Team Freakshow

You have received this correspondence as a result of a group of well-intended persons taking an interest in specific goings on in your personal life. If you have chosen to open this envelope, we have already been observing you for a period of two to twenty-four months depending on individual cases and what we have observed we have found most interesting. If you have not chosen to open this envelope, we are still very aware of you and we expect that in the coming months you will find you wish you had.
We know about you. We know what you are, and what you can do, and we want to help you. If you are interested in belonging to a group of people, for despite our difference that is what we all still are, very much like yourself simply initial the bottom left corner of this page, and then destroy this note. That action will be taken as a call for help, a desire for self understanding, a sincere wish for a sense of belonging, and an invitation for our own dear Coraline to enter into your home at any time convenient for her. If you have any questions, ask her once she arrives and she will be more than happy to answer them. She’s a sweetheart like that.
I trust I will see you soon, **********. Now please do what you know is right, and enjoy your last few days living in normal society.
Sincerely,
- Keegan Shelvey

It isn’t very often someone comes home from a long day’s work to discover a letter such as that one waiting for them, but when they do it invariably changes their lives. The mysterious man named Keegan is head of Freakshow: a candidly named organization of unique individuals dedicated to using their gifts for the betterment of the world in which the rest of us live. These gifts can be many things ranging from powers straight out of the pages of a comic book to uncanny genius or extraordinary bravery. The tasks that they undertake are perilous, often suicidal in nature. They receive their commissions from the highest powers in the world and their budget is, in fact, the real source of the United States’ tremendous financial deficit. They also want you to join them.
So go ahead. Don’t be shy. Tell us about yourself. Coraline and Keegan already know you right down to your shoe size and sexual fetishes (and you thought nobody was watching you. . .ha!) but the rest of the team doesn’t share their particular gifts.

(Character Sheet)

So then, what’s your name? (No sex section here. Guess why? If you feel it necessary, specify M or F in parenthesis after the name.)
Well, good to meet you mate. How old are you? (It doesn’t matter. Freakshow accepts applicants of all ages. You’re also currently conversing with Geil, the commando of the team and the one with the sexy British accent. He won’t judge.)
Oh yeah? Y’don’t look a day over, either. Where you from? And how long you been here? (Make sure to state whether or not you’re brand new and have never been on the premises, or if you’ve already been here for a little bit. Remember though, you’re all rookies.)
Okay, now the meat and bones. Tell me about your powers. I will be working with you, so I figure I oughta know.
Huh. I’m sure we’ll find a use for ya. Now fill me in on your background. (Tell the nice British cyborg where you’re from now. He also likes hearing about how you first discovered your powers, or whatever makes you special, and how that changed things.)
Fascinatin’ stuff, really. Anything else I need to know? If not, get y’arse down to the barracks and get settled in. This is your home from now on. (This is the equivalent of a normal person’s “Other” section.)

So guys. I’m going to make this as interactive as possible. Treat the character sheet like you’re actually answering these questions. Also, I will be controlling both Geil and Coraline for the duration of this story. That said, if you’re curious about whether or not you can learn a little extra something about what’s going on from either of them, send me a message with your question(s) and who you’re asking, and we’ll have a little conversation. AIM will work just fine for this if you have me on your list, but note that I will not receive offline messages. You’re free to incorporate whatever goes on in the conversation into your posts at your discretion. Remember I’m only offering this feature on THIS site, because everyone here has proven trustworthy of such interactivity before.

