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Katsuo

"I'm the strongest."

Freeform

Player: @Zeiciq

Affiliations

Super Group

Protectors of the World

Rank

Member

· Other Affiliations ·

N/A

Identity

Real Name

Hisashi Ijiri

Aliases

Hisa

Birthdate

March 21st, 1987

Birthplace

Himeji, Japan

Citizenship

Japanese Citizenship
Legal US Immigrant

Residence

Millennium City, Michigan

Headquarters

N/A

Occupation

Freelancer
Professional Boxer (Formerly)

Legal Status

No Criminal Record

Marital Status

Single

· Known Relatives ·

Naosuke Ijiri (Father/Alive)
Kasami Ijiri (Mother/Alive)
Takuya Ijiri (Younger Brother/Deceased)

Physical Traits

Species

Human

Sub-Type

N/A

Manufacturer

N/A

Model

N/A

Ethnicity

Japanese

Gender

Male

Apparent Age

27

Height

6 ft

Weight

168 lbs

Body Type

Similar To A Middleweight Boxer's

Hair

Black (When It's There)

Eyes

Brown

Skin

Normal

· Distinguishing Features ·

Bald

Powers & Abilities

· Known Powers ·

Superhuman Strength
Healing Factor
Enhanced Durability
Enhanced Speed
Enhanced Reflexes

· Equipment ·

Biosuit
Motorcyle - EscaStrider
Escalation Dial

· Other Abilities ·

Skilled Hand-To-Hand Combatant

Background

Current Events

Katsuo joined the Protectors of the World for a chance to take on threats more dangerous than he would of been offered as a solo hero. He cared little for the group, and, by extension, the members associated with it. He was there to fight and that's all he really cared about doing. An honorable death was all he had wished for, and he sought out a foe powerful enough to do it.

However, this ideal changed with Sparrowhawk's apparent betrayal of the group, and the Apotheosis project coming into light. During a mission, Katsuo's tech was turned against him from a device in Sparrowhawk's possession, but with the intervention of members of the Protectors, the tech was reverted back, but there was still substantial damage done to his body. With his tech burned out from expending all its energy to regenerate damages done, Katsuo's suit was sent back to a more weakened state. He didn't fight much while weakened, but he began to use the time to reflect on himself and other matters. Without the intervention of the others Katsuo knew he would be dead, and, even if he kind of wanted it, he is thankful for their aid (he won't admit it though). It was a step towards opening himself up and trusting others around him.

Fantasma visited Katsuo while he was recuperating in the hospital, and offered to perform a seance so that Katsuo could have his final parting words with his long deceased brother. It was a heavy thing to consider, however Katsuo didn't wait too long before deciding that he wanted to go through with it. After it was all said and done, Takuya had asked Hisashi to change since he hated the way Hisashi had been acting. Taking his brother's words to heart, Hisashi took steps to open up more, rediscover who he truly is, and change; using his new conviction to live on and honor his brother's final wish.

Personality

In simplest terms, Katsuo isn't a very kind individual. He believes in personal strength, and that people should strive to push past obstacles in their life with their own strength. He doesn't believe in fate or destiny. A person's life is their own, and what happens is a result of their own actions. Katsuo is also very blunt and can sometimes come off as abrasive, or downright rude in some cases. He speaks his mind clearly no matter the situation, and is hard to impress him, or gain his respect. However, he doesn't put mission goals before his own morals most of the time. While he always strives to complete the mission, he tries to do so in a way he won't regret afterwards. Katsuo isn't afraid to get his hands dirty or doing what must be done. He likes to accomplish goals set in front of him, and will do so in any way he sees fit. This often clashes with others due to his aggressive and careless behavior. Outside his front, Katsuo is a stoic individual and doesn't outwardly display much emotion. He isn't heartless, however. Katsuo has his own way of showing concern and care towards others and, while his rude demeanor may come across as insulting to some, he's usually speaking to benefit someone else in this way. He simply lacks tact and social grace. When speaking to others he often administers tough love due to the huge value he places on personal strength. He's not the kind of person to coddle someone else, so he speaks honestly regardless of any backlash for doing so.

