Mitheral
"Growf!"
Fourth Reich
The origin of the Fourth Reich is steeped in technomagic not too far different than that suggested in movies such as Hellboy, Bulletproof Monk, and such. This team is bound by an oath to follow their commander to victory through whatever hell they must face. The Fourth Reich team cannot age does not age. They cannot die permanently, as some of the members wish they could. They are bound by their oaths.
Current Operations (Spoiler info)
Fourth Reich hides its operation under the guise of a humanitarian organization that brokers aid for many 3rd world countries, promotes demonstrations against violence around the world, funds efforts against environmental threats, and supports research on cures for diseases that threaten to wipe out whole countries. So how can such an organization possibly be evil? Well, they use these resources to do the complete opposite. They smuggle weapons, sell drugs, and replace cures with the cause. They destabilize the Middle East, especially in areas surrounding Israel. They have been developing a financial structure to ensure their success with funds carefully secured in diverse locations and mediums. Ultimately their goal is to prepare the way for the Rise of the German nation.
Codename: Fourth Reich
Colonel Karl Steigler
Formerly a commander in the German SS, Steigler once proposed a plan to develop Nazi metahumans utterly loyal to the Reich. The plan crossed the desk of the Fuhrer who made an offhand comment that he wouldn’t mind seeing such a team in action. And so it was – without the Fuhrer’s knowledge – such a plan was put into action. Steigler was reassigned to oversee Project Fourth Reich, for which he was to recruit a team of 'volunteers' who would undergo experimental procedures to enhance metahuman abilities present in a latent form. He was to then oversee their training and deployment against enemies of the Reich. Ultimately the project failed. While he was successful in all phases of the project the final results failed in encounters against foreign adversaries. All members of Steigler’s team perished. Seen as an embarrassment to the Fuhrer, Steigler was executed for Treason.
Steigler and his team were resurrected some 30 years later. The Cold War was on the rise. Nazi loyalists sought to take advantage of the Cold War between the two Superpowers – the United States and the Soviet Union. This time his team was deadlier than ever. As time had passed his team's powers had grown in accordance with current technologies. Unfortunately his team's mindset was still that of a WWII team. In the end the first resurrection failed. But with respect to their limitations, it was a joint effort between Soviet and American teams that brought the Nazi plan to a halt.
The team returned again some 10 years later. This time the technomages who brought them back to bring about the New World Order were better prepared. They had collected a genetic sample from one of the world's most indestructible superheroes in a rare moment of injury and cloned a new body into which Fourth Reich was resurrected. With his rebirth, so too was his team reborn to fulfill their oaths.
Steigler could press a good 100 tons over his head, fly at in excess of Mach 1 (non-combat) or 60 mph in combat pulling high G maneuvers without effort. (He could do better than that with effort.) His body was able to survive in the harsh rigors of space. And he could even fly directly into a star. His injuries healed in minutes. And he could take a LAW rocket in the chest and hardly flinch. His reputation for being indestructible was well-founded. He does suffer one major weakness. Negative energies, like energy drains, shadow magic, and such cut right through his defenses, draining his vast reserves of energy and ultimately stripping him of power.
Codename: Luftwaffe
Lt. Kristina Messierschmidt
Kristina is a one woman air force, splitting into at least four duplicates. (Originally she could only make one duplicate, but with successive resurrections she has grown in number and power.) She is known to have supersonic flight, the ability to fly into space, and shoot fireballs that need no oxygen to sustain them and home in on their targets. But of all the team she is perhaps its greatest asset and weakest link. With each successive resurrection she grows in power - and disunity. In her past she was swept up by the wave of propaganda that swept Germany. She was effectively brainwashed into hatred of all but German supremacy. And yet she has doubts. Luftwaffe revels in her power. Kristina does not. With each failure she begins to doubt the innate supremacy of any race. And she has begun to doubt even her commander's strategy. She still sees the nation of Israel as an affront to the security of the Reich. But she isn't so sure she sees any part of the Middle East as less of a threat.
The sight of plague and famine terrify her, provoking anger and contempt. But this is the result of deep seated patterns of guilt. She has all but forgotten the friend she betrayed for the Reich. She visited her brother while he was working in the concentration camps of the Holocaust for which he is so adequately named. Part of her fears what her brother has become. And there is a deep hatred for the commander for twisting her brother in such a way.
