Operator
From PRIMUS Database
((Still a bit of a WIP, will be adding images when I have time.))
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Operator is a former villain that currently works under the auspices of the MCPD as part of a deal to avoid time in Stronghold for his crimes.
Contents |
Public Background
Note: This is the information publicly available to anyone with access to MCPD files. Treat it as such IC.
Criminal History
Earl Hobson's first appearance in the MCPD database is for a charge of grand theft auto at the age of 18. No records prior to that age exist for an Earl Hobson, leading to speculation that the records were either very thoroughly erased at the national, state, and local levels, or that "Earl Hobson" is a false identity. Mr. Hobson has been very uncooperative with questions about his early life, to the point the MCPD has given up trying to get a straight answer.
After his first appearance in the database, Mr. Hobson has several years worth of arrests on suspicion of committing or assisting in several robberies and thefts on his record. He only served time for his first offense due to a lack of evidence necessary to convict in court, one year and six months. Investigators keep a file on Mr. Hobson during this time, sure that he will eventually slip up and reveal his role. In the meantime, Earl Hobson becomes a usual suspect brought in for questioning and line-ups when the police need a suspect.
At age 24, Earl Hobson apparently acquired a powered armor suit being developed by ARGENT. The theft was unreported to the public at large, but when the suit showed up on security footage of several warehouse robberies, the police were notified and Earl Hobson was one of the suspects brought in for questioning. Although the lead investigator in the theft managed to connect Hobson to the power armor through ARGENT security surveillance, the company "accidentally" destroyed the records to prevent its unlicensed weapons development from being exposed and the information was put in Earl Hobson's file along with the other, unproven suspicions.
The powered armor quickly became associated with the name Operator and was used in several break-ins at warehouses and banks. Curiously, despite the fighting potential of the armor, the Operator appeared to prefer nighttime raids with minimal security presence. He avoided confrontation and in the few cases security guards caught him the act, he used the suits weaponry to disable them, rather than kill. Earl Hobson became a usual suspect for all cases involving powered armor, but no links were established and he remained at large.
Time in The Outfit
At age 26, Hobson was brought in for questioning after an unknown powered armor raided a police evidence storage warhouse, along with four other felons suspected of using power armor in crimes: Marcus Williams alias Iron Thief, Gus Kipling alias Safecrusher, Fred Green alias Bulletproof,and Lonnie Johnson alias Metal Menace. Although none confessed under questioning, holding the five felons in the same room gave them time to arrange a partnership that resulted in the simultaneous break-ins at two other evidence warehouses and the theft of many pieces of technology confiscated from captured villains. After either working the technology into their suits or selling it on the black market, the felons formed a villain group known as the Outfit and went to work.
The Outfit committed several bank thefts and warehouse raids using the Operator's previous M.O., break-ins at minimal security buildings and the avoidance of conflict with authorities. Time between crime went anywhere form one to three months, preventing the police and superheroes from tracking the group. Combined with the non-violent tactics of the group and the presence of much more dangerous threats to public safety, police resources were often focused elsewhere when the group struck and the Outfit went free for three years.
The Outfit Captured
The Outfit experienced a string of bad luck when new superheroes flooded Millenium City in the wake of the most recent Qularr Invasion. Two consecutive crimes were interrupted by superpowered heroes and one member of the Outfit, Gus Kipling, was caught. The group went silent for two months while the police questioned Gus, who refused to cooperate and was sent to Stronghold for his role in the Outfit's crimes. After he was convicted, the Outfit started a string of much bolder thefts, including the daylight robbery of a bank that resulted in a shootout between the group and police. Eventually, they attempted a foolhardy raid on a fully guarded ARGENT lab, resulting in a pitched firefight that scattered the Outfit members across the city with police in pursuit. The Operator was captured as he tried to flee and Earl Hobson was finally connected to his villain alter ego.
The Suit's onboard computer log connected Earl Hobson to all of the Operator's and Outfit's crimes, giving the police leverage in their interrigation. Concerned about the group's sudden increase in violent confrontation, they offered Hobson a choice: Do the time for all of his crimes in Stronghold, easily the rest of his life, or return to the Outfit and lead them into a trap so that they could be captured, in which case Hobson would be allowed to work off his debt to society outside of Stronghold. Agreeing to the second choice, Hobson was released and returned to the Outfit with false information about a shipment of captured Gadroon technology. The group took the bait and the Operator lead them into the trap himself. When the police sprang the ambush and the other members of the Outfit attempted to resist, Operator disabled one by himself and aided the police in capturing the rest.
Operator now serves long-term parole aiding the MCPD in daily crime prevention. He is often sent to aid heroes in f0ighting super-powered threats, his armor proving strong and effective in combat.
Personality
Earl Hobson is cynical, grumpy, and resentful about being an agent of the MCPD. Heroes he has worked with report him to be sarcastic and sometimes downright insulting, but reliable under fire. He preferred his previous life of crime, but follows orders to the letter and never disobeys directly. Of course, he has also proven that while faithful to the letter of his agreement, he is not faithful to the spirit of crime-fighting and will avoid a direct fight or intervention if he can. So far, he has not met a criminal he will not arrest and he has never resorted to lethal force, though his suit is capable of it.
