What's being discussed in this thread:

We're currently thinking of Heroes Alliance as being organized in “seasons”, with a longer story-arc book-ending a series of stand-alone episodes.

The first season begins with a two-part pilot introducing our main superhero characters and telling the story of how they formed a team independently of Heroes Unite, a UN organization of superheroes (see Heroes Unite).

Plot ideas for the series arc as well as stand-alone episodes are scattered throughout this thread (they're numbered, starting with Hero's post below). New plot ideas may be posted at any time! Writers should also pick previously posted plot ideas and think about developing them (as is currently being done with the “fan-service chapter” (plot idea #19)). Plus, we still need to think about group dynamics - how the team evolves over the course of our season.

How about a massive conspiracy for a villain to take control of the public at large by mass producing hypnotic signals in electronic music, climaxing in the hypnotism of a powerful superhuman? (1)

Time traveling super-scientist from the past in the present needing to be stopped from allying with modern day supervillains and taking time changing technology back in time and altering the course of history in their favor? (2)

Dinosaurs being revived by an evil magical cult and empowered with vast mystical powers in a bid to lay siege to the American countryside and purge it of disbelievers? (3)

Archeologists unleashing an Ancient Aztecan Doomsday Device which proceeds to head towards Southwestern America, causing Superheroes and Villains to race trying to stop/control it?(Heck, with this one, a lot of my Southwestern Superheroes could cameo.) (4)

Aliens have kinda been done, but the ol' standby of pod people seeking to replace influential and powerful people, maybe without taking into regard secret identities and whatnot? (5)

A overly radical Captain Planet like superhero resorting to Eco-Terrorism in an extreme attempt to educate people in the matter of conservation? (6)

A famous mystic hero kidnapped by demons whilst attending a mystical martial arts tournament in New York and the race to find them so they can avert a large Magical disaster that'll occur in 24 hours without their intervention? (7)

Well there's the ever classic Mirror Universe story. (A trip to a universe where the heroes are villains and the villains are heroes) (8)

Then there's the “Girls Night Out” story (Story with an all female cast) (9)

Or, for something completely different, take the superhero characters and put them in a different setting, like a swords and sorcery setting or the wild west. (10)

Or, when in doubt, have the heroes fight a monster/mythological creature of your choice (see if you can find an obscure one) (11)

This is why I love superhero comics, the possibilities are endless! (12)

I support evrything Azu and Hero suggested.

Also:

A classic “Murder Mystery” with one of our Detective-like characters. (13)

Machine-based Armageddon. (14)

A “switching powers” story. (15)

A good brawl between two of our strongest heroes with opposing ideas. (16)

An “alternate universe” story where everything is all Golden-Age like. (17)

Wes_Nero123
A “switching powers” story

AzuJOD
Well there's the ever classic Mirror Universe story. (A trip to a universe where the heroes are villains and the villains are heroes)

Hero
How about a massive conspiracy for a villain to take control of the public at large by mass producing hypnotic signals in electronic music, climaxing in the hypnotism of a powerful superhuman?

Hero
Time traveling super-scientist from the past in the present needing to be stopped from allying with modern day supervillains and taking time changing technology back in time and altering the course of history in their favor?

Out of everything I've heard so far, I'll inforce these grand plans with my vote of confidence. Good work, guys. ^^

(18) A team of our heroes is suddenly poofed as representatives of the planet into some intergallactic match-up to determine the fate of Earthlings. The ones running the show would be some self-proclaimed geno-cleansing population control freaks who believes in “survival of the fittest… and the weak should be exterminated,” believing that Earthlings should be considered for extermination.

Our Earth team is then forced to face off against other unsuspecting representatives of another victim planet in the Geno-Purification Arena.

So a couple of directions we could take it is:

1) Neither competing planets really care to have the other destroyed and so they try to play out the match while trying to figure out a way to take out their captors instead.

or

2) The planet reps of the opposing team take the match up with only the intent to survive (not caring about what happens to earth) while our Heroes Alliance team is forced to hold them off while conjuring up a plan to take out their captors at the same time.

((I read too much Eyeshield 21 -japanese manga about american football- in the past couple of weeks))


Edit:

Another story idea:
(19) A popular day spa is suspected to be a front for a bio-terrorist madwoman who's bent on genetically altering victims without consent. Our team of heroes are sent in under-cover to unravel the truth behind the mineral spring water swimming pool, mud baths, and shiatsu massage sessions.

