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Heroic League

This is the new home of Canyons of Steel, as it is a part of the Heroic League. Lots to go over, including linking to some pdf versions of stories and offering character bios.

1970s | 1980s | 1990s | 2000s | Stories

1970’s

Britannia
Real Name: Melanie Coopers
Born: March 13, 1947, Bristol, England
Affiliations: Royal Navy, Her Majesty’s Royal Secret Service
Height: 6’7”
Weight: 215 lbs
Powers: Super strength, X-ray vision, heat vision, flight, invulnerability
Current residence: Victoria, British Columbia
History:
Major Melanie Coopers volunteered for an experiment conducted in secret by HMRSS, to help fight the growing terrorism in Northern Ireland. Mjr Coopers thought it would help bring about a diplomatic end to the tensions between the IRA and the British Government. However, she soon learned that once she had finished going through the experiments, her orders were to go to Northern Ireland, find the members of the IRA, and kill them all.
She refused her orders, and was subsiquently stripped of her rnak and citizenship. She moved to Victoria, British Columbia after a great deal of paperwork, and took the uniform that was given to her with her. She felt the ideals of the United Kingdom, if presented equally to all in the Commonwealth, were still goals she could instill in others. In the end, she saw herself as hope for the future, and vowed to do whatever she could to ensure diplomatic results were always sought out first before using strength of military might.

Canadien
Real Name: Jean Pierre Turgeon
Born: October 4, 1953, Quebec City, Quebec
Affiliations: McGill Students Union, Nation Métis Québec
Height: 5’8”
Weight: 135 lbs
Powers: Highly trained gymnast, Tae Kwon Do, Wrestling
Current residence: Montreal, Quebec
History:
Jean Pierre was always an man who lived by ideology. He believed in his country and the ideals it upheld, but still didn’t let that cloud his vision of the problems that affected Canada.
When the FLQ began their attacks in Quebec, he felt compelled to help end the violence. It took him a while to realize just what that was, but eventually he believed that someone dressed in the flag to show the common citizen that Canada was supporting them would work. He was fortunate that he had a loving and understanding fiance in Monique Chapdelaine.
With the assistance of Montreal Metro Chief Detective George Bourassa, Jean Pierre helped stop crime related incidents that were on the fringe of FLQ activities.

Free Spirit
Real Name: Regina Moragn-Simms
Born: December 15, 1949, Shreveport, Louisiana
Height: 6’0”
Weight: 145 lbs
Affiliations: NAACP, Louisiana Sisterhood of Voodoo Priestesses
Powers: Practised voodoo priestess, gymnast, boxing
Current residence: Detroit, Michigan
History:
The girls of the Morgan family have always been gifted with the ability to call upon their magical powers. Voodoo priestesses in training, Regina and her sisters (all five save for one) became adept at magic.
Combined with her own interest in boxing and gymnastics, Regina decided she could become a costumed hero in her own right and help those within her community. She even had the support of her husband, Phillip Simms.
Always being a bit of a free spirit in her own right, she used that aspect of herself to model her own identity (as well as using the American dream as a backdrop).

Yellow Jacket
Real Name: Richard Hargrove
Born: August 10, 1948, Hamilton, Ontario
Affiliations: None
Height: 6’2”
Weight: 165 lbs
Powers: Average human, has a high rating in target shooting, has a mean left hook
Current residence: Windsor, Ontario
History:
Richard Hargrove grew up on the books of hard core detectives. Phillip Marlowe, Mike Hammer, Micky Spilane, and others from the pulp era. He also soaked up pulps like the Shadow, Dick Tracy and the Spirit. So it wasnèt surprising when he tried to first join the RCMP, then the Hamilton City Police, and finally the Windsor City Police. He always had just one failing; his eyesight.
He didnèt let that stop him, as he went to school, earned a diploma in security and investigations, and began his career as a private dick. He found however, he was much more inventive when he used the persona of Yellow Jacket to solve his cases.
Yellow Jacket is recognized driving around Windsor and Detroit in his yellow Chevy Impala.

The Mannekin
Real Name: Donelda Stewart
Born: September 28, 1947, Edmonton, Alberta
Affiliations: British Columbia Chamber of Commerce, UBC College of Science
Height: 5’5”
Weight: 125 lbs
Powers: Extremely dangerous, highly trained hand to hand combatant, knowledge of weapon tech, has a wide array of gadgets
Current residence: Vancouver, British Columbia
History:
Donelda Stewart didn’t lose her parents in some tragedy. She didn’t have someone close to her die. She’s very happily married to her husband Gerald, and together they raise their son Derrick. They are a very well off family, having sole ownership of the bio-tech company Stewart Industries.
Donelda took up the mantle of the Mannekin because she could. She had the wealth and power to infiltrate some of the highest levels of commerce and government to help her uncover corruption at it’s highest source. In her day time activities, she has made the Stewart name recognized for their philanthropic work, especially in the creation of women’s shelters, and supporting laws to ensure that sex workers are given their own rights.
As the Mannekin, she is a wanted criminal by many police organizations. However, she always manages to stay just one step ahead of those who would pursue her.

