USA To And Shine Simple Heroes

A companion map to my fanfic for "And Shine Heaven Now", "And Shine Simple Heroes" [link] focuses on the non-superpowered humans who face off against the Millennium war. Well, except for everyone's favorite Crimson Buffoon.

All characters and logos copyright their respective owners. Artwork of Count D, Leon and Chris Orcot, Calvin, Hobbes and Susie, Anne, Rally and May copyright Erin Ptah. Originals following. Please support the official release.

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1 - Los Angeles, California - Home of Hollywood and American cinema as a whole, Los Angeles was targeted because of it's position as the largest city on the West Coast.

Deadpool - Marvel's now-beloved "Merc with the Mouth", in Simple Heroes, Deadpool is a top-secret government regenerator who broke free, and now roams the world, often coming into conflict with other paranormal forces.

Det. Riggs & Murtaugh (Lethal Weapon) - Both veterans of the Vietnam War, Murtaugh was a simple grunt, while Riggs was a Special Forces master. Coming together after a case involving the Golden Triangle, Murtaugh and Riggs work off each other to survive the zombie filled streets.

Det. Leon Orcot & Chris Orcot (Pet Shop of Horrors) - Leon, a no-nonsense detective, and his younger brother, Chris, a mute boy who finds a second home in a mysterious pet shop. Both know the owner is on to more than he lets slip, and Leon is determined to bring the man to the attention of the LAPD, if they can survive the horrors in the streets.

Count D (Pet Shop of Horrors) - The mystic owner of the small pet shop in Chinatown, D is something more than a man, but what, he will not say. In Simple Heroes, he uses Chris Orcot and the dragon Honlon to attack the zombie hordes, but for a reason known only to him, and his grandfather.

2 - Cheyenne Mountain Air Force Station - Home of NORAD, Cheyenne Mountain is America's most fortified facility, for the simple virtue of being shoved inside a mountain. However, vampires and ghouls were not in the designers plans.

Stargate Command (Stargate SG-1) - A top-secret DoD program that explores alien worlds using an ancient wormhole generator, SGC was the perfect place Anne Warbucks thought to send Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert after the death of Pres. Bill Clinton, since it's experienced with threats the normal military doesn't deal with on a daily basis.

Col. Jack O'Neill (Stargate SG-1) - Leader of SG-1, SGC's premier exploration team, Col. O'Neill is normally a wise-cracking but wise leader, using his range of experience in Special Forces to lead SG-1 safely from mission to mission, especially guarding the next in line for president from zombie hordes.

Maj. Samantha Carter (Stargate SG-1) - Second in command of SG-1, Carter is an experienced astrophysicist and field scientist, as well as a capable combatant. When the chips are down, however, she doesn't hesitate to pull the trigger when ordered.

Dr. Daniel Jackson (Stargate SG-1) - Linguist and ancient historian, Dr. Jackson was the man who cracked the Stargate's code, and continues to help SGC communicate with other alien civilizations. If he has any weakness, it's his strong-belief that as long as something moves and communicates, it's alive, and should not be killed unless otherwise.

Teal'c (Stargate SG-1) - A former Jaffa, or warrior of the Goa'uld, Teal'c joined SG-1 on their first mission, providing critical insight into the mind of their enemy. With these new creatures, Teal'c is as nonchalant and unphased as when he faces down a system lord.

3 - New York City - The primary target of the Major's mad ambitions, New York's hodgepodge of cultures and beliefs made it a much harder nut to truly crack.

Det. John McClane (Die Hard) - After a night trapped in a building with twelve terrorists/thieves, Det. McClane has gone from one criminal scheme to another, always quipping that he's just the wrong man in the wrong place. With the assault of Millennium, now he has to contend with terrorist with no other goal than causing terror. He needs more cigarettes.

Men In Black - An organization of humans policing the Earth Refugee Zone, in Simple Heroes, they have a touch more Federal control, but also have the means to wipe out any problem that threatens to destroy humanity. As long as humanity doesn't know about it.

Agent J - Once a simple, if wisecracking, NYPD detective, J was recruited to the MIB after an incident chasing an alien criminal. Since his partner and mentor K was released, J has become the MIB's top agent, though ghouls were not in the job description.

The Ghostbusters - When Dr. Ray Stantz, Peter Venkmen, and Egon Spengler decided to use science instead of faith to exorcise unruly spirits from buildings and people, the trio could not have seen the success their business would bring. Soon taking aboard snarky secretary Janine Melnitz and former Marine Winston Zeddemore, the Ghostbusters are the best hope New York has to hold back the initial wave of monsters.

