The Rat Brigade

Established in 1873 by President Ulysses Simpson Grant and originally conceived by President Abraham Lincoln, "Paladin" began as a secret government police force to contend with the strange and extra-normal forces that seem to be cropping up more and more with each coming decade. The secret of their existence and singularly American jurisdiction both came to an end with the first world war, where Paladin agents and several dozen so called "Extra-Normals" went to war along with Allied forces against the forces of the Third Reich and their own super human agents.

When World War II was over, along with the establishment of the United Nations came the Paladin Global Initiative, the ultimate goal of which was for there to be Paladin representation for every nation on earth, to deal with the now startlingly high population of over 5,000 register Extra-Normals and growing.

By the dawn of the 21st century Paladin had achieved it's goal of being the first truly global law enforcement agency, a seemingly unshakeable juggernaut of law and order, a symbol of peace between humanity and Extra-normal alike, until the actions of American East Coast Sub Division Brigadier, Virgil Milton Dante and the illegal actions he had taken against Doctor Oz Morgan, president of Oz Industries. In a conflict that resulted in the destruction of the Ellis Island's Paladin Base, it was revealed that Brigadier Dante had been using his position and several glaring holes in Paladin security procedures and enforcement rules to his advantage, accruing a massive and heavily armed private combat force for his own use. This one event was the biggest shake up in Paladin History resulting in an almost complete rebuild of Paladin's infrastructure, and the rebirth of the Rapid Response and Assistance Team Division. Or as Paladin Officers jokingly refer to it "The Rat Brigade"

The comical nickname stems from the fact that the R.R.A.T. Division is mainly staffed by low ranking, demoted, rookie, or otherwise tarnished officers. The following are the members of the East Coast team.

Captain Jennifer Helmsworth
Code Name: "Forgery"

Position: Team Leader

Abilities: can alter her physical state to replicate any metallic element

History: Formerly a highly decorated officer on the fast track to promotion until Brigadier Dante's defeat at the hands of Dr. Morgan. As she was not directly involved in any of his behind the scenes plans she was allowed to keep the rank she had under his command, but at the same time she's unofficially being punished for not being able to prevent Dante's actions in the first place.

Personality: Best described with one word, "driven". Jennifer is in no way fond of losing or failing to achieve at any given goal, mission objective, or anything else for that matter. An alpha personality all the way it's been said it's difficult not to be inspired by her will power and overall presences, that said many of her former superiors wish that she had lightened up some with time as her incomparable work ethic could come to affect her well being.


Lieutenant Robert Goldsmith

Code Name: "Slipstream"

Position: Second in Command

Abilities: Phase Control, can phase through any object and reposition phased object inside his body if said phased object is under 1000LBs in weight. Limitations include objects with high relative density and any electrically charged materials

History: coming up in the ranks alongside Captain Helmsworth, Robert was more than happy to accept a position under her command. He followed her to their new jobs and seemingly had no complaints.

Personality: Possibly as a byproduct of his abilities and almost life long friendship with Jennifer, Robert is best described as easy going to somewhat comical. Quick to quip and mock opponents Lieutenant Goldsmith has received many a demerit for his seeming inability to keep his mouth shut when he should. When asked why he seems to take nothing seriously, he'll reply "I'm joking for two nowadays."

2nd Lieutenant Lev Pitorovich Ivanov

Codename: "Oxide"

Position: Long Range Tactics Specialist

Abilities: Ferro-kinesis resulting in the over production of an "organic iron powder", Containment suit required for safety reasons.

History: Found as a child living in the abandoned remains of Chernobyl, Lev became a premier student in Paladin's youth training facility in Moscow. Eventually service as an officer lead to several commendations until the organic iron that composed his skin began to corrode and vaporize, requiring the need of a containment suit to keep the expansive cloud of iron particulates his body now produces under control. Eventually these changes lead to a Demotion from his prior position as captain due to an unprecedented number of "Reckless Endangerment" citations from suspects and teammates alike.