Accessing Team Freakshow Database. . .
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Shelvey Summit
. . .
Shelvey Summit is Keegan Shelvey’s personal compound built into a particular peak in the Rocky Mountains. The complex takes up the entire interior of the mountain and extends far underground as well. Within Shelvey Summit you will find the most advanced technologies borne of this world courtesy of our ingenious tech team (which any recruit is free to apply to join) and our generous government funding. The complex is divided into specific layers, arranged from the bottom of the complex (more than two miles underground) to the very top. Below is a list of all sections of the compound, and their estimated depth or height (indicated by a + or -) from the bottom up.
-2.36 Miles: Storage Bay. The storage bay is OFF LIMITS to most personal without special permission. The bay contains many of our vehicles and larger tools, as well as several other CLASSIFIED objects. Keegan advises you to disregard any rumors that Freakshow is in possession of a vehicle capable of interstellar transit.
-2.01 Miles: Medical Facility. The Keegan Summit Medical Facility is more or less amazing. On the cutting edge of medical science, it is in fact the place where most medical advancements actually come from. Much of the technology in use, however, is far too expensive for public use. On the bright side, provided you are still at least marginally alive upon arrival into the facility, we can promise you that you will not be dying. At least not that day. Commander Geil is the medical facility’s pride and joy: when he was admitted in 1987, he was little more than a head attached to a badly mangled torso. Today even Dr. Herbert Grenshaw, the man responsible for rebuilding him, questions whether or not it is feasibly possible to kill him.
-1.80 Miles: The barracks. The barracks is where many of our operatives spend most of their down time. The barracks is laterally connected to the armory and several training facilities, and also features all of the comforts of home (home comforts only available to operatives who have survived a minimum of three field assignments). Operatives start out sharing rooms with as many as three other Freaks in rooms best described as Spartan, but gradually gain more and more comfortable living conditions. No operative, save for an officer promoted by Keegan himself, has access to solitary living conditions. Two-man living is considered a luxury and is highly sought after among the lower ranks.
-1.50 Miles: Officer’s Quarters. Not much else to be said.
-1.45 Miles: Research Complex. Admittance granted only to science personnel or officers demonstrating specific need. This is where our various tools and vehicles of all sorts are produced. It is possible to request custom equipment, but you’d better be in very good standing before you even bother to try.
-1 Miles: The war room. This is the station from which mission control handles all incoming assignments, and monitors the general state of the world’s well-being. Restricted admittance only.
+0 Miles: Operations bay. The operations bay is the launch pad for all of our operations. This is where operatives report for dispatch on their various assignments.
+.25 Miles: Mess hall. Come here for food. It may or may not be good. We apologize, but it is rather hard to find someone with superhuman cooking powers.
+.28 Miles: Briefing room. Come here as you are ordered to. This is where you will be told everything you need to know in order to complete your current assignments.
+.30-.95 Miles: Restricted Zone. NO ADMITTANCE.
+1 Mile: Keegan’s Quarters. Admittance upon request only, please.
All floors are connected by state-of-the-art antigravity lifts. Simply step into the up shafts to go up, or the down shafts to go down. You will be gently ejected at the destination floor. In general, a different lift must be taken to reach any given floor, but there are certain “private access” lifts that act as VIP or emergency shortcuts to specific destinations from anywhere else.
(Right then, guys. Think about all of these places. Think military. Think slightly futuristic. I’ll let you guys handle concrete description of details in this area. ‘Cept for the sections +.30 and up. Those are special. Don’t worry about ‘em.)

Accessing Team Freakshow Database. . .
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Personnel files
. . .
. . .
Two matches found on free-access network.

Name: David Geil MacHaver

Age: 53

Original Location: London, England

Appearance: Commander David Geil MacHaver, simply known as “Geil” amongst Team Freakshow is approximately five feet and eleven inches in height, and weighs nearly half a metric ton. He is a former British SAS operative, and retains his fit build from his glory days serving Her Majesty. He bears a sharp countenance and piercing gray eyes and is often reported as looking twenty years younger than he actually is. His mousy brown hair and manner of dress are both in homage to his military career: cropped short, and camouflage fatigues topped with a boonie hat respectively.

Powers/Weapons: First and foremost, he is a cyborg and is thus possessed of all the powers of the six million dollar man. The advanced technology that went into reconstructing Geil’s badly tattered physical form has blessed him with superhuman speed and strength. He is also possessed of an incredible tolerance for pain and is, perhaps surprisingly given his net weight, extremely stealthy. His ability to remain in cramped positions anatomically painful to any normal human being for extended periods of time make him an effective stealth operative and assassin. Geil is a master of hand to hand combat, and a deadly shot with any sort of firearm, thanks to his SAS training. As for equipment, his weapons vary depending on the mission, but he is always in possession of fragmentation and flashbang grenades, and his trusty sidearm, a Desert Eagle reconfigured into a more compact design that he jokingly calls the “Dusty Sparrow.” Yes, we know. Lame. Not all British folk are Monty Python material.