4 - Washington DC - An obvious target for Millenium's goals, Washington DC is quickly overrun with ghouls, as America's political leaders are hidden away in order to save the government.

Agent Fox Mulder (The X-Files) - After seeing his sister abducted by aliens at a young age, Fox Mulder has been obsessed with finding the truth in everything, including the outbreak of monsters that would be impossible to cover up. Even having dealt with vampires before, in such numbers, Mulder will be hard pressed to keep the truth from killing him.

Agent Dana Scully (The X-Files) - A strict skeptic, but also a devout Catholic, Agent Scully is the perfect foil for Mulder, keeping his often high flying theories down to Earth long enough to eliminate all possible natural explanations. Of course, now that the truth is out, she has to keep Mulder from going too far.

5 - Newmarket, Suffolk, England - A small town in the English countryside, Newmarket becomes a pivotal location in the battle against the traitors of England.

PC Nicholas Angel (Hot Fuzz) - London's most capable police constable, Angel was transferred to the countryside when his competence made every other London cop look shabby by comparison. Then, after busting a local conspiracy, Angel was transferred with his new partner to Newmarket, where he became the perfect cop to defend the small town from the hordes of the damned.

PC Daniel Butterman (Hot Fuzz) - Though by no means an expert cop, Butterman strives to be a good one, and his enthusiasm always puts him at the front for any assignment, and when the dead come calling, his experience with movies finally comes in handy.

Chief Inspector Locke (OC) - Possessed of the British stiff upper lip, Locke has already lived through the tide of Nazism that swept through Europe, and remembers the Blitz clearly, calling on his experiences to rally his town to defend itself in the face of their resurrected foes.

Senior Airman Mendez (OC) - Using the Air Force as a way to escape life in the ghetto of El Paso, Texas, Mendez never expected to find himself running from an army of corpses that used to be his friends. If there was anything the Air Force trained him for, however, it was to survive.

Airman Figgins (OC) - A quiet Midwestern farmer's son, Figgins joined the Air Force out of a desire to do good and make his family proud. The shock of the attack, however, has left his mental condition in a sorry state. Despite this, he firmly believes in the difference between right and wrong.

6 - Groom Lake Air Force Base, Nevada - Home of Area 51, Groom Lake is America's most famous secret. Some say it experiments with alien technologies and bodies, others say it explores strange new dimensions and universes. Though the truth is nothing as maddening, 51 still has it's share of secrets that it's commander, Col. Miles Quaritch, must wrestle with daily. It's status as a secure facility also makes it the perfect place to send the second in line for succession, Sen. Strom Thurmond, to be kept safe.

Earl Bassett, Val McKee, and Grady Hoover (Tremors) - Professional handymen, and currently successful owners of "Monsterland" just north of Las Vegas, the trio of unlikely heroes has continually faced down the cryptids called "graboids" and survived, making them likely candidates for a call by Warbucks agents looking to stop the attack on L.A.

7 - Perfection, Nevada - A town of seven people, Perfection was made famous for being the origin point of the "graboids", worm-like monsters that eat anything on the surface. Saved by the local losers/heroes Earl and Val, Perfection is still the home of the world's most successful big game hunter.

Burt Gummer (Tremors) - Great-grandson of the man who first discovered and defeated the graboids, Burt is the go-to man to kill any strange creatures who show their faces, especially those undead monsters in L.A.

8 - Chicago, Illinois - Since before the Blues Brothers drove through the Windy City to save their home, Chicago has been known for it's weird and bizarre happenings, as well as the people who fight them back.

Anne Warbucks (Little Orphan Annie) - Inheriting her adopted father's arms empire, Anne only sells her advanced weaponry to those allies of the US who are able to pay. Though not cheap, she will refuse to sell to anyone who would use her equipment to oppress of kill wrongly.

Irene "Rally" Vincent (Gunsmith Cats) - Owner of a small gunshop and part-time bounty hunter, Rally is the best shot in Chicago, and possibly even the world, especially with her valued CZ-75 pistol. Subcontracted by Anne to construct her better weapons, especially pistols, Rally is also on call for situations when Anne needs a troubleshooter to handle a particularly thorny problems.

May "Minnie-May" Hopkins (Gunsmith Cats) - Blonde and bubbly, May is also an expert with explosives, backing up Rally's bang with an always impressive boom. Even in the face of undead hordes, May always does her best to be a consummate professional.