Appearance

Inside his suit, Katsuo's outward appearance consist of light blue and white plating with a black undersuit. His helmet's visor is split in half, giving it the appearance of two large, bright eyes. He wears a light breastplate, which covers most of his torso, along with part of his shoulders. His arms are mostly bare, save for his undersuit, and armor plating around his wrists. He also has armored gloves with the same light blue hue over his hands while his suit is active. His metallic belt and the dial are fitted around his waist, of course. While his suit is active, and he still has energy left, it gives off a bright blue light. The same is true for slots on his breastplate. His chest armor also contains small vents on the back, but they appear closed most of the time. His legs are also bare and covered by his undersuit, while his shins, feet, and knees are covered in armor.

With his suit off, Katsuo is a fairly unremarkable looking person. He lacks distinguishable features as he appears to look like a pretty average person. Though, he has somewhat visible muscle. Hisashi isn't a very large man but is very fit without much body fat. He maintains the body equivalent of a middleweight boxer. The only notable feature of Hisashi's is that he keeps his hair shaved down. He's not completely bald as he maintains some hair still. He doesn't shave much either so he sometimes will have a considerable amount of facial hair.

Typically Hisashi wears jerseys since he has a love of sports and athletics. His clothing isn't exceptionally fashionable. He'll either wear sweatpants or jeans with some athletic shoes while out of his suit.

Abilities and Equipment

Abilities

Hand-to-Hand Combat- Probably the only ability that Hisashi doesn't get directly from his suit in some form or other. Hisashi has no formal hand-to-hand combat training. Instead Hisashi's skill comes from getting into various fights while he was growing up. While time as a professional boxer has giving him a fighting style similar to what a boxer would use, Hisashi's hand-to-hand style mostly revolves around brutal, but effective blows. Looking to overthrow his opponent with his might rather than rely on other techniques.

Healing Factor- Hisashi's ability to regenerate from damage is a valuable asset since it has been the primary attribute to why he's still alive. If he hadn't had the ability to regenerate like he does, he would've most likely died due to his own recklessness. Hisashi can heal light wounds nearly instantly due to the incredible speed he regenerates. Gunshots and the like don't take too long either. However, missing limbs and such are incapable of being regenerated on their own. Or at least take a tremendous amount of time. They can be reattached if the removed appendage is reattached to the lost area; his body would reattach the appendage itself as it's a part of him. This makes the process faster than simply recreating it. According to Hisashi himself, he's capable of completely regenerating his body even if a small speck of his DNA is left to create from after total obliteration. There currently isn't any proof to this feat however.

Super Strength- His greatest ability. Katsuo has great physical strength due to his nanomachines. Hisashi has shown the ability to lift vehicles, and other such things, with relative ease. Not only that, he can throw them a moderate distance. Bending and breaking metal aren't too difficult for him either. He may not be the strongest person with this ability in the world, but one can't deny he isn't strong. Katsuo doesn't have limitless strength, yet the height of strength hasn't been determined. He has been observed lifting something upwards of twenty tons. With the help the Escalation Dial on his belt, he may be able to amp his strength up further, but with many drawbacks that come with using it.

Enhanced Reflexes- Growing up fighting all the time and doing it professionally has given Hisashi some decent reflexes when it comes to fighting. Not only does he have developed combat reflexes on his own, but the tech inside of his body enhances this further. Improving on Hisashi's main attributes, the tech gives Hisashi a better reaction time than he possesses while not wearing his suit. Still, he's more inclined to take blows than to avoid them.

Equipment

Nanobiomachinery

What makes Katsuo, Katsuo. His bread and butter. Hisashi's nanomachines greatly increase his physical ability by a tremendous amount giving him more strength in comparison to a normal human's physical ability. Hisashi obtained the mysterious tech when he was part of Cicada. The main asset from his tech is the suit it places over his entire body. The suit varies from individual to individual so it has a special flair to each one due to their bodily makeup. His nanomachines are mostly organic in nature since they're actually a biotechnical alien lifeform. However, the tech inside him lacks any sort of intelligence, and carries out duties as programmed into its tech parts.

Biosuit

Katsuo's greatest defensive asset, outside his regenerative abilities, is his biosuit. His biosuit is broken down inside his body, and can be assembled outside, and around, his body at will at any time (usually). His suit is largely composed of two major components, the harder armor plating around more vital areas like the head and torso, and a thick, black, leathery membrane around everywhere else.

