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Part I: Before The Black Ship
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Beacon City was founded in 1630 by Puritan colonists from England and the Netherlands. They established a small walled town at the confluence of two rivers on a great bay. They named this fledgling settlement Freedom1.
By the mid-1700s Freedom had grown considerably, the original settlement expanding along with additional settlements in the area like Bayview, Hanover, Kingston, and Port Regal. The area became a focus for anti-British sentiment, as Freedom was strongly on the side of the American revolution2.
In 1779, Colonial Major Joseph Clark won a series of decisive victories over British forces in Freedom, eventually driving out the British and securing the area for the colonial army. Following the war in 1789, Freedom and the outlying settlements formally incorporated as Freedom City3.
The nineteenth century saw continued growth and development for the city. Freedom City University was established in 1825 and the city became a bustling port as well as a center for learning and the arts. That same year Henry Beaumont began publishing the Freedom Ledger, the city�s first daily newspaper. The outlying districts of the city were largely defined and the new West End and Southside neighbourhoods began to grow with the influx of immigrants from Europe4.
The start of the twentieth century saw Freedom City as a modern metropolis, but the gay abandon of the 1920s quickly gave way to the violence of gangsters and Prohibition. After that, the Great Depression saw fortunes ruined and the city sank into economic and social despair5.
December 7th, 1941 saw the sneak-attack of the United States Naval Base at Pearl Harbour by forces of the empire of Japan. The United States entered the war and a generation of young men from Freedom City signed up to go abroad and face the Axis powers.
In 1945 World War II came to an end with the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The wars veterans returned home and a new era of prosperity in the city began.
The 1980s saw the next decline of Freedom City. In 1984 Franklin Moore was elected mayor of the city on a platform of �zero tolerance� for crime. Moore was in fact heavily connected to the cities most powerful criminal kingpins and the next ten years saw the city wither beneath a power structure driven by graft, vice, & greed6.
In 1993, as the cities future seemed hopelessly mired in corruption, the city found new hope in the form of Michael O�Connor Jr. A wealthy businessman with a spotless reputation for honesty, O�Conner openly challenged Mayor Moore and vowed to clean up the cities dirty politics. During the campaign O�Connor was faced by multiple attempts on his life, but his resolve never swayed and his courage ignited hope in the cities populace. He was swept into power and the dark days of Freedom City seemed to have finally come to an end7.
At 11:59 p.m. on December 31st 1999, as the city counted down to The Millennium, the sky above The Atlantic Ocean was split by a massive object falling from space. It crashed into the waters east of Freedom City, sending a massive tidal wave towards the shore. The Black Ship had arrived.
Part II: The Benefactor & The Black Ship
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The tidal wave slammed into the coast, devastating North Bay, Kingston, Riverside, and Port Regal, taking the lives of over one-hundred thousand citizens. The city struggled to respond to the disaster and to this state of confusion arrived a mysterious stranger who was possessed of bizarre, superhuman abilities. Seeming to be all places at once he saved survivors, put out fires, halted looting, and assisted rescue workers. When asked, this mysterious newcomer called himself The Benefactor.
During the week that followed Mayor O�Connor heroically coordinated the cities rescue efforts and disaster relief, working around the clock without sleep. The cities personnel and citizenry rallied to his example and with a united front Freedom City began to tend to its wounds. Amidst it all The Benefactor was ever present, his mysterious powers a miraculous boon to a city in need. However there was also a growing desire for answers about their enigmatic saviour.
With Mayor O�Conner at his side The Benefactor consented to an interview with WXAD anchorman Charles Maxfield. Here he revealed his terrible secret; he was responsible for the terrible events of, what the media had dubbed, The Eve of Destruction.
According to The Benefactor he was a member of an intergalactic race called The Lor. He indicated that he was a member of an order of intergalactic peace keepers, like our world�s U.S. Marshal Service. He was tasked with the apprehending of wanted fugitives and it was such a mission that had brought him into the vicinity of our world. He had captured a rogue General who masterminded a failed coup to overthrow the Lor Republic. During his return home however his prisoner escaped and attempted to take control of the vessel. The two battled and The Benefactor was forced to use lethal force to subdue the criminal. Unfortunately their struggle had also caused the ship to go terribly off course and control was regained too late. The vessel, caught in the Earth�s gravitational pull, crashed out of control into the ocean. Surviving the crash The Benefactor awoke, suddenly filled with incredible power. He escaped the wreckage and made his way to Freedom City, where to his horror, he discovered the destruction that the crash had wrought. He felt not only duty bound but morally obligated to do all he could to repair the damaged that he had brought to an innocent world.
