Vigilante (Francis Chase Wayne III)
The Quake, as it is simply known by now, shook the very foundation of the planet, causing California to literally split in two, with the western half slowly easing out into the Pacific Ocean. Those who survived this cataclysm found their lives had only benefited from this new locale! They were now owners of island property! And the largest landowners were the Dons of the Polish Crime Families in Chicago.
One of the families most affected was the Wayne family. On vacation in their summer home in Malibu, California, just before The Quake, young Francis was a happy little boy of seven years old. His parents, Thomas Mario & Louisa Castiglione Wayne, were wealthy socialites who dabbled in the investment market. His mother, Louisa, was the business expert and seemed to have a sixth sense for knowing how the market would move. His father, Thomas, was a doctor, having served as a Marine in Vietnam for three tours.
Together they made sure to build up a vast fortune that would ensure their children would never want for anything.
And children they had a-plenty! Francis was older than his twin sister, Esmeralda, by twelve minutes, the two of them being the oldest. Next was Lisa, age 5 1/2; then came Maria, age four; and finally Rockford "Rocco" at age two.
The house on the beach was full and that was before you added in the visiting family! Uncle Fredo, Thomas's brother, and Uncle Lorenzo, Louisa's twin brother, had arrived with their wives and three children each!
These were Francis's favorite time of the year. Seeing his family, no lessons, just days upon days of fun in the sun!
Two days into their family vacation and all was well, until The Quake hit! Francis was out on his little jet-ski that his father had bought for him, when The Quake hit land! The earth shook and the water swelled and tossed Francis, still clinging to his jet-ski.
For what seemed like hours, Francis fought the waves and swells as he watched the houses along the shore either shake themselves apart or be flooded and pulled into the ocean by the tsunami that seemed to reach further and further inland.
As the earth slowed its shaking, Francis managed to get onto land, scrambling over wreckage he made it to his house to find that it had literally crumbled from The Quake, killing his whole family.
In utter shock, Francis could only sit there among the wreckage, sobbing as he tried to call his family back to life.
Hours later, his voice having given out and having cried himself to sleep, Francis was awoken by the sound of people walking through the ruins of the house. At first Francis wanted to call out to them as he thought they must be looking for survivors.
But just as he was going to, a heavily accented voice began to speak. The two rescuers turned out to be intruders as Francis heard them discuss how the plan had worked perfectly, and now all these homes would have to be foreclosed on before they could be sold off, and that the Dons would be able to pick them up cheap. Soon the Dons and their families would own most, if not all, of the new California island. The third intruder, who had so far remained silent, spoke up then claiming his machine seemed to make this Project Undertaking a complete success. With that, the three decided to go see how the other side of the new island had fared.
His family had been murdered in order to make a profit for the mob! In that moment, Frank decided that he would find out who did this and how and he would make them pay!
Frank was found the next day by relief workers and he was turned over to his family's publicist who agreed to raise him until he was old enough to inherit his family fortune and business dealings.
Until that time, Frank devoted his life to learning every style of fighting he could, the art of disguise, and how to be a detective. When he was old enough, he suddenly found himself a billionaire. Selling his family’s businesses and cashing out all their investments, Frank soon became one of the wealthiest men in all of the United Protectorates of North America.
He journeyed throughout the world, increasing in physical strength and endurance as well as mental acuity. He became proficient in the sciences as well.
With nearly unlimited funds Frank was able to hire the best teachers and go places many had never heard of, including learning from the different military instructors.
By the time Frank had reached the age of 25, he had a genius level IQ and become: a philanthropist, detective, pilot, master of disguise, escape artist, fluent in Japanese, Cantonese, Mandarin, Spanish, French, Latin, German, and Russian; master in 127 forms of armed and unarmed combat including Tae Kwon Do, Judo, Muay Thai, Dragon Style Kung Fu, Boxing, Capoeira, Jiu Jitsu, Nash Ryu Jujutsu, Ninjutsu, Shorin-ryu Karate, Hwa Rang Do, and Chin Na And; with degrees in Criminal Science, Chemistry, Engineering, Biology, and High Technology Applications.
He now wages a one-man war against the criminal underworld as he seeks to find those truly responsible for killing his family among millions of others; Wilson Stanislaus, Godfather of the Polish Dons; and the scientist behind the Undertaking device, Dr. Sivanna von Doom.
Meanwhile, The T.I.T.A.N.S. have brought him on-board, despite being uncomfortable with his methods, due to his unparalleled tactical experience and strategy mastery.
For now, he will join them. But when they become a stumbling block to his personal quest, he will have to cut ties...or remove them from his path.
