(Lovingly compiled and filed up by All-Star's case officer, Kurt White. He knows what a rogue is.)

Threat Level Key:

Wheezer (Raymond 'Wheezer' Ali)

Powers/Abilities: Gas Mimicry. Gas Manipulation. Avoiding Fart Jokes.

Occupation: Mercenary-For-Hire

Likes: Hating All-Star

Hates: All-Star

Wheezer is a tricky one. He's a ghost from Nate's past and we all know how much the guy hates talking about his past. From what he has told me, I know that Wheezer was a childhood friend and one of the most influencing people in Nate's life. We studied him the last time we managed to capture him (with a vacuum cleaner) and found that every single particle in his body had been metamorphed by some unknown chemical procedure. As a result, he has the ability to literally change himself into any gaseous substance he so chooses, with the only limit being his lack of scientific know-how. I've seen this guy turn into a cloud of agent orange to kill an entire platoon of soldiers. I've seen him huff and puff and blow a stream of chlorine gas right at my face (I'm okay). He's the real deal. And whenever he's involved with something, Nate makes it his own personal mission to take him down. Whatever their history, it's deep. One thing I've noticed, though? He's one of the only enemies Nate almost always hesitates to put down.

Threat Level:

Gazerbeam (Harry Butz)

Powers/Abilities: G.A.Z.E Armour allows for the emission of Kinetic, Heat and Particle blasts from eye-blaster. Also boosts physical condition to just-above peak human levels. Having all this and still not being able to make people take him seriously.

Occupation: Career Criminal (Member of the Star-Smashers)

Likes: Winning

Hates: Losing

Gazerbeam, Gazerbeam, Gazerbeam. Where do I begin with Gazerbeam? The guy has potential and lots of it. He's got a suit of power armour which could potentially take down a tank, a genius-level IQ (Who doesn't have one of those in this business?) and an uncanny ability to keep on swinging no matter how down the chips look. But, regardless of all of that, he almost constantly fails or slips up. Why? Because, at the end of the day, he's a clumsy, uncoordinated nerd with anger issues. He used to be an ex-engineer named Harry Butz (Not even kidding) before his little research team got downsized by Steel Industries. That's when he decided that he was the chosen crusader of the 99%. He also decided that he was the 99%. All of it. So what was his next logical step? He decided to take the suit of armour he had been working on, snatch up a ridiculous name (Gazerbeam? Really?) and start knocking off banks. For a while, he was actually kind of successful. Then he robbed the National Bank of Millennium City and decided to take a hungover Nate hostage. That didn't work out too well for him, to say the least (Search 'Supervillain Defenestration' on Youtube, then search for the Sparta remix). Since then, he's taken it upon himself to be a thorn in Nate's side whenever he gets out of prison. Nate likes the challenge but I don't like the paperwork.

Threat Level:

The Infiltrator (???)

Powers/Abilities: Exosuit can bend light for active camouflage alter genetic material to allow wearer to take on the appearance of another. Can perfectly replicate sound. Skilled hand-to-hand combatant, spy, assassin and hacker. Oscar-Worthy Actor.

Occupation: Professional Spy-For-Hire

Likes: When a plan comes together

Hates: Meddlesome people who stop a plan from coming together

The ultimate man of mystery. No one we've found has any idea who the Infiltrator is or where he came from and even fewer people know how to find him. All we've really been able to surmise is that the guy appeared on the espionage scene late 2009 and has been making a big name for himself as a 'Spy-For-Hire' ever since (Think evil Solid Snake). That suit he's wearing is what makes him a real problem. The thing allows him to bend light to turn invisible or rewrite his genetic code to allow him to shapeshift (Think eviller Mystique). We first ran into him when he kidnapped and impersonated one Agent Kurt White (That's me) in order to get closer to Project Patriot in the hopes of finding out all its secrets. He would've gotten away with it too if All-Star hadn't noticed the fact that my imposter lacked all my charming traits and witticisms (I love the guy, really I do). All-Star knocked the guy from a chopper in a fight to the death, but his body was never found. A few months later, he impersonated a hot bar floozy when he was providing security for Russian terrorist Vladimir Patowski at the same time we sent Nate in to find out what he could about Patowski. They got to second base before the Infiltrator tried to strangle Nate to death (It was creepy for everyone involved). Nate survived and ended up bringing Patowski down, but the Infiltrator escaped again and has popped up all over the place since then. Whenever he tries to kill Nate, he claims it's all business but neither of us buy it; The guy's insane.

Threat Level:

Warhawk (Senji Dojima)

Powers/Abilities: Exceptional Marksman. Skilled Hand-To-Hand Combatant. Possesses an insane number of trick arrows.

Occupation: Mercenary-For-Hire

Likes: Bows. Like the ones he uses.

Dislikes: Guns. Like the ones All-Star uses.

I've known Nate longer than I've known most people in my life (Pet tortoise excluded) and have been in this game even longer. I can honestly say that there are very few people I've met who I'd refer to as his equal when it comes to being a marksman. Warhawk (AKA Senji Dojima, in case you forgot to read the title of this dossier) is, without a shadow of a doubt, one of those people. The guy is practically Nate's equal and opposite. Nate uses guns, Dojima uses a bow. Nate grew up poor and orphaned on the streets of Hudson City while Dojima, the heir to the Dojima Weapons Development fortune, grew up with a silver spoon (Or, more accurately, ten silver spoons) in his mouth. Nate spent his youth pulling himself out of the gutter with sports while Dojima spent his youth pulling himself further into the gutter with compromising snapshots and controversy. Nate's life fell apart when his fiancee was killed, Dojima's life fell apart when his father was assassinated. And, while we managed to snatch Nate up and turn him into a weapon for good, the ninja clan responsible for producing Daddy Moneybags' assassin snatched Dojima up and turned him into a weapon for vengeance (It's always 'ninja this' and 'mecha that' in Japan. It's why I refused that transfer). Only difference is Dojima opted to kill his sensei, lash out on his own and become a (Very, very angry) mercenary. Regardless of any differences or similarities in their 'origin stories', however, Nate and Dojima were practically instant enemies when they came face-to-face during an attempt by Dojima to assassinate a corrupt CEO we were keeping tabs on. Now, I don't think Nate would give a damn about some slimy, back-stabbing businessman under any other circumstances, but if Dojima put an arrow between the guy's eyes, we wouldn't have been able to get a bead on his accomplices and superiors. So Nate ended up risking life and limb to save a horrible human being and, in the process, made an enemy out of a brooding mercenary (It's like he's a giant acne-riddled teenager) who hated everything the guy represented (Not a bad first encounter as far as Nate goes). Though Dojima's pretty much moved on from that failure and both he and Nate have developed some sort of respect for one another, the guy still sees Nate as his anti-thesis and Nate (Poor sap that he is) has a nasty habit of running into him an unhealthy number of times (Most of these chance encounters ending in a hail of bullets and arrows). The two have a complex relationship and I'm pretty sure they've saved each other's lives more than once (Which usually warrants a friend request on Facebook, at the very least) but, as of right now, I doubt you could put them in the same room and expect both of them to walk out unharmed.

Threat Level:

Dr. Hemlock (Dr. Harrison Hemlock)

Powers/Abilities: Brilliant Biochemist/Botanist. Genius Level Intellect. Great Gardener.