• Armor Plating - Katsuo's notable blue armor plating is created by nanomachines in his body pressing tightly together, forming a very tough wall. The armor plating is equivalent, if not stronger, than steel. Gun fire from lower caliber weaponry doesn't do much to his armor besides ricochet off, or maybe dent it. Continuous fire from an automatic weapon can be enough for crack and break the integrity of the suit's plating, but Katsuo usually prevents anyone from getting their chance at doing so.
  • Helmet - Katsuo's helmet gives him a clear sense of vision. As typical of a helmet's purpose, it prevents anything from getting into his eyes. While the visor on his helmet isn't as strong as the rest of the armor plating, it is relatively bulletproof, but to a lesser degree. His helmet visor, cyan in color, can adjust to the brightness of Katsuo's current enviroment, giving a sense of night vision in really dark areas. Though, due to the simple nature of his nanomachines, his helmet lacks any sophisticated systems.
• Black Membrane - Another notable characteristic of Katsuo's suit is the black substance covering his body. It operates the same as his armor plating, but the nanomachines are more spread out than clumped together. As such, the black membrane coating isn't as tough as his armor plating, but it offers its own set of advantages. Namely, the membrane gives more freedom of movement, and is effectively placed in areas where movement is key such as under the arms, and on the legs. It isn't easy to get through either. The black membrane is a tough, leathery substance serving as Katsuo's second skin. It can't completely stop bullets, but it prevents bullets from piercing Katsuo's flesh too deeply (depending on the caliber and round). It's also resistance to cutting and tearing. Blunt force trauma is distributed throughout the membrane, lowering impact from kinetic force.
  • Nerve Connectors - The membrane interfaces directly with Katsuo's nervous system. He can feel outside stimuli that comes in contact with it. This is, however, a double edged sword. While he can feel anything that comes in contact with it, he can feel the membrane being cut or pierced as if it was his own skin. His nanomachines can cut off pain receptors if the pain is too intense.

Jet Vents

Katsuo has a number of vents located on his chest armor. The vents can open up, and propel Katsuo with a quick burst of speed whenever he needs to and can spare the energy.

EscaHawk

Katsuo's primary weapon, outside his own fists, is the EscaHawk. The EscaHawk is a handheld battle-ax constructed from the nanomachines inside his body. Tech from inside of his body pools itself to his arm, and constructs the axe in his grip. The axe has moderate cutting power, and coupled with Katsuo's might, it can cleave through mostly anything Katsuo goes up against.

• Flare Up - By twisting his belt dial two times, Katsuo can supercharge his axe. His axe's edge burns with a bright blue light as it heats up. With his blade's edge superheated, Katsuo's axe gets a tremendous boost to cutting power. The plasma edge of Katuso's axe is capable of melting through a variety of metals due to its intense heat.
  • EscaHawkerang - With another twist of his dial after Flaring Up, Katsuo can use his axe like a boomerang. The tech composing the axe will return the axe to Katsuo after initially being thrown.
• EscaHawk Chou - By twisting his dial two times, the size of Katsuo's handaxe increases. The axe becomes a much larger battle axe, and needs to be wielded with both hands due to the increased weight. It provides much more crushing power over his regular axe as a result.
  • Seismic Crush - By twisting his dial another time, Katsuo's augmented strength can transfer to his EscaHawk Chou. With his strengthed enhanced, he's able to slam his axe down with incredible force to create a large shock wave similar to how he can create one with his fists using his dial. However, the shock wave created from his axe has greater range and force.

Escalation Dial

The Escalation Dial is a dial located on Katsuo's belt. The more he turns the dial, the more energy his suit takes in and puts out. This cumulated energy can be dispersed out in a variety of ways. The energy pulled into the suit can also be used for certain, special suit functions. Most dial functions are still being explored, but there are a few known and commonly used ones:

One Twist

• Energy output is increased by roughly 50% of base levels. Increase in physical ability is more noticeable. His strength is increased by about 1/3 total.
• Cumulated energy can be unleashed for a charged up punch or kick for added 'oomph'.
• Tri-Beam - A weaker set of beams that strike with intense heat, rather than force like the larger beam projected from his belt.