History of Service: As stated, Geil was once a member of the British SAS, and spent his days saving the world without anybody knowing they ever needed saving. One of his more harrowing missions involved the escort of an important American official through dangerous Middle Eastern territories. There he earned his reputation as being the best and then some, but the odds were stacked just a bit too far in the other direction. His squad decimated in what turned into a miniature war of attrition, he himself was very nearly killed. The last thing he remembers from that day was the face of Keegan Shelvey hovering over him, eyes seemingly lambent, and being told that he was not meant to die that day. When next he woke, he was half man, half machine, and one of the earliest members of Team Freakshow.

Current Position Held: Commander of Omega Squad.

Name: Coraline Elizabeth Bensen

Age: 27

Original Location: Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, USA

Appearance: Coraline E. Bensen is 5’5, weighs in at a petit 102 pounds, and is completely adorable. Her almond-shaped face is almost constantly graced by her easy, friendly smile, and eyes so dark they almost seem to be black take in every detail of every day from behind a pair of small, thin-framed glasses. Her skin is smooth and tan, giving away the biracial Caucasian/Black nature of her family, and she keeps her shoulder-length dark brown hair split in two country style braids, tied off with small, pale blue bows (bows in her hair! I told you she was adorable.) She dresses casually, usually in a tank top and blue jeans, but changes into more formal attire when off recruiting, and into standard military fatigues and vest when on assignment.

Powers/Weapons: She’s a telepathic metabolist. Simply put, she has the ability to see the thoughts of anyone she chooses, and is even capable of completely consuming her target’s mind to permanently gain every drop of information and every memory they held. She can also “shock” a target’s mind, stunning them temporarily, and is capable of delivering a “mercy kill” by way of rendering a victim permanently comatose and allowing them to live out the rest of their mortal existence unknowingly within a world of their own dreams which will persist until their actual body dies. Teleportation is not out of the question, but it is a skill she is still. . .refining, shall we say.
History of Service: She is the newest member of Team Freakshow, whom Keegan had originally intended to kidnap, thinking she would be unwilling to join his group. Unfortunately for him, his plan was foiled by the simple fact that the young woman was indeed perfectly willing to go with him. In fact, as Keegan himself later revealed, she seemed to be expecting him. She let him pretend to kidnap her anyways, to make him feel better. Have I mentioned she’s a real sweetheart yet? In any event, once the depths of her inherent powers had been discovered, she was quickly put to work in the field of intelligence gathering and recruiting new members. A few months back she asked Keegan for a field assignment, and he reluctantly placed her under Geil’s command in Omega Squad. After the assignment was finished, Geil seemed so impressed with Coraline’s abilities that he requested permission to retain her as a regular operative. Permission was granted and the rest, shall we say to be cliché, is history.

Current Position Held: Head of intel, recruiter, Omega Squad scout.

Other: It is rumored that if she is seriously injured she is capable of using the energy of a recently consumed mind to heal herself substantially if not completely.

Personnel Database

Recorded interview with Edwardo Ciamunde

So then, what’s your name?
Edwardo Ciamunde (see-ah-moon-day)
Well, good to meet you mate. How old are you?
34
Oh yeah? Y’don’t look a day over, either. Where you from? And how long you been here?
I went from the Brazillian slums, to Oxford to here. I've been here no longer then two days. It is very fascinating.
Okay, now the meat and bones. Tell me about your powers. I will be working with you, so I figure I oughta know.
Ah, very well. I have what is being called a great mind. I don't yet know the exact and specific reason but I can see things that others can't and I don't give up until I know everything about my subject. From one dissection I discerned nearly everything there was to know about a frog from it's origins to habitat to eating patterns and so forth. By observing someones actions I have been able to know whether they intended me harm, and act accordingly. I sometimes find it infuriating, the power itself, since it is so hard to understand. I do not enjoy the irony.
Huh. I’m sure we’ll find a use for ya. Now fill me in on your background.
After working in Brazil I earned enough money to escape, leaving my brother and sister enough to survive for maybe a week or so. Don't look at me like that, I told him how and where he could take over my job, I'm sure he's fine. Anyway, I went through the necessary arrangements and became a British citizen and joined Oxford after being tested by them. At first I thought everybody had the same curiosity and hunger for knowledge as I did but I soon learned that was not the case. After studying various other 'top class' students I realised that it was I who was the metaphorical black sheep. At first I wondered if it was maybe because of my background since I did not grow up with wealth but then I recieved the letter and the rest is obvious enough.
Fascinatin’ stuff, really. Anything else I need to know? If not, get y’arse down to the barracks and get settled in. This is your home from now on.
You're a very unpleasant man. So hard to figure out. It is of no consequence; on missions you shall be easier to comprehend. Don't laugh, it is not befitting. If you could please ask the Research Complex to hurry in their decision on my behalf perhaps I will think of you in higher favour since they've decided to just ignore me now. Stop laughing. Fine, I shall return to the barracks.

