The Floor 13 Project (Justice Supergroup)

The Floor 13 Project is a role-playing supergroup on Justice server.

Overview

The Floor 13 Project is a role-playing supergroup on Justice server. The group was founded by @TheDeepBlue.

The Floor 13 Project (commonly abbreviated as F13) is a criminal organization that is understood to operate primarily within the Rogue Isles but is also known to hold operations abroad, usually within the limits of Paragon City, Rhode Island. The physical headquarters of the Floor 13 Project, Floor 13, is a sealed environment with a reconfigurable, modular floor plan, residing within a pocket dimension. F13 specializes in intelligence gathering, materials robbery and trafficking, and weapons development.

On its public blog, F13 holds the motto of "Shaping All Tomorrows," but explicitly states that its goals are not directed towards "territorial or economic domination" and instead claims to be working to achieve the capability to rebuild society in the "likely" event of global catastrophe. In backing up this claim, F13 cites numerous reports (many unofficial, some not meant to be released to the public) of current and observed future threats that could lead to such a catastrophe, followed by explanations of what the organization sees as obstacles to the prevention of those events. F13 then proposes what might need to be done to create a solution to said obstacles. The organization claims to consider a “wide range of possible solutions”: investigations show that the organization, as a means to achieve its goals, may have committed crimes that include (but are not limited to) harassment, slander, embezzlement, unlicensed gambling, breaking and entering, identity theft, false impersonation, illegal spying, records tampering and theft, blackmail, drug trafficking, human trafficking, kidnapping, resisting arrest, bank robbery, destruction of public/private property, assault, exotic assault, murder, and the manufacture and use of weapons of mass destruction.

Despite F13's known and alleged crimes, the organization consistently attempts to put forward a (relatively) amicable public face in an attempt to gain some measure of trust and therefore cooperation during its operations. Examples include cases involving F13 where its members made known attempts to avoid the involvement and/or harm of non-objective noncombatants, and its publishing of post-operational reports and explanations for some of its activities or works in progress on its public blog. In addition, F13 has been known to cooperate with or offer assistance to United Nations authorities or other legal and recognized entities, such as the Vanguard, on matters of dire circumstance for mutual benefit, allowing the supervised use of its resources and expertise, but is often at odds with other entities of the same nature, such as INTERPOL, within the same frame of time.

History

The Floor 13 Project was likely formed in 2006 when founding members Daedalus Victorian (Forsaken Red), Sybille LaGuardia (the Warpist), Tinsel Black and Panopticon, months after breaking out of Zigursky Penitentiary, attacked and took control of a corporate front of the Russian mafia in an attempt to expand their power base outside of the Rogue Isles. The front had been run by group of super-powered Red Army defectors called the Platoon, and one of these, the enslaved extraterrestrial Golden Kosmik, fulfilled its original purpose for arriving on Earth in its dying moments by warning the three of a 'coming storm' that threatened human existence: the invasion force now known as Battalion.

Playing off of the Golden Kosmik's warning and the story of own his experiences as an officer in the Nemesis Army, Forsaken Red convinced the Warpist, Tinsel Black, and other supers to work together and create a group that would itself create the solutions to preserve civilization after doomsday, without relying on the permission of national governments, particularly because those governments might themselves bring about doomsday. Presumably, this would allow the Floor 13 Project to guide the development of civilization in the aftermath, yet in the meantime reap any benefits for creating useful things in the present, and some believe that forcing the powers that be to come to this realization was part of Forsaken Red’s true goal: encouraging those powers to act in ways that would not allow for that possibility until they were prepared for the ultimate confrontation with Battalion.

In 2008, the villain Terminus, thought to have died during the Floor 13 Project's original attack on the Platoon, orchestrated an act of revenge against the organization by framing it for the murder of a United Nations delegate, placing it at odds with the Arbiter Corps of Arachnos, and releasing project data logs from Floor 13, the organization’s base of operations, into the public domain. Terminus committed these acts not to avenge the Platoon, but to punish the Floor 13 Project for stealing the discoveries he had made before the attack. As retribution for defying the Arbiters, the Floor 13 Project was forced to submit to the will of Arachnos and relinquish its own discoveries for Lord Recluse's use, and for a time the organization became merely another one of its research and development branches.