Occupation: Leader of Eco-Terrorist Organisation G.A.I.A

Likes: The Discovery Channel

Hates: All the other channels

You may not remember this, but the good Dr. Hemlock was actually a friend of mine. We went to college together (Woo, Princeton) and were relatively close. Even then, Hemlock was obsessed with global warming and the environment. If he wasn't protesting some pharmaceutical company or cleaning up oil spills, he was tending to his (Admittedly delightful) garden or studying. By the time we graduated, most of us could see Hemlock had grown bitter, especially since nothing he did seemed to change the fact that mankind just wouldn't stop destroying nature. When I went with Nate (Who had invited himself) to my college reunion, we could both see Hemlock was planning something. Nate did some snooping around and found a bomb loaded up with deadly plant spores (That was a very bad sign). Though we managed to get everything under control, Hemlock managed to sneak out in all the chaos. At first, we were stumped as to why Hemlock would try to gas a room full of nerds and worn-out party animals (Well, I was stumped; Nate didn't care). We figured out it was just a test-run when Hemlock tried the same thing on ARGENT's HQ in Millennium City by crashing a blimp into it (Oh, the humanity). Now, nobody likes ARGENT but we weren't about to let everyone inside get gassed to death. Nate managed to get on the blimp and take down Hemlock's ragtag group of eco-terrorists, punch three of Hemlock's teeth out (I counted) and set the blimp down in an empty field. Hemlock went to prison, after that, but he was quickly sprung by sympathisers (Who would sympathise with this psychopath?) and went on to start his own little organisation of like minded eco-terrorists called G.A.I.A (Guardians Against Industrial Aggression) and has been violently crusading for the rights of plants, animals and everything in between (Not humans, but you can't please everyone). He's dangerous, charismatic and very, very intelligent (I can't believe I signed this jerk's yearbook).

Threat Level:

Rayo Relámpago (Carlos Mendez)

Powers/Abilities: Generation, Emission and Absorption of Electricity. Able to 'supercharge' his own body to increase his strength, durability, endurance and speed. Can deal drugs to people.

Occupation: Drug Baron

Likes: Making money

Hates: Wasting time

Rayo Relámpago. The shirtless wonder himself. When a meta comes crawling out of the floorboards (Is that racist?) and decides to up and take over a sizable part of Mexico's drug trafficking business in the span of no less than three months, you know he's trouble with a capital 'T'. Which would be why we sent All-Star in as quickly as possible in the hopes that he'd be able to give us some information on the mystery man of the drug trade and his meteoric rise to the top (Meteoric is my word of the day). However, Nate being Nate, he ran into some trouble and ended up getting thrown into a cage match with none other than (You guessed it) Rayo Relámpago. Nate barely survived according to medical reports and he was out of commission for a month (Would've been two if he wasn't so scared of hospitals). First thing Nate did after getting out was (You guessed it) go back to Mexico to take Rayo Relámpago on one more time. Only that time he won (Yeah, I was surprised too). Rayo Relámpago (Do I really have to type his entire stupid name every time?) spent a few months in a high-security prison and Nate spent a few weeks banging Mexican chicks in four-star hotels (I spent a few days doing paperwork). Everybody won, right? Not right. Rayo Relámpago escaped and went straight after Nate. The guy wanted his bustling business back and killing the guy who put him away seemed like the smartest stupid thing to do. Nate pulled off a (Narrow) victory again, though and Rayo Relámpago got a few more months at a higher-security prison. Since then, Rayo Relámpago has been in and out of the big house, but his little criminal empire has been going strong, much like his hatred for (You guessed it) Nate. Are those things on his chest tattoos? Because I think they light up.

Threat Level:

The Mirror (Dr. Klaus Hirsch)

Powers/Abilities: Mirror Suit allows him to manipulate light and sound around him to create realistic illusions. Able to travel through and trap people in mirrors via pocket-dimensional technology. Can do that neat infinity mirror trick.

Occupation: Criminal Mastermind and Mercenary-For-Hire

Likes: Mirrors

Hates: Seven years of bad luck

German engineering: impressive even when it's evil (And in this case it's very evil). You've probably seen stacks of files and reports on the Mirror, because I know I have. He was a megalomaniacal, solipsistic, manipulative German physicist before he decided to ditch his team and set his sights on being an evil prick (Pardon my French). This guy has a role to play in almost everything, from international terrorism to human trafficking and everything in between. He uses a hi-tech suit (Jumpsuit?) with a mirror built into it and a helmet which is also a mirror (Just in case you forgot that this guy has a thing for mirrors). This gear gives him the uncanny ability to be an illusion-casting pain in the ass. As if that wasn't enough, he's also tricked out with gadgets (Which, of course, are mirror-themed) and a laser pistol. A laser pistol. Clearly this guy means business. Though he's officially always been hired help, we've always suspected that he's got bigger plans for himself. Our suspicions were confirmed when he literally tried to assassinate the political leaders of Russia, England, China and the U.S.A all at once (Overreaching, much?) and with the sole intent of establishing himself as a threat to all of our hides. If it wasn't for Nate infiltrating his operation and shutting it down from the inside (like a gun-totting health inspector), he may have actually killed one of them. After that whole incident, the Mirror has flip-flopped between deadly gun-for-hire and deadlier evil mastermind. We've been trying to keep tabs on him but, as one would expect from an illusionist, he's hard to pin down. Nate's confident we can stop him. Me? I'm not so sure.

Threat Level:

The Quartermaster (???)

Powers/Abilities: Competent Hand-to-Hand Combatant and Marksman. Extremely Well-Connected. Rich. Powerful. Could sell stripes to a zebra.

Occupation: International Arms Dealer

Likes: Capitalism

Hates: Pacifism

TThe Quartermaster. Now this one took a little research. Turns out that there's been a Quartermaster from way back in the Renaissance era (The one with the courtesans and art). A single man who dedicated his life to dealing arms. The first Quartermaster was a wealthy noble whose main source of income was the renting out of mercenaries and the sale of weapons. At some point, this noble decided that it was (For whatever reason) very important to ensure that his descendants would continue the 'family business' so that the world would never be without a Quartermaster selling weapons behind the scenes. So he went and got a family crest designed (It's actually pretty cool), accumulated as much money as he could before he died and taught his son everything he knew about war profiteering. And that son went on to do the same to his son. And that son went on to do the same to his son. You probably get the idea. However, at some point, the bloodline just came to a dead end. It can only be assumed that a Quartermaster decided to skip out on having kids and instead went with taking someone under his wing (Anything to make our jobs harder). The current Quartermaster is an unknown, like the ones before him (Turns out masks are designed to hide your identity). What we do know about him is that he's smart, cunning, savvy and everywhere. He's been caught selling arms to Al-Queda, the North Koreans, revolutionaries, mercenaries, supervillains and even to aliens (Don't ask why an alien would need AK-47s). Nate first ran into him while rescuing a bunch of POWs in Afghanistan (He took pictures, so check his Twitter). The guy was out there selling a wanted terrorist an orbital cannon. Nate took the terrorist out and destroyed the orbital cannon codes, but the Quartermaster was gone by the time he was done. His type are usually the last to arrive and the first to leave. Although Nate's met the Quartermaster several times since then, our favourite arms dealer has always been untouchable in one way or another. If he isn't being backed by power armoured bodyguards, he's rigged an entire block with explosives. If he isn't able to slip out during a skirmish, he's always got a chopper hovering nearby (Or twelve). He's definitely near the top of our most wanted list.

