The Dire Saga

All Doctor Dire wants to do is save the world. But those pesky heroes keep getting in the way, and it's all she can do to give them a good fight without killing them. Supervillainy is such an underappreciated job these days....

No memory, no resources, no secret lair, and no time to find her feet: this is the story of a self-made villain, and her fall into strife. Fleeing from unknown enemies and an early death, she emerges into a city gone dark in the aftermath of a complete systems failure. Hounded by heroes, menaced by gangs, and helped by the most unlikely of allies, she claws her way up from weakness to strength and works to build a better future for those who deserve it.

Doctor Dire, now a full-fledged supervillain, returns to Icon City with two goals: Find her friends, and obtain enough money to afford the next part of her sinister master plan. Only thing is not everyone she cares about is so easily located, and she must contend with gangsters, shadowy intrigues from dubious employers, and rival supervillains. Oh, and heroes, too. Can't forget them, they're everywhere. From civil-minded super-speedsters to incompetent time-travelers, all of them want to see Dire brought down for her crimes.

Destroying city blocks, battling heroes, and working toward a sinister master plan...all part and parcel of Doctor Dire's day. But when unexpected interference from a time-travelling enemy throws her back in time, she finds herself up against an evil more vile than she could ever be. It's Dire versus the Third Reich, and the poor Nazi bastards have no idea what they're in for. Meanwhile, back in present day, Dire's friends and allies must scramble to fend off both heroes and villains, while trying to assemble the means to return Dire to her proper time. 

During Doctor Dire's undercover stay in a quiet banana republic, revolution interrupts her sinister master plan. Forced into action to once again prevent genocide, she ends up taking on far more responsibility than she ever wanted. With the fate of an entire nation in her hands, and the enemies against her both hidden and blatant, she'll be hard-pressed to give her adopted country a happy ending. But she is Dire, and her enemies will fear her before all is done.

Dire has done the unthinkable and forged an alliance with a hero to bring the fight to the Murder Maestro, in the heart of Britain itself. But the sinister mind manipulator's roots run deep here, and Dire will find herself up against both new faces and old foes...not all of them human. Her travels will take her to worlds beyond and places most would tremble to venture. But she is Dire, and all shall tremble before her!

Brought to this infernal realm by villainous shenanigans, Doctor Dire still lives, and fights to free herself and her companions from eternal torment. But the odds are long, and she must struggle to glean resources, recruit Damned souls, and fend off demons and fallen angels. It's a one-way trip down, to find the center of Hell and pass out and back to Creation. But Hell's master may have other plans for Dire.