ninjato also started with them. The Hidden is the personification of unorthodox weapon users, mostly because Hisakawa was a kinda Military Maverick. With their skill set this goes beyond Rule of Cool. More so a case of "if you can make it work, use it"
• Vast Bureaucracy: On a local government level. Along with the saying "you can't fight city hall". The Hidden didn't get that memo. Also a case of "too big to fail", but applied to the legal/justice system.
• Vigilante Man: In their down time this is what The Hidden do. Crime dropped a shockingly 44% in just 5 months their vigilantism. Of course their main operations is vigilantism too.
• Villain with Good Publicity: Zig Zaged with the local police force, which has it's detractors and supporters.
• War on Drugs: 7 months Prior to the start of this story Herra was deployed somewhere in Bolivia dismantling a Drug cartel in a covert ops with a small team of marines. Totally not unlike Ghost Recon Wildlands
• Wall of Weapons:
  • The Hidden has several locations with these, filled with blades and guns. The Leveaux siblings have them hidden somewhere in their homes fully stocked with guns and Stock Ninja Weaponry. Athena especially have them in retractable walls and floor boards of her L.A. high-rise condo, and her Baton Rogue Loft. Phaedra as well who stays in the same loft building as Athena.
  • Officer Slater as well, mostly guns and assault rifles though.
• We Help the Helpless: What the Hidden do in their downtime.
• Where Does He Get All Those Wonderful Toys?: Most of the Hidden's gadgets are modified tech from the public sector. Other military gadgets come from a Japanese shell corporation owned by a subsidiary under Starr Industries' Starr Tech. Said company also gave them a industrial proprietary 3D printer, which the shadow print out their blades and fire arms with no serial numbers.
• The Whitest Black Guy: The Leveaux family are downplayed versions of this. They're far from squares but definitely seem to be somewhat aloof to some African American experiences, spending most of their youth, and teen years in Baton Rogue suburbia, and later Japan respectively.
• White Mask of Doom: The Shadow Lotus
• Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds: The Leveauxs is a young grieving family with probably waaay too much power and resources.
• Yin-Yang Bomb: Again the Leveaux siblings harnessing Japanese mystical powers and American Southern Gothic occult/Voodoo like powers^note Unbeknownst to the siblings of course. The latter is kinda filtered through the former though.
• You Are a Credit to Your Race: The Leveaux family gets the receiving end to this a lot.

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Move in silence