The Benefactor�s tale was a huge success and the world was comforted that they had finally found the superhuman protector they had always dreamed of. Mayor O�Connor publicly recognized The Benefactor by awarding him the key to the city, but behind closed doors he had reservations about the city�s new hero. His astute sense of character told him that The Benefactor was not being entirely honest about the details of his arrival and O�Connor became determined to discover the truth.
The federal government too had concerns regarding The Benefactor. Here was an extra-terrestrial entity possessed of incredible power. Scientists and officials were dispatched to interview & examine him. The team was led by Colonel Randall Austin, USAF, & Captain Arnold Foster, USN, and was cloaked under the pretext of surveying the remnants of the Lonely Point Naval Base, which had been destroyed along with the rest of Port Regal. To assist was a team of scientists lead by Dr. Abigail Wallace and Freedom City resident Dr. Peter Hanks, a renowned geneticist. The Benefactor was initially receptive to the inquiries however quickly cooled as the scientists sought to gauge the extent of his powers. The Benefactor became regularly �unavailable� for the team�s meetings and only Dr. Hanks seemed able to find an audience with the alien.
By summer of 2000 the city was again on its feet. Riverside was returning to life as the subject of an ambitious rebuilding project and the neighbourhood of Kingston was being reborn through federal aid, making way for subsidized housing for those left homeless in the disaster.
On July 4th of that year, as the city sought to celebrate its nations Independence Day, the city was rocked by the appearance of a gigantic grey-skinned figure calling itself Smash. The bizarre figure began a destructive rampage from City Center towards the celebration gathering at Liberty Park. Police and SWAT units were powerless to stop the being and many fine officers died at his hands. Only the appearance of The Benefactor stopped the giant in his tracks, only moments from reaching the park. The two battled and finally Smash was subdued. The fallen behemoth was taken into custody and restrained by new methods developed by Dr. Wallace. To the public The Benefactor was calm & stoic, however Mayor O�Connor observed a momentary fury pass over his face when Wallace unveiled her new technology.
Based on the emergence of Smash, Dr. Hanks now hypothesized that the presence of The Benefactor�s ship had caused the sudden mutation of one of Freedom City�s populace, causing them to become the gigantic monster. This theory was supported by the successful identification of Smash, through fingerprinting, as Ernest Connors, a brain damaged employee of the Double Diamond bar. The Benefactor vowed to relocate the ship to a secure location so that it could pose no further dangers. He did not disclose where this �secure� location was however.
The populace was now in the grip of fear. Had they been exposed to the ship�s mutating effects? Would there be another deadly mutant like Smash? Mayor O�Connor did his best to calm the public but he was wracked by his own fears regarding the cities newest citizen. He was right to be concerned.
On the evening of September 5th 2000, as he returned home after a particularly difficult day at city hall, Mayor O�Connor was attacked by an unknown assailant. Found in his locked home, severally injured and unconscious, he was rushed to Freedom Medical Center. O�Connor had suffered spinal damage that would leave him paralyzed and head trauma that would leave him in a coma for almost a year.
During O�Connor�s incapacity The Benefactor again emerged as the city�s protector. Using his unique powers he quickly tracked down O�Connor�s attacker, a criminal named James Shore. Shore too was revealed as a mutated citizen, one who now had the ability to teleport himself. In the face of public panic The Benefactor swore that he would devote himself to protecting the city from any future mutants that may emerge, hoping to ensure that no one else face O�Connor�s fate. With a unanimous vote, and great public support, the city council bestowed special powers to The Benefactor, declaring him an official member of the Freedom City police force, able to use judicious force in the protection of the public peace, and awarding him the honorary title of Protector of The Peace.
The Benefactor�s first act in his new role was to establish a special police unit devoted to superhuman tactics and regulation. Dubbed by the media as �The STAR Squad� the officers were reported to be drawn from Freedom City�s best and brightest. Police Commissioner Barbra Kane expressed concern to the city council however, as the selected officers all had histories of abuse of power or were suspected corruption. Her warnings went unheeded however.
The STAR Squad was soon put to the test when the mutant speedster called Get-Away began a series of hit & run robbery/homicides. Backed by The Benefactor, the squad burst on to the scene sporting Lor-technology armour and weaponry. They easily subdued Get-Away and Freedom City had its third super-powered prisoner.