Hobson's familiarity with the other side of crime makes him an excellent predictor of criminal methods and response. In addition to regular patrols, he can also help the MCPD at the investigative level in determining method, culprit, or motive in unusual crimes. Never confirmed to have an education, Hobson also possesses strong engineering skills and services his own powered armor.
The Suit
Earl Hobson's powered armor does not resemble the suit stolen from ARGENT all those years ago. It was originally a test model for a new force field generator, but while it was in Hobson's possession it was fitted offensive weaponry in the form of energy projectors in the palms and chest. Rockets were set into the feet of the suit for flight and the force field generator appears to have been modified several times to feed power to these other systems. Of course, the generator is still active and capable of shielding both the suit and other people. His helmet had had several vision modifications for work at night and detecting surveillance, as well as an active online connection for remote access and communication.
After being captured by the MCPD, these systems were either removed entirely or taken offline in order to keep Operator from fleeing with a fully operational powered armor. As he proves himself trustworthy, the systems are gradually being re-installed or set back to original levels. Currently, his flight rockets are reduced to boosters and hist weaponry is restricted in power output, though he could conceivably kill man with them at restricted levels.
Confidential Background
Notes: This information is sealed in-universe and strictly OOC unless learned IC.
The Outfit's Capture
After the capture of Gus Kipling, the Outfit recruited an up and coming thief with psychic powers in order to predict and avoid the superheroees that were ruining their jobs. Calling himself Psych, the new villain claimed to be able to sense metahumans and pick up on security codes by mind-reading. It was only after he joined that the team began to attempt bolder, more destructive crimes.
The raid on the Argent lab separated Operator from the rest of the Outfit for the first time since Psych joined and he managed to elude police pursuit. A few hours later, he turned himself into the MCPD at their headquarters without the Suit. According to Operator, the team was acting under Psych's influence, not of their own volition. It had been the psychic's idea to raid more dangerous targets and he was the first to resort to violence when law enforcement arrived. Operator offered a deal to the police: He would turn himself in, give everything he had on the Outfit and himself, and lead the team into an ambush if the MCPD would capture Psych and free the rest of the team from his mind-control. The MCPD was concerned that Operator would not follow through on his side of the deal after Psych was captured, but they deemed a new mind-controlling psychic a great enough risk to take the chance.
Operator was given a time and place for an ambush, along with anti-psionic gear to prevent him from coming under Psych's control, and set loose. At the appointed time, a dummy convoy was sent outside of Millennium City as bait and the Outfit appeared to fall for it. However, just outside of the prepared ambush zone, something went wrong and one of the hidden MCPD officers was spotted. The Outfit opened fire and the police quickly moved in, resulting in a chaotic mess of explosions, gunfire, and psychic energy.
Accounts of the fight are obscured by damage to surveillance and the damaging effects Psych's attacks had on the memory of the officers present. Two officers died in the ambush and four were wouded while the Outfit was either entirely crippled or dead. Operator was the only exception, the anti-psionic gear and personal shields keeping him conscious, though not uninjured. According to the few present that escaped with their minds unaffected, Operator included, the original three felons held off the police while Operator attacked Psych. Seeing that the others would not stop fighting the police while Psych was alive and conscious, Operator boxed him in close with a force field and hit him at point-blank range with a full blast of his weaponry. The psychic barely survived, but as he fell the other members of the Outfit stopped fighting simultaneously, something the police only noticed after the felons fell to incoming fire without trying to defend themselves.
All three suffered psionic backlash from the abrupt loss of connection to the psychic controlling them and physical damage from police fire. Marcus Williams lost one arm and his memory, requiring him to re-learn his life as well as adapt to a prosthetic limb. Fred Green was in a coma for three weeks while recovering from multiple gunshots and upon awakening exhibited a loss of motor control. Lonnie Johnson died of multiple strokes at the scene, likely the result of Psych's backlash. Earl Hobson, AKA Operator, lost his sight as a result of his battle with Psych, but he has compensated using technology from his armor and now sees via a set of computerized glasses he always wears. Psych is currently in Hot Sleep in Stronghold, never awakening from his defeat at Operator's hands.
Following the botched ambush, the MCPD held up its end of the bargain and so did Operator. He provided evidence of all his past crimes, confessed, and provided evidence against the Outfit and Psych, and then he asked for a new deal. In return for reduced sentences against the remaining members of the Outfit and aid from the city in their recuperation, Operator would work with the police and repay his debt to society on the side of the law. After negotiating some strict terms, the MCPD agreed and Operator went to work as a support for police and the heroes.
This record is sealed in accordance with the terms negotiated as requested by Operator so that his former colleagues will not be associated with a turncoat and the name of Psych will be removed from all association with the Outfit.