Recorded interview with Erik M. Lysander

So then, what’s your name?
Erik M. Lysander. Call me 'Ly', everyone does.
Well, good to meet you mate. How old are you?
25 or 26... not really too sure myself.
Oh yeah? Y’don’t look a day over, either. Where you from? And how long you been here?
I was born in Philadelphia; we moved to Oshawa, Ontario when I was six... or seven. Like I said, my birth year's not too clear, eh? My parents maintain I was born a year later than the year showin' on my birth certificate. ...Yeah, anyway, I just got here yesterday.
Okay, now the meat and bones. Tell me about your powers. I will be working with you, so I figure I oughta know.
That is what I'm here for, eh? My power's... kinda complicated. At least ta me, anyways. The simple explanation is I can control the elements. Ya know: wind, water, fire, earth. ...Or, I can sometimes control them. Still haven't quite worked out the kinks. I wish I could show ya, but I can't exactly conjure fire or anything like that. An element has ta be present in the first place for me ta do anything with it. And seein' as how we're in this cramped little cell underground, there ain't much for me ta work with.
Huh. I’m sure we’ll find a use for ya. Now fill me in on your background.
Well, I was never much of anythin' in school. Not unpopular, or stupid, or anythin' like that, but I just really didn't care too much, eh? I went to college, at the request of my parents, but I never really knew what I wanted ta do with my life. Hated the place, personally. But it was at college that I discovered I could do some fancy tricks with matches - make the flame bend, stuff like that. Next thing ya know, the water in the fountains outside was doin' some crazy things every time I'd walk by. But that was the extent of it. I flunked outta college in two years, found a dingy apartment, and picked up odd jobs here and there, just to pay the rent, eh? Next thing I know, there's this weird letter showin' up on my kitchen table, and... here I am.
Fascinatin’ stuff, really. Anything else I need to know? If not, get y’arse down to the barracks and get settled in. This is your home from now on.
Nah, nothin' else from me. Just point me in the right direction, eh?

Recorded interview with Carme

So then, what’s your name? Call me Carme.

Well, good to meet you mate. How old are you? Twenty-two.

Oh yeah? Y’don’t look a day over, either. Where you from? And how long you been here? Why do people ask me that? Does it matter where I'm from? I was born in the city, raised in the city. Now I've left the city, and I'm here. I've been here for a week. This is the first time I've left my room.

Okay, now the meat and bones. Tell me about your powers. I will be working with you, so I figure I oughta know. Look, I already told that crazy African girl that I don't have any incredible powers. It isn't me your Freakshow wants - it's my sister. She was the best therian out there. She could shift in a heartbeat. Girl one second and peregrine falcon the next. I can't compare, not by far. I'm a blackbird.

Huh. I’m sure we’ll find a use for ya. Now fill me in on your background. What am I supposed to fill? I told you - born, raised in a city. Lived with my sister. We were part of a gang, and gangs fight. It was dangerous, but there are things worth protecting and we did our best to protect them. Then she gave me this letter one morning and told me to read it if something went wrong. Next midnight she was dead. And now I'm here, underground, and so is she.

Fascinatin’ stuff, really. Anything else I need to know? If not, get y’arse down to the barracks and get settled in. This is your home from now on. Screw you. This will never be my home. I'm only here for Remee.
*This file is associated with a personal attachment from Captain MacHaver: Ah bloody hell. Another real charmer, this one. If it's a free choice to join up with us, why's nobody ever happy to get here? Let's just hope this one and that wanker Ed never hit it off. I'd hate to see those kids. . .