((I think I'd like to do a fanservice issue/chapter -despite the PG-13 thing-… I love drawing the hero women -and villain women for that matter- all sexy like… Abt and Tempest, I KNOW you would be on board with me on this one!!! Even if you decide not to openly admit it.))

You could have Heroes Alliance go undercover to expose an evil organization. (20)

A mad scientist could create a seemingly indestructable robot (21)

Some of the supervillians that have faced the heroes before team up( Alliance of Villians or something like that) (22)

One of the heroes could get framed for a crime. The hero could try to clear their name and discover they have doppleganger. (23)

How about these story ideas:

Two alien races (one possibly good and one possibly bad) come upon Earth and notices the conflict that arise everyday. Each race mistakenly pick a “villian” to discuss why the Earth is in the shape it is. The races learn of their other races strategy and decide that they will have representatives of Earth be picked for a “battle” to decide the fate of the planet. The villians have to decide if they want heroes, villians, or both on their team, knowing that they could have some say on how the results would favor them. Would make for interesting teamups, plot turns, etc. (24)

A person from the future, with information on how a certain event will unfold, comes to modern day Earth with the dilemma of whether or not he wants to reveal any information that may benefit or harm the heroes. (25)

One hero (or a group of heroes) is exposed to a virus. The heroes need to turn to someone who has the ability to help them, but he/she is a villian from a different time period (past or future) with no way of being contacted. This story could also have a villian or group of villians be infected, or one from each. (26)

A hero is caught in a costume/identity change by an undercover newsperson. The newsperson threatens the hero in some form unless some form of retribution is paid. A villian somehow catches wind of the whole story and uses the situation for their own greed. (27)

A crafty/seedy attorney attempts to frame the heroes while the heroes are “battling” a villian or group of villians. (28)

(I am full of ideas, obviously.)

Thanks a lot for your suggestions! If this were a cartoon and I were a TV channel exec I'd order 65 episodes. As they used to do in the good old days! What's with the increasingly short seasons these days? Anyway…

What I think we should address in the first chapter is how the team comes together, and what distinguishes them from HU. I won't be too picky about continuity details, but I want to acknowledge the work done on HU.

As far as I can see, there are two basic possibilities:

(1) They're a special task force of HU (- an option I wouldn't prefer, since I want Alliance to stand on its own).

(2) They are not affiliated with HU, and thus also not affiliated with the UN or government initiatives. I prefer this option, it saves us a lot of baggage on our storylines and makes the team stand (and shine) on its own. Still, almost all of the characters on Alliance would, as individuals, also be part of HU. I would like to address this issue, even if only as a detail.

So: Ideas on how and why the team comes together in the first chapter take top priority!

On a side note: I would really like to have a good villain, since I feel we haven't had a classic villain-driven story on HU yet. We've had two rampaging monsters, a more or less anonymous alien race, a bounty hunter employed by them, and a somewhat ambiguous self-aware military satellite who hacks Motherboard (the only true classic villain on HU so far, if you ask me). So I think we need a charismatic, interesting villain!

Ok. So suppose we've got Joe. Joe is was a small-time grifter and conman from the inner city. While nicking a shiny bauble from a collector after infiltrating a big fancy party, he suddenly gets transported to some crazy magic civilization halfway around the globe. The bauble turns out to be some sort of sacred relic that grants him big-time teleportation powers, moderate super strength and maybe an energy projection power just for kicks. It also designates him as ruler of this civilization. Naturally, he decides to use the powers to commit crimes as the nefarious Pop-Up/Hit and Miss/Everywhere Man or what have you, but also manages to be recognized by the UN as the leader of a sovereign nation making it that he's got enough diplomatic immunity or what have you that he can make catching him through HU involve a lot more paperwork and red tape than it's worth. Then come the heroes. Pop-Up/Hit and Miss/Everywhere Man crime sprees in all the different heroes' home towns since he can teleport and they all find him their various ways until they end up together. Bombshell recognizes that it's not a matter they can solve through Heroes Unite, they go off the metaphorical record. (P1)

Alternatively, I have a character, a child prodigy who once advised Caesar Augustus in the art of war and was blessed/cursed by Ares God of War with immortality only to find he would never age. It'd be no small jump for him to use his excessive fortune built from being alive so long to construct an arena in which he forces superheroes to fight for their lives gladiatorial-style. Say he kidnaps the signature heroes. They band together to beat him robo-gladiator guards and escape into the sunset and realize, hey, we work pretty well together. (P2)