The STAR Squad, with its dazzling futuristic equipment, was a resounding success. The city now felt not only in good hands but a certain elite status above the rest of the country. With O�Connor�s coma persisting the stage was now set for a new mayoral election.
The two anticipated front runners were city councillors Conrad Everett and Joanna Tolbert-Holmes. The city was stunned however when The Benefactor voiced his support for Albert Barker, councilman for Southside. Barker was notorious for his role as Deputy Mayor to the corrupt Moore administration. Moore had served two years in prison, after which he had run for council, backed many believed by mob money. The Benefactor however declared the man reformed and the people of Freedom City believed him. On January 14th 2001, having won by a landslide, Albert Barker was sworn in as mayor.
Barker�s first act as mayor was to order the construction of a new wing to the South River State Penitentiary. This wing, utilizing both Lor technology and the devices invented by Dr. Wallace, would house the city�s �super-villains�.
Barker�s next order of business was also a construction project, however one of a more bizarre design. He ordered that a massive statute honouring The Benefactor be constructed at the tip of the newly rebuilt Riverside Park. The statue would stand 100-feet and be constructed of a golden alloy. It would depict The Benefactor facing inland, right hand outstretched, holding an eternal flame. It would exist as a beacon to the rest of the country.
To some the Beacon Statue was a suitable honour for the cities leading citizen, however others became uncomfortable with its symbolism. This discomfort was compounded by the growing presence of the STAR Squad, which despite no further superpower threats was growing rapidly in numbers and regularly patrolled the city. Freedom Ledger reporter Julie Streeter began a series of investigative articles examining the STAR Squad, as well as looking into the activities of Mayor Barker, who many suspected was up to his old tricks. The articles received a vocally negative reaction from the majority of readers, however to the silent minority Streeter seemed to be on to something.
On June 17th 2001 former Mayor Michael O�Connor Jr. awoke from his coma. Despite the severe changes that the city had undergone since his assault, he calmly accepted the change of administration and released a press statement that he would be retiring from public life to focus on his rehabilitation and to spend more time with his family.
On July 4th 2001, one year since the Liberty Park Rampage, the Freedom Ledger ran a complete issue filled with columns and editorials criticising the Barker administration, detailing the increasingly chequered conduct of the STAR Squad, and raising questions regarding the intention of the city�s �hero�, The Benefactor. The controversial issue was published with the approval and direct supervision of Fletcher Beaumont II, owner of the Ledger and descendant of its founder, Henry Beaumont. The issue was received by a stunned public. Those who agreed with the papers views were shocked that they had been so blatantly voiced. Those who supported The Benefactor were shocked at this attacked, and disturbed by the accuracy of the papers facts. For that day the city was silent, contemplating the issue. However the silence did not last. The following morning the Daily Herald, a staunch supporter of The Benefactor and Barker, devoted its day�s issue to a scathing counter-point to the Ledger and levelled accusations of libel & dirty journalism. The silence broken, the battle lines were now drawn.
The Benefactor did not wait long to act. On July 7th in the dead of night, STAR Squads swarmed the city, backed by mysterious figures wearing a golden insignia of a hand holding a flame. All travel into or out of the city was halted and all vehicles were stopped and searched. By morning hundreds of actual and presumed opponents of The Benefactor were captured and arrested. Such notable citizens as Fletcher Beaumont II, Julie Streeter, U.S. Naval Captain Arnold Foster, and Police Commissioner Barbra Kane were among the detained. On the morning of the 8th the captives, as well as the super villain prisoners Smash, Shore, and Get-Away, were accused, tried, and summarily convicted of sedition & treason. All were immediately executed.
The only magistrate to preside over the hasty trial was The Benefactor himself and the action sent a shockwave throughout the nation. The US military acted quickly, dispatching reserve units to take control of the city and restore order. They were met by fierce opposition in the form of the golden insignia wearing troopers, called the Vigilant Watch, all of whom possessed super powers. To make matters worse these already imposing foes were backed by the STAR Squad, which had grown into a large military force and possessed advanced Lor technology. The army did not stand a chance and were slaughtered.
Exercising the full scope of his new troopers The Benefactor rapidly constructed a walled perimeter around the entirety of Freedom City. This wall seemed to spring from the earth of its own accord and has been credited to the powers of Vigilant Watch member Andre Desislav. Jets and air strikes proved no more effective, swatted from the air by The Benefactor himself.
