The Executive Field Agent of E.N.I.G.M.A. James Atticus Fisk is the most respected, feared, and hated agent in the Multiverse. His reputation as a fearless monster hunter and one of the last surviving members of the first class of E.N.I.G.M.A. agents elevated him to the top tier of the agency where he has worked tirelessly to save the Multiverse through improbable and often unethical means.
History[]
Early Life[]
Born in the second month of the Building Season (June) James Fisk was born to a the prestigious Fisk family of Dalehead, Midland Meridia. The Fisks have been loyal supporters of the Meridian military and the Veterans Party since the founding of the Republic with their most famous member being Presiding Commandant James A. H. Fisk (Col. Fisk's grandfather) who was responsible for declaring war on Albion and helping start the Second War of Unification.. This long history of celebrated military and civic leadership made many choices for Jim Fisk's early in life. He attended the public school house in Midland as his father objected to private schools. As a boy Jim was known to enjoy hunting and fishing. At age 12 he built a full size wood and paper glider and flew it into the side of the Dalehead Fire Department breaking his shoulder.
At 18 he was awarded entrance into the Meridian Military Academy in Port Defiance. At the Academy Fisk studied all of the classic texts on military strategy and engineering. He showed interest and aptitude for the newly developing air sciences but his family was insistent that he focus on a more traditional military career and on graduation Fisk was awarded a commission in the Meridian Frontier Infantry Division. After a year of boring garrison service young Lt. Fisk was challenged in action as the Kawnee Indian Uprisings began and would continue for 2 more years. After the Battle of Woodton Fisk was awarded the rank of Captain and given the opportunity to transfer to another assignment. To the shock and dismay of his family Capt. Fisk applied to the newly forming Meridian Air Corps. After announcing this decision his engagement was ended by his fiancé's family.
Still very much in it's infancy with only few airships and fighters to it's credit the Meridian Air Corps had no pool of officers to pull form at it's formation and so to build the air fleets the Meridian government allowed officers from other branches of the service to transfer to the Air Corps. Young officers unhappy with their lot in the service made up most of the Air Corps but this mixed bag of expertise led to the building of one of the largest and best equipped combat Air Fleets in the Multiverse. Inside of two years Capt. Fisk was serving with thousands of airmen, dozens of airships, and thousands of fighters. Civilian air traffic had exploded in popularity as well and Fisk and several other officers were commissioned as Air Marshals to help police the new air industry.
E.N.I.G.M.A. First Class[]
It was this new role as Air Marshal that brought Capt. Fisk to the attention of the E.N.I.G.M.A. men. Approached about the possibility of being one of the first agents Fisk accepted. His assignment was simply to keep an eye out for the unusual and extraordinary while patrolling the skies. Matters of Multiverse contact were of most importance and Fisk and the entire Second Air Corps engaged the mysterious and powerful Black Ship in 1853 taking massive casualties. This incident colored Fisk and all Europan's view of extra dimensional contact. Capt. Fisk testified before the Senate following the battle and helped implicate Sky Admiral Samuel Ickerous of reckless behavior. This resulted in Ickerous (Fisk's former instructor and friend) being drummed out of the Air Corps after which he disappeared.
The day after Kingsfeast in 1854 at the old Imperial Capitol of Norstead an enormous energy field formed on the grounds of the old Imperial Palace. Two and half city blocks in radius and 100 feet tall the "Electricity Bubble" gave off fantastic heat and was deadly to the touch. It incinerated nearby structures and vaporized the flesh of any living thing that touched it. The field lasted twenty seven hours and then suddenly shut down in a brilliant flash of white light seen for miles. As authorities rushed to the grounds they found that the palace and it's contents were in excellent condition although the grass and gardens of the grounds were completely annihilated. Authorities also found two unconscious men hand cuffed to each other. One was Steampunk mad man Professor T himself and the other was an unidentified Meridian Air Corps captain bearing a simple badge marked ENIGMA. Revealed to be an agent of the secretive Europan Nullification and Investigative Group for Malignant Anomalies, Captain James Fisk became a newspaper celebrity for capturing the continent's most wanted criminal.
Although the agency had existed for over ten years the Executive Council of the Confederacy officially confirmed the existence of the agency and it's mission to protect the Europan people from the threats of Steampunk experimenting gone awry. In addition the Council simply asked the Europan people to please avoid discussing the agency as anonymity is helpful to their work. This worked remarkably well with newspapers and citizens avoiding the subject whenever possible.
