Dawnstars Background

The Dawn Of The Euro (2001)

Dawnstars: Aeolus, Medusa, Renard, Shriek, Slipknot, Valkyrie

The European Union launched the Dawnstars in the same year it brought in the euro across most of its member countries.  The idea was to provide the community with a group of heroic role models who embodied the new feeling of a unified Europe.  Critics suggested it was a publicity stunt to draw attention away from several disgruntled countries who were opposing the move to the euro.  Regardless of its motives, the European Union successfully marketed the Dawnstars, lauding them as being powerful enough to rival the Sentinels and other high-profile teams, but more importantly being able to respond to crises as they emerged across the European Union member countries.  The six members of the team soon found themselves responding to disasters ranging from environmental catastrophes to uberhuman terrorism.

Everything Goes Up In Smoke (2002)

Dawnstars: Aeolus, Blarney, Choir, Eternity, Renard, Shriek, Slipknot, Valkyrie

In its second year of operation, the Dawnstars suffered their first disappointment.  Medusa resigned and warned the other members that the EU were planning to scuttle the entire project.  The EU refused to confirm the suggestion, but brought in three new members to smooth the ripples that had surfaced.

The criminal mastermind, Remus, had set his sights on destroying the Dawnstars as a show of his importance in the European Criminal Underworld.  He began by corrupting various members of the EU, and soon there were calls for the Dawnstars to provide more accountability for their actions.  Budgets were curtailed, while expected revenue was increased.  The heroes were asked to provide returns on the investments paid by certain member countries.  The only way to provide such profits was through merchandising, which was a resounding failure.  They also had to support a staff which numbered more than fifty, and their accountants warned that the Dawnstars would be unable to fully function in the next financial year.

Remus had also been investing heavily in a clandestine black market operation he dubbed the DIY Ubergene Project which hoped to engineer active ubergenes.  Spain and France were heavily involved in funding this project, and Russia had begun to blackmail the governments.  Professor Diamante Sismondo had sold information to the Russians and inadvertently to Cardinal Syn as well.  Remus contracted the assassin Silver Marten to kill Sismondo, and also the Russian diplomat to Italy; but when an opportunity arose to unleash his full plan to destroy the Dawnstars he took it.  One of his test subjects had escaped and was causing mayhem up and down Italy.  Remus manoeuvred Torch to the Dawnstars headquarters on Lido, Italy and organised for the boy to burn the building down.  During the ensuing madness, Silver Marten was supposed to assassinate members of the Dawnstars.  She succeeded in killing Eternity, but decided to leave when she realised the extent of Remus' plan.

The headquarters burnt to the ground, resulting in the deaths of eight staff members.  The European Union refused to continue the contract with Dawnstars and the team was respectfully disbanded.  Aeolus began working in Hollywood.  Blarney returned to Ireland to confront his past, but disappeared shortly after.  Choir returned to Rome.  Renard returned to France where he rejoined the Legion.  Shriek returned to Germany and retired after a very short stint with Uber Force.  Slipknot stayed in Venice and continued a sporadic crime fighting career.  And Valkyrie returned to her parent's farm in the Netherlands.

The dream had ended.

Dirty Deeds (2002-2003)

Dawnstars: No active membership

Later that year, Remus made a third move against the Dawnstars.  He had cut off their funding, destroyed their home.  Now he planned to eradicate the heroes in a very public display of his power.  He hired the services of Dirty Deeds, Motte and Bailey, and his own small posse of uberhuman enforcers, the Exiles.  Each assassin was given the job of killing anyone formerly associated with the Dawnstars.

Aeolus was killed in London by Triune in a brazen attack during a media conference, which happened shortly after an attempt on Nordkapp Man's life by Lorenzo Sismondo, the deranged brother of Professor Sismondo.  Motte and Bailey attacked Renard and his family in France, killing the French hero and his two children, but somehow failing to kill his wife, Nefise.  Medusa killed her former best friend, Shriek, at the Vienna Opera.  The Hunter and Dreadlock attempted to kill Slipknot in Venice, but failed and withdrew from the contract.  Choir was attacked by Kali in Rome but escaped, although she hospitalised the Hindu goddess and further traumatised herself.  Blarney was attacked by War and Peace in Ireland but escaped, again disappearing into obscurity.  Valkyrie was the one member who was not targeted, and this lack of danger initially led to her former team mates believing she was somehow involved.

Dawnstars Ascendant (2003)

Dawnstars: Choir, Forrestal, Kid Zoom, Nordkapp Man, Paladin, Slipknot, Suleyman, Valkyrie

Valkyrie assembled the remaining members of the Dawnstars in Venice, bringing with her the Austrian hero, Forrestal; Suleyman, Paladin and Kid Zoom.  Dirty Deeds attacked Slipknot's palazzo in Venice, but were turned away.  Over the next few months the Dawnstars tracked down Remus and uncovered his plans to manipulate and manufacture the ubergene.  They tracked his activities east into Slovenia and Serbia, as well as west to Spain.  Several members of the Dawnstars uncovered one of Remus' premier laboratories under a monastery and a battle erupted between the Dawnstars and the Exiles.  The entire facility was destroyed, and there were heavy casualties.  Valkyrie was critically injured, Choir was taken by the infernal Armageddon, Torch was taken into custody and two of the three Triune were destroyed.

