Wake Up is a paramilitary organization based in the southeastern United States, dedicated to eradicating those elements they feel would corrupt the nation by imposing their brand of morality upon the American public. They use vandalism, arson, flogging, lynching and other acts of torture upon institutions and people whose behaviour they do not desire. They have occasionally resorted to murder. The members of Wake Up believe themselves to be the arbiters of the public good and consider their cause a crusade for decency and righteousness. They publicly denounce anything they believe to be immoral, such as pornography, abortion, sex education, mutants (and all metahumans for that matter), and the teaching of evolution. They are most active in Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee, West Virginia, Missouri, Washington, D.C. and New York City.
There are over one thousand members nationwide. The head of the organization is simply called The Awoken and each state is ruled by a local leader. They wear identical costumes similar to riot gear, including armoured kevlar vests, helmets with built-in visors, walkie-talkies, and short-wave radios. Wake Up use conventional technology, with all weapons and paraphernalia purchased from legitimate retailers; members use their own ground vehicles, usually pick up trucks, vans, motorcycles, and recreational vehicles. They are trained in the use of firearms, and usually armed themselves with conventional American-manufactured handguns, shotguns, and rifles, and Army surplus explosives.
Unbeknownst to nearly all of its membership, Wake Up is partially funded
by Thorn through a dummy corporation, the Freedom Foundations; they receive the
rest of their funding through public contributors and other undisclosed
financiers.