Contractors are individuals who have gained superhuman powers due to the appearance of the Hell's Gate and Heaven's Gate. Known Contractors have a very wide array of powers, and each Contractor appears to have a power unique to him or herself. When a Contractor's powers are used, his or her eyes glow red and a blue glow occasionally surrounds its body. This phenomenon is called Lancelnoptchrotron radiation.
The existence of Contractors is kept a secret from the general public by most governments around the world, but they are well-known to the higher echelons of society and in the criminal underworld. Contractors possess two other traits that give them a rather sinister reputation: the need to perform Obeisance, which is a bizarre, obsessive compulsive "payment" for the use of their powers, and a generally pragmatic, logical world view. This is described by the Contractors themselves as a lack of emotion in general, but not much evidence exists to verify this claim. Many Contractors exhibit at least some forms of emotion, including love, joy, guilt, and sorrow.