Threat Level:

Wildcard (Jack Queen)

Powers/Abilities: Skilled Hand-To-Hand Combatant and Marksman. Expert Thief. Weaponised Deck of Playing Cards. Snappy Dresser.

Occupation: Professional Thief

Likes: Poker

Hates: 52 Card Pick-Up

Now there's just not much I can say about Wildcard. When someone's a well-known thief who dresses in a snazzy white suit, wears a bowler hat and throws exploding playing cards at people, first impressions pretty much speak for themselves. I mean, throwing weaponised playing cards at people must have made him a face to remember, alone. As if that wasn't enough, he actually got really good at thieving. Really good. Now, that's a late bloomer if ever I saw one. He went from knocking off banks to knocking off casinos in no time. Hell, these days he seems to knock casinos off exclusively (You know how his type get about themes). He usually walks right into a casino, plays a few games of poker (He's good at it, too) and strolls back out with tens-of-thousands, more if he feels in the mood for a good heist. According to our records, the only time he's ever lost at poker was to Nate, and that was because Nate was cheating (He's kind of a dick). Didn't stop Wildcard from taking it to heart, though. We can almost always expect to encounter him when we send Nate to anywhere with a casino and he loves going out of his way to outsmart him (Not that hard, really. Nate's a moron). The guy's a psycho with a love of theatrics, though. That makes him dangerous to anybody.

Threat Level:

The Pied Piper (Stanley Shaw)

Powers/Abilities: A flute which allows him to control vermin and anyone under the age of 18 for some reason. That's literally it. Seriously.

Occupation: Being Homeless

Likes: Flutes, apparently

Hates: 'No shirt, no shoes, no service' signs

This is a homeless guy. This man is homeless. Everything about this man screams homeless. He has no home. He is homeless because he has no home. He is a homeless man. Why is he homeless? I don't know. Who knows? I don't know, but he is homeless now and there's nothing that can be done about it. For some reason this homeless man also has a flute which seems to be capable of manipulating the minds of vermin and minors (Two of the most weak-willed creatures on the planet). Aside from that, he is very much homeless and he has no home because he's homeless and he has no home. I'm really grasping at straws, here. Why are you making me write a report about a homeless man who Nate punches in the face every so often? It's not my place to ask questions, but this is a homeless man. A homeless man. What the hell?

Threat Level:

The Soviet Supreme (Ivan Grigorovich)

Powers/Abilities: Able to alter his centre of gravity and redistribute to different parts of his body to devastating effect. Skilled Greco-Roman Wrestler. Knows where to find red pants in the 21st century.

Occupation: Self-Proclaimed 'Flag-Hunter'

Likes: Soviet Russia

Hates: 'In Soviet Russia...' Jokes

What is the modern day obsession among the most moronic of morons with latching onto cultures they know next to nothing about and completely altering their lives based on their limited scopes of knowledge on said cultures? You've seen these kids who get all wrapped up in Japan, right? Well, The Soviet Supreme is like that but with Soviet Russia. Ivan Grigorovich used to be a circus strongman touring Russia (Of the non-Soviet variety) before he decided to turn his talents to 'furthering the Soviet agenda' (In his own words). Bragged that he could withstand any impact and break anything with his own two fists. Of course, what most audience members didn't know was that Grigorovich could only do those things because he was a meta with the unique ability to alter his centre of gravity (And I thought Nate's powers were specific). At some point during his illustrious career, he decided that he would take his loyalism to Soviet Russia to new extremes. He donned a goofy costume and decided to wage war on the past enemies of Soviet Russia in the most literal way possible: He literally travels the world hunting down and fighting (Sometimes killing) heroes and villains wearing flag-themed costumes. Funny thing is, he was pretty good at it too. He took down flag-wearers from places such as Germany, China and Britain before moving onto America, where he made a name for himself by dropping some rookie hero called the Freedom Fighter (Wore his underpants on the outside) from a 20th floor window. After that, he mangled Liberty-Man's spine and smashed Commander Stars and Private Stripes' heads together so hard they exploded. That's when he moved onto his next target: Nate (Because no one was expecting that). He came after Nate hard, but he managed to pull through and actually won somehow (Seriously, don't ask me how). Grigorovich got shipped off to a high-security prison back in his homeland and we thought that would be the end of it, which only made his escape from the high-security prison all the more irritating. Since then, he's shown that (Unlike most people Nate humiliates) he knows how to move on with his life and is still dodging the law and hunting flag-wearers all over the world. Every now and then, though, Nate's name makes its way to the top of his list again and he comes after the poor schmuck like a freight train (Only twice as loud). Nate's managed to survive thus far, but who knows how long it'll be before his luck runs out.

Threat Level:

Tyrant (Alexander King)

Powers/Abilities: Wears a hi-tech 'crown' capable of manipulating the minds of others. Skilled at crafting mind-controlling technology. Has a really freaky moustache. Real freaky.

Occupation: Crime Lord

Likes: 16th Century England

Hates: 21st Century England

What kind of total asshole do you have to be if your own men wouldn't follow your orders without the use of mind-control? You can go ahead and ask Alexander King that question (Don't do it, he'll mind-control you). Before he became a crime lord and a wearer of ridiculous headgear, King was a struggling inventor working out of a tiny research lab in England (The weather is probably what made him turn evil). Most of his work was turned down by the not-crazy scientists working with him because it seemed eerily focused on mind-control (Shocker). So what did King do? Well, he told them to go screw themselves and controlled their minds, forcing them to construct more mind-controlling doohickeys for him pro-bono. As if that wasn't enough, he decided that he didn't want to sell his inventions to the military anymore and went into crime (Original move there, slick). Now, I don't need to tell you what happens when a guy who can control minds decides he wants to be the head honcho of all organised crime in the island nation of England. Wasn't long before he took his mind-warping expertise 'across the pond' and onto our shores and started forcing kingpins all over America to jump off of their rooftops (The real tragedy was when the fat ones crushed parked cars). This, naturally, got our attention and we sent Nate in to find out what was up. A week of snooping and a few hours of fighting against his sudden urge to shoot himself in the face later, Nate took King down and broke his influence over his little gang of criminals. That's when he earned himself the nickname 'Tyrant' in the criminal community (The most upstanding and organised community there is) and got a one-way ticket to a high-security prison. But, when a guy can create mind-controlling devices out of a few scraps (He's seriously like an evil MacGuyver), prison doesn't really cut it for too long. He's been in and out of the clink so many times he's gotten to know Wesley Snipes on a first-name basis. Trouble with a capital T (See what I did there?) and a bunch of other capital letters to boot.

Threat Level:

Egghead (Edward G. Garrison)

Powers/Abilities: Super-Genius Level Intellect. Egg-Themed Gadgets and Weaponry. Egg puns out the freaking ass.