Two Twists

• Overall output of his suit is doubled, as is his overall strength.
• Energy Beam- Gripping the sides of his belt, Katsuo is able to concentrate his collected energy into his belt and fire off a powerful beam of pure energy.
• Power Kick- Charging both feet with collected energy, Katsuo can unleash a powerful dropkick combing both his strength, and the force of the energy being dispersed out from his feet.

Three Twists

• Overall output of his suit is tripled, as is his overall strength.
• Energy Burst- By dispersing energy, Katsuo can unleash his suit's collected energy into a powerful pulse of energy around him.
• Shock Wave- Katsuo can disperse his energy into a very powerful shockwave. Provided there is solid ground for him to get use out of it.

Four Twists

• Overall output of his suit is quadrupled. He's able to reach the pinnacle of his strength. However, due to the extreme stress absorbing and dispersing so much energy causes on his body, a full twist is rarely ever used since it puts on too much strain.
• 'Super' Punch- Since it's dangerous to use the suit for a long time in this condition, Katsuo can disperse all the energy at once for a massive punch combining both his sheer strength and hit suit's stored energy. The Super Punch is wild and destructive as the energy released spreads out in a violent manner, often ripping apart what it hits.
• Burst Cannon- Opening his chest plate to reveal the small cannon in his chest, Katsuo can charge a lot of energy at this cannon and fire out a large and powerful explosive blast from it.

Five Twists

• Katsuo's belt has an internal locking mechanism that prevents him from turning his dial more than four times. The amount of damage done to his body from the strain of spending so much energy is enough to be fatal under certain conditions. There can also be very lasting consequences as well if it isn't fatal. As such, the internal lock prevents anything beyond a fourth twist of the dial to be used. However, due to Katsuo's strength, he's capable of breaking the internal lock, and pulling energy from all the tech in his body. It exist, essentially, as an extreme last resort.
• Giga Kicker - Tapping into all his suit's energy, Katsuo can channel the energy into his feet. Much like his Power Kick, the Giga Kicker is a powerful kick that disperses the energy out, using his feet as focal points for the energy. The amount of energy dispersed is immense, and the force of his kick from full augmentation of his physical strength is enough through a vehicle, or create a crater.

Motorcycle

Hisashi received his motorcycle, the EscaStrider, while he was part of the Cicada group. It was created with the same tech that was placed inside his body, so the bike isn't an entirely ordinary one. The bike's reinforced and doesn't get damaged easily. It's also capable of self repairing within similar bounds as Hisashi's own regenerative abilities. It also doesn't require as much fuel to operate, as well as being efficient enough to not consume fuel too quickly.

Weaknesses

Cold- Katsuo's nanomachines do not like cold. Cold enough temperatures will cause them to go dormant. This is dangerous for Katsuo since, without his nanomachines, his organs could begin to fail and possibly kill him. If he's in a fight and his machines go dormant he could lose all his abilities and turn into a normal human, which is equally as dangerous since Hisashi isn't used to fighting anything superpowered as a regular human.

Salt- The organic components of his nanomachines dehydrate quickly when exposed to salt and other such things, so much so that they can break down rapidly. Hisashi has had to manage his salt intake and monitor his hydration to prevent any incident of death. He has a lot of nanomachines in his body so this might not be such a problem. Salt can also prevent his body from regenerating at a certain area, so it can be quite dangerous.

Limited Strength- Katsuo is strong, but there's a limit to how much he's able to lift (with or without the use of his Escalation Dial), he can easily be crushed by objects too heavy to lift off himself.

Escalation Dial- While it's a great asset in a fight by greatly increasing his abilities, the Escalation Dial can kill him upon repeated use over a fairly short period of time without a break.

Stubborn- Hisashi can be a pretty determined and stubborn person. Even if he's losing a fight he'll just keep going until stopped one way or another, or his target is defeated.

Psionics- Hisashi has no degree of mental protection, making him quite susceptible to mental assault among other things.

Friends and Acquaintances

• Sparrowhawk // Alexandra Harper - Sparrowhawk is a very competent and focused leader, who Katsuo believes has the right attitude for leading the team. Although he doesn't know her on a very personal level, Sparrowhawk's professional attitude and dedication to work are what he considers respectable traits. While not totally considered friends in his book, Katsuo doesn't mind working with her due to her personality. With recent events, Katsuo has lost trust in her. Not one to let things interfere with tasks that need to be done he'd still work alongside her. However, as a leader, he can't trust her fully and it'll take time before he ever does.

