The World of Spirit City
It all began in 1979 Earth passed through an unexplained belt of cosmic radiation. The radiation had a strange influence on the atmosphere and the flora and fauna of the world. Animals grew aggressive and crops were harder to grow. Many new species appeared as animals mutated into monster shapes. Eventually humanity had to move into domed cities with only agricultural, logging, science and mining exclave camps dotting the landscape. The effect on humans was more varied. Some did not see any change at all but in some the radiation caused extraordinary powers to develop.
However, it quickly became clear that only in women was the mutations mostly beneficial. They were getting improved physiques along with their powers and developed a strong sense of justice and soon banded together in groups of super heroines. Sadly, most if not all men affected by the radiation had the opposite happen. Instead of heroic they became selfish and corrupt, evil and malicious and soon they were trying to take over society. In Spirit City, the domed megalopolis covering the old cities in the Philadelphia, Baltimore, Wilmington and Washington DC area on the American east coast they were thwarted by infighting and the newly formed alliance between the city authorities and the Grey Cadre. A strong league of Super-heroines formed by the then Lady Grey.
For 40 years after the radiation event, the Grey Cadre assisted in keeping peace in the city becoming one of the premier superhuman teams in the world. From their Fortress skyscraper called The Tower they assisted the brave men and women of the Spirit City security forces in fighting crime and the occasional Super-villain hungry for power, wealth or the supreme bodies of the mighty heroines.
Mighty heroines like Battle Babe, Miss Mind, TeenAngel, Tiger Lass and Glory Woman under the leadership of the former Lady Grey, now Matron Grey since her daughter took over the name and the field leadership of the Cadre, were household names all over the city and indeed in the exclaves and the other mega cites of the American continent.
However, in 2023 it all came crashing down. For months the city grew restless and dangerous. More and more gangs and mutants beasts seemed to find its way to the streets and the heroine groups, both the Cadre and the local district independent groups as well as individual heroines found themselves overstretched. The Cadre called a meeting at the tower to better coordinate all the efforts and disaster struck.
Somehow, some way, the villain Nuclear Lord had created alliance between many of the city’s most powerful villains. Usually, they would have spent as much time fighting each other as the city’s defenders but this time they managed to cooperate just long enough for it to be disastrous. Releasing armies of gang members and mutated beasts into the tower through a secret entrance the villains attacked the heroine gathering. The heroines fought back bravely, but surprised and heavily outnumbered they were defeated. The last broadcast images from the tower before all communication failed was a quick vid cast of Matron Grey and her daughter bouncing in screaming crying horror on the cocks of Nuclear Lord and Steel Dragon.
Then the chaos war began. The villain’s alliance soon broke after their immediate success, and they spread out and set upon the city. The security forces and whatever local heroines had not been at the tower fought back to their best ability but the army of mutants and villains running wild took months to truly stop and quell. By then the city’s heroine numbers was down to a tenth of what it used to be, and the police and security forces decimated.
No one knows what happened to the Grey Cadre or the other heroines at the meeting. When the villains had finally fallen to infighting, and attrition and the city could explore the ruins of the tower there was little sign of any of them. Some thought they had been killed, some that they had been taken as sex slaves by the villains or dragged into the wilds to be used as breeding mothers by the mutant beasts but gone they were.
In their wake, smaller heroine groups and the security forces of the city were on an impossible mission to restore order and justice and for years the city reeled and tottered under mutant onslaughts, gangs running wild and random villains popping up that could not be stopped without heavy sacrifice. Into the breach stepped the corporations. Huge companies from Spirit City as well as the other megalopolises began funneling huge sums into the rebuilding process of taking back control of Spirit City. Sponsoring Heroines from other cities to move there and bolstering the security forces with their own private guards and paramilitaries.
Little by little the chaos was pushed back and the city stabilized as villains were captured or driven underground and the mutant beasts exterminated or forced to flee to from the city. It took years but by 2034 the Chaos War was over, and the city began to fully recover by reconnecting with exclaves and driving away the mutants in a wider area of the Wildwastes around the city once more trading fully with and the other mega cities.
Over the next ten years the city has almost returned to its pre-war prosperity, but the law enforcement is much more decentralized. Where there used to be a strong city security force under field command of the Grey Cadre that also was the official umbrella heroine organization for all the smaller local groups now instead the city’s forces are much smaller, focused on proper police work and instead of Grey Cadre as the all dominating heroine group with all other subordinated to there are at least officially now three major groups and at least a score or more smaller regional 3 or 4 heroine member ones.
The most prominent heroine group in the city now is Justice Corps. Led by Justice Queen and bankrolled almost exclusively by the powerful Neurodyne Corporation and consisting mainly of heroines that has had their meta powers enhanced by the products of their sponsor. They have a reputation for tolerating a certain level of corruption and back street dealings by Neurodyne and its allied corporations, even on occasion acting like its private security auxiliary but they are unquestionably a successful and dedication force for a peaceful city and protection of its citizens.
Rivaling Justice Corps in popularity and success an ice polite rivalry with the corpo group is the Freedom Force. Led by the Justicar they are funded by the city government itself with support from the Aigis group, an anonymous group of wealthy benefactors assumed to be led by the billionaire tech mogul Masha Said wanting to prevent the city from descending into chaos once more, Freedom Force have clear pretensions to become the new Grey Cadre and is known for a certain level of arrogance and self-righteousness when dealing with “lesser” heroines, but all of them would lay down their lives for the city.
The last of the major heroine groups are the newly formed Red Line. Created after the founder Aurora felt that the poorer and less developed northern sectors of Spirit City was being ignored by the major heroine groups and took it upon herself to try to protect them and the people living there better. Without a major sponsor the group has a reputation for being a bit ragtag and relying on rookies and those heroines not deemed good enough for other groups, but they have made a real dent in the gang violence of Franklin, Johnson and Harris sectors.
Today Spirit City is once again a rising place of civilization and wealth but in the shadows mutant beasts still stalk the undercity. Supervillains go on rampage; gang violence is endemic, and rumors say that Nuclear Lord has been seen again.
It’s a fascinating time for sure for the heroines of Spirit City.