Independents Lore

Tone and Role in Brockton Bay

The independent capes embody the city’s complexity:

  • Parian represents compassion and grassroots heroism.

  • Purity embodies guilt, hypocrisy, and the uneasy path of redemption.

  • Faultline’s Crew symbolizes professionalism and neutrality in a world of chaos.

They operate outside the Protectorate’s rigid order, filling gaps the government ignores — or creating new moral gray areas for others to navigate.

Parian (Sabah)
A fashion design student turned street-level hero active in the Boardwalk and downtown arts district. Parian wears a costume reminiscent of a Victorian-style porcelain doll, with golden curls. Underneath the costume, she stands just over five feet tall and is of obvious Middle-Eastern descent, with dark skin, full lips, and large, dark eyes.
Power: Parian's power gives her a fine control over lightweight materials. If she attempts to control anything heavier than a half-pound, her telekinesis falls apart. It becomes more unstable when she attempts to move large objects until it expands and dissipates over an area in an attempt to extend control to a number of tiny, lightweight objects.

Parian discovered that she could contain her power and keep it from dissipating. Porous materials worked best for this method as her power soaks into them and allows her to move the fabric rather than just the material. The gaps within the material also allow her to feed power into the 'shell' without it building to critical mass and collapsing.
Tone: Idealistic, gentle, community-centered. Parian wants money to set up her own shop, putting on puppet shows downtown for money and fights only when necessary. Deeply moral but not naïve, she knows the city is dying and tries to stitch together what’s left.

Purity (Kayden Anders)
Former Empire Eighty-Eight member and ex-lover of Kaiser; now operating independently as a vigilante.
Power: Blaster/Breaker — emits high-intensity beams of light capable of destroying buildings, flying via directed thrust, and projecting shields. The brightness and power of her beams increase with emotional intensity.
Tone: Conflicted, angry, self-righteous. Purity sees herself as reformed, but her actions and targets show lingering prejudice — she claims to “defend innocents” but primarily attacks nonwhite gangs like the ABB. Fiercely protective of her daughter Aster, she’s simultaneously a symbol of redemption and hypocrisy.
Allies/Conflicts: Works with Fog and Night as a small vigilante trio. Avoids the Protectorate, hunted by the PRT for collateral damage and racialized vigilantism. Respected for raw power, distrusted for motives.

Fog (Geoff Schmidt)
Former E88 member and Night's husband.
Power: Changer/Shaker — transforms into a dense, corrosive fog that can envelop city blocks. While in this form, he’s intangible, able to suffocate or corrode enemies, and nearly immune to harm. Returns to human form when unconscious or drained. Married to Night.
Tone: Sociopathic.

Night (Dorothy Schmidt)
Fog’s partner and another Purity loyalist.
Power: Changer/Brute — appears human under observation but, when unseen, transforms into a monstrous, bestial form with immense strength, claws, and enhanced durability. Reverts instantly when seen again. Married to Fog.
Tone: Sociopathic.

Faultline (Alice)
Leader of Faultline’s Crew and owner of the Palanquin nightclub.
Power: Shaker/Striker — can open narrow, controlled fissures in surfaces, manipulating the surrounding terrain with extreme precision.
Tone: Calm, professional, pragmatic. Runs her mercenary team as a business, staying neutral in gang conflicts unless paid. Avoids wanton violence and prefers negotiation. Seen as “honorable among mercs.”
Allies/Conflicts: Occasionally works with the Protectorate for containment jobs or against mutual threats. Respected by both heroes and villains for discipline and discretion.

Gregor the Snail (Faultline’s Crew)
Power: Changer/Trump — possesses a heavily mutated, mollusk-like body that secretes a corrosive or adhesive slime he can control. Resistant to damage and capable of dissolving or restraining enemies. He is a Case 53 Cape.
Tone: Gentle, introspective, and philosophical. Despite monstrous looks, Gregor is compassionate and loyal, a moral compass within Faultline’s Crew.

Newter (Faultline’s Crew)
Power: Mover/Trump — prehensile tail, powerful reflexes, and saliva that induces intense hallucinogenic or disorienting effects in targets. Also a Case 53 Cape.
Tone: Jovial, irreverent, but streetwise. Represents the adaptability of those rejected by society; often works information networks and minor jobs to fund the crew.

Spitfire (Faultline’s Crew)
Power: Blaster — exudes and ignites flammable vapor, creating directed bursts of fire with high mobility.
Tone: Witty, easygoing, loyal to Faultline. Her controlled use of volatile power symbolizes the Crew’s restraint.

Labyrinth (Faultline’s Crew)
Power: Shaker/Thinker — alters perception and spatial structure in her vicinity, creating reality-warping labyrinths based on her mental state. Her control fluctuates with stability; in calm moments, she can open safe corridors through her illusions.
Tone: Ethereal, fragile, tragic; a living embodiment of trauma and power intertwined.

Trainwreck (sometimes Independent)
A Tinker/Brute who grafts heavy machinery and weaponry directly onto his body, turning himself into a walking fortress. Secretly works for Coil.
Tone: Unstable but sympathetic; alternates between villain-for-hire and self-styled protector of industrial zones. Sometimes crosses paths with Faultline’s Crew or Parian.