• All-Star // Nate Carter - All-Star is competent at what he does (that generally being shooting at things), and Katsuo can respect that. He enjoys working with him because he'll do what's necessary to accomplish the mission, something that some people aren't willing to do. Now, despite his abilities and talents, Katsuo doesn't like his personality so much. All-Star's overconfidence and snark do begin to wear on his nerves after a bit while working on the field. Yet Katsuo is still willing to hang out with All-Star despite him being grating. In a way, All-Star is one of the few people Katsuo consider friends.

• Razira - Razira is what Katsuo imagines the public's idea of a hero being. Razira has noble traits, is kind, displays a genuine concern for others, and sticks by her convictions. On a personal level, Katsuo kind of likes Razira because of her personality. He also believes she may be unable to do what he believes necessary when the time comes due to that. She's quick to see the best in people which Katsuo thinks may cause more harm to her than good.

• Thundrax // Craig Carson - Much like Razira, Thundrax is how the public views heroes and the like. Partly for his fame and popularity. He knows Thundrax mostly through reputation as the two haven't worked together much. He does, however, know that Thundrax is physically powerful, so Katsuo wouldn't mind fighting him.

• Canadian Fist // Dusk Vermilion - Canadian Fist would be alright to Katsuo if only she minded her own business more. She's a fairly powerful hero, and Katsuo can see has a fair bit of experience doing what it is she does. He has no qualms with working with her. Her desire to honor her father's memory by following in similar foot steps to him kind of mimics Katsuo's own desire to honor his brother. As such, he finds he understands Canadian Fist a little bit more, and respects her.

• Dobergirl // Sunny Oskern - Katsuo sees Dobergirl as someone determined to prove themselves. He also sees her as naive and childish. Dobergirl has an almost childlike personality, which Katsuo doesn't see fitting to the type of work they're doing. She also constantly makes references to things that Katsuo thinks are childish, like cartoons and card games, which doesn't help. It's mostly because he doesn't understand them.

• Keioisis // Kara McIlroy - Kara is way too young to be fighting any superpowered entity in his eyes. She has an array of powers, gifted intelligence, and an arsenal on hand, but he still firmly believes she's not quite ready to handle this sort of thing as she doesn't have much experience or wisdom that comes with age. Much the case as Dobergirl, Kara's personality makes her seem younger than she actually is. She also makes references to things that Katsuo doesn't understand.

• Ada Clover // Ada Flores - Ada handles the Protector's PR. While Katsuo is fairly neutral towards her, he, even though he would never openly admit it, actually wants her help. Ada knows show business, and what it's like to be famous. Katsuo actually wants to gain a little bit of fame to fulfill his little brother's dream of becoming famous since he can no longer manage to.

• Riptide // Avakai Ty'lori - Katsuo isn't entirely sure what to think of Riptide. On one hand, Riptide has a considerable amount of skill and competence, which Katsuo respects. On the other, Riptide is an alien, and, given Katsuo's past among other experiences with aliens, he's a bit wary of Riptide and his actions somewhat. He doesn't mind working with Riptide despite a small bit of prejudice. Riptide was also the one to inform Katsuo that the virus in his tech was man made, and can likely be cured. Katsuo considers himself to be indebted to Riptide thanks to this information.

• Aura // Jacqueline Whitelock - Katsuo has had bad experiences involving people with mental abilities. Despite Aura not doing anything to him, Katsuo has an immediate, discriminatory dislike of her due to her powers. He doesn't want to be around her for fear of falling under mental control or tampering. Even if Aura does wish to help the team, Katsuo doesn't want anything to do with her.

• Sentinel // Serenity King - Sentinel is a powerhouse with her weaponry. Katsuo doesn't know much about her, but she's proven be very competent. It was due to her aid that the tech in his body was fixed, and he passed the information about the virus in his body over to her and her people to hopefully develop a cure, making him indebted to her twice over.

• Fantasma // Maria Teresa García Ramírez de Arroyo - At first Katsuo didn't like Fantasma all too much since she asked questions about him, and Katsuo hates talking about himself. He's indebted to her as well as she was the one who gave him contact with his deceased little brother. With his new conviction about trying to change, Katsuo opened up to Fantasma (or at least took steps to), and shared things that were weighing on him. She was the only other person there to speak to after his brother asked him to change. Now he harbors no real dislike towards her.