Alternatively to the alternative, A big mystical so-and-so could collect the group for a specific task. Like some Dark Lord of the Ancient Magics M'Zalha decides he's entitled to the western half of the united states and the ancient mystic protectors of the earth, the Xia Ping say that it was fated for them to gather a group of heroes to combat M'Zalha's forces of darkness and free the world for all the puppies and kitties and rainbow goodness. And, maybe the skeptics of the group don't buy into it at first, but when the fight gets going they decide to help out. (P3)

Hero
Ok. So suppose we've got Joe. Joe is was a small-time grifter and conman from the inner city. While nicking a shiny bauble from a collector after infiltrating a big fancy party, he suddenly gets transported to some crazy magic civilization halfway around the globe. The bauble turns out to be some sort of sacred relic that grants him big-time teleportation powers, moderate super strength and maybe an energy projection power just for kicks. It also designates him as ruler of this civilization. Naturally, he decides to use the powers to commit crimes as the nefarious Pop-Up/Hit and Miss/Everywhere Man or what have you, but also manages to be recognized by the UN as the leader of a sovereign nation making it that he's got enough diplomatic immunity or what have you that he can make catching him through HU involve a lot more paperwork and red tape than it's worth. Then come the heroes. Pop-Up/Hit and Miss/Everywhere Man crime sprees in all the different heroes' home towns since he can teleport and they all find him their various ways until they end up together. Bombshell recognizes that it's not a matter they can solve through Heroes Unite, they go off the metaphorical record.

This story defiantly has my vote!

I have an idea for a type of villian.

A corporation has been rejected for an item (like a drug, etc.) by the government. They are in dire straights for money, and begin negotations with other corporations to hold underground meetings to test their wares. The new entity hides itself well, creating legal, legitimate drugs for public use. While they are doing their “evil” work, they are approached by someone who can set up groups of villians or individual villians that can be used for several purposes (such as testing, or “running interference,” etc.). Along the way, the corporations set up shops in the individual heroes hometown, allowing for the team to form. (P4)

I have a group of villians available that would be/might be a good lead off group for the newly formed team of heroes under this premise.

So, I numbered your previous suggestions (1-28 for individual stories and P1-P4 for ideas for the pilot) to make our future discussions about them easier.

I will make sure to have absolute control over the pilot, as this one is imperative to getting the whole thing going. This shouldn't stop you from making suggestions (and it won't stop me from considering them, along with the previous four), I just don't want anyone to be disappointed if their idea won't be chosen. I'll post my own ideas once I have the time to properly think it through, you can keep suggesting things until then.

As for the rest, I am sure we can combine many of the 28 suggestions. For now everyone who has signed up as an author can look through the suggestions and maybe develop a plot based on some they particularly like. This would als include thinking about which hero characters best to include.

To make this as easy for everyone as possible, please note the following:

Propositions for plots should be easy to grasp. I certainly can't read, say, 28 prose stories posted here in the forums AND have a private life. So: Let's make it efficient. As long as they're not given a go from me I don't expect you to write stories but plots, which means summarizing the following in a short and precise manner:
- What happens?
- Who is involved and why?
- What's the point? (Of course we all hope that the ultimate point is to have a good story, but for now we must know why we should expect it to be good. This would include good reasons why this story should be told, how it would fit into a larger picture of our team etc. Of course it can also be a story standing on its own with no other significance whatsoever. My point is: even then, it should be noted and thought about.)

Lastly: Please consider that we still have a rather limited amount of artists. If you can convince artists to illustrate your stories it will significantly increase chances of these stories being realized. Duh. So please try to bring in artists on your own as far as possible. You can negotiate this among yourselves, just make sure to post in the forums so I can keep track of what you're doing. Because even if you manage to do a story on your own there's no guarantee I'll eventually accept it if I've never heard about your doing it in the first place. There always needs to be some sort of official go-ahead by myself. All artists: Please make sure to talk to me before starting work on anything for Heroes Alliance. The last thing I want you to do is waste your time and effort!

fukujinzuke
I think I'd like to do a fanservice issue/chapter -despite the PG-13 thing-… I love drawing the hero women -and villain women for that matter- all sexy like… Abt and Tempest, I KNOW you would be on board with me on this one!!! Even if you decide not to openly admit it.