Personality: With a personality as corrosive as the cloud of iron that constantly surrounds him, Lev is overly aggressive toward everyone in his general vicinity. In his moments of calm however you have in him an effective agent of law enforcement who will at the very least follow orders. How far he follows those orders can be a point of contention.

Private Alexander Pott

Codename: "Hat Trick"

Position: Mystic Advisor

Abilities: Extensive Knowledge of magical artifacts, spells, counter spells, curses, charms, and magical portal generation.

History: A former student of a legendary immortal, Alex came to use the lessons he was given as a sort of dodge, lying cheating and stealing his way to fame in the mystic community, until of course he was apprehended by Paladin. Now on a service release program, Mr. Pott is legally obligated to work under Captain Helmsworth

Personality: A lying, conniving, thieving showboat if there ever was one, Alexander Pott has burned a lot of bridges both metaphoric and physical. He's worked for gang leaders and gang busters, been a snitch and been snitched on, whatever side is more profitable you can be certain he's on it and lying about it. There are rumors that his kleptomania is actually a curse placed on him but like many magic users his past is deliberately kept a closely guarded secret, as well as his true name, especially if the person asking is Alexander. He's difficult to discipline and even harder to command, but ultimately more useful than he is a problem. Just make sure to make it worth his while to offer you his aid.

Private Deming Liang

Codename: "Lángtou"

Position: Close Quarters Combat Specialist

Abilities: Naturally generated kinetic enhancement field, suppression equipment required when not on duty. Expert in various forms of hand to hand combat.

History: Not much is known about where Deming trained or who taught him, as Deming himself refuses to share that information with anyone. Advanced to officer status at the age of 17, "Demi" as he is known to his friends is the youngest cadet graduate to go into active duty, his abilities, maturity, and skills putting him on the track for fast promotion. He's also the only member of the American East Coast R.R.A.T. division to volunteer for a space on the team.

Personality: "When one learns he can dent two inches of steel with a mere tap of his finger, one learns to be very… Careful." Deming is a very calm individual, with a will honed by years of meditative practices and learning to control his powers. Diligent and loyal to a fault, it's sometimes difficult to believe that he's only 17 years old. He is not however ignorant of the world or it's innovations despite what many would consider a secluded upbringing, often leading to Lieutenant Goldsmith making comments such as "What the hell kind of ancient mystical kung-fu school has friggin' WI-FI?!"

Doctor Ulrich Frick

Codename: "Pseudo"

Position: Scientific Advisor and Engineer

Abilities: Almost total invulnerability, super strength, super speed, telekinesis. Note not all abilities are active at once as Frick suffers from Dissociative identity disorder. Each of Frick's personalities poses only one of the abilities listed previously. These multiple personalities are brought under some modicum of control by a specially designed headband.

History: Considered a polymath from an early age Ulrich was recruited into Paladin's ranks soon after earning several doctorates and acclaim in the scientific community. At some point however, suffering from some unknown trauma despite his almost life long invulnerability, Ulrich suffered a psychological schism that created 3 other personalities to occupy his mind. Now considered damaged goods by Paladin's science division, Ulrich is completely dependant on the organizations resources to maintain any semblance of control and stability.

Personality: "Ulrich Frick is Always Sick", a phrase often uttered in whispers behind Dr. Frick's back is not entirely inaccurate. Before the events that caused his current condition he was always a bit of a hypochondriac. Nervous and socially awkward one could say that he was the living example of the scientist stereotype, and oblivious to the irony that his abilities made him immune to many of the diseases he believed he had contracted. After his accident 3 distinct new personalities emerged, bringing with them never before seen abilities. The brash and abrasive "Faust", with super human strength, is highly aggressive, combative, and otherwise ill mannered and uncouth, possessing none of Dr. Frick's intellect. "Schweigen" is cold and calculating, direct and effective, taking full advantage of his speed to disable targets in the span of a blink. "Unschuld" is the very mind of a child, easily frightened, and impulsive, which when combined with powerful telekinesis creates a completely unpredictable element.

Doctor Anita Smith

Codename: "Cricket"

Position: Team Medic

Abilities: Dense chitinous skin that can produce sonic burst of varying frequencies when struck against itself. Its durability can resist most heavy caliber firearms.

