Project Freedom
Though not the oddest crime-fighting team, Project Freedom is arguably the most improbable. Drawn from the ranks of Blackstone Federal Penitentiary and Providence Asylum, Project Freedom allows super-powered convicts to pay their debt to society in a more proactive way than sitting on cell bunks or performing unskilled slave labor. The driving force for Project Freedom is Harriet Wainwright, whose family legacy of public service heavily defines her own outlook. Beginning as an administrator in the Freedom City probation office, Ms. Wainwright recognized the potential lying fallow in the incarceration of meta-criminals. These people possessed the same extraordinary gifts as the city’s greatest defenders, who worked miracles daily. Certainly there were hardcore psychopaths who could never walk freely among ordinary citizens, but many were simply people who made poor choices or got caught up in no-win situations. Couldn’t their road to redemption be defined by the same abilities that defined their fall?
Ms. Wainwright is extraordinary despite a lack of superpowers. Her outsized accomplishments stand in contrast to her stature: a 5’2”, stocky woman in late middle age with short, graying hair. Starting small, she convinced city authorities to fund an initiative where metahuman criminals with reliable records of good behavior could reduce their time on probation by using their abilities for the good of society from within prison—product testing, intelligence gathering, or volunteering for research. She progressed to a state-run program where prisoners could earn parole volunteering for “the Free Team,” as it was first known. After several early successes with individual participants, Ms. Wainwright convinced the federal government to allow her to form a full team of super-powered inmates: Project Freedom. Though there is no parole in the federal system, legislation was passed to allow prisoners to earn “good time” off their sentences, and even the chance for commutation. Project Freedom’s scope has since expanded to encompass Blackstone Penitentiary, the city and state penal system, and Providence Asylum.
The requirements for inclusion on Project Freedom are stringent—Ms. Wainwright is an idealist but no fool, and realizes that ten success stories are forgotten for even a single failure. Prisoners applying for the program must have had no disciplinary issues for at least two years prior. No one serving a term for murder or rape is considered eligible (The Hexorcist's status is dicey in this regard, but ultimately his now-controlled mental illness makes for a convincing exception). Prisoners go through several interviews and psychological exams to measure their narcissism, Machiavellian-ism, and psychopathy “dark triad” traits to assess their stability. Candidates from Providence Asylum must also be judged fit by a psychiatric board and continue with prescribed therapy and medications. Villains evaluated as too cunning or powerful for the authorities to control and monitor are screened out, while those too weak for the forward-facing combat normally demanded of Project Freedom are placed instead in community-service roles. For example, the former villain Venus Man-Trap, Aphrodite St. Claire, now works on work release with the Freedom City Parks Department, using her plant control to nurse rare plants and repair damage to city infrastructure.
Those lucky few who win a place on Project Freedom remain in custody to serve out their time and are closely monitored, but are allowed the use of their abilities or special technologies to engage active threats, including supervillains and natural disasters. Each freelancer must consent to “enforcement measures”—bureaucratic terminology for a custom-made leash that tethers and controls each villain used by Project Freedom to ensure their loyalty. For most members, this includes a subdermal tracking chip that also contains a small explosive, taser, or chemical agent capable of incapacitating them with the push of a button. For others, this control is psychological or even arcane; Project Freedom consults with a number of heroes on how to best contain and monitor the villains’ assets before allowing them to move in the world. In addition, each must wear a body camera and a commlink, putting them in constant communication with Ms. Wainwright (or her surrogates) and with each other. This also allows the Big House staff to supply the team with real-time tactical updates gathered from AEGIS data files, police reports, social media, and satellite news feeds. Recently, Project Freedom has taken to deploying surveillance drones to accompany the team, using them to scout battlefields beforehand.
Freelancers who disobey orders, move outside the engagement zone, or tamper with their enforcement lose their privilege of service and can look forward to additional years tacked on to their sentences.
But the rewards for loyal service are impressive. In addition to commuted sentences and more spacious accommodations, freelancers can expect regular “shore leave” to spend a day or two at a time walking free to visit family and friends, or just stretch their legs and slowly re-acclimate after years of institutionalization. For many members, simply having the chance to use their powers once again and get in a good brawl is all the motivation they need.
Other cities have followed suit with their own initiatives, including NYC’s Federal Force, London’s Bondsmen, and Emerald City’s Arcadian Initiative. All are smaller in scale, as winning over the citizenry takes time. Rumors persist that the federal government has assembled their own squad of lifers and death row villains—nicknamed Terminal Team—given reprieves for wetworks assignments, but nothing has been proven.
Assets
The Project Freedom team does not actually have any resources of its own, per se—they are still technically prisoners serving out their terms. They have to check their gear and weapons in at the completion of every mission, their personal contact with the outside world is supervised, and restrictions are placed on their activities. Even scientifically minded members must get permission to use the Big House’s lab or workshop, for example.
However, Harriet Wainwright has secured considerable resources: city and state grants, but also private fundraising, as many of Freedom City’s philanthropists and even Mayor Summers support her efforts. Similarly, the law-and-order types support sufficient funding to ensure the purportedly ex-villains are properly guarded and kept on a tight rein, while ultimately saving taxpayer dollars
As a compromise between operating from Blackstone Penitentiary and headquartering convicted villains within Freedom City proper, a floating platform was built not far from Blackstone, with a landing pad and dock for transport to the prison and the mainland. The PF roster dubbed the compound “the Big House.” The Big House docks a ferry with sufficient space to carry an APC and two motorcycles with sidecars (which freelancers use for land transport), two cutter ships, a mini-submarine (armed with torpedoes but no ballistic missiles), and a military helicopter. Support personnel are composed of civilian employees (including pilots, technicians, and medical specialists) and Blackstone guards; there are twenty-four “Blackguards,” six outfitted in AEGIS Max armor, with Super-Max units available at Ms. Wainwright’s discretion. None of these are normally made available to the freelancers, and instead serve to deploy and monitor them.
In addition to the facilities, freelancers are given group and mental training, making them more resistant to outside control in the hopes that stronger willpower can help them resist sliding into old habits under pressure.
The freelancers are confined when not on assignment, though their quarters are more dorm-like than cell-like. They are not locked in at night—though their movements are monitored—and can use the recreation area, gym, and library at will. Good behavior and superior performance on missions can result in additional privileges such as better food, increased time with family or friends, and even unsupervised weekend furloughs in Freedom City, though their tracking implants remain active. Solo excursions require regular check-ins to ensure compliance and safety, but dual outings are more common, as each member has incentive to make certain both return.
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