HISTORY:
In late 1941 members of the Allied governments, including Churchill and Roosevelt, came up with a plan to organize a group of metahuman soldiers from various countries in order to boost morale for the troops and civilians. The original members of freedom force were thus recruited. They became well known overnight and other members journied to England to join the group.

Initially the group was not to be used as a fighting force, but as a part of propaganda efforts. One of the last acquired members, Liberateur, prompted the group to join the action. He stole the tactical documentation on a proposed espionage mission behind enemy lines, and convinced the rest of the group to join him in carrying it out. The mission was successful and prompted the military leaders to take note of them. From then on they were largely successful, losing only one member in over 200 missions behind enemy lines.

The group remained active after the war tracking down war criminals until it disbanded in 1947. Each of the surviving members went their seperate ways, though some maintain personal ties.

MEMBERSHIP:
Chessmaster (Lawrence King):
American-born mutant. Original member of team. Gifted with extraordinary intelligence, and possessed of a natural aptitude for strategic planning. After the war, maintained relationship with U.S. Government first as a civilian advisor, then becoming the first director of BOSS. Invested heavily in various industries, and now owns a large percentage of various 'blue-chip' companies. Currently a government advisor on metahumans.

Esprit (real name unknown):
French member of original team. Gifted with invisibility. Very little was ever known about her. She was slightly flirtatious, had pointed ears, and was very good at subterfuge missions. She also often managed to keep the team's morale from sinking completely on desperate missions. Liberateur had a crush on her, but she disappeared at the end of the war, before he was able to confess those feelings. Her current status is unknown.

Extrano Mysterioso (Miguel Fredrico Sanchez):
Spanish member of original team. "Mysterious Stranger" had been a vigilante in Spain for several years before the war. He encountered elements of Socialism during that time and was obsessed with wiping it out. After the war he moved to America with La Gata Negro and trained operatives for the C.I.A.. He retired on a government pension in 1985 and taught Private Investigation courses at a community college in Scottsdale, Arizona. After the death of his wife he retired completely, but kept up with SCORE to advise detective firms. Remains good friends with Chessmaster to this day, and they get together regularly.

Bouncing Betty (Rebecca Wells):
British member of original team. She had the ability to leap great distances and project bursts of bio-energy from her body. She would lie in wait under debris for enemy patrols, then pop-up and attack. She took her name from a land mine of similar usage. She was carefree and extroverted, her confidence in the rest of the group was unshakable. She died during an attack on Germany by Italian forces while on a mission behind German borders.

La Gata Negro (Consuela Alarcon):
Mexican vigilante who came to Britain to join the team of her own accord. She apparently received her powers from a magic necklace that she stole from bandits. With it she was strong and agile, and could turn into a small black cat at will. After the war she married Extrano Mysterioso and moved to America. She would occaisionally undertake vigilante missions after the war, but was mainly content to stay at home and raise 3 children. After her death, from a heart attack, in 1995 her body was returned to Mexico to be buried at the local cemetary near her parent's farm. Her necklace was entrusted to the care of a distant cousin.

Liberateur (Jacques La Fontaine):
French-Canadian vigilante who travelled to Britain to join the team with the approval of his government. He was the force that inspired Freedom Alliance to join the fight on the front lines and beyond. Outspoken and opinionated but never egotistical, he always knew when to take action. He was given super-human strength and speed in a bizarre accident of which he would only hint to his teammates. After the war he returned to his native country and later joined the Sepratistes - trying to have Quebec declared a country apart from Canada. Despite the terrorist acts prescribed to him early in that career, in the '70's he became more of a political figure. Today, though reclusive, he heads the Sepratiste movement in both the subversive and political arenas. His terrorist acts, it should be noted, have never taken a human life. He has remained in good contact with Chessmaster and Extrano Mysterioso ever since the war, and has often obtained financial support for his efforts from Chessmaster.

Tarcza (real name unknown):
Tarcza, whose name means "shield" in Polish, came to the group in 1940 during a mission in German occupied Poland. He was a Polish freedom fighter who had been working against the Nazis for the past couple years. He was readily accepted to the group. A man of high ideals and character, possessed of awesome skills and an apparently magical bronze shield that was seemingly indestructable. Since the war he has continued to fight against tyranny and oppression in Eastern Europe. He has only been in the public eye a few times since 1970, but he has not aged visibly since the war.

Torch Bearer (Maria Holland):
The only post-war member to join the Freedom Alliance, Torch Bearer was the epitome of the patriotic hero. Her power came from a device she wielded called the 'Torch of Freedom', that appeared to be an exact duplicate of that held by the Statue of Liberty. She claimed that the statue's torch is a replica - and her's the original. She further asserted that it was given to her by God, who came to her in a ball of light. It could produce and control flame in various forms, it could also heal wounds and did not appear to draw on her for its energy. Torch Bearer was a valuable member of the F.A. until 1955, when she retired and married Miami Police Chief Morris Law. They raised a family and are both still alive, retired in Lake Worth, Florida. Her torch was passed on to a younger hero known as the Olympian.