Fanservice issue is GO! We definitely need to keep this between you, Tempest and me though. How about 12 pages, with each of us doing 4? If Tempest agrees, that is :3

fukujinzuke
(19) A popular day spa is suspected to be a front for a bio-terrorist madwoman who's bent on genetically altering victims without consent. Our team of heroes are sent in under-cover to unravel the truth behind the mineral spring water swimming pool, mud baths, and shiatsu massage sessions.

I have an idea for the villain for that story (if your interested): A mad fashion designer who uses genetic engineering and nanotechnology to recreate people into her vision of beauty.

Blue Jay
Some of the supervillians that have faced the heroes before team up( Alliance of Villians or something like that) (22)

We could get all the people who submitted a hero to a villain as well, one who is seen as their arch nemesis (I'm already working of Azumorph's)

AzuJOD
We could get all the people who submitted a hero to a villain as well, one who is seen as their arch nemesis (I'm already working of Azumorph's)

Yes please :D
I really WANT a Legion of Doom… a Villains Alliance, for that matter ;P

Abt_Nihil

AzuJOD
We could get all the people who submitted a hero to a villain as well, one who is seen as their arch nemesis (I'm already working of Azumorph's)

Yes please :D
I really WANT a Legion of Doom… a Villains Alliance, for that matter ;P

Sounds like a cracking idea, Just like the “Villians Unite” me and Nepath are doing. Actually i Believe SimpleSimon had already submitted the idea/script to Nepath aaaaaage's ago, lol.

Spudsy
Sounds like a cracking idea, Just like the “Villians Unite” me and Nepath are doing. Actually i Believe SimpleSimon had already submitted the idea/script to Nepath aaaaaage's ago, lol.

Yeah, I've been talking with SympleSymon about that! ^_^ We're considering doing his “Villains Unite” story on Heroes Alliance - he told me there were no actual plans yet on how to include them on HU (please correct me if that's wrong). Plus, as far as I know, SympleSymon has the framework for the gathering of villains, but not the actual villains. So I thought we might collect 'em here :D

(19), tentatively referred to as “Fanservice Issue”

Abt - I'm on-board, of course. Four pages of near-mindless sexiness. I'll put some topless males in there too so as not to discriminate.

AzuJOD - Sounds like an interesting single-issue villain. She could be like a twisted madame that looks something like (and gives you tingly feelings like) Vampirella or something. Maybe give her full body patterned scarification or tattoos as a result from her own previous self-subject experimentations.

- What happens?
A high profile, do-gooder politician/politician's wife's disappeared a week ago after booking a weekend getaway at a popular day spa and suddenly reappears a week later as the crazed mass murderer of 20 innocent people. Clues have led our heroes to foul play behind the day spa as a source of genetic alteration that causes its patrons to go maniacal. (2 pages) Exploring aspects of the day spa and fighting off temptations of earthly pleasures, they begin to unravel leads to an underground lab/production line until they find the twisted madwoman behind it all (8 pages). The heroes pursue and close the story by destroy all her genetically altering products and research data… with possible tie-in/hint to whatever the next chapter might be (2 pages).

- Who is involved and why?
Titan, Bombshell, and Vora (required) because I want to draw them in this fanservice-filled issue… Oh, and the story-based reason is because the working theory is that women would be more likely to be exposed to the demented process they suspect is taking place.

Relik also should go in the guise of Brad (because Brad is a celeb and had a personalized invite for complementary services at the spa in marketing hopes of his endorsement). Brad would have the three girls as his fill-in “entourage” because big-time single celebs roll that way.

All others would play minor roles… like back-up upon strike time (if needed at all)

Anyway, this issue has to happen before Titan leaves. heh heh… I must draw Titan fanservice.

So really, the only issues that might be a problem for this story would be secret-identity insights, or lack thereof rather, between team members.


- What's the point?
“Fanservice” x 4

Perhaps there could be a plot for a alien race, they've been watching Earth for a long time, planning. They descend upon the planet, activating agents that have been there previously (politicians, military personnel, etc) to rise up against humanity. Their main ship lands in Africa, and starts to dig, they don't know for what, but it is imperative that they find out. The government finds that the aliens are mining Earth's core, and that the area surrounding the landing site is stripped bare. Their military strikes have failed and thus, they reach out for superheroes to help them.

