The Canuck Alliance

The satirical name applies to the Alpha and Beta level variant heroes strung across the cities of Canada. While some members of this group have been active since shortly after the emergence of the Host and Ground Zero in the States, they didn't form into a team until shortly before the American Daemonwar, and even then the team is loosely affiliated at best. They had encountered one another on various cases over the years, and Dr. Homes eventually suggested a more formal arrangement. They meet at his townhouse in Edmonton quarterly to trade information and swap stories, and could call on one another for assistance. He proposed the name the Alliance: Dash, derisive as always, changed it to the Canuck Alliance, a name favored by the media (the American media in particular).
    After its formation, the Alliance has been championed by several members of parliament as the proper structure for a Canadian super team, and painted them as the rivals of the Northguard. This is attention that the Alliance has never asked for, and they are curious as to why it's occurring. They have actually had rather cordial relations with the Northguard on the few occasions that members of the teams have met. The Alliance communicates via devices of Dr. Homes' design.

Northern Samurai
This Vancouver-based martial artist is carrying on a personal crusade against the incursion of Asian criminal activities into western Canada. He is apparently not a variant, but is trained to low Beta/high Alpha levels in martial arts and weapons use. Northern Samurai's most impressive attribute is his will, which is apparently unshakable he was once shot five times in the chest and managed to remain conscious to carry another victim to the hospital before collapsing. More than just a vigilante, NS also teaches classes in self defense and community philosophy, in hopes of preventing crime from taking root, rather than pruning it back. He has a solid standing with the Vancouver police, but is still technically a vigilante.

Pantherman
The second of the two Vancouver heroes, Pantherman is a costumed adventurer with the ability to channel the powers of a great cat for brief periods his combat training and strange power combine to make him a high Alpha/low Beta level variant. He can make exceptional leaps, use bursts of speed and strength, and see in the dark. He has been seen with a pet panther named Midnight, with which he can speak and which follows his commands. Despite his appearance and animal powers, Pantherman is calm and non-violent most of the time, and when driven to violence it is the minimal required to end the conflict. Like Northern Samurai, he has an unofficial relationship with the Vancouver police.

Dr. Homes
Edmonton's master of steamtech, Dr. Arthur C. Homes is a genius, an inventor and a consulting detective with official status among the RCMP. His mastery of steamtech is amazing and somewhat, well, pointless. Most of his machines merely mimic cutting age technology, but do so with steam power, gears and punch cards for his Babbage engine (he also has an ornithoptor, which is as fast and maneuverable as small military chopper). His one astounding invention is Watson, his steamtech AI robot butler, aide, physician and computational engine. Despite his eccentricities, Homes is a canny detective and skilled at disguise—combined with his steamtech, he is functionally a low-Beta level variant.

Dash
The Toronto Tornado, Dash is an athlete trained to peak levels of human ability, able to maintain a sprint of well over 70 kph and a long term run of half that. Her body is almost pure muscle, and she's incredibly strong for her size. She is also a downright nasty hand-to-hand combatant, and uses every advantage, even the un-heroic ones, to take down her opposition. Of all the Alliance, Dash is the least likable—she is a bitter and sometimes mean woman, and Dr. Homes suspects that her crusty exterior hides an equally crusty interior. Her violent methods leave her on the outs with the police, and her membership is perhaps the contentious point against the Alliance.

Cricket
This Niagara hero is armed with a strange battle suit—perhaps the strangest on record. The main power of the Cricket armor is its legs: they are three times as long as a normal human's, folding back upon themselves twice over, looking like an insect's multi-jointed appendages. With the armor, Cricket can leap nearly a quarter mile, can stand with his head twelve feet above the street, and can deliver kicks of sufficient power to shatter stone or tip over a small car. The armor provides him with considerable protection as well, as Cricket has been shot and damaged several times, but has never bled or shown the effects of wounds. Cricket is quite shy, and gives musical chirps when surprised or pressured.

Bleu
One of the two actual variants in the Alliance, Bleu is the heroine of Quebec. She is openly for Quebec independence by non-violent means, which puts her in a strange political position on a team that crisscrosses the nation (fortunately Dash acts as a lighting rod for public disapproval of the group). Bleu's powers center around the generation of an indigo-coloured force field that she can use for limited flight, attack and defense. While versatile and visible, this power is ranked only at high alpha levels, and is not that potent. Bleu is every inch the hero, and helps anyone whenever she can, but some see her as arrogant or distant, despite her beauty and heroism.

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