Night Shift

Johnny Mortis joined the Chicago police force in 1920, just in time for Prohibition and all the graft money.  A young officer was pretty easily bent, especially if it was money for just letting people have a good time.  It wasn't until later, especially after Prohibition ended, that Johnny realized what a terrible mistake he had made.  He couldn't simply walk away from the graft without getting shot, so for a few years he was playing both sides of the fence, taking graft money which got sent to orphanages and then ratting out on the crooks he was taking graft from.  In the end he got found out and taken out.

Johnny went straight to Hell for his crimes and after getting a real good look he got made an offer that he couldn't refuse.  Go back to Earth and try to make up for being a bent cop by being a good one.  He cleaned up gansters in the 30s and after Nazi spies in the 40s.  The Chicago PD kept his existence quiet; people weren't ready for a dead cop (despite Chicago's very progressive non-living voting rights position).

Johnny came to Neopolis and joined the P.D. at the beginning.  When the Cosa Nosferatu showed up Johnny got sent after them, for the simple reason that they couldn't do a whole lot to him.  He's been around forever, knows the dirt on everybody.

Mortis is a Detective.  It's kind of a surprisingly low rank for his seniority, but 1) he's never been that ambitious 2) he's not, well, management material.

• Mortis' M&M character sheet (Volume 2)
• Mortis' T&J character sheet (Volume 3)

Johnny's 3x5

FRIENDS

Estephan di Marcos:

Gangster, drug dealer and pimp in Riverside. Di Macros works to make sure that the truly psychotic types get quietly taken care of, the girls get treated reasonable, and the more addictive stuff stays off his streets. Sooner or later he's going to have to make a choice of being a good guy or a bad guy, and Johnny Mortis is trying to make sure he makes the right decision. Sooner or later Johnny is going to have to take him down, but until then he's a useful ally in catching the real bad guys.
Superpowers: tough guy, super-speed.

Jenny St. Claire:

social worker working with troubled teenagers. Johnny has steered a lot of kids to her.
Superpowers: Animal shapeshifting.

Maxim Archimedes:

Billionaire inventor and technocrat. His daughter Willow was coerced by Schadenfreude (see below) into pushing hyperdrene and was being blackmailed into getting further into the trade. Johnny busted the ring and managed to clear Willow's name without it getting into the press.

CONTACTS

Archie Nemesis:

Big and burly and fast-talking, Archie arranges streetfights between combatants. The streetfights are voluntary but Archie is expert at talking guys into maybe making fights they shouldn't. Archie has managed to keep enough out of trouble that he continues to operate but there's a good chance he'll cross the line. It may be tough taking him down; his stable of his best fighters will likely throw down with him. Archie whips up racial hatred to get fighters in and to get the betting money down. Johnny met Archie when Archie was a streetfighter himself and has been keeping in touch through Archie's career.

Zable MaxAx:

His superpowers make him almost undetectable and make it easy for Zable to pick up on almost anything that's going down.  He's the stoolie's stoolie and expert about keeping it secret.
Superpowers: intangible, invisible.

Dimitrious Ion:

manager of the FerroTechno, a clicker / rave club that tries to unite different groups in the city through music. Dimitrious is a robot, looks kind of like a walking '63 Ford pickup. Big and rumbling and gentle and not the guy to mess with in a brawl.
Superpowers: Super-Strength.

ENEMIES

Schadenfreude:

Johnny Mortis first met the Nazi agent Schadenfreude in 1940.  She specializes in understanding a subject's weakness, getting the subject to fall into temptation, and then blackmailing the subject further.  He has run into her many times, with his strong will allowing him to overcome her mental control.  Schadenfreude is 5'10", blonde, thin as a rail, favors black dresses, unfiltered Camel cigs, and dry martinis.
Superpowers: Mind control, suggestion, and telepathy.  Schadenfreude is naturally ageless due to the Ubermenschen serum that many of the Nazi villains received.

Ciprian Constantin:

One of the Cosa Nosferatu, Ciprian rose to prominence after the Popovs got a suntan.  Drug deals, prostitution, everything but just as nasty as Estephan tries to keep it sane.  Ciprian is moving into di Marco's territory in a big way.  He likes to get women hooked on drugs, embrace them, and then turn them out on the streets.  Johnny Mortis managed to bust up a bookie ring of his but Ciprian's organization is still growing.
Superpowers: Vampirism.

Chainsaw:

a hit-man that has ruined many of Mortis's best cases by ruining witnesses. Understandably very little is known about Chainsaw.  His (her?) victims tend to be dismembered, often in locked rooms.  One victim was killed in the bathroom of the hotel room the victim was being kept in. 
Superpowers: It is believed Chainsaw combines intangibility with massive attacks.

LOCATIONS

NecronomiConfidential:

Underground bar that Ciprian owns. It is underground. Rich and dark and opulent with candles and velvet, it has perhaps the finest wine selection in the city. It caters to the avant-garde and Goth scenes. It also features outstanding EW and is where Ciprian holds court. There are many Nosferatu here; in theory NecronomiConfidential is guaranteed safe ground where no attacks will take place.
'Underground': NecronomiConfidential is public bar; it is literally underground in a basement near Millennium Hall. It connects to the sewer systems through secret doors.
'EW': Electronic Warfare. The only bugs that work their are Ciprian's, and he has a bunch.

FerroTechno:

A clicker / rave / electronica bar in an abandoned warehouse in Riverside. The bar draws both Ferro-Americans and techno phreaks, pulling in a broad spectrum of Neopolis citizens. Like NecronomiConfidential, FerroTechno and surrounds is considered a safe area; perhaps unlike NecronomiConfidential the promise is taken seriously. The bar has seen race riots recently; the big question is who is inciting these riots.

MacIlrath Place:

an old mansion on Lantern Hill that's been carved into tiny apartments. Johnny Mortis lives in a small upstairs attic apartment. Fortunately Johnny doesn't care much about poor heat, or the electricity going out, or trouble with the plumbing. The other inhabitants are more Undead Americans or people that are fairly comfortable around animated corpses.

ORGANIZATIONS

ODESSA:

Organisation der ehemaligen SS-Angehörigen, the organization of ex-Nazi Science Villains that formed after the end of WWII. Schadenfreude is a member in high standing. Note that ODESSA is (maybe) a real organization. ODESSA has lost most of the original ideological thrust and has become a support system for providing ex-Nazi Science Villains with support and cover if they are caught.

Fireball Thunder:

biker gang that's been taking advantage of the drug situation to increase their activities. Loud and racist, they are allied with Archie Nemesis. Both FT and Archie provide fresh meat for each other. Their insignia is a flaming skull; the thunder comes from their complete lack of mufflers. They aren't terribly bright.

Devadasi:

"Devadasi" is a Hindu term for sacred prostitution. In Neopolis, Devadasi is a sex worker's union. They lobby for legalization of prostitution, help prostitutes manage johns, pimps, and to get medical help. Devadasi works with di Marcos, but many other mobs actively discourage their prostitutes from joining.