Heroes from around the globe unite, and a cooperative effort from many nations lead to a strike on the enemy's main craft, yet the main attack is a distraction. Instead a small strike team is inserted to find the ships core, plant a nuclear weapon and set it off. They succeed but many military personnel and some heroes are killed in the explosion, the team themselves barely made it out with there lives.

The reason for the story is for a good action/adventure tale, another however would be a good reason for the heroes to get to know each other, not because they want to, but because they have to -for the sake of all mankind. The team must be forged not simply created.

(P6)?

Maybe we can use the hunt for Energize initiative within the HU organization as the provoker of doubt in those who knew him personally (so Bombshell, obviously, is one, and Titan maybe since she's been there, although I know Nepath and Spudsy have plans for her).

What happens:
HU Commander (Natasha) announces that Energize has gone rogue. Bombshell who's known Energize from the very foundation of the HU initiative is struck with doubt, and upon trying to investigate the details behind this (especially when getting close to unraveling the financial interest Chegwin Tech is investing into the initiative), she is wrapped up in political red tape. Meanwhile, a new threat, which Bombshell suspects has possible connections to other Chegwin Tech interests, is coming into view. (not sure what yet - EDIT: maybe research data from the Oracle projects had been swiped from Chegwin Tech and the theft is covered up for various reasons. Thanks to a little digging, there's enough evidence to indicate that dangerous weapons and technologies have wound up in the wrong hands. This way our team doesn't interfere with the HU/Chegwin Tech/Energize conflict, since the theft is committed by a third party… err fourth party.)

Knowing that HU is now tied closely to Chegwin Tech plus all the red tape that comes with that relationship, and figuring out that there are forces that she can not deal with alone, Bombshell hand selects individual heroes that she believes would be the most effective and impartial to go a new direction, separating their individual efforts from the existing HU initiative's now-questionable system of checks and balances.


Who is involved and why:
Bombshell - is the first to run into the questionable new flaws in the HU processes.

Titan - has been watching things unfold as she has known they would (having come from the future) Maybe this new team formed is undocumented in the future, so she feels a sense of responsibility to follow it along?

Relik - He's not close to Energize, he's not close to the HU Commander, and has no vested interest in Chegwin Tech. To top it off, he's a heavy hitter that would without a doubt have the abilities and battle experience which will hugely contribute to bringing down enemies that the team would encounter. Plus, we need his signature smart alek remarks for light comic relief moments after the heavy drama scenes.

Vora - I'll have to defer to Tempest for ideas since I don't know her backstory yet. I think it's a given that her abilities (though they've not quite been fully demonstrated yet) are rather powerful also… (and she can be our Windows Vista tech support when she's not flying and throwing lightning, j/k).

SHELL - If there's anyone open to critical questioning of HU, it's SHELL. He joined the initiative, true, but being an older character of 30 years of age, he's probably more stubborn about changing his beliefs completely than anyone in HU. The idea of his joining HU with hazy motives (like keeping a close watch on these supers) is not out of reach. “Can't teach an old dog new tricks”


What's the point:
There has to be a leader, and Bombshell is the most fit for this role out of the characters we have here. I think her role in EGO demonstrates that. From there, a branch of sub-leadership is developed for more members to form the sub-teams.

We definitely need an “arch-villain” like Slade was to the Teen Titans cartoon series… although it might be tough to connect that villain to Chegwin Tech… so anyway, that's the idea. Anyway, this villain would then come to realize that there is a new team that's interfering with his/her plans that the HU initiative is not holding down… so s/he decides to attempt pick this team apart via a mix of physical beatings and psychological conflict throughout the Heroes Alliance series.

fukujinzuke
(P6)?

Maybe we can use the hunt for Energize initiative within the HU organization as the provoker of doubt in those who knew him personally (so Bombshell, obviously, is one, and Titan maybe since she's been there, although I know Nepath and Spudsy have plans for her).

What happens:
HU Commander (Natasha) announces that Energize has gone rogue. Bombshell who's known Energize from the very foundation of the HU initiative is struck with doubt, and upon trying to investigate the details behind this (especially when getting close to unraveling the financial interest Chegwin Tech is investing into the initiative), she is wrapped up in political red tape. Meanwhile, a new threat, which Bombshell suspects has possible connections to other Chegwin Tech interests, is coming into view. (not sure what yet)

Knowing that HU is now tied closely to Chegwin Tech plus all the red tape that comes with that relationship, and figuring out that there are forces that she can not deal with alone, Bombshell hand selects individual heroes that she believes would be the most effective and impartial to go a new direction, separating their individual efforts from the existing HU initiative's now-questionable system of checks and balances.