However, in 2009, Terminus struck against the Floor 13 Project again, kidnapping the Warpist and turning her against the organization. Although it can be presumed that Terminus intended to use her powers of mind control to force the world to submit to the will of his true allies, the 5th Column, many details of the event remain classified by the FBSA and United States government. What is known is that Forsaken Red's retaliatory forces followed Terminus' trail, infiltrating Paragon City and eventually defeating the villain. Forsaken Red appears to have stopped Terminus' scheme by detonating a modified Nemesis Doomsday Device in the area of conflict, which may have resulted in the Warpist's death. At the end of the battle, Forsaken Red himself is believed to have been assaulted by an unrelated party while his guard was down, an event which many believe ended his life, as he has not been seen or heard from since.

For one reason or another, the events in 2009 prompted Arachnos to relinquish its control over the Floor 13 Project for the time being. As a result, Tinsel Black, one of its remaining founding members, has been acting as the Floor 13 Project's Director. To this day, observers believe that the organization continues to not only fend off common challenges posed by other super-powered groups who desire its creations and discoveries, but also attempts to alter the behavior of those in power with violence and/or shame in pursuit its goals while placating the public with the things they may want or even need in spite of the organization's criminal activities.

A compiled timeline of The Floor 13 Project's past activities is available for analysis.

Members

The level of cooperation and tolerance between members of the Floor 13 Project appears to be relatively high for what otherwise appears to be a motley group of previously unrelated villains. The research discussion logs released by the villain Terminus suggest that this behavior is due primarily to policies set early by Forsaken Red and other founding members that none of the their activities should conflict heavily with others' and should contribute to the organization in some way. These policies would not only encourage the formation of common bonds are established between members, but also ensure that only a certain type of individual retains membership.

For much of its existence, the members of the Floor 13 Project have not disclosed their association to the public, if possible, so as to obfuscate the scope of the organization’s activity. A list of known members follows below:

• Daedalus Victorian, a.k.a. 'Forsaken Red': A former Nemesis R&D officer, and F13's lead engineer, programmer, and visionary. Known to dabble in runic and alchemical magics to augment his technology. Project Director, but status is KIA/MIA.
• Sybille LaGuardia, a.k.a. the 'Warpist': A psion with an array of powerful telepathic and telekinetic abilities. Performs intelligence/counterintelligence duties, but status is KIA/MIA.
• 'Tinsel Black': A marid djinn severely depleted of her power by the Midnight Squad and always looking for a way to regain it. Runs 'Meridian Antiques' in The Flop on St. Martial. Formerly Project Vice Director, currently Acting Project Director and still Project Finances Chief. Lead magical expert.
• 'Panopticon': A synthetic lifeform originally developed as a computer intelligence by Forsaken Red for the purposes of information gathering and processing. Now known able to 'edit' the information regarding physical properties of matter using her 'Alter Optic' extensions. Continues original functions and oversees F13 operations.
• Maksim Zolnerowich, a.k.a. 'Excelvolt': A survivor of F13's 2008 attack on the Platoon. Possesses electromorphic powers. Runs 'The Nightingale' in The Devil's Coattails district in Cap au Diable. Performs logistics duties.
• Evangeline Fairchild, a.k.a. 'Devilish Sway': A master of disguise and identity theft. Possesses empathic abilities and unidentified 'summoning' powers. Project Public Relations Chief.

In addition to unidentified supers of significant power and robotic drones, it is believed that the Floor 13 Project taps manpower from the Russian immigrant community residing in Cap au Diable as well as an unknown number of professional wetwork operatives and magical/psychic experts for some of its operations.

Projects

The scope and purpose of the plots of the Floor 13 Project depend largely on who came up with them first, and range from skunk works prototype construction, to illicit materials trade, to intelligence gathering and spying operations. Much of what is known about the listed projects comes from the villain Terminus’ attack on Floor 13, and yet much of the file data was corrupted by unexpected security measures. As a result, information other than the generalities that FBSA language analysis programs have been able to put together is scarce.

The actual list of F13's projects may have grown since Terminus' attack, and the status of projects changed, since that time.