However Capt. Fisk's incident with Professor T had one other surprising and unfathomable effect. Professor T's experiment at Norstead palace had to do with the laws of quantum physical probability. His attempt was to grant himself the ability to shift "the odds" of any situation to the best case scenario for himself. This was thwarted by the enterprising Fisk who had accessed the Palace by gas service tunnels and got the drop on the mad experiment only to find himself the accidental subject of it. Now the laws of probability are shifted for Fisk every day. The improbable is most likely and the one in a million shot is a reasonable proposition.
The Improbable Man[]
This odd ability to survive impossible odds and challenge incredible objectives is miraculous in itself if it was controllable but unfortunately given the accidental nature of it's formation Col. Fisk's ability is very random (which Fisk refers to as "My Curse"). There are however some noticeable patterns in the activation of his ability:
Fisk is plagued by annoying newspapermen for whom he has no patience.
-If Fisk's life is threatened the ability seems to instinctively work to save him. Weapons jam, point blank shots miss, only the non lethal bones break, any conceivable remote possibility of saving Fisk’s life will occur. In many cases the most outrageous and bizarre possible outcome is the one that happens. Fisk likes to abuse this situation by flying his fighter drunk in storms.
-Lucky happenstance and coincidence happens to Fisk quite regularly. Open theater seats, last minute train tickets, catching the last coach out of town, when the chips are down and Fisk and party need a break they usually get one. Fisk often tries to take advantage of this effect in games of chance and gambling of which he is very fond, it never works when he needs it to however.
-Escaping the deadly traps and machinations of his foes seems to be assured if Fisk can trick the villain into saying the trap is "near impossible" to escape. It seems the open statement of this gives his ability the justification to perform the necessary feats to escape.
-Though he still feels pain and suffers physical damage Col. Fisk can recover from massive amounts of physical damage and has a knack for staying in one piece as he's not sure if his ability would give him back lost appendages. Poison and Illness can render the Fisk to a sick bed for several weeks but if there is even a slim chance for recovery he will make it and fully. In fact ENIGMA labs have noted that the slimmer the chance of survival the faster the recovery. This means that Fisk is quite often thrown in harms way by his superiors, a situation he is not fond of but stuck with nonetheless. This durability and the ability to be salvaged even extends to the equipment and clothes Fisk was wearing that day at Norstead and so the Agent has never given up his old uniform, service pistol, and armor. However during the Multiverse War Fisk adopted a new style of field dress and armor devoid of his full uniform and in the post war era he has been seen to wear the ENIGMA Black field suit more often since his retirement from the service.
-If Professor T is in the vicinity Fisk's ability seems to be heightened and random, highly improbable events start to occur around Fisk. Fisk is committed to recapturing the escaped Professor and forcing him to revert the condition.
Work with the Pirates[]
As the most "gifted" agent at ENIGMA and an Air Marshal bedsides it was decided Fisk would be the ideal choice to deal with the "Skyrat" problem in Europa. On the last day of 188 massive explosions of spatial energies appeared at various points throughout the skies of Europa belching forth airships of various sizes and shapes many of which bore unrecognizable markings and were heavily damaged. Some crashed hopelessly where they appeared and others docked with ease bearing weary refugees begging for food and fuel. Over one hundred air vessels fell into the skies over Europa. These Airship refugees were welcomed with scientific curiosity. As their number increased at Europan sky ports they were quickly considered a nuisance by some and labeled “Skyrats” by one Albion newspaper.
Top researchers within the Ancient Rite had theorized about alternate times, spaces, and realities for years and High Church philosophers had already published on the possibility of “Alternate Plans” and “Other Projects” of the Grand Architect. The arrival of visitors from other times and places seemed to confirm their theories. Across the continent the peoples of Europa marveled at the possibility of visiting other worlds. In guild halls across Europa young Steampunks volunteered to help repair the Skyrats and many dreamed of traveling away with them.
However within weeks of the Skyrats arrival Confederacy officials were regretting their hospitality. Investigation revealed that these refugees were in fact fleeing a great military power responsible for conquering many of their home worlds. They were the loosing side of a vast War of Worlds and the Confederacy wanted no part of their pursuers. Many of their vessels had crashed or could not be repaired. The refugees were suspicious and surly. They traded with less reputable dealers and even pirates when acquiring parts for their airships. Each member nation of the Confederacy secretly “acquired” new Aeropunk from the Skyrats creating tension and competition among the allies.
