X-Isle the Living City

The entity known as X-Isle the Living City was formed in the aftermath of the Terminus Invasion, the same as Freedom Leaguer Dr. Metropolis. Some speculate the same “urban elemental” force animated or formed both beings, although neither of them have anything to say about the theory. X-Isle is certainly larger, more powerful, and more alien than Dr. Metropolis. Fortunately, it is also separated from Earth by the dimensional gulf of The Terminus.
X-Isle is apparently made up of matter from the Terminus “imprinted” in some unknown way with the essence of Freedom City, so it resembles downtown Freedom City. However, much of X-Isle’s outward appearance covers a featureless or even alien interior. Some buildings are mere façades, hollow shells on the inside, or filled with structures more reminiscent of organs than architecture. In particular, a complex series of tunnels extends throughout X-Isle’s “bedrock” like a web of arteries and veins, connected to a great central chamber serving as the city’s “heart” (or perhaps “brain” would be more accurate).
The Atom Family discovered X-Isle while studying the Terminus in the years following the invasion. At first, it appeared to be a near-perfect replica of downtown Freedom City, complete with cars, buses, and people going about their daily lives. More importantly, many of the people living there were actual human beings, unaware they were in the Terminus at all.
Upon spending some time studying the situation, the Atoms discovered the city itself was, in some way, alive, and while some of the people living there were real, most were simply realistic replicants created by X-Isle, extensions of the city-island itself. Dr. Atom theorizes X-Isle feels its purpose is inhabitation, and it is incomplete without a population of some kind. This is corroborated by Dr. Metropolis’ description of the Living City as “lonely.” However, it also appears X-Isle feeds on the psychic energies of its living inhabitants to sustain itself, like some sort of parasite.
The Atom Family showed the human inhabitants of X-Isle the truth about their existence and managed to overcome the Living City long enough to transport them back to Earth. It turned out they were all people who went missing during the Terminus Invasion, apparently abducted or pulled into the other dimension. Although they had been gone for years, they were finally able to return to their loved ones and their real lives.
Since then, X-Isle has made attempts—both on its own and in cooperation with others—to acquire new inhabitants. The city has gathered a motley collection of aliens from the Terminus under its “protection,” but it seems most drawn to human life. X-Isle’s occasional intrusions into Earth’s dimension have drawn the attention of Dr. Metropolis and the Atom Family. The Living City shows a particular antipathy toward Dr. Metropolis. While the Freedom City hero is sympathetic to X-Isle’s plight, he is also extremely protective of his city and its people, and intervenes in any of X-Isle’s attempts to abduct or interfere with them.