TECH

In 1979 Francis Bouie and New Horizons Technologies accepted contracts from the Pentagon for the development of battle suits using variant technology. Prototypes were completed and handed over to the army for testing, and New Horizons continued to improve and streamline the technology. In 1980 the Host destroyed the prototype suits, and the Pentagon cancelled the production of any more—strongly implying that Bouie and his men should abandon the line of experimentation. Bouie had already been having second thoughts about their production and closed down the project, shifting the personnel to other projects.
     In early 1981 the final members of the weapons project were captured and held hostage by criminal forces. When the young variant heroes who eventually formed Ground Zero intervened, they discovered that the criminals had been hired by David Langstrom, the last New Horizons scientist on the project. Langstrom was using them to aid his theft of the newly streamlined battle suits. While Ground Zero was able to rescue the real hostages and prevent the destruction of the New Horizons complex, Langstrom and his allies escaped.
     This was the first encounter Ground Zero had with the group calling itself TECH, but it was far from the last. After a few criminal activities to provide capital, TECH started selling weapon designs and mercenary services to the highest bidder, reaping profit and wreaking havoc in the Harborview Gang/Mafia wars. Since they would never stand toe to toe with Ground Zero or any other hero teams, they have proven almost impossible to capture. They make their money as the middleman and the technological innovator, not by robbing banks or stepping into the limelight. They're businessmen, pure and simple.
     TECH has appeared throughout the United States, having encounters with Ground Zero, the Justice Defenders, and most recently the Revolution. While individual members may be jailed, TECH goes to great lengths to prevent heir continued incarceration. All of their powers come from their devices, making them much less threatening if taken unawares. Unlike many people with device-based variance, TECH is not overspecialized; they mix and match pieces of weaponry to maximize members' effectiveness. Granted, each has their personal favorites, but having opponents suddenly change powers is enough to throw most hero teams off balance, and TECH relies upon their confusion to escape.

Wavelength
David Langstrom is the leader of TECH, their creator and their technological expert. His standard weapons include a counter-frequency vibration suit that provides invulnerability, a sensory upgrade helmet giving IR/UV/telescopic vision and enhanced hearing, and a chest-mounted sonic/vibration attack unit of considerable power. He often borrows one of Skyfox's anti-gravity harnesses.

Mortar
Tommy Gezrinski is TECH's muscle and reconnaissance man, and is exceptionally good at his job. He is the most cross-trained member of the team and can use all of the equipment with ease. He had a career as a second-string boxer before this, and has applied an athlete's attention and discipline to his new career. His standard gear enhances his strength, sets up vibration resonances (giving him limited invulnerability) and a modified version of Wavelength's harness that just has vibration attack capability. Unfortunately, the invulnerability and intangibility devices will not work in conjunction.

Powerline
Paul Owen is the team's energy projector and computer expert, albeit not that much of an expert and not overly clever, but the nature of his gear gives him an edge. He is the least cross trained of TECH, but that makes him the best able to use his gear. His standard equipment is a suit that manipulates electrical fields, letting him fire blasts of electricity, produce an electromagnetic force field and skate on that field at 60 MPH, even on ceilings and across walls.

Skyfox
Far more than the team's token female, Skyfox is a beautiful and well trained actress, with a flair for quick disguises that let her hide in plain sight. Her standard gear is an anti-gravity/wings harness that lets her fly at over 150 mph and increases her effective reflexes. Skyfox is the team catchall, providing air support, back-up and versatility when needed. She has no standard gear list, but mixes and matches, as well as carrying experimental systems.

Snowjob
Stan Jacobs was the criminal contacted by Langstrom to get together a team for the original assault that netted their equipment. He made the mistake of making a bid for leadership of the team. He was captured on their next mission and is currently held in a penitentiary that Langstrom has concluded is too secure for them to risk a breakout. His standard gear, which manipulated temperatures to produce extreme cold, ice and clouds of blizzard conditions due to thermal inversion, are now carried by various members of TECH whenever required.

Other Gear Langstrom has perfected mid-range energy pistols and rifles, localized illusion generators, 0-weight battle suits and a few other weapons systems by cobbling together aspects of Bouie's original vibration/electricity/temperature anti-gravity systems. He could not have made these devices himself, but has spent years extrapolating the systems for alternate uses.

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