Who is involved and why:
Bombshell - is the first to run into the questionable new flaws in the HU processes.

Titan - has been watching things unfold as she has known they would (having come from the future) Maybe this new team formed is undocumented in the future, so she feels a sense of responsibility to follow it along?

Relik - He's not close to Energize, he's not close to the HU Commander, and has no vested interest in Chegwin Tech. To top it off, he's a heavy hitter that would without a doubt have the abilities and battle experience which will hugely contribute to bringing down enemies that the team would encounter. Plus, we need his signature smart alek remarks for light comic relief moments after the heavy drama scenes.

Vora - I'll have to defer to Tempest for ideas since I don't know her backstory yet. I think it's a given that her abilities (though they've not quite been fully demonstrated yet) are rather powerful also… (and she can be our Windows Vista tech support when she's not flying and throwing lightning, j/k).

SHELL - If there's anyone open to critical questioning of HU, it's SHELL. He joined the initiative, true, but being an older character of 30 years of age, he's probably more stubborn about changing his beliefs completely than anyone in HU. The idea of his joining HU with hazy motives (like keeping a close watch on these supers) is not out of reach. “Can't teach an old dog new tricks”


What's the point:
There has to be a leader, and Bombshell is the most fit for this role out of the characters we have here. I think her role in EGO demonstrates that. From there, a branch of sub-leadership is developed for more members to form the sub-teams.

We definitely need an “arch-villain” like Slade was to the Teen Titans cartoon series… although it might be tough to connect that villain to Chegwin Tech… so anyway, that's the idea. Anyway, this villain would then come to realize that there is a new team that's interfering with his/her plans that the HU initiative is not holding down… so s/he decides to attempt pick this team apart via a mix of physical beatings and psychological conflict throughout the Heroes Alliance series.

really appriciate the level of detail played to the Energize storyline. Thanks.
the only thing i would add (just in case this was considered) is that i don't think many heroes will have much support for Energize. You'll just have tp wait to see what i mean.

fukujinzuke
AzuJOD - Sounds like an interesting single-issue villain. She could be like a twisted madame that looks something like (and gives you tingly feelings like) Vampirella or something. Maybe give her full body patterned scarification or tattoos as a result from her own previous self-subject experimentations.

Actually, I envisioned her looking like a cross between Cruella De Vil and either Tyra Banks or the main villain of Ugly Betty. As for scars, I never envisioned her with scars, but we could add some scars on back from when she tried to attach wings to herself. Yep, madwoman.

(19)

AzuJOD
Actually, I envisioned her looking like a cross between Cruella De Vil and either Tyra Banks or the main villain of Ugly Betty. As for scars, I never envisioned her with scars, but we could add some scars on back from when she tried to attach wings to herself. Yep, madwoman.

Ahh, that actually sounds good too, even without the scars (since we can probably fanservice the snot out of her too if she didn't have scars)

How they get together I have an idea for. I will post it on here AND the storyline, so all can see.

Look at the characters, we can see that most of them aren't actually the best heroes and the type of “poster boys” are they?

Relik is a new hero, not very known for the time being and little information is known of him for the time being.

Vora is also a unknown kind of character (to the civilian eye for the world, by the way. That's what I meant)

As is Titan.

Bombshell is known, but not for the right reasons. people see what she does as a crime and she doesn't see eye to eye with the government alot of the time.

Same with Shell. Not all the time he is seen eye to eye with people…especially now after the ending of one of the issues.

The HU Commander can gather these together as they're more like a darker, black-ops version of HU. they have to do things in secret without being spotted by the media.

That's how they could get together, anyway.

Some great suggestions so far!

Some tie into what I've been contemplating myself, especially mind_reader's suggestions were something I considered. Like an HU special task force, I think I mentioned this in my first or second post. What I'd eventually like to achieve is some sort of independence from HU though.

I'll give some more in-depth comments once I have more time. For now I just want to say there are some great ideas on the table.

I'm going to throw my two cents in and offer up a little of what my mind is brewing for suggestions, based on earlier ideas on the board.

PROLOGUE:

Bombshell is growing weary of bureaucracy (Sorry for any spelling errors) slowing down the HU program, and decides that perhaps she should seek alternative routes of action. She decides to take a few weeks off-duty, and travels to remote locations in order to discuss those ideas with members of other organizations to act as a countermeasures to ball ideas back and forth.

