I attempted to summarize the discussion so far.  Let me know if this is what people were thinking/intending, if anyone things changes are in order, if I missed anything, and so on.  I did add and modify in places (gave Centipede an identity, one or two other things I think).<br/><br/><br/><br/>A series of gangs, one of the major ones being the Shockboys, were showing up with advanced technology.  They weren't so powerful or so noticeable as to attract the attention of the big leagues, but were certainly causing trouble.  There seemed to be an escalation in their weapons.  The first were little more powerful than normal technology, later ones the group encountered were a serious threat.<br/><br/>The group got a break after intimidating a member of a gang.  Specifically they got a list of names of gang members.  This lead them to break into several houses, which caused a major uproar in the local news media.  Worse, the break-ins failed to gather any intel and Superbus was forced to seduce a gang member to discover the gang's next target.<br/><br/>The most powerful of the gang that the team encountered was Centipede, who was wearing an advanced suit of armour with a series of arm-mounted weapons.  He was planning an attack on the Mayor.  The group intervened, but unfortunately the battle spilled over into a fundraiser that the Mayor was hosting.  A Mayor who campaigned on more rules and tougher measures against supers.  He went so far as to demand that the involved heroines surrender to face justice.<br/><br/>The benefit was that Centipede was defeated, and even turned out to be the Mayor's son (though that was swept under the rug) and the group saved the owner of the town's hottest night club when Centipede attempted to use him as a hostage.  The actions of the team impressed (HERO) who is known for his wealth, technology, and playboy lifestyle.  There are also rumours that he is one and the same as the owner of the nightclub.<br/><br/>