Origin: Wonder Park Vigilantes, Alaska

We grew up surrounded by people speaking Yupik and Samoan and Arabic. Lots of us were immigrants and most of us were poor. When our Marks showed, we were happy – our Marks were pretty cool! At first other kids fucked with us, but pretty soon they realized that fucking with us was a very bad idea. Suddenly, for the first time, we had power. And we used it.

That summer there was a guy killing homeless people right in our neighborhood, and the cops called it gang violence and didn’t do shit. We found him, and that was a real moment of truth. Rautenbach had the scum pinned down, and he was pleading and begging, and we all looked at each other like “what now?” So we let him go and told the police, and the police didn’t. Do. Shit.

And he killed again.

And that’s on us.

So we caught him *again* and this time we made sure, right there in Davis Park, he was done killing forever. And you know what? When you are a poor kid from the shittiest, most dangerous neighborhood in town, you don’t get the benefit of the doubt. Things got out of hand after that.

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01: W. Joseph // Hunter

Age: Senior Student, Origin: Wonder Park Vigilantes, Alaska, Training Team: Sunburst /

Power: Predator Senses

W. Joseph is the cousin of the siblings M. Joseph and T. Joseph. W. Joseph grew up in Eklutna, north of the city but not too far, as a true believer in an observant Russian Orthodox family. A born hunter, W. spent more time in the valleys and mountains of south-central Alaska than they did at home. A couple of perfunctory years at Chugiak High School sort of petered out, leaving more time for long trips into the wilderness. It was on such a solitary trip when the Mark emerged – W’s instincts seemed to merge with their prey, and their senses with those of a natural predator. When they are focused on the hunt, W. Joseph can smell their closest friends and their prey up to four kilometers away, and they can predict the behaviour of their targets with chilling accuracy. None of this helped when their family discovered the Mark. W. was shipped off to the village of Aniak for “exorcism”. They walked home – 600 km, through the heart of the Kichatna mountains – and went to stay in the city with their cousins. They haven’t spoken to their parents since. W. Joseph is a loner who craves connection, a restless hunter who wants to be still and secure, and a faithful person whose faith has abandoned them.

Content warnings: Religious extremism, family drama

01: W. Joseph // Hunter Read More »

11: A. Lee // Hush

Age: Senior Student, Origin: Wonder Park Vigilantes, Alaska, Training Team: Tempest /

Power: Sound Control

A. Lee grew up in Wonder Park with their mother, a sometimes-addict who ended her marriage to A. Lee’s father with what was locally referred to as a “Spenard divorce” – she shot him after a particularly brutal beating. For their part, A. learned early to keep their head down, to keep their door closed, and to keep their mouth shut. It was no surprise when their Mark arrived: it gave them power over sound, including, most preciously, the gentle gift of complete silence. A. Lee’s mom only saw dollar signs and effectively sold her child to the government after their gift manifested. By this time Lee had bonded with the other neighborhood Marked, and even done some vigilante crime-fighting. When A. was taken to a secure facility at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson to await “testing”, they spectacularly broke Lee out. D. Rautenbach went to prison, their destructive hands positive proof of the earlier murder, the entire feckless Joseph clan went to ground in the wilderness, and A. bummed a ride Outside with a long-haul trucker. A. Lee overcompensates for their constant fear and anxiety. They know their power hasn’t been fully explored, and want to use it to make others like them safe, perhaps even if it means some collateral damage.

Content warnings: Domestic violence and abuse

11: A. Lee // Hush Read More »

21: T. Joseph [Reserved]

Age: Junior Student, Origin: Wonder Park Vigilantes, Alaska, Training Team: Blizzard /

Power: Wolf Form

T. Joseph is the sibling of M. Joseph and the cousin of W. Joseph. They grew up in Mountain View and Wonder Park, two of the roughest neighbourhoods in Anchorage. School was difficult to begin with due to learning differences, and having a sibling who was a star in the popular firmament didn’t help. While M. was winning spelling bees, T. was surviving relentless bullying by running, hiding and occasionally taking a beating. It was a full-time job, but it all changed when their Mark developed. In the Mark lottery, T. Joseph hit the jackpot. In contrast to their sibling (the were-hamster) and their cousin (wolf-in-nose-only), T. can transform at will into an actual, fearsome wolf. They are a werewolf, and the tables turned overnight. T. relished tormenting their tormentors, perhaps a little too much. They like the pack, the camaraderie, the ability to quietly command a loyal member. They feel more comfortable in wolf form, where no one judges their ability to parse numbers and letters, and wonder whether being human at all is worth the effort.

Content warnings: Bullying, learning differences

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31: M. Joseph // Pika

Age: Senior Student, Origin: Wonder Park Vigilantes, Alaska, Training Team: Drizzle /

Power: Pika Form

M. Joseph is the sibling of T. Joseph and the cousin of W. Joseph. They grew up in Mountain View and Wonder Park, two of the roughest neighbourhoods in Anchorage. Popular and a good student, M. Joseph was Bartlett High School’s Bear Paw Prince/Princess last year. As the big sibling, M. struggled to watch over T. and keep them out of trouble, with mixed results. Their Mark manifested early, before their sibling’s, and it is, in M’s opinion, utterly amazing. M. can transform into a collared pika, a nimble and resourceful rodent ubiquitous on mountainsides all over south-central Alaska. In pika form, M. is fast as lightning, small enough to be unnoticed and to slip through the smallest cracks, and has excellent night vision. Sometimes, other people think this power is a joke, but to M., it is an amazing gift, and they are both proud and humbled by it. They have solemnly pledged to use it only for good. M. Joseph is a genuinely kind person who sees themselves as the nurturing glue holding any team together.

Content warnings: Narcissism, delusional thinking

31: M. Joseph // Pika Read More »

41: D. Rautenbach

Age: Junior Student, Origin: Wonder Park Vigilantes, Alaska, Training Team: Heatwave /

Power: Crushing Grip

In Wonder Park, D. Rautenbach was the last Mark to manifest, late to the party as always. D. Rautenbach is a military brat, their parents both working at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, flying jets and doing… military stuff. Compared to their friends, they had a stable, happy life. Rautenbach was a well-regarded multi-sport athlete for the Bartlett High Golden Bears, a decent student, and an aspiring musician. All that came crashing down with the arrival of their Mark. Rautenbach’s Mark manifests in the form of a crushing grip; something that can only be controlled with supreme effort. A typical casual grip exerts 10,000 Newtons of pressure but no upper limit has been found; with extreme effort D. Rautenbach has exerted ten million Newtons of crushing force. It was this grip, at the urging of T. Joseph and the others, which spectacularly killed a man. It was this grip that put D. Rautenbach in prison. They will never play guitar again; they will never touch a lover. When Mistry’s legal team got them quietly released on an age-related technicality, they weren’t sure they deserved it. Rautenbach still isn’t. They want love and affirmation and forgiveness.

Content warnings: Murder, guilt

41: D. Rautenbach Read More »