Occupation: International Criminal

Likes: Egging Enemies

Hates: Egg On His Face

Before I go into detail on this one, I'd like to assure you that we take our jobs very seriously and that this report on Nate's rogues is in no way some sort of ridiculous prank. Please keep funding us so we can keep beating up weirdos with ridiculous themes and concepts for the good of Americans everywhere (But mostly in America). You've probably noticed by now that this particular rogue is wearing a costume which makes him look very much like an egg. That is because he is wearing a costume for the express purpose of looking very much like an egg. Despite the obvious lapse in judgement Eddie Garrison had when he decided to go into crime looking like the Easter Bunny's chosen herald, the guy has a super-genius level IQ (Which means he's even smarter than smart, just so he can be even more special) and was born into more money than most of us would see in their entire lives (Most of us, anyway). Ever heard of the phrase 'Money can't buy happiness'? Well, Garrison is living proof of just how true that little chestnut is. His dad was an oil tycoon and his mother was the CEO of a major software development company. He had toys, friends and a servant for everyday of the week, but none of that really made the poor bastard feel any less empty inside, especially given the fact that he was born looking uglier than a horse's ass on a hot day and with a head shaped like an egg (Gee, I wonder where he got his little nickname from?). If that wasn't enough, he also got a raw deal with a nasty little speech impediment which made him pronounce 'ex' as 'eggs' (I don't think I've ever met anyone more screwed over by life). Naturally, he got picked on. A lot. By the time Garrison was out of Harvard with a major in Mechanical Engineering and a minor in Business, he was just about ready to snap at the whole damn universe. Still, that didn't make it any more surprising when he went Columbine on his research lab after one whispered insult too many. 8 dead, 16 injured and one disturbingly calm culprit without the common decency to just off himself. The media had a field day with that one and, once the whole mess was thought to be over and done with, most everyone agreed that Garrison should rot in a prison cell for the rest of his life. Except Garrison, that is. He went from going off the deep end to going off the deeper end once the prisoners got his hands on him. Apparently, he could take all the beatings and 'extracurriculars' in the world, but once they started calling him Egghead and pelting him with the stuff? Let's just say things got a little worse (Even though they got a lot worse). Garrison busted out of prison on his own steam, killed 5 inmates in an act of revenge and started answering to Egghead and Egghead only. He threw his stupid outfit together, made a bunch of ridiculous gadgets (See: Egg-Bazooka) and branched out to crime to get the respect he figured he deserved (Swell plan). Since then, Egghead's proven to be very capable of accomplishing that little goal. With eyes and ears everywhere and all the intelligence he needs to make sure those eyes and ears do their jobs, he's probably one of the most elusive and dangerous criminals on our Most Wanted List and is almost always at least two steps ahead of anyone dumb enough to come gunning for him - and you'd have to be pretty dumb to even consider it with the power and connections he has. Luckily for us, it doesn't get much dumber than Nate Carter.

Threat Level:

The Think Tank (Dr. Bartholomew Loeb)

Powers/Abilities: Super-Genius Level Intellect. Power Armour. Good at, like, all the sciences.

Occupation: Scientist-For-Hire

Likes: Science

Hates: When All-Star refers to beating him up as 'Braining' him

When one of your foes is a robot brain in a jar, you've really got to start asking yourself whether or not this is really what you want to do with your life (At least, that's what I tell Nate whenever I get the chance). Dr. Bartholomew Loeb (Why do so many of these people have ridiculously ironic names?) was born rotten. From the moment he first started walking to the day he graduated from his Ivy League university with full honours, Loeb's been a selfish, vindictive little worm out only for himself in this world (Which can probably be said for every single person in this gallery). It says a lot about your personality when you immediately leap into the world of organised crime the very second you step out of one of the most prestigious educational institutes in the country, tragic sob story be damned. It says even more about your personality when, using your mastery over science, you start selling doomsday devices and experimental weapons to the highest bidder so you can spend the profits on making yourself into a freaking brain in a jar (No, seriously, what the hell?). No one's quite sure what convinced the 'good' doctor Loeb that the human body was merely holding him back or why he did it (I'm gonna go with 'crazy') but, at some point about a year or so back, Loeb disappeared off the face of the Earth and came back looking like a cheesy sci-fi villain and calling himself 'The Think Tank' (Hoping he didn't just do it for the pun). So, now a brain suspended in science-goo strapped into a hi-tech suit of power armour, Loeb stepped up his game and entered the big leagues, selling his services as a nerd to the highest bidder and making a lot of messes he sure as hell wasn't going to clean up himself. Now, normally, we leave this sort of insanity to the capes (I think the Flea is available?) but, when we found out about the guy making a thermonuclear warhead for one of America's enemies, I think it became pretty clear that he had to go down ASAP. Nate and a group of black ops boys managed to take Loeb to school and shut down his operation, but our cerebral friend managed to slip away at the last second (Exploding bases. We really should see those coming) and has been dodging and weaving us ever since, giving the boys upstairs quite the headache (Too soon?). Just another problem for the pile for Nate.

Threat Level:

Commander Propaganda (Bashir Davda)

Powers/Abilities: Voice can manipulate the emotions of others. Extremely well-trained soldier and military leader. Has a name that no one can say seven times fast.

Occupation: 'Freedom Fighter'

Likes: Hate-Filled Speeches

Hates: Yes

Commander Propaganda. There is a name that is extremely fun to say, as far as names go. The man himself? Not so fun. Before he glued himself to a soapbox and rode around the world on his high horse, Bashir Davda was a traditional, old-school 'soldier-of-fortune'. He devoted his entire life to travelling the world, killing people, learning how to kill people better and getting paid large sums of cash to kill people (This is a guy who clearly knew what he wanted from life) and he was, irrefutably, one of the very best. He was intelligent, relentless and, most importantly, always professional (Much like yours truly, but without the fiery hair of passion). So professional, in fact, that he was able to keep his own radical viewpoints and ideas under wraps at all times. That is, until, he retired from his long life of killing people and decided to pursue a lifelong dream of his: becoming a globetrotting freedom fighter (Yes, seriously). the thing is, Davda had grown pretty disillusioned with the world around him during his time as a mercenary. He'd seen countries crumble to dust, rebellions crushed within seconds and dictators strung up by their own intestines (Very colourful, that last one) but what he hadn't seen was permanent, revolutionary change, and he did not like that one bit. So instead of joining Amnesty International like a normal person, he decided to go and have some of the greatest scientific minds money could buy play Build-A-Bear with his body, giving him the power he felt he needed to become the 'voice of change' he felt this world deserved (He really should have kept an open mind about the Amnesty International thing, if you ask me). Armed with the ability to complete telepathic control over the emotions of those around him. In a few short months, Davda went from war-torn country to oppressive dictatorship, giving lengthy speeches and pointing his riled up civilian zombie armada at the enemy. Doesn't sound too bad, right? Well, it wouldn't be if Davda himself wasn't a devout anti-meta, anti-alien, anti-government, anti-capitalist, anti-religious, anti-authority, anti-everything hatemongering ass. So, what happens when you give a disgruntled and opinionated old bastard the power to control people with angry rants (Aside from a profound sense of regret)? You get public enemy number one; a psychopathic 'freedom fighter' fighting against everything freedom stands for and one of the most potentially dangerous individuals on the planet (Charlie Sheen notwithstanding). Yeah, the good commander is intimidating, but we've got one thing he doesn't: much, much bigger guns and more guns where those guns came from (Gunland, probably). What, were you expecting me to say Nate?

