Puma Squad is a team of intrepid crime-solvers part of Danger Gal.
History[]
Early history[]
To the public, Puma Squad simply begun as five operatives whose various cases all happened to intersect. In truth it was created as a Danger Gal team whose members were carefully engineered and cultivated to be extremely photogenic and popular, at least to those not under investigation. The chosen operatives for this task were Mouse, Lynx, Doc Mittens, Tigress, and Pantera. It was through this squad that CEO Michiko Sanderson fostered the corporation's goodwill in Night City, the home of Danger Gal. The team's popularity prompted the creation of an animated TV and comic series called Puma Squad, including fashion dolls, premade costumes for kids and adults, and other merchandise. Despite this facade, tough, its members were very capable Danger Gal operatives, each known for their attractiveness and crime-solving aptitude. Even the cartoon and merchandising was used as an investigative tool, and the costumes were so real it was impossible to tell the real members from the fans with strong crafting skills. As such, Puma Squad operatives were also known to impersonate their own fans, making it even more difficult to know who was who.
While they served as a walking advertisement for Danger Gal, Puma Squad was also working as Michiko's personal spearhead in covert, anti-Arasaka operations; working clandestinely to investigate, identify, and eliminate any sleeping agents. Twice a year, Michiko also let them take on a "feel good" mission in which the Puma Squad members usually chose an easy target they obliterated in a publicized bust in order to gain the public's affection and show how Danger Gal took the side of the average citizen as well. Simplified and censored versions of these cases were then transformed into cheerful propaganda for public consumption via the comic and animated series, generating a good amount of positive PR for the company. Moreover, the merchandise sales helped offset Puma Squad's operating costs too. The team was also responsible for the outreach and recruitment of YoGangers into Danger Gal due to Tigress' personal interest in the matter.
Puma Squad operated out of the 11th and 12th levels of the Danger Gal HQ, in a space reserved exclusively for their use. The various team members had suites, and space for training simulations, meetings, R&R, R&D, and their extensive armory. The team also had access to the AV hangar on the building's roof and to a large range of vehicles from the garage pool, as well as both the official and unofficial armories kept by the corporation. While working in public, Puma Squad tended to pick up the most flashy and attractive equipment, in line with their image; but during their undercover missions, its agents chose instead subtler gear and weapons to not stand out.
The most high profile case Puma Squad solved was the Arboretum Water Lily Heist, where several almost-extinct water lily specimens were stolen from the Night City University Loggagia Arboretum, a high-tech, secure "living vault" for rare and valuable plants donated by Biotechnica. Members the team went undercover to infiltrate rogue propagator circles and identified a ring of floral patent poachers in the process, while also recovering the stolen specimens. It turned out the theft had been crafted by a wealthy, upscale fixer specializing in biologicals who wanted to create his garden with the some of the most exotic private collection of rare plants in the world. This case was so famous that it was recreated in the animated series, spanning a season-long saga and wining multitude of awards.[1]
2045[]
In 2045, the Danger Gal HQ was infiltrated by a group of six edgerunners who managed to reach the secured room where Danger Gal kept all of their archives. Unfortunately for them, they encountered Pantera and Mouse, who proceeded to fight them back. The two that managed to escape were later tracked down to be captured and interrogated.[1]
Members[]
Trivia[]
- Puma Squad is mainly stylized after felines. The team is named after a Cougar, Lynx after a Lynx, Pantera after one of the Panther subspecies, and Tigress after a Tiger. The only exceptions are Doc Mittens, who wears a headband with bear ears; and Mouse, the only one named after a rodent instead.
Gallery[]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 GRAY, J. et al. Danger Gal Dossier. Kenmore, WA, R. Talsorian Games, 2023. (pp.8,27–32,153–164)