A series of contacts followed, during which The Benefactor made clear that Beacon City, as he now referred to Freedom City, was a sovereign state, separate and independent from the United States. He would hold office as First Citizen, supported by a body of ministers and councillors. The daily administration of the city would be overseen by a Governor that he would appoint and Albert Barker was immediately elevated to the position. The Benefactor also made it very clear that any attempts to invade or disrupt Beacon City would result in most dire consequences. As is its policy the US government refused to negotiate with the terrorist organization, as The Benefactor and his regime was now viewed, and began setting up a military perimeter near the edges of the Beacon City fortress.
The following weeks were surreal to the citizenry. A large celebration was held to honour the official renaming of the city and all city signs were rapidly updated. Meanwhile the Freedom Ledger�s doors were closed for good. Citizens returned to their daily routine but patrols of the STAR Squad, or the Benevolent Guard as they were now called, were a constant presence. Even trade began, as The Benefactor had paved the way for overseas support from nations eager to obtain his advanced technologies. In many ways life appeared the same, though Beacon City was now a police state.
But even as the stunned citizenry began to slip into quiet subservience, a ray of light appeared. Above an amazed crowd of downtown workers on their noon lunch break, a golden figure soared overhead and landed atop the building that had been home to the Freedom Ledger. The golden man-bird set off a series of 4th of July fireworks and let unfurl a great banner that fell the length of the building. In tall, red letters it stated simply �FREEDOM�. The Benevolent Guard set upon the mysterious figure quickly but he evaded them with a series of aerial tactics that left the crowd below in awe. Then, as quickly as he had come, the golden bird-man was gone. And so the legend of The Freedom Eagle was born.
The next four years would see The Benefactor tighten his stranglehold over Beacon City. These years would also give rise to The Ministry of Public Safety, the ever-present spy service that monitored for signs of dissent, and The Ministry of Education, which dispensed propaganda and enforced �re-education� of problem citizens.
But The Benefactor�s rule in these years did not go unchallenged, for all the while he was bedevilled by the mysterious crusader Freedom Eagle. Soon after The Eagle was joined by other masked figures, such as Lady Liberty, The Silver Sheriff, The Human Tank, and The Patriot. Each hero was very different but each became a symbol of hope for a return to freedom. In fact �FREEDOM� has become a common graffiti tag throughout the city. These heroes also managed to strike a telling blow by assisting several key figures escape the city, such as Dr. Abigail Wallace, who was able to bring the US government some of the secrets of Lor technology as well as her own research regarding super-powered beings.
The US government was not idle during this period either, though there was little they could do to counter The Benefactor directly. A coalition of the world�s great powers united with the US to establish a trade embargo against Beacon City, though many members believed that China was secretly behind the stream of shipments that still pored in. The US also established the new military branch AEGIS (American Elite Government Intervention Service), headed by Colonel Randall Austin, who had departed Freedom City months before the coup. With the recovery of Dr. Wallace AEGIS began the development of their own Lor armour and weaponry. They also began the construction of Blackstone Federal Penitentiary beneath the cold waters of Lake Superior. The facility was a maximum security prison designed by Dr. Wallace to hold super-powered prisoners.
Part III: War
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On July 3rd 2005 The Benefactor again shocked the world by launching a sneak attack against the eastern states of Pennsylvania, New York, and all of New England. The massive assault was coordinated by Vigilant Watch member Dradin Zaan, ranking military leader second only to The Benefactor himself. Zaan�s uncanny ability to seemingly appear on all battlefronts at once allowed him to seamlessly direct the campaign.
Footnotes
1. The Founding of Freedom: The 1600s, page 12 Mutants & Masterminds: Freedom City 2nd Edition
2. Freedom and Independence: The 1700s, page 12 Mutants & Masterminds: Freedom City 2nd Edition
3. Freedom and Independence: The 1700s, pages 12-13 Mutants & Masterminds: Freedom City 2nd Edition
4. Freedom By Gaslight: The 1800s, page 13 Mutants & Masterminds: Freedom City 2nd Edition
5. Dawn of A New Century: 1900-1940, page 13 Mutants & Masterminds: Freedom City 2nd Edition
6. Freedom�s Twilight: 1972-1992, page 16 Mutants & Masterminds: Freedom City 2nd Edition
7. A New Freedom: 1993-Present, page 16 Mutants & Masterminds: Freedom City 2nd Edition
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