Threat Level:

The Tally-Man (Michael Toff)

Powers/Abilities: Exceptionally Talented Mathematician. Skilled Marksman and Hand-To-Hand Combatant. Can make crime 'funducational'.

Occupation: Mercenary-For-Hire

Likes: Math

Hates: Haircuts

You know, I've always secretly suspected that math was evil (And not just because it's the only subject I got C in) and there's no better way to support this belief than with Michael Toff aka the Tally-Man (Like the old song by whatshisface, remember?). Michael Toff was born with a natural penchant for mathematics and was doing long division by the time he was 7 and calculus by the time he was 10. Coming from the tiny island nation of Jamaica, he was quite the celebrity there (And all Kim Kardashian had to do to get famous is take off her clothes). The Jamaican government spent valuable resources trying to turn him into their favoured son and his family raked in bucks every time he blew someone away on a quiz show. By all rights, the kid should've have grown into a respectable egghead making six figures a year. And he probably would've if he didn't spend his time behind the scenes developing a complete detachment from humanity and putting math on an ideological pedestal. As he got older, Mikey (Because that's what I'm calling him now) started to think of everything as mathematical equations for him to solve. He went from finishing complex sums on a chalkboard to counting the number of times certain behvaioural patterns popped up in his peers and using that information to categorically learn everything about them (Definitely not creepy in any way, shape or form). Despite graduating from Princeton at the top of his class and getting offers left right and centre, Mikey was anything but satisfied with the way his life was going. To this day, we're still not sure what made him turn to being a mercenary (Again, I'd personally go with 'crazy') but, if his ramblings can be in any way believed, his decision was all about wanting an 'intellectual challenge'. So, Mikey Toff went from a brainy kid from sunny Jamaica to a cold and calculating (emphasis on the 'calculating') mercenary specialising in heists, assassinations and 'tactical consultation' and using math to do it. You have to imagine what it does for business when you can rob an international bank dry in less than an hour, read the enemy like an open book and walk into high-security facilties because you calculated the exact time each patrolling guard spends looking the other way to the nanosecond. When Toff started calling himself the Tally-Man, he ran into Nate and not only correctly calculated the exact number of bullets he could fire before running dry but also discovered a recognisable pattern in his thought process in a hand-to-hand fight. Needless to say, he kicked Nate to the curb without even firing more than one bullet (Talk about emasculation. Seriously, ouch) and all because he had managed to come up with a mathematical formula for beating him beforehand (Now who said advanced math had no real world applications?). Although Nate recovered and hasn't run into the Tally-Man since, the poor guy's never forgotten the freaky bastard's last words to him: 'I've got your number' (Generic, but understandably effective).

Threat Level:

Snakeskin (Omar Saheed)

Powers/Abilities: Brilliant Herptologist and Chemist. Possesses a wide range of self-made poisons and drugs. Owns a ridiculous number of pet snakes.

Occupation: International Drug Dealer

Likes: Looking At Snakes

Hates: Looking Like A Snake

I'm really starting to see a trend in the number of esteemed scientists who decide to turn to lives of crime after major life-changing events. You'd think at least a couple of them would just see a therapist or something (Or at least just blow their brains out). Omar Saheed was a childhood friend of Nate (From way back when the two were orphans in the system) and an expert on snakes before a little accident ended up horribly scarring him beyond recognition. The guy was always a little shifty, according to Nate (Because non-shifty people don't specialise in snakes). He was determined to win a Nobel Prize for his one-of-a-kind snake venom derived drugs and always seemed willing to go to any length to ensure he'd get it. So when he tried to hire a group of criminals to help him capture and dissect the last living specimen of an endangered species of snake, Nate found out and took it upon himself to try and stop his friend from making a horrible mistake (Not that going into the science of snakes wasn't a horrible mistake). It didn't work out so well. Saheed drugged Nate with a non-lethal snake venom and left him hallucinating on the floor of his laboratory. By the time Nate recovered, Saheed was meeting the poachers at an abandoned warehouse (Do criminals ever not want to meet at abandoned warehouses?) and a few steps away from getting his stupid ass shot for being a few bucks short of the asking price. Nate stormed the place and took out the poachers, but failed to save Saheed from the ensuing fire (He still beats himself up about that). When Saheed recovered from his injuries and saw what the fire did to him, he flipped his lid and ran off, blaming Nate of course. With his rep in shambles and his face in even worse shambles, Saheed turned to the same organisation he'd hired his poachers from and offered his services as a drug-maker (Of course, he might've just watched 'Breaking Bad' and assumed it'd be a blast). Flash-forward a couple of years and Saheed, now calling himself 'Snakeskin', resurfaced as one of the most successful drug dealers in the game and Nate's newest target (Can you say 'uh-oh'?). Saheed somehow managed to capture Nate during his mission and reveal his identity to him before pumping him full of a lethal poison and leaving him to die in agony (So, yeah, he was still a little pissed). Though Nate succeeded in defeating Saheed and getting the antidote, he hesitated to off the guy just long enough for him to slither away (Rimshot). Since then, Nate's accepted the fact that Saheed was his fault and his responsibility and has sworn that the next time they meet, he's 'cleaning up his mess'.

Threat Level:

Captain Hook (Horatio Fischer)

Powers/Abilities: Weaponised Mechanical Hook For A Hand. Skilled Mechanical Engineer. Possesses a moustache more flamboyant than Nate's.

Occupation: Career Criminal (Member of the Star-Smashers)

Likes: Right-Handed Activities

Hates: People Who Are Familiar With 'Peter Pan'

Nate knows a lot of interesting people. Just when you think his little black book of scumbags and psychos can't get any more packed, another freak crawls out of the woodwork and barges his or her way into his life. Take Horatio Fischer, for example. Fischer used to be an underpaid and underachieving engineer making a few bucks on the side as a handyman (The irony isn't lost on me). Now, when you're holding onto a degree in mechanical engineering and still living in a crappy one room apartment above a convenience store you're going to reach a breaking point sooner or later (Usually sooner). Fischer's came when he got in an accident on the job and ended up losing his left hand, which was made even worse by his employer's refusal to compensate him and the fact that any case he tried to make went down like the Titanic in court. Rather than drown himself in enough booze to flood a small island, Fischer decided to get a little proactive (As proactive as a one-handed ex-handyman can get). He managed to throw together a weaponised mechanical hook for a hand out of virtually nothing (I think the really amazing part is that he managed to do it with one hand) and went out to take the money he felt he deserved from his employer. If it wasn't for Nate being there to complain about a bum job they did on fixing his TV, he'd have gotten away with it too. Fischer kicked up a fuss and made a hell of a mess before he got taken down and got a few years in prison for his troubles. But, as you can imagine, keeping a mechanical engineer capable of putting together dangerous weapons using salvaged pieces of scrap (And a few rubber bans, of course) wasn't too easy. Once he got out of prison, Fischer started living a life of crime as Captain Hook (Ridiculous, right?) and has put his expertise into 'engineering' complex heists and jobs to steal back the cash the world 'stole' from him (He actually does a surprisingly awful pirate impersonation).

Threat Level:

Payne (Issac Payne)

Powers/Abilities: Life-Support Helmet grants immunity to pain. Skilled and Experienced Hitman. Makes Darwinism ridiculously evil.

