London is the capital of the United Kingdom. It lies astride the River Thames 45 miles (about 70 km) upstream from its estuary on the North Sea and has a population of about seven million. In satellite photographs the city can be seen to sit compactly in a Green Belt of open land, with the M25 orbital motorway threaded around it at a radius of about 20 miles (30 km) from the city centre. The growth of the urbanisation was halted by strict town planning controls in the 1950s. Its physical limits more or less correspond to the Shire boundaries separating London from the "Home Counties" of Kent, Surrey, and Berkshire to the south of the river and Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire, and Essex to the north.
The London known to international visitors is a much smaller place than the massive urban sprawl that comprises the extents of the city. Tourist traffic concentrates on an area defined by the main attractions, each drawing many millions of visitors throughout the year: the British Museum, the National Gallery, Westminster Abbey, Madame Tussaud's waxwork collection, the Tower of London, the three great South Kensington museums (Natural History, Science, and Victoria and Albert), and the Tate Gallery. In scale, the Tourists' London resembles the metropolis as it was in the late 18th century, a city of perhaps 10 square miles (26 square km) very easily explorable on foot in all directions from Trafalgar Square.
Over the centuries London has survived numerous trials, from the great fire of 1666 to the air war that took place over it during WW II. It's most recent hardship arrived on July 30, 1997, when a group of villains led by Doctor Vlad Hades-supposedly the brother of the Doctor Hades associated with Heavy Metal-along with The Unicorn led an assault on the city in an orgy of destruction and vengeance on their greatest enemy, Lionheart. Hours prior to the attack The Unicorn, discovering Lionheart's identity through a mistake perpetrated by the super hero NUKE, assaulted Lionheart's father, believing it would both crush her spirit and make the woman overly protective of her family. What she did not fully account for was the fact that over the years Lionheart had gained the trust and friendship of literally dozens of super heroes. As a result, within only a couple hours all her relations were not only safely hidden away but were protected by a cadre of super heroes. This allowed Lionheart to lead High Justice and Great Britain's Royal Air Force on a counter-assault on Hades and The Unicorn's paranormal force and legion of flying robots.
The destruction was incredible. No less than twenty paranormals did battle through the city and in the skies over London. Speedsters waged a hyper fast war through the streets, an army of the undead marched through Hyde Park. St. Paul's cathederal was heavily damaged and Nelson's column was shattered. Entire city blocks were destroyed and if it weren't for the London tubes beneath the city thousands more would have been slain.
The battle finally came to a head when Lionheart and the Unicorn, locked in a bitter, destructive three hour battle, faced off in Piccadily Circus. The Cavalier attempted to surprise The Unicorn from behind and employ an alpha-wave stimulator to knock her out, but she spun on him and used her beam to destroy his leg and part of his hand. Lionheart instinctively dove to protect her friend, leaving her vulnerable for another blast that smashed her to the ground. Gloating, The Unicorn stood over her opponent and prepared to fry her where she lay. Her forehead glowed as her beam prepared to do just that.
Then Lionheart lunged upwards and blocked the beam at the source with her own hand. The back blast friend The Unicorn's brains and blasted out of the back of her skull, killing her instantly and nearly crippling Lionheart. The battle ended soon afterwards.
Years later, London has largely recovered from the devastation. Shops and theaters have opened once more and Great Britain's capital is now once more one of the world's most impressive metropolises.
LONDONERS AND PARANORMALSThe view on paranormals had been mixed for some time. Many Londoners had begun to view them with fear and suspicion. It took years for opinions to grow less hostile. Fortunately the good work of the resident super hero team Storm Guard did much to recover the people's confidence. Now with the death of Lionheart and The Cavalier people have grown to love their super heroes once more. People have begun leaving flowers and gifts outside of Brian Griffith's old home, much to his daughter Valiant's chagrin. It was partly for this reason she had decided to move out of it.
There are several ways of getting around London. The first is the Underground, or "tube", an underground railway system that has been in existence in one form or another since 1863. Stations can be found all over the city (see map). Fares are reasonable, and all-day and week long fare tickets can be purchased.
Like most major city's, London has numerous taxi cabs. The most obvious ones are the large black cabs, but other cars are also used as taxis. An interesting fact; London cab drivers are among the most experienced of their field in the world. It takes a very long time to train to become a London cabbie, and they are strenuously tested in their knowledge of the city before they can earn their license.
The third major mode of transportation is London's busing system. While the traditional double-decker buses can still be seen more conventional buses are common as well.
It would be impossible to list all the famous landmarks of London here, but here is a link much better suited to the task.
Below are other places of interest in and around London:
LIONHEART INC.
In nineteen eighty four Lionheart-in an attempt to protect the marketing of her name and likeness-started a company called Lionheart Inc. The profits earned from licensing would in part be used to defray the cost of repairs incurred by destructive battles and to help aid any victims. Over the years as more books, television programs and motion pictures using Lionheart's likeness were released, LI became ver successful,. In the aftermath of '97 LI used it's resources in an attempt to help the city rebuild. It has nearly bankrupted itself and today it is a shell of it's former glory, only occupying a fraction of it's offices at 99 Bishopsgate Road.
HEROES HANGOUT
After the success of the Planet Hollywood chain it was inevitable that a restaurant chain using super heroes as a theme would be born. Hero’s Hangout is brainchild of Denise Kimes, the grand-daughter of Jonathan Kimes, The Falcon. She had been facing bankruptcy and her restaurant was going to be taken when her mother showed her her grandfather’s old costume. Getting verification from several sources for legal reasons, Denise displayed the costume as well as newspaper articles of his exploits. The restaurant bounded back and Denise was able to get ahold of several other pieces of heroic memorabilia. Soon She was opening a second restaurant, then a third…The rest is history.
London’s Hero’s Hangout sports some nice items, among them Lionheart I's WW II uniform and Lionheart II's 80's costume, one of the Cavalier's suits of chainmail armor, and an autographed photo of Sergeant Savage. Many items are rotated so different HH’s can host new and original stuff for their patrons, although some items-such as Cavalier’s armor and the Falcon display, stays in its original place. London's Heroes Hangout franchise has suffered greatly since '97 and it is rumored it may be closing it's doors for good.
Super Hero memorabilia is not as common as say rock and roll memorabilia so there are far fewer HH’s than there are Hard Rock Café’s. Currently there are eight; NYC, Los Angeles CA, Motor City MI, London UK, Paris France, Chicago IL, Dallas TX, and Miami FL. There are currently no plans to open any more at this time, although with new heroes showing up it is hard to tell.
Another chain of restaurants tried to go for a similar theme. Unfortunately Planet Villainy was not very successful and they had to declare bankruptcy.
HIGH JUSTICE HQ
High Justice's current base of operations is an island located between the United Kingdom's west coast and Ireland's east. But before that the organization had facilities in both London and New York City. Located in the Kesington district, the HJ city mansion still stands to this day, now a museum of past exploits of both High Justice and World War II's Super Squad.
The museum is run by Winifred "Winnie" Crutchley. Now seventy years old, Winifred is the only living person who has had a relationship with every incarnation of High Justice. She is a font of knowledge and is able to tell numerous informative, interesting and amusing stories of the different members.
STORM GUARD'S BASE
Located near the
mouth
of the Thames, Storm Guard's base is Sharpe Island. The large
mansion
and grounds are the former residence and base of the now-deceased
Professor
Proteus, but rather than serving as the lair of evil it is now the base
of justice!