Miscellaneous

Comments

Have anything to say?

"Silent? Check. Deadly? Double check. This guy embodies the very definition of a ninja in my eyes. I get alot of misconceptions about me being a so called 'ninja' but this guy takes the cake from what I've experience so far. Very calm and very cool. Never once heard a complaint out of him. Or anything for that matter. He's not behind me is he?" - SoulStar

"Definitely keeping an eye on him. He's a quiet one and a bit of a loner... I understand that. He seems to fare well though when partnered with others. I may not be the best to say this, but I want to see him come out of his shell. With a bit more actual hand to hand combat training he could work wonders fighting crime, impressive as he already is." - Sparrowhawk

"He's so quiet and standoffish... I've dealt with teammates like that before, but it's still kind of... sad? I guess. Other than that he's tough as hell and very focused. The armor's pretty sweet too." - Dobergirl

"He's definitely more quiet than most people I know, but nevertheless he's a nice person to work with - very professional. I think people misunderstand his silence though. It's not like he's unsocial. He just doesn't have much to say!" - Black Sigil

"Aquamarine." - Keioisis

"I was surprised to learn he wasn't a machine." - C.O.P.

"Katsuo is an outstanding fighter and I'm glad to have him on my side whenever we're out in a mission. I...just wish he'd open up more. A lot more. I thought I kept things bottled up but he...he's a closed book buried in a sealed vault." - Razira

"Don't let the tight lips and clenched fists fool you: Katsuo is one of the most reliable and loyal people I've ever worked with. Hits like a bitch too." - All-Star

RP Hooks

• To make a living, Hisashi does a lot of freelance work. He's not necessarily a mercenary, but he doesn't have a real permanent occupation. He makes just enough to support himself. It wouldn't be too odd for him to have met colorful people while jumping from job to job.
• Katsuo has a fair bit of reputation. He has a bit of a more negative reputation in Japan due to collateral damage he caused during the beginning of his hero work.
• He is willing to take missions if requested, depending on the work itself.
• While he doesn't really drink alcohol, Hisashi does go to bars for the atmosphere.
• Hisashi still enjoys boxing and doesn't mind a chance to get into the ring.

Trivia

• On his off time Hisashi mostly reads books. Commonly he reads medieval fantasy stories or horror novels. He's a big fan of anything high fantasy.
• Hisashi got into boxing because other sports clubs had too many members.
• In some cases Hisashi has been known to break a finger or two due to how hard he punches. With a high pain tolerance and his regenerative abilities, it's not too worrisome for him.
• Katsuo is more popular on the internet than he is in the general media. Not that he's very famous to begin with as he often dodges out of the way of the media spotlight.
• Due to his unusual physiology as a result of his biotech, Katsuo doesn't need to eat a lot of food as his body is almost entirely self-sufficient. He still needs to eat to make sure his body has sufficient energy and nutrients it cannot produce on its own.
• Also because of his new physiology, the food he does eat is often unseasoned due to his body's reaction to salt and his own taste.
• Hisashi is a big sports fan, his favorites include: football/soccer, boxing (of course), baseball, and basketball.
• His favorite color is yellow because it reminds him of Spring.
• Unsurprisingly he's a fan of the first Rocky movie.
• Hisashi's record is still kept. In his short career, he had only 3 wins, 1 loss, and 0 draws.
• Cicadas can be symbolism for reincarnation in Japan. The Cicada organization wants to rebirth humanity by foreign beings from the gene-pool, and establish global dominance.
• When Katsuo does actually bother to speak Japanese, he speaks in Banshu-ben of Kansai dialect.

Gallery

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  Art by Kenpudiosaki

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  Art by Robenix/Epelesker

v • d • e
Team Leader Sparrowhawk
Field Leaders: Captain Adamant • Peacemaker • Razira • Thundrax
Protectors Charter Members: African Violet • Atomac • Blue Cyclone • Blue Pheasant • Citizen 13 • Cosmic Glory • Fahrenheit • Gold Rush • Hydro Light Of Being • Lucky Shot • Marauder • Mercuriel • Oni • Sinsonte Azul • Tesseract • Wildeye • Witchery Way
Protectors Reserve Members: Aura • Noble • Psion • Wolfgirl