1980s

1990s

Shatter
Real Name: Erika LaFayette
Born: June 15, 1974, Taber, Alberta
Affiliations: Canadian Armed Forces
Height: 6’1”
Weight: 165 lbs
Powers: Military trained combat, both proficient with small arms and hand to hand, combat medicine
Current residence: Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
History:
Erika has a huge patriotic streak. Almost to a fault. She loves her country and always though of joining the Canadian Armed Forces to uphold the ideals of the nation. Things became very different when she enlisted. She dealt with a great deal of sexist and racist comments. These, however, did not deter her from continuing her career as both a soldier and a medic. After many tours of duty in far off places such as Rwanda, Haiti, Iraq, Somalia, and eventually into Afghanistan, her view of the world and even how the world views her country changed. She didn’t hate her country, but she wanted to change how the world sees her country. And that meant by changing the country itself. No small task. Thanks to the rise of other super heroes through the 1970s and 1980s, she donned a costume and gave herself the name Shatter. Her work did include stopping street criminals, but it mostly included helping victims. Tending to the needs of the homeless and those who society forgot (or would like to forget). This didn’t stop when she met Shadow Falcon, and after a rocky introductory period, and dealing with her own PTSD and coming to terms with Shadow Falcon’s own PTSD, she eventually fell in love and married Shadow Falcon.

Shadow Falcon
Real Name: Michael Saunders
Born: May 12, 1972, Weyburn, Saskatchewan
Affiliations: Canadian Press, Leader Star News Services, Broadcast News
Height: 5’11”
Weight: 145 lbs
Powers: Boxing, hand to hand ability, gynastics
Current residence: Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
History:
Michael Saunders always sought, what he thought, would be an exciting life as a photojournalist. His first few years, however, were more akin to a scenery photographer who published coffee table books (which he did, because a guy’s gotta eat). He began expanding his photo portfolio after he began chasing ambulances and fire trucks, using a mask and dark clothes to conceal his identity. This changed when he arrived to the scene of a fire, and saved the lives of three children trapped near the back of a burning building. Because he was wearing a Tee-shirt with a red falcon on the front, they called him some kind of Shadow Falcon. The name stuck. He parlayed this into a crime fighting spree, often teaming with Shatter. Eventually, his career as a photographer got him noticed, and he was sent to war torn areas to take photos and send back the footage to the Canadian Press. The experience changed him. Thanks to this, he suffers greatly from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and severe depression. Thankfully, Shatter knew his condition and helped him, just as much as he helped her. The two eventually were married.

B
Real Name: unknown, possibly Belinda Mayers
Born: Uncertain, though she holds August 2 as an important date
Affiliations: none
Height: 5’5”
Weight: 115 lbs
Powers: can create light particles that distract and blind and can phase through walls
Current residence: Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
History:
Belinda, or B as she is known, is a homeless woman. She doesn’t reveal much of her past life, as she takes a very long time to trust anyone. B is a drug addict, and often used her abilities to find her next score. It’s believed B was kicked out of her home when she was a teenager, and many believe she lived in British Columbia, though that has never been confirmed. Her Saskatoon residences shift between the YWCA, the Salvation Army women’s shelter, the Saskatoon Indian and Metis Friendship Center and the rehab unit of Royal University Hospital. Many times she has been institutionalized only to escape thanks to her powers. No one knows if there is anything that can hold her in a cell, but many psychologists have stated she is more a danger to herself than to anyone else. Often she has been seen helping people. At her lowest, she faced off against Shatter and the Shadow Falcon. At a time when she was trying to get money to get her next fix, she was subdued by Shatter, who then, along with Shadow Falcon, defended her from the police. While presently, B is better and has even managed to apply for disability, she is not completely well. B has her own house in Vanscoy, just outside Saskatoon, and Erika and Michael keep tabs on her and visit her each weekend. Sometimes the three even go out together and stop crime.

