Chapter 3: Ground Control

Behind every good government-appointed superhero team is a government-appointed back-up crew, and the Avengers are no different. Though these supporting characters rarely or, in most cases, never show up on the battlefield, they are no less an integral part of the team.

Nick Fury. The man himself. Leader of S.H.I.E.L.D. and in some ways the most powerful military commander in the world. He is the sheriff of the super powered community, so you don't want to get on his bad side. As far as personality goes, he's basically Samuel L. Jackson with an eye patch. He tries to help wherever he can, but his responsibilities are vast, so don't expect him to be able to answer your every beck and call. In the grand scheme of things he is the Avengers' boss, but he's also responsible for the Ultimates. Now that the Ultimates have gone independent, however...well, we'll get to that when we get to it.

Timothy "Dum Dum" Dugan is technically the Avengers' new supervisor, since Fury's been finding it difficult to manage so much at once. An old army buddy of Fury's, Dugan is one mean S.O.B., but he means well in all he does. He used to be the head of the Mutant Ops Division of S.H.I.E.L.D., but was reassigned to the Avengers after they proved how important they were to S.H.I.E.L.D.'s causes. Dugan and Mr. Ball developed an odd yet strong friendship before Mr. Ball returned to his home dimension. Mr. Ball even made a "Dugan mask" that he wore when he wished to cheer up the bitter old cuss. It made Dum Dum laugh every time.

Professor Arturo is the team's science expert. For those of you who've seen Sliders, yes, it is that Professor Arturo. It's our game, we can use who we want, and who better for a scientist than John Rys-Davies? Either way, Arturo is usually in contact via S.H.I.E.L.D. communicator, ready to answer any questions the team may have. He is an expert not only with various forms of technology (he's even taught Seth DeSavre a thing or two), but he is also well versed in history and ancient cultures.

Deep 13 is S.H.I.E.L.D.'s ultra top-secret paranormal research division. Headed under Dr. Strange, Sr., it is Deep 13's responsibility to ensure that the existence of magic and the paranormal does not become common knowledge. Dr. Strange has even been forced to spread internet rumors that his son, Dr. Strange, Jr., is a mutant rather than a burdgeoning sorcerer. Members of the group include Strange himself, a demon known as Hellboy, the cyborg M.U.R.P.H.Y., the mysterious Shadow, and the impish Jack the Giant Killer. Storm Crow was also a member.

Sandra "Legari" Jones is a reserve member of the Avengers, as well as being Rock's on again, off again girlfriend. She is a mutant who is able to induce nausea in others, a power she is still trying to develop. In the past she has voiced the desire to join the Avengers, but Rock has so far voiced nothing but disapproval, mostly for fear of her safety. Nevertheless, she is currently being trained by S.H.I.E.L.D. for possibly just that, whether Rock likes it or not.

When we get into the game itself, Waffleman has informed me of other support personnel he would like to introduce, but that will be part of his first mission, so I have no plans to spoil anything here (plus, I plain old forgot who they were). These folk here are the ones we've encountered so far, so anything after this will be new to me as well.

For the next (and possibly final post for awhile), I'll go into detail about the Avengers' last big mission, which changed everything we knew and which sets the stage for where our game will be picking up, whenever we get to it.