The Black Watch

Led by the mysterious masked adventurer known as the Shrouded Hope, the Black Watch is a freelance (read: without corporate or government sponsorship) variant team operating out of Denver, Colorado. While it has no overt government connections, the Watch does have covert connections with both US and UK intelligence agencies, and has gone on missions internationally. They are funded by the personal fortune of the Shrouded Hope, who has never made any move toward explaining his motivations or the source of his wealth to the members of his team, never mind the population at large.
    Despite their mysterious background and connections, the Watch is well received in Colorado and the surrounding states, where they are often called in to deal with variant menaces. They have cordial relationships with the Justice Defenders, despite the obligatory misunderstanding upon first meeting. Based in a hidden compound outside Denver, the Shrouded Hope has provided the team with funds for personal residences (they do not live on base) as well as a Watchjet and Watchchopper for high-speed transport. These are usually flown by Hope, though Promethean took his turns in the cockpit before he departed. As teams go, they are well organized but not overly powerful—the Hope prefers espionage and investigation over conflict, preferring to surprise and outmaneuver their enemies.
    Their high-profile enemies include the European variant group The League of Nations (led by the German Telepath Mind Lazer, they aim for domination of Europe, then the world, and hate the Shrouded Hope for reasons unknown) , Triangle (a mercenary trio that were perennial foes of Black Dragon, made up of Fleshmaster, El Bombero and Timechild) and Infiltrator (an international master of espionage with invisibility generating devices and decades of experience), as well as the monster XIV ("zivve"), accidentally created in the Taurus Industries Denver laboratory.

The Shrouded Hope
Costumed adventurer and man of mystery, the Shrouded Hope is the undisputed leader of the Black Watch. Charismatic and noble, he is an expert athlete, fencer, marksman and brawler, with a clever mind and a knack for espionage. He carries the best of available high technology and is an expert at romance. He has strange ties to the UK and US, closely guards his identity, and is apparently pagan, praying to Diana.

Broadhead
A Black Jew, Louise Seinfeld is an expert archer, perhaps the best in the world. While she began her career as a street vigilante using conventional razor-edged or blunt arrows, she is slowly developing an array of "trick arrows" built by John Gallows and funded by Hope. These make her more than equal to most variant opponents. Broadhead got into the hero game not for nobility but for kicks, and maintains her lighthearted attitude and constant humor in the face of danger.

Colt
The third adventurer to bear that name, this young Native American variant is an equimorph, capable of assuming the form of a sleek racing horse, a powerful Clydesdale, or an impossibly strong centaur form. Brash and energetic, he is strong and fast, with both a deep pride in his heritage and an eye for the future. Cory Running Deer is a lawyer in his civilian identity, handling cases for the Native American community as well as pro-bono criminal work.

Jack O' The Gallows
Midnight vigilante, invisible, unkillable, mystic and unknowable, Gallows Jack roams the shadows, protecting the innocent and punishing the guilty, a supernatural force. Actually, he's the brainchild of Dr. John Gallows, an engineering professor and inventor formerly from Indiana, who has constructed a robotic body controlled by telepathic telemetry, derived from what he mysteriously calls angelic technology. Jack O' The Gallows is stronger, faster and much tougher than any normal human, with a cybernetic lasso that is literally part of him.

The Promethean
A naturalized American born in Germany, Hans Schmidt joined the Watch when he discovered his plasma abilities. He recently left to take a position on the Boston variant team the Revolution. He can generate an envelope of flaming plasma controlled with magnetic currents, allowing flight, attacks and personal defense. He is in excellent physical condition, and mysteriously well trained in military combat and vehicles. Still a cultural fish out of water, he immerses himself in the American media and entertainment, but never seems to catch up.

Lord Silk
British Knight of the Realm, telepath and cryokinetic, Blake Silk is a member of the ESPer bureau MI13, and a friend from Hope's mysterious past. He has aided the Black Watch in their conflicts against the League of Nations. Quiet but intense, the air around him is always 10 degrees colder than the rest of the room.

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