Dr. Fadra Englen
Real Name: Fadra Englen
Born: January 15, 1974, Winnipeg, Manitoba
Affiliations: Canadian Medical Association, The Association of Canadian Medical Faculties, Canadian Health Care Association, Saskatchewan Medical Association, Shock Treatment Air Rescue Society (STARS), Medical Genetics Research Group – Saskatchewan, Medical Genetics Research Group – Manitoba
Height: 6’4”
Weight: 210 lbs
Powers: Regenerative abilities, increased strength, excellent vision, excellent hearing
Current residence: Silver Spring, Saskatchewan
History:
Fadra has always had a fascination for genetics since she was a girl. The oldest daughter of Palestinian immigrants, she was born with a genetic mutation that doctors later learned had similar traits to that found in panthera tigris; the common tiger. Physical changes gave her heightened strength, better than average hearing and vision, and it is still unknown why she has a regenerative ability, but wounds she receives heal over a rapid amount of time. Hey eyes are yellow with cat like features, and her nails grow more like claws, and there is also a tell tale markings of what looks like tiger striping on her skin. Her hair also grows at an incredible rate, which she keeps tucked neatly under her hijab. It was thanks to her genetic mutation that she became interested in a career in medicine. Graduating from med school at the University of Saskatchewan, she took a posting at the Silver Spring Hospital on the Whitecap Dakota First Nation due to it’s close proximity to the Canada Light Source Synchrotron in Saskatoon. Fadra has become the go to doctor for the super hero community. She is often consulted when those who have genetic mutations come forward, as she treats her patients like a person and not a test subject. The super hero community came to her defense after the events of 9/11 when CSIS, the RCMP, the FBI, the CIA and MI5 wanted to question her about her affiliation with Muslim extremists. She is a follower of Islam, and many authorities believed she had connection to terrorist activities (which she doesn’t). Fadra is a volunteer doctor on call with the Shock Treatment Air Rescue Society (STARS), and has often gone into the air with the air ambulance helicopters that service Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba.

2000s

Canadienne
Real Name: Dominique Turgeon
Born: July 1, 2986, Laval, Quebec
Affiliations: Blanc Noir (independent metal band)
Height: 5’9”
Weight: 125 lbs
Powers: extensive martial arts training, gymnastic abilities, and can rock out on any guitar placed in front of her
Current residence: Montreal, Quebec
History:
All Dominique wanted to be since she was a child was the lead guitarist of a rock band. But she knew of her father’s exploits as Canadien, and as fate would have it, she would share in his legacy. When she was sixteen years old, her best friend, Yves, was beat up by a bunch of punks. She raced home, demanding her father put on the uniform again and go after them. After a great deal of debate, it was finally decided that Dom should take up the mantle of Canadien.
Since then, Dominique has found ways to balance her private life, public life in a metal band, and her life as a vigilante. It isn’t always easy, but she does manage to do it. It became much better when she told her bandmates and her girlfriend Michelle that she lead this dual life.

Acadia
Real Name: Michelle Villeneuve
Born: March 13, 1986, Quebec City, Quebec
Affiliations: Blanc Noir (independent metal band)
Height: 5’7”
Weight: 130 lbs
Powers: extensive martial arts training, gymnastic abilities, and the ability to play the drums with equal measure to Neil Peart from Rush.
Current residence: Montreal, Quebec
History:
Ever since Michelle was a little girl, she was different. She was very up front about the fact she liked girls, even when she was 8. She also wrote poetry at an early age. She was fixated on her look and gravitated heavily toward the goth scene in her early teens. She was known as “the happy goth” and “the pretty goth”, and still holds to that to this day.
She became extremely happy when she met Dom, because not only did she find a friend, she also found someone she loved very deeply. So much so, that she joined the band that Dom, Yves, and Jacqueline (two other high school friends) and became their drummer. She studied intensely and began to imitate other well known drummers (the other three would comment that Michelle is trying to build as comprehensive a drum kit as Niel Peart from Rush).
It also was not a question that when Dom revealed she was Canadienne, that Michelle vowed to help her. She trained with Dom, kept in touch via phone when Dom was patrolling, and eventually made her own uniform and began hitting the streets with Dom.
While it was met with some controversy with right wing media, Michelle and Dom don’t hide the fact that they are in fact lovers. This has proven to be very positive for young LGBT Canadians.

Canad-ARMED
Real Name: Not Applicable
Born: created mid 2006, Vancouver, British Columbia
Affiliations: Stewart Industries
Height: 6’0″
Weight: 260 lbs
Powers: Multi defensive capabilities, invulnerability, flight, GPS Unit, multi language conversational mode
Current residence: between Vancouver, British Columbia and Windsor, Ontario
History:
Canad-ARMED, or Ari as she/he likes to be called, is the creative collaboration between Donelda Stewart of Stewart Industries and Nikki Hargrove, an engineer from Windsor, Ontario and the daughter of Richard Hargrove, the first Yellow Jacket. Donelda wanted to create a android that could be issued for emergency response purposes and be able to enter hazardous situations.
Ari has a personality all her/his own. Ari does not have a gender outside of two chassis that are used as armour plating for the main components for Ari’s systems. One appears male and the other appears female. Ari will often choose which one to appear as on different days. Ari also has come to calling Nikki and Donelda ‘mother’.