Occupation: Unemployed (Unless being a psychopathic killer is a job, now)

Likes: Nothing

Hates: Inability To Like Things

Now this is a tragic chapter of Nate's past coming back to bite him in the ass if ever I saw one (And I've seen plenty). Issac Payne was probably one of the most important individuals in shaping Nate from the man he was years ago to the man he is today. Why? Because Issac Payne was one of Dollar Bill's number one assassins and the man who led the squad of hitmen who sneaked into Nate's apartment at the dead of night and put a bullet right between his late fiancee's eyes (Matter of fact, I think he's the one who pulled the trigger). When Nate woke up and blew them all away, Payne was the only one left with his insides still inside. Nate managed to scare information on who ordered his fiancee killed out of Payne before shooting him at point-blank in the forehead. What Nate didn't know was that that didn't kill him. In fact, Nate's single bullet severely damaged Payne's brain and left him unable to feel anything on an emotional level. When the paramedics rushed in to find Payne bleeding out on Nate's floor, they rushed him to the nearest hospital and Dollar Bill paid top dollar to make them save his worthless life. The eggheads managed to save Payne's life by placing what was left of his head in a top-of-the-line helmet (Schematics have been sent to you) which completely wiped out the guy's ability to feel pain, too. So, what happens when an ex-hitman wakes up after a eight year coma without the ability to feel any internal or external sensation at all? You get a point if you said he loses his mind. The last emotion Payne ever felt was pants-shitting fear as he looked up at the eyes of his would-be killer and he held onto that final emotion with a grudge (They always hold grudges). Payne became more and more detached from humanity as time went on and his therapy sessions were going nowhere. Eventually, just snapped. Slaughtered every sad son of a bitch unfortunate enough to walk across his line of vision and broke out of prison to find more people to kill. He managed to rack up a kill count nearing the hundreds before Nate tracked him down and took him down. Since then, Payne's condition has only worsened. As far as he's concerned, all other living creatures have the significance and right to live as weeds and he'll just keep stamping them out until he feels something again (Don't hold your breath). The courts can't touch him due to his condition and he's too high-profile to disappear down in Hudson. The only person who could do the job is Nate and he blames himself for everything that's happened to Payne, so I doubt he's ever going to pull the trigger. Payne was one of Nate's greatest mistakes, and he knows it. Only time can tell what he'll do about it.

Threat Level:

DJ Vertigo (Alphonse 'DJ Vertigo' Juarez)

Powers/Abilities: 'Spinmaster' Bracers emit high-pitch and high-frequency sounds which induce vertigo, nausea and migranes. 'Spinmaster' Bracers can also be used to deflect projectiles and cause hallucinations. Can drop a beat and drop a hero.

Occupation: Career Criminal (Member of the Star-Smashers)

Likes: Being A Playa

Hates: Playa Haters

I've always found it interesting looking back on what these super-criminal types used to do before they went Froot Loops (Or Cocoa Puffs, as the case may be), but Alphonse Juarez is probably one of my favourite cases. The guy was born a decent person in indecent circumstances, complete with an abusive father and a dead mother. The only thing that ever really kept him going was his dream of becoming a famous disc jockey someday, a dream he took every possible step to realise. Juarez auditioned for talent shows, built up his street cred and probably even blew a couple hundred guys to try and achieve his goal. Hell, he even managed to record and sell a few singles under the name 'DJ Vertigo'. Unfortunately for him, though, life almost always gives you lemons (And, more often than not, it conveniently leaves out a recipe for lemonade); Juarez managed to fall in with an even worse crowd than the one he usually ran with, and by worse crowd I mean Egghead (Because getting buddy-buddy with a guy who wears an egg on his head is such a good idea on paper). Back then, we were pretty close to getting our hands on Egghead and had sent Nate to find him and bring him in (Scrambled or Alive), so Egghead (Being the morally reprehensible coward that he is) decided that he needed a distraction to allow him to slip off of our radar. It just so happens that Juarez was one of the desperate nobodies willing to throw themselves in harm's way for an empty promise and a few bucks. He, along with the others who had answered Egghead's call to arms, was given a highfalutin piece of hi-tech weaponry and a costume and ordered to pose as a 'debuting supervillain' by wreaking havoc throughout Westside, keeping Nate and any other heroes off of Egghead's back. Juarez was reluctant, but at the end of the day he made the decision to don the 'Spinmasters' (I don't get it either) Egghead had given him and make an ass of himself, a decision which got him thrown in prison for a few months. Now, you'd think that'd only give him a nice backstory for his music career, right? Wrong. Turns out one of the guys hired to cause a distraction was a psycho who used his weapon to butcher an innocent kid right in front of everyone watching, giving the others a bad reputation. Juarez couldn't find work to save his life, which made his new career path pretty clear to him (And anyone else paying attention). Going to Egghead and getting him to reproduce his weapon and costume, Juarez became DJ Vertigo and has been resorting to crime to make a quick buck every now and then ever since.

Threat Level:

Platinum (Christina Carmichael)

Powers/Abilities: Super-Strength and Durability. Mobile Invulnerability. Can scare me into not making a joke.

Occupation: Career Criminal (Leader of the Star-Smashers)

Likes: Riches

Hates: Rags

Ten years of experience as a field agent and a dozen shiny medals would tell anyone that I'm not the kind of guy who scares easy. And when I say I don't scare easy, I mean I don't scare easy (Starting to get a little repetitive, I know). That having been said, Christina Carmichael, a.k.a Platinum, gives me a serious and incurable case of the heebie-jeebies. That woman is bigger, stronger and much more aggressive than any man on Nate's 'naughty list'. As far as her history goes, Carmichael is pretty cut and dry. She was born to a broke family that had been abandoned by a deadbeat dad when she was a little kid. It wasn't long before she figured her only way out of poverty was to turn to crime (Because it's not like crime doesn't pay or anything). Carmichael spent most of her adolescence picking pockets and conning idiot tourists before falling into harder crimes after her first stint in juvie (Of course, 'hard' may be putting it lightly). It wasn't long before she found herself in some serious trouble with the sort of people you don't want to get into trouble with. Looking to pay off her debts, she agreed to be a test subject for an experimental suit of power armor which had 'fallen off the back of a truck'. The power armor was a one-of-a-kind made by the late Dr. Cipes and was supposed to give the wearer superhuman strength. Well, it did give the wearer superhuman strength. Only problem was Carmichael found it much easier to put on than it was to take off, since Dr. Cipes, paranoid old coot that he was, decided to build a (Very questionable) failsafe into it. So, the bad guys now had an extremely disgruntled woman wearing a double-breasted tank and literally no way of controlling her (Very poor planning on their behalf, by the way). I don't think anyone was particularly surprised when she put everyone responsible for her predicament in the ICU and began rampaging through Westside like a one-woman mob. They were probably a little more surprised by the fact that Nate managed to MacGuyver up a way to stop her (Especially since he used science to do it). Since then, we've had some of our best people try to shut down Cipes' failsafe and crack the suit open. Seeing as how Carmichael has since gone on to not only start a life of metahuman crime as Platinum, but also found a group of supervillains dedicated to snuffing Nate out (See: Star-Smashers), I think it's safe to assume they haven't had much luck.

Threat Level:

Vectoria (Victoria Faraday)

Powers/Abilities: Low-Level Super Speed. Enhanced Reflexes and Perception. Somehow still manages to get caught.

