The Zeitgeist



A band of modern West Coast celebrity superheroes, clad in green and gold (to symbolize wealth) initially found in The TrollMoon Universe, but, since the Universal Destruction Event(s), their reality is Universe Libra.

Founded by Alice Theodore "Teddy" Stone, a  young Millennial tech and real estate mogul billionaire who decides to be a superhero. The impetus behind this was to win a bet with a rival billionaire that anyone these days can become a superhero.

His rival, one Auric Flint, an older gentleman, was a proponent of "The Old Days" when everything was 'better', and the superheroes of the day, though somewhat campy, were stalwart and true. Nowadays, in Flint's opinion, the heroes of Teddy Stone's generation are just brutal thugs with superpowers, or deranged perverts in tight clothing with no moral compass who didn't stand for anything.

"It takes a man of special character and bravery to be a superhero", says Flint, "and that's that!"

Teddy, though not even the biggest fan of superheroes, but always looking for new challenges and the 'Thrill of The New', felt compelled to take Flint's challenge in defense of "his generation" from this Old Man, and just because he was bored and he COULD.

"Anyone can be a superhero with enough power, and money is the greatest superpower there is!", is Stone's general take on the situation. The wager made, he immediately set to work, having the R&D division of the engineering section of his company, StoneTec, work up a suit of mobile battle armor. His first impulse was to sell the battle armor's prototype and specs to the military for a tidy profit, but, he promised his parents that he'd never get into the weapons making business, and, having a stubborn streak a mile wide, refused to concede the bet to Flint.

(His parents were metalhead/original goth Alice Cooper fans, hence, his actual first name, but, for the most part, they were mellow pacifists who had him late in life, and tried to instill their ideals into their son.)

By the terms of the bet, Stone has to lead a TEAM of supers. A team that Flint hand-picks, in order to prove that not everyone is cut out to be a hero.

After some research into potential candidates to be found in the California area, Flint sets out to have Stone recruit a group of metahuman losers, wannabes and has-beens to make things more difficult for his rival. Powered people that Flint would never deem hero-worthy.

Flint being rather old-school in both age and thinking, the candidates for membership in this new team were mostly undesirable to HIM, but, not necessarily unqualified in the grand scheme of things. Stone takes full advantage of this, and uses his resources to make them celebrities and beloved heroes. A good bit of this is to win a bet with Auric Flint, that, not only can ANYONE be a hero, but - superpowers aren't even required-- they just make things "easier", and, that in this modern age, "Spin" can sweep any failings under the rug and that as long as the public is on your side, you can do no wrong.

Some of Flint's choices for this team, like Impervious, for instance, are deliberately problematic personalities that Teddy Stone is determined to "fix" in order to win the bet.

The final roster:

THE SIMOLEON- Alice Theodore "Teddy" Stone, 33. Stone himself, calling himself "The Simoleon" initially as a mocking joke, using tech from his side company - StoneTec's - R&D department to become a superhero. Body armor, jet boots, rocket pack, ionic phaser gauntlets, 3D holographic projectors, a sonic cannon and an AI heads-up display in his hard light bubble helmet. -Unbeknownst to anyone, even his own team, the suit itself is a headless robot with a hardlight hologram 'mask'. Teddy Stone is not even in the suit, as, he sees risking his own life when not necessary, especially for the "little people" as utterly stupid. He controls the armor remotely from a secret room in his high-rise penthouse.

ALLHALLOW'S EVE- Evelyn Aaron, 27. Powerful formerly amnesiac shapeshifter who decided that she wants nothing more than to use her superpowers to eventually become a famous actress, but, has a hard time keeping her multiple fabricated identities straight. Stone pays her well for her services as a 'agent', and promises to get her acting jobs within his new media production empire that he is building as a side project. He insists that she present herself as "AllHallow's Eve" with grey skin, pointed ears and occasionally non-human attributes to the public as to play up the angle of being the 'freak hero' underdog who can win over the public trust as an outcast fighting for a world that 'fears her'. -She doesn't mind. She sees the tactic as manipulative, but no more so than any other marketing strategy or even the very concept of a 'secret identity'. She is not above trying to seduce her benefactor to squeeze more money and opportunity out of him. She often sticks close to The Rivet (in a form reminiscent of his own late wife, Katie) to soak up his residual fame for being a dimensionally displaced member of The First Superteam from a parallel reality.