In the end the Executive Council in Fledspar voted to have the Skyrats ejected from Europa “By the means they arrived here.” Most that were able to exit dimension complied while others had to be forced out or impounded. Some were never accounted for as they had hidden themselves in Europa or worse had made arrangement for their stay in exchange for otherworldly knowledge. As the last extra dimensional visitor was escorted away the Astral Reflection Array was outfitted with a highly experimental broadcast beacon alerting all otherworldly visitors that Europa and the people of its world were a “Neutral Power” who wanted nothing to do with a “War of Worlds”.
As a senior Air Marshal Capt. Fisk helped lead the Exodus Effort for the Skyrats. Trying to relocate them to friendly and welcoming Realities and finding new airship homes for the crews that had lost ships. In the end however his methods were deemed slow and ineffective and he was replaced with more strong-arm administrators who forced the remaining Skyrats to flee or go into hiding. These actions made the Europans unpopular with the Multiverse Renegades but endeared Capt. Fisk to several of their captains for his efforts. Remarkably now that the "Skyrat Problem" is less than twenty vessels in Europa, Capt. Fisk was reassigned to monitoring Multiverse travelers and traveling off-world for Treaty enforcement duties. Once again Capt. Fisk's opinion of his superiors' decision was less than flattering. He feels the handling of the Skyrats was no better than the handling of the Kawnee tribes, an opinion that does not win him friends in high places.
Pre War Duties, The Neutral Worlds Treaty[]
At the onset of the Multiverse War Captain Fisk was in a difficult position in the beginning conflict. His government and agency had been retained to enforce the Neutral Worlds Treaty and he was often forced to take a team of ENIGMA agents into Mutiverse assignments surrounded by unfriendly combatants and an ever shifting landscape of power and change. Fortunately neither the Renegades or The Order wished to violate the Neutral Worlds Treaty and see these powerful Realities join the other side and as such Capt. Fisk had the right to demand that proper conduct of war be observed and that Neutral parties and regulations be adhered to. Capt. Fisk had a begrudging respect for the Renegades but their lack of discipline and unity combined with their bad habits kept him from believing they would succeed. He had no affection for The Order although he did marvel at their paperwork division.
War Time Duties, Early War[]
CLASSIFIED
War Time Duties, Late War[]
CLASSIFIED
Post War Duties, Cold War and The Game[]
Fisk attended the Armistice Treaty Summit as one of the presiding officials. It was noted at the treaty conference that The Improbable Man had several more allies and enemies than he had before the the Great War. He successfully had ENIGMA installed as the neutral arbiter of The Game between heroes and villains and ensured with enforcement of The Accords to keep Multiverse Peace. He failed however to secure the promised amnesty for the Renegade Armada.
Since the Armistice he has led numerous teams of ENIGMA agents on various missions across the Multiverse ranging from diplomatic oversight to monster apprehension to zombie suppression. Colonel Fisk's least favorite duty is the enforcement of the Rules of The Game which he is tasked with regularly given his talents.
Personality[]
Col. Fisk always seems to adapt his personality and demeanor to compliment the situation at hand. His family reputation and education allow him to pass in diplomatic and social situations but his preference it seems is the gritty world of the smugglers, cutthroats, and pirates he encounters. His unique station as a Trans-dimensional enforcement agent under ENIGMA is as much a burden as it is a duty and Col. Fisk is often quite curmudgeon about his assignments. Fiercely loyal to the Air Corps and ENIGMA Col. Fisk never the less often publicly complains loudly about the lack of coordination and intelligence in his assignments and superiors.
A stickler for prepared paperwork and proper permits Col. Fisk is known to even falsify and sell proper permits and documents to individuals to avoid the red tape of reporting offenses. Fisk is quite clear about his feelings on this.
"For every stupid piece of citation paperwork I fill out there's some permit or license that could have saved me the trouble! Get your permits, dammit!" -Col. Jim Fisk
Known Agenda[]
Known to abuse his special status with multiple governments to get his way Fisk can be somewhat cocky and self assured with superiors and even adversaries. Helpful to those in actual need, Fisk prefers to abuse channels and bureaucratic loopholes to give aid behind the scenes. However Col. Fisk is also well known to be a fearless protector of the public welfare and has arrested over one hundred dangerous Multiverse felons and captured over two hundred monstrous aberrations of science. Given his special "Curse" as he calls it, Fisk has a mistrust of magic and is uncomfortable with the supernatural.
Colonel Fisk has little patience for diplomats and bureaucrats of smaller worlds and sloth like states. While always some what irritable his foul mood toward incompetence and poor planning has only grown since the Multiverse War. He has often ignored diplomacy altogether and resorted to extortion or even bribery of powerful interests to achieve the security of the Multiverse rather than trying to engage proper channels and use procedure