Codename: Holocaust
Kristoff Messierschmidt
Kristoff is Kristina’s twin brother. Prior to the war Kristoff had been planning to enter religious service. But as the Reich began to gear up for war, Kristoff was inducted into HK. There he was soon brainwashed into the Nazi beliefs in Aryan supremacy and the evil of the Jewish people. He was serving in a concentration camp when Steigler found him. It was his job to select who would die and who would enter forced labor. He showed little sympathy. Kristoff considered the Jews no better than animals.
Kristoff is a religious fanatic and a racial supremist. Once he was a man of peace. Now he delights in torture. He believes that torture reveals a man for what he is. He has limits however. He will NOT torture a child, only one who is an adult. That is a line he will NEVER cross. He would sooner put a child to a quick death than torture. In his eyes, children are the only true innocents. The only children he would never kill would be his own nephews. He hates Steigler for tainting his sister. He sees her as having become a tramp. And yet he loves his sister, far more than a brother should. While he would never cross the line of incest, he will burn any man alive that dares to tarnish his sister’s reputation – what little is left of it. He turns a blind eye to her carousing so long is the worst is kept behind closed doors. To the man who brags of his conquests, a painful death by incineration is in order.
Kristoff’s powers are those of elemental hellfire. He can become the fire itself. Solid walls, even vault doors, are no protection from his judgment. He simply passes right through them. Only refractory materials will prevent his passing. He is known to produce a powerful ball of fire around himself, often simply holding onto his victim. A painful death awaits the man foolish enough to lay a finger on Holocaust. While he cannot fly like his sister, he is able to teleport. He has been known to teleport his sister from harm, or a scientist needed for research.
Codename: Iron Cross
Major Wilhelm von Rheinhardt
Wilhelm is the team’s martial artist, something of an extreme rarity among the Nazis. Wilhelm had fought in the First World War and later served as a U Boat commander. He had earned the Iron Cross for which his codename was chosen. This is a man of honor and honesty. He was never corrupted by the dogma of the Reich. He was simply a career soldier loyal to the Fatherland. And a good soldier follows orders.
Iron Cross is haunted by nightmares from past atrocities he has witnessed. Part of him seeks the peace found in final death, something denied him. He is often at odds with Steigler and has even faced his commander in a fight – and very nearly won! Wilhelm will never personally harm, nor allow harm to an innocent. He considers attacking non-military targets beneath the honor of a real soldier. And truth to tell, he is weary of battle.
Wilhelm is old fashioned, even for the team. He prefers rural settings, horsemanship, and seamanship. He enjoys archaic modes of combat. When faced with a stronger enemy he will turn their strength on themselves. He is trained in ninja arts (sort of like Batman). He will honor truces or white flags. And should anyone ever break one of his truces, he will personally shoot that man, and personally assist his enemy in returning to a status quo. Woe be to the man who betrays that honor.
Iron Cross is known to be virtually impervious to physical harm. What little gets past his defenses regenerates rapidly. He is only slightly less invulnerable against energy attacks. Holocaust has learned this the hard way. The only thing that has kept the man from killing Holocaust outright is Luftwaffe. Iron Cross remembers the woman Luftwaffe used to be before the war twisted her. He respects the fact that Holocaust is her brother.
*******Iron Cross is known to have survived in every environment imaginable. He is impervious to toxins and disease.
Codename: Blitzkrieg
Karl Schroendinger
Blitzkrieg was an accident. Some of the greatest discoveries are made by accident. Before the war Karl was merely a scientist content to pursue the mysteries of the universe. He was researching Roentgen rays that stimulated regeneration and tissue growth. That was how he discovered a means to tap into the metahuman potentials of a rare few humans. His early experiments showed minimal success, largely from a lack of funding. But when Project Fourth Reich started, Karl was brought to Steigler’s attention and drafted into the program as a technical support. Karl proved to have a great deal more knowledge than just physics. He had a passion for archeology, fencing, chess, and meteorology. He loved modernization and felt in his heart that science was the road to the future.
It was an equipment overload that created Blitzkrieg. At first, everyone thought Karl had been vaporized in the blast. But a naked scientist walked into the research station the next day without a scratch on him. He promptly volunteered for the program and submitted himself to tests.
Blittzkrieg, as the name implies, is capable of producing powerful spheres of lightning. He is also capable of absorbing tremendous amounts of energy. This energy only makes him more powerful. He can regenerate everyone in his immediate vicinity.
His main weakness is energy drains. His presence also stirs feelings of discomfort, despite looking rather handsome and harmless.
Karl is an honorable man, but a confirmed Nazi.