If she visits Sweden, I have a character (Sven) that would fit perfectly as a counterpart diplomat, whom she could hold a brief discussion on a team held with less strings. As a typical Swedish political power that is ‘obsessed’ with maintaining the neutral status quo that has kept Sweden out of wars for 200 years, informing her that he can't have any government-sanctioned ‘superheroes’ being sent off to the US, as it would greatly impede on their neutral stance in international business. However, as he bids her farewell, some kind of crisis is set off, and he has to deal with it immediately. He asks her to stay put, but of course she instead goes off in her Bombshell guise.

This is where Virtus comes into the picture. As a vigilante, he just happened to be in the vicinity when the crisis happened. As soon as it is averted by Sven and V together, Sven gives little more than a “thanks for your assistance” and leaves.

Bombshell reveals herself to V, having deduced that he's not an official government hero given the mask and the chilly at best relation to Sven. From here, she could be holding a sort off ‘mini-interview’ at some restaurant/park bench/rooftop etc, questoning V on his motivations and how he envisions his future as a crime-fighter. V responds that he honestly became a hero with the best of intentions at heart and a sense of tradition when it comes to superpowers, but also that he doesn't quite know how to go from there. After some encouragement, he agrees to join.

(This is just my idea off how I envision my character joining the team. Plenty of place to add in new suggestions from all around for the others, and then work out a script if it's approved by the team.)

“PILOT EPISODE”

The team's first mission.

(P2-based) I'd like to discuss this with the rest of the story administrators, especially Hero, but I don't know how much we should spill spoiler-wise on the forum. Depending on how much the Prologue expands, we might not even need the idea I had, and it's easily scrapped. ;)

“SEASON 1”

Follows on right after the ‘pilot episode.’

Main Arc: Public Relations - This arc could focus on the heroes trying to establish themselves as a team, and bumping into obstacles on their way.

Stories based around the concepts of S13, S16, S19, S20, S23, S27, S28 could nicely fit into such an arc.

Sub-Arc: TOP SECRET! P2-based as well, up for discussion.

—

“SEASON 2”

TBA - I have ideas for further developments, but I don't want to get ahead of myself.

@ Sebastian: I like the "prologue" story… do you want to really flesh it out, or have it as some sort of sub-plot? I think we could at least have parts of it as a sub-plot in the pilot, with Bombshell travelling around. I wouldn't want to dwell on her travels, but starting in Sweden would be a nice way to combine some action-y opening with character development and an explanation of why Bombshell would want to have a team that's not directly part of HU. This may be a two-parter, with the rest of the team coming together in part 2 and part 1 laying the groundwork.


I agree with fukujinzuke, Bombshell would naturally assume the role of leader. I don't want to make the team too hierarchic though. As I see it, Bombshell would act as a tactician (like in HU #1, in which she barked orders at Acrobat I'm thinking 12 to 20 pages. Otherwise I don't think we should even start to think in terms of a season. Regarding how many chapters we should have for season 1, I'd say we should pick maybe 10 of the most promising story concepts and flesh them out, see which characters would take the lead in them and how we could make them most interesting… and most fun.

Something I would like to see integrated into the pilot is that Bombshell would be wary of simple superhuman police action. I haven't had the chance to really get into that in her own comic, but she's about changing the status quo, not preserving it. She dons a mask and costume to go beyond her work at the UN. So subjecting herself to UN rule, even in her costumed persona, is a kind of contradiction. To her, HU is all about preserving the status quo. And that's only ok with her as far as it's about protecting the earth from villains or cataclysmic threats. But in my mind I've been playing back and forth some discussions between her and the Commander, which would be Bombshell objecting to the Commander's not minding the drawbacks of whatever status quo HU would indirectly be supporting (say, they would help some states (or rather: their population) as a UN force, never minding that these states might be at odds with what most of us view as the good). To Bombshell the basic question is: What good could superhumans do if they were allowed to? This must be especially frustrating since she is only human. There's no telling what she would do with actual superpowers… exploring that theme in the comic is something I'm aiming for in the long run.

So, while I figure she wouldn't make a lot of friends in the superhuman community by supporting preemptive superhuman action - if we suppose the average superhero is a rather simple-minded do-gooder, not minding the big picture -, this is something that would definitely play into her motivation.