9 - Boston, Massachusetts - One of America's oldest cities, one of Boston's most dominant groups are it's Irish-Catholics, who continue to remain connected to the faith.

The Boondock Saints - Connor McManus, Murph McMannus, and their father, "Il Duce", the three men believe they were called by God to destroy the evil and unrighteous, the evil men who the laws of men cannot deal with. Co-opted by Iscariot, they act in a similar manner to Rally and May, dealing with incidents too public for any priest or sister to deal with.

10 - Fort Monroe, Virginia - A US Army instillation, Ft. Monroe was used as a coastal defense facility, though it's use soon waned with the advent of weapons that could destroy it's stone walls with ease. Today, it plays host to the 222nd Army Battalion, specifically, B-Company.

B-Company - "Bad Company", the US Army's last resort before the stockade for trouble makers, rejects, hellraisers and others who won't fit in with any other unit. Though having such a reputation, woe waits for the enemy who thinks them pushovers.

Sgt. Samuel Redford - Leader of squad Bravo One, Redford volunteered for his position to quickly end his term of service, soon learning what waited for him. Despite this, and the fact that his nation's capitol is being overrun with monsters, he's still determined to see his way to retirement.

Pvt. Terrance Sweetwater - Once a computer expert for the Defense Department, Sweetwater was booted to B-Company for "accidentally" uploading a virus to the Army's computer network. With SAW in hand and glasses on nose, Sweetwater just wants to live to see tomorrow.

Pvt. George Gordon Haggard III - Despite his down him accent and predilection for explosives, Haggard is still a loyal soldier who follows orders. Mostly. After blowing up half an Army base with a still classified mix of explosives, Haggard makes use of himself wielding the squad's rocket launcher.

Pvt. Preston Marlowe - A new addition to B-Company, Marlowe was a helicopter pilot who was nearly court martialed for taking up a chopper without clearance, before driving into a general's staff car. Now, he hefts a rifle with the rest of B-Company, doing his best to serve his time before getting out.

11 - Calvin - A young boy with a permanently active imagination, Calvin was on field trip to Washington DC with his class when the forces of Millenium reared their decaying heads. Grabbing his trusty watergun and cardboard box, Calvin knows what he has to do to fight the monsters.

Susie Derkins - A fellow classmate of Calvin's, Susie is more level-headed than Calvin, but also more book-smart, accompanying Calvin through the ghoul filled streets of DC.

Hobbes - An anthropomorphic tiger to Calvin, a stuffed animal to everyone else, and a real, dangerous tiger when his owner is in danger, Hobbes is a being that defies much explanation, except for those who deal with the supernatural on a daily basis.

12 - First Responders - Definition:The first person to arrive at an emergency scene. Often, first responder is used as a general term for all emergency service personnel who are expected to respond to medical emergencies or large-scale disasters.

NYPD - One of the oldest organized police forces in the US, the NYPD have experience with everything from common thugs to terrorist madmen. The zombies may be new, but as long as they wear the badge, they will do anything for their people.

FDNY - A fire department with a long and proud history, the FDNY dive into hell on a daily basis, from smoke alarms to blazing tenements. Granted, zombies aren't in their job duties, but one does not stand in the way of an angry firefighter with an axe for long.

LAPD - Constantly faced with scandals and controversies from their citizens and officials, the street officers of the LAPD still do their best to "Protect and Serve", even when the dead are rising to eat their civilians.

FBI - One of the largest Federal law enforcement agencies, the FBI is also experienced with investigating any threats to America's interests at home. When the threats come into the light, however, the FBI is not afraid and fully capable of pulling the trigger to protect the people.

13 - Religious Auxiliaries - Since it's founding, America has always been protected from religion, and a haven for religion. Some, of course, are more militant about fighting monsters than others.

Ancient Order of Hibernians, Order Sons of Italy, America - Both primarily made up of Catholic-Americans, the AOH (Irish) and OSIA (Italian) are ready backup forces for Iscariot in America. Despite their backing, however, both forces are still American, and respect the fact that religion isn't always right.

Shomrim, Crown Heights Safety Patrol (Shmira) - Both Jewish forces in the heavily Jewish areas of Brooklyn, Shomrim and Shmira are willing to put aside their organizational differences to protect the city of New York at large when the supernatural comes calling.

14 - Department of Defense - The armed forces of the US, the DoD is the best trained and equipped military force in the world, handling disasters across the world, and ready to deal with any troubles for their nation.