History: Rescued at an early age from abject slavery from an Extra-normal slave trader named "The Ring Master". At some point she discovered her abilities allowed her to become a living ultrasound, able to detect maladies in the human body, leading her down the path of medicine, followed by volunteering her services to Paladin and being assigned to Captain Helmsworth's team.

Personality: A demure woman with a vindictive side if there ever was one. In the company of allies and friends she is a paragon of compassion understanding, in the presence of an immediate threat however she becomes almost merciless in action and intent. Anita doesn't do much mourning over her past, or make excuses for her sometimes violent behavior, however easy it would be for her to do so, she live in the moment and does what said moment calls for and regrets nothing. All who know here will say that it's best that you stay on her good side for as long as you can.

Mobile Assault Unit MOD#: 327

Codename: "Mae West"

Position: Standard Android

Abilities: Super strong armor plating augmented with an energy shield. Multiple types of long and short range weaponry, a type 9 micro super processor brain capable level 5 (out of 10) artificial intelligence.

History:  Constructed in the 1950's, "Mae" is one of the last still functioning Westingmill standard issue androids owned by Paladin. This particular model of android was the first to be standard issue for all Paladin teams. This particular unit seemed to come out on top of the others from its production line, with an impressive track record and mission count while still maintaining full function and capability. It is however the last of its kind, as all the other M.A.U.'s have been recycled, destroyed, disassembled, or otherwise disabled. Unbeknownst to all however, during a long storage period after the M.A.U.'s were replaced with updated models, the incorporeal essence of one Ellen Abernathy became trapped inside Model 327. Separated from her body by her Extra-Normal abilities that she couldn't fully control, both halves of her fell into a sort of coma to maintain stability, unfortunately being in this state for half a decade has left Ellen with severe disorientation and amnesia so when 327 was brought back online and consciousness returned to Ellen she simply believed she was always a part of the machine she was in accessing its records and functions as if they were her own. That is until Dr. Frick, due to the accident that caused his personality schism, was able to perceive Ellen's essence inside the mechanism and, in private, began to help her reclaim her own identity. The two of them agreed to keep Ellen's existence a secret for her own safety, since Paladin would no doubt conduct experiments on the collusion and potentially cause unintentional harm.

Personality:  As it is a level 5 artificial intelligence, it doesn't have what could be considered a fully functioning personality, although it does seem to have some quirks to its system that in the eyes of an engineer give it charm and uniqueness. On occasion it has had unexpected flashes of brilliance when on missions, adapting much more quickly than one would expect it to and performing quite admirably. With Ellen interfaced with it's system, "Mae West" as the android was named by Lieutenant Goldsmith began to exceed the systems limitations and present a far more active and functioning consciousness that can manage conversation, empathy, and many other human personality traits, that are still filtered though the limits of the mechanisms they are bound to.

Private Oscar Rally

Codename: "Orbit"

Position: Special tactics

Abilities: Gravity control. Becomes the center of a gravity well that can cause objects up to a ton in weight to orbit around him at variable speeds up to 15 feet away from him. Also allows for flight.

History: A typical childhood and enlistment story, all of Oscar's superiors consider him the perfect everyman, average in seemingly every way but his abilities. He made no particular grabs for advancement and was perfectly fine being placed in R.R.A.T. division. All the reasons for this become clear when you realize that Oscar Rally's brother is Victor Rally, a major figurehead in The Church of Neo Evolution, a radical Extra Normal terrorist group.

Personality: Oscar does his best to blend into the background, quiet, calm, and centered with a certain degree of underlying burden guilt from his brother's actions. Really all of Oscar's behaviors can be traced back to trying to make good where his brother couldn't, particularly in combat where his abilities and drive to clear his family name shine brightest. Many of his teammates have also come to know the more scholarly side of him as more often than not he offers up sage like wisdom and very insightful observations. In this way he's become the team counselor, hearing their grievances and offering them whatever aid he can, and reminding them he ISN'T the team counselor.