So it might not take much for her to see the need for an outsider team. The hunt for Energize might be a reason. Right now I'm wondering about team dynamics. Given the other characters are more “saving the day” kind of types, I wonder what their ultimate reasons for joining Bombshell would be. So I think having an external threat (= villain) should be a more convincing reason for most of our characters.

I would appreciate some opinions on this by those who already supplied characters.

(19) Roger that! I'll write the script right after we've got the pilot storyline down.

SHELL's motivation to join Bombshell
If SHELL knows that Bombshell is “only human” like himself, he's likely to respect her and what he presumes her motives might be, more than other heroes. So if she just asks him, he'd probably agree as long as he's not turned into an underling of some “super” (individual with supernatural abilities and/or non-homo-sapien).

Not sure if that makes it easier to figure out why Bombshell would approach SHELL. If nothing else, maybe he just happens to be conveniently around at the villain's appearance…?

Alright, I submitted my villain The Ancient into the Villains thread. The whole Greco-Roman Blessed by Ares with immortality guy. I think he would be a good choice to be an overarching villain in the background of the whole business. If not, I think it would be cool if were part of the whole Villains Alliance bit anyways. Plus I think it would be neat to have a mystical/magic bent to some of these stories as Heroes Unite is big on the whole Science Fiction angle. It'd make a nice juxtaposition.

And Scott, while being fairly strong on the simple-minded do-gooder front, is a bit of an idealist and has never considered himself among his much revered “super-heroes” so much as a super powered person with deep seeded moral obligations. It might be more appealing, the concept of helping people with fewer restrictions and bypassing the red tape to save people's lives. Also, if he knows his badguy is involved somehow, he's probably going to want in.

Also, for fleshing out my favorite two suggestions.

(4)
- What happens?
Unsuspecting Archaeologists unearth the remains of an ancient Aztecan Death Machine in a routine dig. They are taken over by the spirits of it's original operators after disturbing it's contents and start it on a course over the Southwestern United States. A couple of local heroes try and stop it, but fail. H.A. swoops in takes a shot at stopping it or teams up with the locals to do the same. Maybe at the end we find out the big bad sponsored the dig and specified it's location, anticipating what would happen.
- Who is involved and why?
Well, I assume Relik, Bombshell, Vora, Titan and Shell unless the story dictates that one of them is preoccupied at the time. Whoever else you see fit to place on the team at the time of it. Comet Kid as it's his territory it's infringing on and maybe some representative heroes from CK's city to cameo being taken out by the machine or later teaming up with the H.A. to stop it. The team would be involved if Comet Kid was already on it, or if he's not on the team as a steady member, maybe the Aztecan Death Machine is being prohibited from being destroyed by historical societies in Mexico and/or the US as an in-tact device from that time could reveal tons of historical secrets, and/or that the Archaeologists involved are members of their whatchamacallit and they won't rattify action against them until they're sure they're ok, tying HU's hands and making it a prime target of H.A.
- What's the point?
A.) To be able to write the words Aztecan Death Machine in a script as much as possible, B.) To create a unique non-human threat that the heroes have to be careful in handling, allowing them hone their teamwork and problem solving abilites. (Especially if they were having trouble with it in the prior like with a throwaway villain at the beggining.) C.) If Comet Kid isn't on the main roster, it'd be a neat way to introduce him into the storyline and team for possible further use.

(6)
- What happens?
A Captain Planet type Hero takes a little too much initiative and starts trashing companies and manufacturing plants that aren't completely eco-friendly. He tries to join their team saying he's doing exactly as they are taking initiative and going where the H.U. can't. H.A.'s all like “Dude, no. That's stupid.” and chase him off. They track his location with their bad mofo detective skills or a tracker or something and find him at his next target to deal with him. Maybe we find out that the big bad was using him to laser target companies he needed taken out for whatever reason, probably because they're manufacturing stuff that poses a threat or that he wants people to buy from him.
- Who is involved and why?
H.A's team at the time. Especially anyone who's powers aren't 100% Eco-Friendly. The Ecomancer/Ecotist/Enviroman/Earth Guy who is wrecking places.
- What's the point?
To introduce a counterpoint/reflection to the H.A.'s primary argument by adding in a “We're not so different, you and I” person who by assuming his own moral superiority over the law makes the team and by proxy, the reader question the morallity of H.A.'s own action, providing a thoroughly ambiguous late 90's style ending.