Occupation: Career Criminal (Member of the Star-Smashers)

Likes: The Wind In Her Hair

Hates: The Bugs In Her Teeth

It should be no surprise to anyone that huge stacks of money can buy you a lot in life: fast cars, fancy clothes, happiness, the works. So, with money opening the door to so many precious commodities, it only seems natural that some people would use it to procure one of the most valuable commodities on the planet: superpowers. Victoria Faraday was a young lady with no shortage of disposable income. After all, she was the hard-drinking party girl heiress to the Faraday Oil Company fortune She's probably more famous for being in the tabloids every other week, though). Faraday was always a thrill-seeking troublemaker. If she wasn't caught sneaking out of a party with two guys on her arms, she was being charged with either a speeding ticket or disturbing the peace. The only thing that really kept her out of a minimum-security prison was her daddy's bucks and the media circus' obsession with her decadence. So, when the new hot topic came along and her father cut her off after one fine too many, it was only a matter of time before Faraday got a little dose of reality to the tune of joining the rest of us down in the 99% (Which may be a little hypocritical of me considering what I pulled in last year). Penniless, talentless and possessing all the real-world experience of a fluffy pillow, Faraday got desperate quick. So she crept into her dad's estate under the cover of night, stole his Black Card and went on a super-powered shopping spree down in the Black Market (I guess she must've figured the most glamorous and exciting way to make it on her own was by resorting to super-crime). Somehow, she managed to walk on out of it all with a vial of experimental super serum without anyone so much as kidnapping and/or murdering her (I think criminal scumbags are getting soft, personally). The serum, once ingested, played mix-and-match with Faraday's genes and gave her low-level super speed. So, what's a teed-off princess capable of running faster than a speeding locomotive do for her first gig as a super-criminal? Steal from her own father, of course (I guess she just forgot about the fact that she had already done that). So, with a nifty new super-power at her disposal, she sped over to one of her father's banks and proceeded to pull off a robbery with all the forethought and skill of a toddler and wound up getting tossed in 'real' prison for her troubles (It would've been funny if she wasn't bawling like a baby when they caught her). Nowadays, Faraday goes by the name of Vectoria and has definitely toughened up a little. She was almost a complete threat when she eventually ran into Nate (He shot her in the ass with a tranq dart and made her crash into a dumpster) and is pretty competent when her B.F.F, Platinum, is bossing her around. Even her powers seem to be slowly evolving (That, by the way, is something to keep an eye on). For now, though, Vectoria is just Paris Hilton on super-accelerated crack: no fuss, no muss.

Threat Level:

Pumpkin Jack III (Tucker Vance)

Powers/Abilities: Weaponised Flying Broomstick. Pumpkin and Halloween-Themed Weaponry and Gadgets. Very finely tuned evil laugh.

Occupation: Career Criminal (Member of the Star-Smashers)

Likes: The Smashing Pumpkins

Hates: Smashing Pumpkins

It's true what they say about giving power to the powerless: sometimes it's nothing but a recipe for trouble (Unless a close relative dies to balance it out). Tucker Vance was a textbook underachieving slacker before he was given his 'power'. A high-school dropout living off of a pizza delivery gig, his only prior offenses mostly revolved around under-aged drinking and marijuana. The guy was 18 years old and going absolutely nowhere in life when he had a chance encounter with one of the late Adam Blake's (That's Pumpkin Jack II, in case you haven't read the file) safehouses after running his bike off-road. Somehow, Vance managed to break into Blake's hidey-hole without running into any security measures and was naturally surprised to find an arsenal of Blake's old weapons, suits and gadgets waiting for him. After that, Vance visited Blake's safehouse whenever he got the chance (Looking at his attendance logs and performance reviews, it seems he got the chance a lot) and screwed around with the crazy bastard's tech for shits and giggles (The goon probably even invited a naive girl or two back there to score some action), which probably would've worked out fine for everyone if he didn't get fired for being awful at his job. Problem with that was, now that Vance had an entire safehouse of dangerous technology at his disposal, he could think of better ways to get back at 'the phonies' than by teepeeing their houses. Motivated by revenge (And a few beers, I'm willing to bet), Vance donned Blake's Pumpkin Jack get-up, snatched up as many of his weapons as he could and went over to blow his ex-boss' stuff to kingdom come (And back again). It's a good thing his sleaze-ball of a boss had Nate for a next door neighbour (Depending on who you ask), since the guy not only managed to save his ass, but also managed to take Vance down. So, Vance ended up getting off with a little under a year of community service (Makes sense, since all he really did was wreck his apartment), Blake's gear was seized by us and the case seemed pretty closed for the most part. That is until Vance decided he couldn't cope with being a talentless nobody again and decided to use a GPS tracker he'd stolen and kept from Blake's safehouse to find one of his other ones. With another motherload of advanced weaponry at his fingertips and a grudge against 'you know who' (Nate just can't get a break with these guys), Vance became the third Pumpkin Jack and dedicated the rest of his days to getting rich quick and making Nate's life as inconvenient as he could (On the plus side, he did get his life together. In a manner of speaking).

Threat Level:

Artemis (Artemis Acosta)

Powers/Abilities: Enhanced Physical Condition and Senses. Minor Healing Factor. Skilled Hand-To-Hand Combatant, Hunter, Tracker, Marksman and Acrobat. Animal Communication. Has an inexhaustible collection of very pointy knives.

Occupation: Hunter-For-Hire

Likes: Knives

Hates: Difficult Prey

Hunting has never really been a sport I'm fond of. The concept of a smarter and oftentimes stronger individual preying on a defenseless creature for jollies has always seemed cruel to me. Of course, there are some people who'd (Violently) disagree with my opinion and this stand-up girl is one of them. Artemis Acosta had her humble beginnings as the infant daughter of a couple of struggling criminals trying to make ends meet out in Hudson City (That one with all the struggling criminals trying to make ends meet). Those humble beginnings, however, came to an abrupt and tragic end when her parents sold her to a human trafficking slave-trader to pay off a few debts (The worst my folks ever did was ship me off to Boot Camp). The poor kid spent her childhood being shipped around the world and forced to work (Or worse) for its biggest scumbags. Things took a turn for the better when she wound up in the care of an eccentric hunter named Ludwig Waltz who was pretty famous at the time for going out of his way to hunt endangered species into extinction. As it turns out, Waltz sympathised with the troubled pre-teen and decided to kill her handlers and take her under his wing, teaching her everything he knew about the 'art' of hunting. By the time she hit 18, Acosta was a pro: she could track a fly through the Amazon Rainforest and still be back home in time for dinner. Problem was she was a little too good, which made her a little too bored. So (Rather than take up knitting) she decided to take Waltz and trot around the world searching for a living avatar of the Greek goddess of the hunt so she could kill it and claim a reward from said goddess (I don't know if they read about it in some sort of crackpot magazine or what). After a long period of searching, she found it in the form of a white tiger (I'm sure PETA had a field day). To her surprise, however, the tiger (Or avatar, I suppose) started telepathically communicating with her, telling her that the only will way to prove herself as a true hunter and receive the goddess' gift was to slay the most dangerous game she knew, which was (Awkwardly enough) old Ludwig Waltz. Acosta killed Waltz without a second thought and got her reward in the form of animal-like senses, enhanced physical abilities and a newly developed fondness for hunting other human beings (Personally, I would've preferred it if she returned that last gift). So Artemis, with the blood still fresh on her hands, emerged on the scene as a self-proclaimed 'man-hunter' and started hunting (And usually killing) people for the highest bidder. After a while, though, even hunting armed men got to be boring so, naturally, she started moving onto the big game: superheroes. So, when a number of vigilantes operating in Hudson City mysteriously disappeared while Nate was visiting family there, one situation led to another and Nate quickly found himself in Acosta's sights. It was a pretty intense affair, but Nate (through a mixture of dumb luck and dumber luck, I'm sure) managed to pull of a win and send everybody's least favourite hunter packing. She got away, but so did Nate and that, apparently, didn't sit well with her. Now, Acosta will pretty much stop at nothing to mount Nate's head on her wall and, though she's had other quarries since, the poor guy is at the top of her to-do list.