It was revealed that the Order of Truth had decided to close down Remus' activities once and for all.  Simultaneously across Europe, secret laboratories were uncovered and destroyed.  Cardinal Syn had disapproved of the genetic manipulations and sent Remus a single but devastating warning to desist.  Remus empire crumbled within 24 hours.  While Cardinal Syn's involvement was not common knowledge, the Dawnstars were credited with the exposure of Remus and his plans.  Many governments found scapegoats amongst their departments, and the Dawnstars received unanimous acclaim across Europe.

The Miranda Contract (2003)

Dawnstars: Chimera, Forrestal, Kid Zoom, Nordkapp Man, Slipknot, Suleyman, Vertigo

With their newfound popularity, the Dawnstars were approached by the Ziani Corporation and offered significant funding and the use of a former aircraft carrier known as the Miranda as a base.  The Italian Prime Minister gave the team the power to operate within its boundaries and other countries soon followed suit.  Ziani impressed upon the team two new members: Chimera and Vertigo (who both happened to be beautiful Italian women - something which appealed to the Italians who were now funding the team).

The Seven Martyrs (2004)

Dawnstars: Chimera, Choir, Forrestal, Kid Zoom, Nordkapp Man, Slipknot, Suleyman, Vertigo

Choir returned amidst a serial killing case involving tourists in and around Venice.  The Dawnstars soon discovered that the San Constantini convalescent home was at the centre of the murders.  A resident there, Rima Garibaldi, had begun a campaign against Germans who had killed her husband back in World War II.  She had only recently woken from a coma and was having difficulty adjusting to the new times, especially since Germany had seemed to go unpunished.  Meanwhile, the Red Brigade had identified San Constantini as the site of an ancient war treasure and took control of the facility.  The Dawnstars were called in to deal with the siege and managed to infiltrate the home and disarm the terrorists without any loss of life.  They discovered three caskets being unearthed in the interior courtyard.  The caskets contained portraits of three women, and as they were brought into the light, the women came to life.  They revealed themselves as the Norn: ancient Norse goddesses.  The Dawnstars took the portraits back to the Miranda for closer examination, although the goddesses proved to be very evasive when it came to answers.  Choir soon left again to renew her vows.

The Nordic Shard (2005)

Dawnstars: Forrestal, Mind Stalker, Nordkapp Man, Chloe Numen, Quantum, Slipknot, Sound Barrier, Suleyman, Valkyrie, Vertigo

The Dawnstars enjoyed some down time, including Suleyman, Kid Zoom and Grak who attended a football match in Germany.  The match was postponed when an ESA space shuttle was destroyed on re-entry from a space mission.  The only survivor was Gustav Uribe, but he survived only due to the intervention of an alien symbiote which triggered his own ubergene.  On the ground, in the midst of a shopping centre, Uribe was disorientated and confused.  When Maximum Force took him into their care, he went with them.  Suleyman and Grak managed to help Uribe remember who he was and he decided to leave Maximum Force and accompany the Dawnstars to Venice where he would hopefully learn more about himself.  Maximum Force allowed Uribe to leave, although their interest is still strong.

The reappearance of the Norn also brought with it an ancient curse.  During World War II the Norn were bound to the Hardenburg family who were devoted members of the Nazis and close associates of Dr Mengele.  As the Germans retreated from Italy towards the end of the War, the portraits were buried in Venice, but when they were unearthed, the heir to the Hardenburg family found himself strangely unsettled.  Mengele soon discovered the portraits were discovered as well, and drew together his allies in preparation for a strike against the Dawnstars' base.  Hardenburg, who was the hero Steppenwolf, had become possessed by his ancestor's spirit and joined Mengele and his Kinder der Zukunft.  Knightwatch had been tracking Blitzkrieg and followed them to Venice where they met with Mengele.

The Norn had planned the conflict.

Blitzkrieg, Mengele and the Kinder der Zukunft attacked the slumbering Miranda, but the one-sided battle was soon shifted with the appearance of Knightwatch and the timely arrival of Valkyrie and Chloe Numen.  The Norn were then commanded by Mengele, through Steppenwolf, to banish all his enemies.  The Norn were bound to the Nordic Shard which was in Steppenwolf's possession.  They banished the Dawnstars and Knightwatch up and down the time stream.

One group found themselves in war-occupied Venice during the 1940s where they came across a younger Rima Garibaldi and a time-displaced Saul Numen.  They were told by the Norn to infiltrate a masquerade party at the Palazzo Zorzi where a meeting was taking place between Mengele, the Ubermensch and Zorzi who was in possession of the Nordic Shard.

Another group found themselves in the future, half in an orbiting space station and the other half on a devastated planet below.  The future was one where Mengele had succeeded in bringing about his version of the Perfect World: one where ubers ruled and where he dominated all.  The Nordic Shard, which granted Mengele power over the Norn, was carried by two children.

A third group was sent to Asgard, the home of the Norn.  The goddesses had prophesised that a Dawnstar must be sacrificed for their eventual liberty, and they chose Suleyman who would have to sacrifice his life so that the goddesses could be free.  They didn't count on Mind Stalker arriving with Suleyman, or the intervention of Hel, Goddess Of Death.

A fourth group assembled in the present to face off against Mengele and Blitzkrieg.  Vertigo had returned from a short sabbatical in search of answers about her father's death, and when she returned she found that the Dawnstars and Knightwatch were gone.