THE RIVET- Grant Kincaid, 42. (though he was born in 1904.) Superstrong Man-mountain of metal. Timelost former member of The Freedom Warriors (The First Superteam from the Prime Universe - now known as Universe Leo). Also formerly a member of Simon Church's next gen team, System Alpha, formed in the present day, until he got fed up with Simon's micromanaging the team over the head of it's leader, Captain Cannon ((2). Simon's own son) and the red tape and politics of having a government sanction. After his elderly wife, Katie, died, he quit. Depressed, despondent and utterly lost in the world, he tried to go back to construction work in his home town of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, but that didn't fulfill him like it used to in the old days. A small skirmish with the armored supervillain called The Minotaur which led to an assist by a visiting Jenny Everywhere, led The Rivet to ask The Shifter to send him far away from 'all this'. She obliged by sending him to The TrollMoon Universe. There, he figured he could make a fresh start, unencumbered by the cluttered history in his life. There, he slowly made his way west, ending up in California, and Stone snatched him up, purposefully, just to aggravate Flint, for the coup of adding legitimacy and instant fame to his team in the form of a powerful man with 'old school values' that almost matched those of Auric Flint, himself; one of the first superheroes (Even if he was from another Earth). In his way, he was also a legacy hero, as The TrollMoon's version of "The Rivet", now deceased, was one of the earlier superheroes of this Earth back in 1967, whom, it turns out was Grant Kincaid, Jr.... he who was the counterpart of the son Grant and Katie never had in his own reality, as he was a stillborn. The Rivet enjoys the hefty paycheck and benefits package being a member of the Zeitgeist affords him. A member of the so-called "Greatest Generation", he sees himself as the group's conscience. He feels it's his duty to keep The Simoleon from "going overboard" with the whole cash = power = hero thing. To keep Impervious from tarnishing the team's rep by carousing with girls half his age, and to possibly keep Channel's "deviant" lifestyle from muting her reputation and effectiveness and potential as a capable heroine, still fearing that the public of this Earth is as harsh and unforgiving of homosexuals as it was in his original timeline.

IMPERVIOUS - Ronald Wayne Lydecker, 37. Former Insurance claims adjuster with decent detective skills. Upon manifesting his powers, Lydecker originally called himself "Invincible", but that name was taken by a comic book company that was going to sue. Then called "Invulnerable", but that name was taken by another local California superhero. One more trip to the thesaurus granted him the name "Impervious", and, to this day he has no idea of the irony of taking a name with "perv" in the middle. One of the older people to suddenly develop triploid powers, Impervious generates a super-tough, frictionless forcefield around himself. He is proud of being an older adult hero to the point of arrogance. He deliberately rocks a thick moustache to prove to all and sundry that he is, indeed a grown-ass MAN. He has a pathological hatred of the younger generation in general and teenage superheroes in particular. He is, in general, a lascivious and somewhat narrowminded brute who is in the superhero game not for the money, but, for the groupies that being a hero brings. Despite this, he has a true and deep respect for the older generation of heroes and is tickled pink to know and work with The Rivet after hearing his story. He is actually trying to get better, and seeing a weekly therapist for his sex addiction vice. His doctor, however, hasn't yet gotten to the root of his dislike for younger superheroes.

CHANNEL - Nyree Valentine Lewis, 19. Absorbs matter through touch and rechannels it as red solidified plasma in the shape of weapons and utensils or bolts of energy. A queer woman of color, Nyree was delighted at the opportunity to 'represent' on the grand scale of what was to be a major public superteam, but is disheartened at the amount of hate she gets from the local superhero so-called 'fans' for BEING a queer woman of color. Still, she DOES have her true fans, which means that she is well on her way to reaching her goal of being the world's most famous and revered proud lesbian superhero, and possibly the biggest black female superhero, as, to her opinion, there aren't many out there, particularly not in Hollywood/California's Whitewashed sphere of  influence. Not only does Impervious have a strong dislike for her for basically being a teenager with superpowers, but, also because she has no use for him, sexually. Channel and Impervious rarely got along until they eventually found common ground - hot young girls. They are still not the 'best of friends', but they are warming up to one another, particularly when either needs a reliable "Wing Man" during down times at any given singles bar or general social meeting place.

