the Medsua Web
Just what is the Medusa Web, you ask? Well, the Web was founded in 1969 by K.G.B. defector Alexi Ruyanev, who'd fled the U.S.S.R. in order to experience the freedom that America offered. When he got there, however, he decided that he didn't like his new home, either, and he decided to go his own way, make his own power - the Medusa Web!
The ultimate goal of the Web is to unite the world into a singular political entity; if you have no more countries, you can't possibly have any more wars, now, can you? To this end, Ruyanev recruited Thame Panagitis, a Greek history and linguistic expert, to help him collect and maintain a small army of international, paramilitary thugs.
Funded by a vast array of anonymous corporate concerns, the Medusa Web works towards its goal in an odd fashion. You see, it plans on forcing the world to unite against a singular foe it perceives to be greater than its component nations - namely, the Medusa Web! Ruyanev and Panagitis were well on their way towards making their goal a reality when it happened.
The White Event, a strange astronomical phenomenon that occurred late in 1986, was seemingly unimportant until it was discovered that it left several people in its wake with paranormal powers. Panagitis was one of those people. After the Event, he'd developed the power of languages; coupled with his natural charisma and vast tactical skills, this made Panagitis the ideal leader of the Web.
Realizing that he probably wasn't the only man to have developed strange and wonderful powers, Panagitis decided to go recruiting, looking for others like himself, others with powers that were more than human. And, since the various governments of the world dropped the ball in this regard, Panagitis was more than successful in his quest. By the time he was done, Thame had assembled this team:
Babel: after meeting KGB defector Alexi Ruyanev, Thame Panagitis became enamored of his notions of bringing about a world government, and helped him form the Medusa Web organization. To this end, he has engaged in various clandestine activities to achieve this goal ever since. Availability:
Backfire: a nondescript kind of guy before the White Event, George was a hard up loser. While the Event gave him impressive reflective powers, he's still a loser, endlessly perpetrating his raunchy personality upon the Medusa Web on its many paramilitary actions. Availability:
Donner Kopf: unlike most of his fellow Web field ops, Donner Kopf isn't a paranormal. Instead, he is a cyborg, a man with Doctor Swensen's MAX technology implanted in his throat, which allows him to wield his voice as a deadly weapon should he choose to do so! Availability:
Dustoff: with his military background, this mysterious pilot is one of the best aerial combatants in the Medusa Web's roster. With his considerable skills, he's usually tapped to fly the Web's paranormal operatives to and from missions in more remote areas. Availability:
Electrique: while the White Event gave her considerable power, it also stripped Electrique of her humanity. The loss of her physical body seems to have removed Electrique's fear of conscience or consequence, and she gleefully destroys anything that crosses her path. Availability:
Gatto di Sangue: the Blood Cat was a serious contender in the 1980 Olympics, having already honed her dexterity to its absolute human limits. The White Event enhanced this even further, and with the Web's help she's honed her new abilities to a deadly degree. Availability:
Imprint: an albino technopsi and surveillance expert, Imprint is a mainstay of Medusa Web operations. Though he lacks direct combat capabilities, his professional demeanor lends itself to an administrative role on Web field missions, and his fellows appreciate his leadership. Availability:
Potiphar: a mercenary, assassin, and fiercely patriotic Egyptian national that's been active in Middle-Eastern affairs for over twenty years, this mass murderer has found himself in the Medusa Web's employ of late, and he gleefully does the Web's dirty work. Availability:
Relampago: after the White Event granted her the power of super speed, this young woman became something of a folk hero in her Chilean home. Recruited into the Medusa Web, she began to use her considerable abilities to further Thame's goals to the best of her ability. Availability:
Skybreaker: originally an arms smuggler before the White Event, James acquired the ability to fly shortly thereafter, and that - combined with his underworld skills - made him an excellent choice to be recruited into the Medusa Web for its clandestine operations. Availability:
Toocheetsch: formerly a farmer in the Soviet Union, Nikolai was forever changed after the White Event. Gaining the ability to control his body mass, he was quickly recruited by the Medusa Web, who put him to use in a plot to subvert control of the U.S.S.R. itself! Availability:
Troublemaker: a wise cracking and smart talking punk, Troublemaker definitely lives up to his name. Blessed with quadruple jointed limbs, he has become a martial arts master, some he specifically devised to make use of his own body - skills he uses for the Web! Availability:
He'd collected about a dozen paranormals, and had them specially trained to be paramilitary operatives, in exchange for lots and lots of money and a generally cushy life (when they weren't off on missions, of course). Of course, the lifestyle was highly dangerous, and even with their super human powers, Babel's paranormal field team experienced occasional casualties.
For instance, as the world began to fall apart in the wake of the White Event, Babel had decided that he wanted to recruit the so-called Psi-Force into the Web's ranks, and came up with a nifty plan with the U.S. Government in order to facilitate this. This plan failed in the end, however, when the Americans went back on their deal, and the mission cost the Web its super speedster, Relampago.
Persistent to the end, Babel continued working on the Psi-Force youths, and eventually gained their trust after freeing them from the Siberian Project a year later. Of course, this operation cost the team more lives, and Gatto di Sangue was another casualty of his recruiting attempts; naturally, this is because the team encountered the demonic Rodstvow while making good on their escape.
Psi-Force wasn't the Medusa Web's only concern, however. Between his first and second big recruiting drive, Babel had sent his team out on various shady missions. For instance, Potiphar was sent to recover a lost shipment of nerve gas from a band of Iranians and return them to their rightful owners. Later, he and several others were sent to acquire schematics for the Mark III M.A.X. armor.
Their most ambitious move, however, involved inserting Toocheetsch into the Soviet seat of power. After discovering that his parability involved the manipulation of his body mass, Babel had him disguised as a perfect body double for Mikhail Gorbachev, and then had him take over the U.S.S.R. by replacing the real deal. Of course, what the Web did with their newfound rule has yet to be seen.
That was because the War, the third world-wide conflict to occur on the earth, had broken out immediately after Toocheetsch had been put in power - much as Babel had predicted. Of course, the Web wasn't quite ready to make itself the world's primary target yet, so it simply did everything it could to keep the earth in one peace for the duration of the conflict.
The exact nature of these actions, as well as those after the War itself, have yet to be revealed...