Dr. Fena Englen
Real Name: Fena Englen
Born: December 5, 1978, Winnipeg, Manitoba
Affiliations: Greenpeace, New Summit Environmental – Nova Scotia, Econet – Saskatchewan, Manitoba Econetwork, Canadian Environmental Network, Climate Action Network, David Suzuki Foundation
Height: 6’3”
Weight: 200 lbs
Powers: Regenerative abilities, increased strength, excellent vision, excellent hearing
Current residence: Halifax, Nova Scotia
History:
The second and youngest daughter of Palestinian immigrants, Fena is much like her sister, Fadra, having grown up with the same genetic mutation. There are differences between the sisters; while Fadra is a moderate Muslim and does wear the hijab, Fena does not; Fadra is a vegetarian while Fena is a vegan; Fadra took an interest in human genetics while Fena was more interested in the natural world (which began with the chant of Save The Whales). Fena became a biologist in order to study the effects mankind was having on the world. She believed the continued and increased mining and use of fossil fuels was something that would increase genetic mutations not only in land and sea animals, but in humans as what had happened to herself and her sister. She became politically active and defends the realities of climate change, and is a member of Greenpeace. Often she has boarded the ships that have gone to protest open sea oil drilling, and has volunteered for cleanup after an oil spill takes place. She has become a voice of the environment, going to the media whenever a spill takes place, often fighting the corporation that is trying to keep it quiet. Fena being a Muslim is just icing on the cake for some national security organizations, as she’s already on the terrorist watch list for her association with Greenpeace. Often called the Tiger of the Sea by NSA and CSIS officials, she is branded an eco-terrorist. Though no organization has any evidence that can be used to hold her for any wrong doing as they have no evidence of such wrong doing.

Free Spirit II
Real Name: Yolanda Morgan
Born: September 17, 1982, Shreveport, Louisianna
Affiliations: Ravenport City Police Department
Height: 5’11”
Weight: 175 lbs
Powers: Mystic abilities, able to cloak herself, shift her molecules to phase through walls, can produce psychic blades
Current residence: Ravenport, Maine
History:
Yolanda Morgan is the third youngest of the Morgan children. While she is a practiced voodoo priestess, she went to college to study forensic sciences and psychology. Both of these she felt would give her a good resume for the career she wanted, which was in law enforcement. She began college young, almost as young as her younger sister Chelsea. Yolanda entered university at the age of 16 (Chelsea was 15, and earned a Masters in Law by the age of 20). When Yolanda entered college, she also began dating. It didn’t last long, though, as her boyfriend skipped town when she announced she was pregnant. Her pregnancy didn’t deter her from her studies, and she graduated at 24 with a degree in psychology and a degree in forensic studies.
After a few years, she moved to Revenport, Maine to be with her sister Chelsea, who was the assistant district attorney for the City of Ravenport. Yolanda became a detective for the Ravenport City Police Department.
During her work, she noticed several strange cases, and found that the normal mode of investigation wasn’t going to work. Knowing her sister Regina once was the costumed hero Free Spirit, she chose the mantle and began to investigate crimes using it, joined by her sister who had taken the name the Bowhuntress.

Mannequin III
Real Name: Elanor Wollcott
Born: April 15, 1986, Brighton, East Sussex, England
Affiliations: Personal secretary for Donelda Stewart
Height: 5’4”
Weight: 115 lbs
Powers: Hand to hand combat training, gymnast level ability, keen eye for detail, excellent hearing
Current residence: Vancouver, British Columbia
History:
Elanor Wollcott was born into a family that traditionally had acted as diplomats and liason for governments and industrialists. The Wollcott name was well known as being competent arbiters with a non-biased opinion. It wasn’t surprising when Elanor’s older sister Maxine, became the personal secretary for Stewart Industries in Canada. As Elanor began her education, her sister Marianne disappeared. It wasn’t until years later when Elanor had replaced Maxine as the personal secretary for Derrik Stewart that she found out Marianne had joined an ultra secret organization called the Sisterhood.
Upon Derrik’s death during the event that was caused by the criminal known as Trinity, Elanor became the personal assistant for Donelda Stewart, Derrik’s mother and the first Mannequin. It was while in Donelda’s employ that Elanor began to show an interest in the history of the Mannequin, comparing the differences between Donelda and Derrik. Donelda saw this as an opportunity to train her own replacement. With hands on guidance, she could be the person that she couldn’t be for her own son, and help Elanor be a Mannequin for a new generation.