Threat Level:

Bombshell II ('Bouncing' Betty Cannon)

Powers/Abilities: World-Class Demolitions Expert. Possesses an arsenal of varying explosives. More unstable than most of her explosive mixtures.

Occupation: Career Criminal and Terrorist/Bombmaker-For-Hire (Honorary Member of the Star-Smashers)

Likes: BOOM, KABLOOEY and AAAAOWWGODSOMEBODYHELPMEI'MONFIREMYEYESAREBURSTINGAAAAAAAH

Hates: THINGS THAT AREN'T EXPLODING RIGHT FUCKING NOW

Now I'll admit that in all my years serving military and federal service I have seen very few things as immensely satisfying as a well-done explosion. I'm not afraid to admit that I'm a grown man on the wrong side of thirty who enjoys watching things explode every now and then (I still enjoy loud action films with Bruce Willis in a tank top). However, a love of explosions eventually reaches a point where it becomes a little too ridiculous (Or downright psychotic) and I think most people tend to draw the line before that point. Betty Cannon (Couldn't make this up if I tried) is definitely not most people. See, there's loving the smell of napalm in the morning and there's LOVING the smell of napalm in the morning and I'm pretty sure you can guess which one she falls under. Cannon made her start as a demolitions expert for the U.S Army. Her service record indicates that she was pretty good at her job, too. That is until she accidentally discharged a rocket launcher and killed an entire tent of military leaders meeting to discuss strategy. So, ultimately, it came down to a relatively simple choice for Cannon: stick around and get court-martialed for involuntary manslaughter or lose her shit and start blowing everything up. She picked the latter (Though, in her defense, she probably had an itty-bitty mental break). Cannon blew up her entire battalion and ran to side with the international terrorists she was supposed to be fighting, offering her services in exchange for protection. That whole set-up worked for a couple of months until she blew them all up too. Then she blew up a small village, a farm and a fast food restaurant before returning to America and blowing up her house (I think it's safe to say that there was a point where she became a little less than reasonable). From there, Cannon blew up the old Bombshell - an old enemy of some vigilante with a fedora - and took her name, becoming a terrorist and bomb-maker for hire (So she at least found an outlet for whatever the hell her problem is). Nowadays Cannon is a favourite of every mob boss and low-level supercriminal looking for a cheap explosion and has even been a member of the Star-Smashers (Or she was until she blew their hideout up). She's still into explosions, though.

Threat Level:

"He can be a bit of a bastard, but for what it's worth, he's a good guy. Puff the Gun-Toting Dragon, eh? I bet people are gonna start usin' that some time..." - Snowtalon

"Nate underestimates his true value, regardless of how boastful he comes across to others. I'm a better person for having met him, and that's not something I say about many. A partner, an ally, a friend... and much, much more." - Sparrowhawk

"All-Star? He's pretty cool actually. Don't have a single problem with him. We got similar viewpoints, come from similar backgrounds, and not to mention, he's got a helluva shot. He's alright in my book." - Anarchy

"My opinion about Nate changed. I still haven't spent much time with the guy, but he's once told me something that's been sort of shifting in my head for a while. He said something about his skills defining who he was. That not being the best about what he does would make him lose his identity... That, kind've opened up an old wound of mine. And I kinda, sorta freaked out at him." She pauses for a moment. "I apologized, later on. But yeah, he and I got a little something in common, on that, I think. I'd have to chat with him about it at some point." - Natasha Roy

"Having worked with All-Star a few times recently, I'll admit he's rather rough around the edges at first, but he's cool-headed and determined to get the job done - some things I can't say about some of my powered colleagues." - The Peacemaker

"Almost as good a shot as I am. ..Almost. Other 'n that he takes his job seriously and handles his shit 'n that's more or less all ya can ask for." - Desperado

"An excellent ally. He is accurate, carries the right equipment to allow for a high degree of versatility on the battlefield and is quite capable of handling his job. He doesn't seem to know the difference between an android and a robot, however." - Doll

"A big mouth, but his heart's in the right place." - Thundrax

"He's always wearing sunglasses. I think he has light sensitive eyes or something. And he said I was childish! I'm not not childish... right?" - Impsblood

"He's a hater with a silly mustache. Come on bro, don't be like that." - Zee

"He is a fun person with a love for living life. I always enjoy the time I spend with him. I do not think his facial hair is creepy, either." - Greymist Wanderer

"General Freedom? He's an alright guy, I guess, but I always thought he was like, bigger, you know? And angrier. Less shooty, too. Oh well!" - Dohwa

"Nate? I like Nate. He's the sort of asshole you like having around because he makes you feel better about yourself." - Riptide

"Handsome, professional and he really knows how to wear his guns and moustache. He's not as good with women as he likes to think he is though." - Demoness

"Definitively not the 'shoot first and ask questions later' type, as evidenced by his taking advantage of an opponent being surprised in order to... ask them questions. But yeah, he does seem to like his guns. And dislike other peoples' kneecaps." - Snow Leopard

"Terrible taste in facial hair and his inability to recognize that I'm a woman aside, he's definitely someone I know I could rely on in a fight. He strikes me as the sort to not let something as silly as being outclassed ever take the fight out of him. And if he's half as good as he thinks he is..." - Canadian Fist

"The first true friend I made on this world, and one of the finest examples of Terran warrior-hood in- ..What? Stop giving me that look, you know what I meant!" - Zelara

"Impressive." - A note All-Star would find in his mailbox. Sender Unknown.

"World's. Dumbest. Mustache." - Blue Freedom

"Cool guy and he always is vewy fwiendly! I wike him a lot! Hi Mr. All-Star!" - Chocolate Chip Chelsea

"A real professional. Ready to face any situation that's thrown at him, even if he complains about it a little bit sometimes. All-Star's alright in my book." - Victory

"He cheats at poker." - C.O.P.

"He seems like a pretty cool guy, despite wearing sunglasses all the time. What, does he think he's a rap star or something? Er, anyway, we seem to get along pretty well. And he's pretty hot." - Ada Clover

"I can't decide if this guy is over the top or really bat shit insane from all the stories I've heard. So far he seems like a very capable field leader and an generally cool guy. And a fellow brotha who's a metahuman is always a plus in my book. Wait he's tapping Sparrowhawk?! That black sumuvabitch..." - SoulStar

"Heeeeeeeeeeees Basically the Loose cannon Captain America with Awesome Shades, WHAT MORE COULD YOU F*Bleep*ERS ASK FOR?!" - Skull