“We live in a crazy world. A world where neo-Nazi ubermenschen threaten the world’s existence, where superintelligent apes from a possible future seek to enslave humanity, and where Greek gods walk the streets. This is a world that makes tabloid journalism seem bland by comparison. It is a world where normal people cannot compete. We need protectors – people who on the surface seem just another part of the insanity around us. But those people, carefully chosen, are the only thing that will protect the rest of the world from the tempest of madness around us.
“In this room we have a collection of the most powerful people in the world. We have the one of smartest men on Earth, a master of disguise, a unique blend of human and machine, and the daughter of the queen of the Amazons herself. Together, you will protect the world from the dangers that threaten to tear it apart. Because you are titans among men, I have chosen to call this group Operation Prometheus. Now—”
A digital from across the room interrupted Jason Noble in the middle of his presentation. He paused in his speech and turned a stern eye toward the metal man in a tuxedo – Max, his android butler.
“What is it Max?”
“Sir, your legal department has discovered that a costumed vigilante operating out of Manhattan has already filed a trademark claim on the name Prometheus. They’ve recommended a different title for this organization.”
Jason pasted on a patient smile as he glanced nervously toward the costume-clad adventurers in his board room. They shifted uncomfortably in their seats.
“Okay,” he said, turning back toward Max. “What name did they come up with?”
“The Liberty League.”
“…Seriously?”
Operating out of Metro City, the Liberty League is the premier superhero group of the area. Founded and run by Jason Noble, the group consists of four charter members and a great deal of resources that the billionaire has managed to assemble for them. Due to their early success in fighting crime on a local level, the United States government has recently asked Noble to expand the team’s territory. As a result, the group is currently seeking new members to, as Jason puts it, “help grow the franchise.”
The Liberty League’s success has come as some surprise to most people following them, largely because the initial project seemed to be nothing more than a publicity stunt and tax write-off for Jason Noble. Noble, a self-made billionaire, usually leaves people he meets wondering how he managed to make his money. The bulk of his wealth comes from his seemingly uncanny ability to pick stocks and technology patents just before they take off. He has purchased the rights to several gadgets that seem useless at first, only to have his research and development department find a function for them months later. Outside of this almost precognitive ability to figure out what will make money, Jason is considered to be almost useless as a businessman. He spends millions of dollars on frivolous parties, charity events, and even infomercials that never get him a single dime in return. He makes almost no financial decisions for his company, Noble Enterprises, relegating the day to day business operations to the many yes-men that surround him. Noble himself seems more concerned with being seen on the red carpet with various starlets or getting his name in the headlines through his high-profile parties than with any sort of business matters. Despite his apparent ignorance of financial matters, his company’s profits continue to soar. In fact, he seems to make more money when people are convinced that he’s a bumbling moron than when he shows some business savvy.
The closest thing that Jason has to a confidant is Max, his butler. Max is actually one of Jason’s many publicity stunts. The titanium-plated android was originally developed for military use, but the cost of mass-producing android soldiers turned out to be too expensive for the government to pursue. Rather than decommission the prototype, Jason had Max reprogrammed to serve as his butler and bodyguard. Max seems largely emotionless and incapable of understanding the subtleties of humor or sarcasm. Despite that, he has shown a dry wit from time to time and seems to be more in touch with people than Jason sometimes. Jason himself keeps Max’s full capabilities a secret, but it is known that he has hyper-sensitive hearing, super strength, and a titanium body. More useful to Jason, he also has a Dictaphone recorder implanted in his skull as well as an LCD projector in his chest that can serve to project PowerPoint presentations.
Many people speculate as to the true purpose of the Liberty League. Most figure that Jason Noble is using the group as a way to get his name into the headlines on a regular basis. Others point out that Noble Enterprises is receiving a tax write-off for the “charitable” work done by the group, and that Jason is marketing action figures and comic books based on the organization. That theory, though, is tempered with the fact that Noble has spent a huge sum of his own money in funding the group and gathering resources, not to mention covering their legal fees and paying numerous out of court settlements for the property damage caused in their battles. Some ascribe a more sinister motivation to the group’s origin, but even the members of the Liberty League don’t know for sure why the air-headed businessman has gathered them together.
The Team:
Facilities:
Future Recruits:
Jason Noble originally put out a general call for aid to all superhuman individuals in the Metro City area. The only requirements of the applicants were that they needed to pass certain physical and psychological tests and that they had to have a clean criminal record. Because the formation of the team was seen as a publicity stunt by Noble, few heroes actually answered the call. The four who did became charter members of the group and helped carry the project through its rough first few months. The original members of the Liberty League are:
In joining the Liberty League, these four founding members were given access to a state of the art training facility and several other assets supplied by Noble. In return, he required them to sign over their likenesses to be used for marketing purposes. When the Liberty League is successful, action figures, breakfast cereals, and more fill the shelves of local stores. When they cause a great deal of destruction or lose popularity with the media, Noble tends to dial back the marketing until they are able to fix their image.
The Liberty League currently operates in a specially designed building near Jason Noble's mansion. The facility is guarded by state of the art security systems that have been enhanced even further after a pair of supervillains attempted to break into the headquarters shortly after the group was formed. In addition to separate quarters, eating, and exercise areas, the building houses a lab, a ready room with a large-screen plasma monitor turned to a variety of different news networks and police frequencies, and a training room approximately one hundred yards square with a ceiling fifty feet high. The training room uses hard-light holograms which are capable of recreating almost any physical structure in a way that is capable of fooling all five senses. The holograms themselves tend to be more fragile than real objects, meaning that concrete walls have the hardness of plywood, cars are 1/10 or less of their real weight, and so on. Nonetheless, the training facility has proven useful in practicing tactical maneuvers and teaching the group how their powers can work together to overcome goals. The roof of the structure has a helipad, and plans are currently underway to secure the group some airborne vehicle, dubbed by Noble Enterprise's marketing group as “The Liberty Launcher,” much to Jason's chagrin. Noble himself rarely visits the training facility, although a constant security feed and video communication system does give him easy access to the team if he needs them.
After several successful missions in the Metro City area, the federal government contacted Jason Noble about expanding the group, setting up stations in other high-crime areas of the country. As a result, the Liberty League is now open to new recruits, with Jason Noble regularly flashing his billion-dollar grin on news networks in hopes of finding the most marketable – er, capable – superheroes possible. There has even been talk about a superhero-themed reality TV show, with the top prize being a spot on the expanded roster. Even Jason is against that idea, however, and has openly threatened to fire any marketing executive who mentions that idea in his presence.
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