When I began my journey to becoming the man I am today, all I had were the things my parents left me as they were sent to an early grave. My inherited powers, a near bankrupt manufacturing firm, and the dream that destroyed them both.

They were the greatest gifts I could have asked for.

- An extract from the memoirs of David Blake.

David Blake was born into wealth, with his parents being joint owners of the family business, Blake Industries. However, as his parents discovered their powerful abilities later in life. They became determined to do their part for the good of the world.

They were not ready for what that truly entailed. Their activities meant that the company, without proper guidance, began to fail. The next thing to break was their spirits, the constant struggle against the evils of the world causing them to become jaded with the world, with their lives, and with each other.

They were dead on the inside long before they were both killed in rapid succession by a small-time villain.

David, determined to succeed where they failed, took up their mantle, doing everything he could to both complete their goal and revive Blake Industries.

It all seemed like a losing battle, until he met the others…

The results are conclusive. With this I'll finally be able to take the fight to those bastards. Even if I have to stain my own hand with blood to do so, I will protect the innocents of this world.

- A clip from a video blog by an Anonymous poster, later determined by authorities to be Isabella Soares.

Isabella Soares used to run North Star Laboratories, a research firm that was quickly becoming out-competed by the likes of Gamasot, Rothwell and JeevesCorp. She didn't care for that, though.

All her attention was put into her inventions. Using her scientific know-how, she developed her own battle suit, so that she could do everything possible to put an end to injustice.

She'd always had difficulty making friends, and her parents were long since just a memory. Caring was difficult. It was easier to simply hide behind a wall of numbers. Ten lives to save a thousand, a thousand to save a million. She didn't care how many she killed, as long as she saved more.

But she couldn't do it alone. And she never thought that those two would become her first friends in years…

“While the good you have done is undeniable, so are the crimes you committed in doing so. Because you have saved us, you will not face the full penalty, but know that you may never return here.”

- The verdict at the trial of Elesia Luca, found on a distant planet.”

Born to a race of ageless beings from a far-off world, Elesia Luca always believed in doing the right thing, no matter what. Consequences be damned. Laws be damned. It was this attitude that eventually led to her exile from her people.

Bitter, but still ultimately desiring to do the right thing, she eventually found herself on Earth. Determined to do whatever she could to help the people, she quickly came to realise that the ones they needed saving from most were themselves, and many of them were just as “grateful” for her actions as her people were.

So she hid her identity. She became Celeste L'Éclair, learned to blend into this human society. Eventually, even her old name became lost.

However, it was not until she met David and Isabella that she truly began her crusade…

Pooling their resources, these three individuals began working together to fight for the protection of the human race. They founded Polaris Industries to help arm them, and it wasn't long before more joined their cause.

The organisation continued to grow, and split into its three divisions:

• Phoenix: Emergency response and rescue
• Carrion: Threat elimination
• Lyres: Intelligence and strategy

In addition, using technology developed by Polaris and stolen from other sources, the organisation was able to outfit itself with technology such as the Leviathan, Starlings and, later on, the Quetzalcoatl.

“I don't care if you're worried! I'm going to do everything I can to help the people of the world, and I'll do it with or without this stupid organisation. So take your pick, old man!” - Donna Blake

Donna Blake was every bit her father's daughter, although with far less in the way of patience and control. To even function as a human being, she needed to wear power restraining arm guards around the clock ever since her ability to transform into lightning manifested. Despite her father's protests, she was adamant that she join Garuda to help save people.

She was followed into the group by her childhood friend Andrew Mensa, and Luke Abel, a family friend who'd recently been hired by Polaris' R&D department. Together, the three of them, became Blitz, Esper and Aztec.

“Even if the whole world hates you, we will follow you to the end.” - Ranger, on Batallion leaving Garuda.

Jason Adams and Carol Bettes were recruited by Batallion after making a failed assassination attempt on her. Their subsequent interrogation revealed their intentions. All they knew about her was that her entire career was built on killing, and they felt she had to be stopped. When all parties involved realised how similar their goals were.

Since that time, Ranger and Fang have been Batallion's most loyal followers, and even after she left the organisation shortly before the Crisis, they were still acting on her orders before all other.

“Well, this is certainly fun. Any room for a man with no name?” - Sparrow

A man with a mysterious past and no records even detailing his existence, the one who would eventually come to be called Sparrow was already ingrained into the Lyres by the time anyone noticed something strange about him. While suspect, he single handedly was responsible for some vital intelligence Garuda had obtained over time.

His tale of having forgot his own name struck a chord in The Boss, and she took him on as her second in command, and her representative within the organisation.

Whether or not she knew he was Prime, of the Heart of Crime, is unclear. He never spoke of his life outside Garuda, and she never asked about it.

“We exist to protect the world and its people from whatever would threaten it. Maybe we have suffered losses, but I'm not about to give up on everything we stand for. Now who's with me?” - The Boss

The organisation still exists, much as it always has. Headed up by The Boss, Sparrow and Lei Gong, they still stand for what they always have: the protection of the human race from anything that would threaten it.

The organisation's relationship with the Knights of the Round Table through Samuel Marvin, as well as its frequent cooperation with SPEAR, has led to it gaining a degree of legitimacy, allowing them to act unimpeded by SPEAR and local authorities.

Garuda also enjoys an interesting relationship with the Heart. While still enemies on paper, it isn't unknown for them to share intelligence, especially now that the most dangerous elements of the criminal organisation are gone.

Lei Gong? We couldn't ask for a better leader. He's led us to success after success, and everyone in the division would gladly trust him with their lives, myself included. - Esper

Headed up by Lei Gong and his second in command, Esper, Phoenix Division was quick to rise from its own ashes after the murder of Firebrand, Blitz's death at Temple and Laurie Heyward's leaving for greener pastures. Lei Gong more than proved himself as a capable leader in his reclamation of The Core in Captial City, and for many years afterwards.

Esper and Aztrec, while saddened deeply by Blitz's death, have continued to do everything they can to protect the world from whatever threats may face it.

Phoenix continues to do what it does best: rescue those in danger, and facing down dangerous situations so those who are less able do not have to. Both Lei Gong's signature mask and the Quetzalcoatl have become symbols of hope when they appear to those in peril.

Didn't you hear? They've been sighted nearby! No way am I sticking my neck out with those monsters so close by. - Anon.

Carrion had been making a lot of noise during the Crisis about potentially breaking away from the organisation, but stayed with them for the duration to help deal with the problems it was causing.

Not long after, however, Batallion, having reclaimed her title as the head of the division, declared her intent to leave Garuda and was followed by almost the entirety of Carrion Division, with the notable exception of Majorana¹⁾.

While still holding the same ideals as Garuda at it's core, the separated Carrion was far more brutal in its methods. Believing that the best way to protect the world was to eliminate problems before they became an issue, they became assassins, hiding out in mountain bases and uncharted islands.

Still, Isabella continued to visit the grave of David Blake every year until the day she died. While they had their differences, he was one of the few she could truly count as a friend.

“Another day, another lie. I guess some things never change, huh?” - Sparrow

Running not just intelligence for the organisation, but also it's administration and long-term strategy, they Lyres are perhaps the most unchanged of the divisions. Both The Boss and Sparrow continue to show exemplary work in their respective roles, and if she proves to be as long-lived as the rest of her people Celeste will likely continue to be for a long time to come.

Of course, Sparrow continues to lead the double life of secret agent and crime lord, but despite the temptation, he never gives in to the temptation to sell one side out to the other. He's even able to manipulate the two sides into helping each other out at times.

If nothing else, the whole thing is just far too much fun for him to just abandon one side.