Isobar
David Stokes (a.k.a. Isobar)
David was a scientist on the Zeus Project, a joint endeavor by both NOAA and Millennium City University. The project sought to create a balloon-deployed device that would control local weather patterns. When the takeover by Doctor Destroyer occurred, the project was co-opted, presumably to turn the device into a weapon. In the following months, David made sure the project suffered setbacks, stalling in the hopes that a new set of heroes would rise and overthrow Destroyer’s evil regime. And so, in one late-night lab session, he went a little too far, causing the device to melt down while also exposing himself to the machine’s weather-altering rays. As he was the only one near the “accident,” none of the others in the lab were affected, and no one is aware of the changes the device’s rays made to his physiology.
The exposure gifted David with amazing control over atmospheric pressure and has been using them to quietly help people in his off-hours as Isobar.
Meanwhile, Destroyer has restarted the project, and David has resumed trying to make the project appear to be progressing while doing his best to secretly undermine it -- more carefully this time.
A handsome but unassuming-looking meteorologist, David was changed after being exposed to radiation from an experimental weather-control device. Gifted with mastery over atmospheric pressure, he tries to help whomever he can as the superhero Isobar.
Current Location
Millennium City
Date of Birth
31 January 1991
Children
Current Residence
Millennium City, Michigan, USA
Gender
Male
Eyes
Brown
Hair
Brown
Height
180 cm/5'11"
Weight
80 kg/176 lbs
DarkR Web, Eastern Site
9-10 June 2020
I was met by a special courier from Xplore Corp as I arrived home from the lab. Inside the package was a tablet-like device with some impressive security: fingerprint, voice recognition, and retina scan. I suppose I shouldn’t have been surprised that it was all keyed to my biometrics, but it does raise the question of the efficacy of my secret identity.
When I accessed the device, I found a message stored on it, addressed to Isobar from none other than Aaron Sharpe himself. It could have been a trick, but judging by the design of the tablet, I could believe that it was, in fact, from him.
The message explained his intention to create a “DarkR Web” for the purpose of connecting those who are intent on resisting Doctor Destroyer and his regime. Which, I have to say, would be a welcome resource. He also outlined some instructions for planting the tablet in such a way as to allow his covert network to piggyback on the City’s existing internet hubs, along with GPS coordinates. His message implied that others would be doing the same in other locations and hinted that placement of the final tablet would require a team effort.
My enthusiasm got the best of me, and before I knew it I was looking up the coordinates to see what was at the location (a local telecom hub) and searching for whatever public plans of the building I could find. And then I made a plan and headed out as Isobar.
I had it in mind to fly to the rooftop and enter through an elevator maintenance shaft, float down the building’s forty-four floors and into the basement, and do the deed – the tablet had an LED that would blink faster as I got closer to the optimal position.
And everything went according to plan… until I had descended a floor or so and the alarms began to sound. It seems the plans I acquired were not quite up to date concerning the building’s security. So I flew back up and out of the shaft, and touched down in a nearby alleyway. Luckily, I had a Plan B; unfortunately, it was accessed via an underground passage that, according to the less-than-accurate plans, had been walled off. But, looking on the bright side, I had at least managed to direct the attention of building security to the rooftop. And maybe the plans were wrong about the wall, too.
It wasn’t. The building plans had shown a small room beyond this wall, then a hallway opening into the main basement area – my destination. There was also a power junction box in the room, in case I needed to kill the lights in the place. I didn’t want to break the wall down, but at least that was something I could do fairly easily, and after a pneumatic blast I was in.
The room was thankfully where it was supposed to be, and also unoccupied and looked to be all but forgotten. There were racks of outdated equipment, some old filing cabinets, flimsy-looking shelves with bins of small parts. A storage closet. I climbed through the hole I’d made and cracked the door open to have a peek down the hall. There was a camera mounted at the opposite end, aimed to take in the entire passage. It was about the time I was closing the door that I admitted to myself that this was exactly the kind of job I wasn’t suited for.
But I was there, and I had a job to at least try to do. The only course of action I could come up with was to kill the power at the junction box and rush down the hallway and into the room with the hub. Then find the best place to attach the tablet, run back out, and somehow make it look like the conduits in the box were damaged by really big rats. Or something. Because the main problem was – and yes, an even bigger problem than the improbability that I’d even get the job done before backup power brought everything back online – was that if anyone suspected someone had been in here, they’d search the place with a fine-toothed comb and most likely find the tablet. I was already hoping the hole in the wall would go unnoticed; a fritzed-out power junction would guarantee someone coming to check it out.
I had to do something, and I had to do it quickly. So I got the tablet out and prepped, opened up the fuse box, and was about to start tearing out conduits when I noticed the LED on the tablet blinking. I picked it up and, as it rose closer to the junction, the indicator blinked more rapidly. Finally, a lucky break.
I found the best spot for the tablet, attached it, took the fob – the device that would allow me to connect securely to the DarkR Web – then closed the box. Then I pulled the two rusty filing cabinets with me to the hole in the wall, slipped out, then positioned them as best I could to obscure my entry. How did it look? Let’s just say I hope no one needs to get anything from that closet for a long, long time.
I got out and home without any more mishaps. I think I used up my quota of bad luck for the night. Now I just need to wait and see what installing the final tablet will entail.
It's Alive!
12 June 2020
The fob came to life today. It's apparently a combination pager and secure router. There are four of us connected at the moment, including Sharpe himself. The message he sent mentioned the fifth tablet that needs to be installed before the DarkR Web network can reach peak performance. It's supposedly a job for a group, and I guess I'm invited.
I'm happy to do whatever's needed to start pushing back against Destroyer and his goons. But judging by how the previous job went, I hope my involvement won't be a liability.
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