Despite his own time living in California pre-and-post-time jump and dimension jump, respectively, The Rivet feels that she is "flaunting her alternative lifestyle", which, in his eyes is wrong, and he, a good Irish Catholic, keeps trying to "bring her to God". She understands that he means well, in his stunted, Old World way, and does not take it personally, as, she was raised in a very religious Fire & Brimstone household, and her parents were even LESS genteel and understanding. She and Allhallow's Eve get along, OK, but Eve is not above shifting into the shape of sexy women to sway Channel to her side in arguments or get her to do favors. The Simoleon is definitely keen to push her agenda, as it appeals to the Millennial demographic that makes up their fanbase, thus, for one reason or another, he is her biggest supporter.

For the most part, The Zeitgeist are actually a fairly capable group of upbeat heroes who generally have the love and support of the masses. The Simoleon knows how to work a crowd. The Rivet and Channel have the spirit and work ethic. AllHallow's Eve is flexible and quick-thinking, and even Impervious has enough guts (and mouth) for an army of superheroes. Any sane person would think that this small band of misfit heroes led by a self-centered billionaire who only started the group on a bet would fail, but, somehow, they seem to have everything they need for success.

Despite their makeup, The Zeitgeist has already saved the Governor of California's life - twice, bought over half a dozen truly dangerous supervillains to justice and with the help of Stone's marketing and legal team, has improved their image and, by proxy, the image of a number of other superheroes nationwide.

Stone has come to find that he has, indeed, grown to care about being a superhero, and is proud and fulfilled by doing good for California, and the world.

The Rivet is learning to adjust to the more modern world and its people. He still believes that there needs to be more worship of The Lord and less of money and fame and political agendas, but, he is an inspiration to many in the new Earth he finds himself in, whereas, he feels that he was nothing more than a muscled mascot in the last two teams he was a part of.

Impervious feels that hanging around with this team is making him a better person and leading him away from his vices, slowly but surely. He still dislikes and resents untrained teens with superpowers, but, even that little quirk is slowly diminishing, as he has met and worked alongside more and more of them during his time with The Zeitgeist.

Channel is happy and secure in the knowledge that most, if not all, of her team is forward thinking and has her back in matters of social politics. Thanks, in part, to her and The Zeitgeist, more and more queers of color are representing themselves, not only in the superhero game, but, in issues that really matter regarding proper representation and the self-reliant management of sociopolitical power. Of each of them, she is the member of the team who is the most satisfied with the life she's chosen. Getting hired on for The Zeitgeist is the best thing that's ever happened to her.

Allhallow's Eve eventually becomes a famous actress BECAUSE of her shapeshifting abilities. She adopts her superhero name, legally and her grey-skinned, orange-eyed visage is now her default. The fame garnered as a superhero has opened many doors in her acting career. Oddly enough, she gets hired to cameo as herself in more movies and tv shows than anything, and even winds up getting a series based on her quest to make it in Hollywood as a shapeshifter, all the while, solving mysteries. The show is a hit in the ratings, and opens even more doors for other metahumans who yearn to choose a path in life that ISN'T about wearing capes and punching each other. The Rivet is slightly worried about this, as, this is the way the Hollywood of his native Earth went, and, farther down the line, thanks in part to his old partner, Sir Simon Church, led to so much corruption and anti-metahuman sentiment in and around the entertainment industry. He has expressed this to Eve, and she and he both have, with Teddy Stone's help, resolved to do everything they can to keep that from happening here.

Auric Flint, a few months in, is seriously disgruntled at the respect and admiration that the Zeitgeist has garnered. The terms of the wager state the The Simoleon and his Zeitgeist had to become a 'successful' superhero team inside of one year. At present, it has been 6.5 months. The bet was for 1.4 billion dollars. Roughly one third of both his and Teddy Stone's respective fortunes.

Not necessarily a villain by nature, so much as a determined and stern man unaccustomed to losing, the oil, fossil fuels and transportation baron is still willing to go to just about any length not to lose this bet. Over the months, he has resorted to everything from industrial espionage, to hiring superpowered mercenaries to confront the Zeitgeist, to hiring his very own seductive spies to get close to and dredge up 'dirt' on each member. Each time, Stone and his people come out smelling like roses - SO FAR.

Closing in on the 7 month anniversary of the team, Flint is currently culling his own team of superhumans - codenamed the Usurpers - an 'opposite number' group to take down The Zeitgeist once and for all... It still stands to be seen what role they will take. Will they be a team of rival superheroes, set to eclipse The Zeitgeist in the minds and hearts of the public, rendering them obsolete, or will they be a band of murderous villains set on killing the Zeitgeist - publicly- disheartening the public and invalidating all their good works?

Is Auric Flint desperate enough to let that happen just to win this bet?