Caleb 'Cal' Auriel Murdoch

Thrillseeker

21

Ted Kord (Blue Beetle II)

Hardened, Independent and Driven

Cal possesses incredible advanced intellectual capabilities, his mind works in the same way as a computer with unlimited storage capacity, though much faster than any known processor and without losing the particular complex processing capabilities of the human brain. He is able to perform several mental functions at once without losing focus on any of them. His mind allows him to instantly recall specific information with incredible speed and accuracy. He is able to store everything that he experiences in a photographic memory and retrieve it immediately without the typical human pause for thought. The speed of his thoughts augments his analytical ability so that he is able to make snap decisions about his surroundings and create complex scenarios at high speed. Cal is able to track the probability of an event by piecing together stored data, and is able to perform multiple tasks at once by allocating a portion of his brain to each task. Cal can use his mind to replay a movie he has seen, play a game of internet chess, and focus on battling an opponent simultaneously without any one task distracting him from another.

Cal's abilities allow him to intuitively understand the operation of any mechanical device and subconsciously and even effortlessly create a schematic in his mind. More often than not, Cal is able to replicate or even invent complex devices or weapons out of mere scrap and "garbage".

Cal is self taught in several martial arts, and is a formidable hand-to-hand combatant thanks to him having complete conscious control over his own body. His analytical skills and facility with probability also extend to combat situations, allowing him to predict an opponent's attacks and initiate the optimal counter-attack. Cal is intelligent, his computer-like mind makes it easy for him to learn and acquire new skills. As such, he has personally invented all his own equipment, starting off originally with low end equipment made of easy to acquire objects before eventually forging and developing the higher grade materials he now uses in his uniform and weapons.

While Cal's abilities give him a significant boost, they also have several drawbacks. His mind can become overextended, especially in combat situations leading to him becoming disoriented and possibly even unconscious. This could happen from focussing on too many targets, allies, strategies or a combined amount of any of the above. Likewise, his mind could be potentially overloaded with information, something like a screen filled with flashing subtle messages and imagery could cause Cal to burn out and collapse to the ground. Additionally, while Cal claims he can 'build anything out of anything' he still needs something to use whether materials to build with or tools to fashion the materials, without either, Cal is dead in the water no matter what he can think up. Lastly, Cal's abilities are strictly limited to his mental functions and without his uniform, he's no more durable than a regular human. As such, if a foe is able to penetrate his armor, Cal's life could be seriously in danger.

Cal wears a uniform composed of tri weave titanium dipped fiber. In addition to that, the suit contains ceramic plates over the chest, back, thighs, shins and forearms. These ceramic plates are made of a combination of ablative and reactice armor allowing impacts and blows to be spread along the entirity of the surface thus minmizing harm to Cal. Likewise his helmet is composed of similar materials plus Kevlar. The entire suit has a layer of Nomex to reduce harm from heat and fire as well as being insulated against electrical attacks. The suit contains a light exoskeleton which increases Cal's durability, strength and speed by a factor of two which allows him to give toe to toe with some of the more minor superhumans.

In the case of severe injury such as a broken or dislocated limb, the suit automatically tightens around the limb to create a torquette, and can additionally directly inject pain killers into Cal's bloodstream. The suit consists of wrist mounted, grappling lines and tazer charges imbedded in the knuckles. Both the forearm and shin have scallopped blades along the side and the palms of the gloves as well as the soles of the boots have retractable climbing spikes. On either side of the ankles as well as the back are small thrusters which allow Cal to boost his jumps as well as several other purposes. Implanted in the center of the suit's chest is an electromagentic gyroscope which activates with the loud bang caused by firearms. This device produces an electromagnetic field which deflects bullets under .45 caliber away from Cal. The downside of the device is that it possibly endangers any surrounding allies.

Cal's cowl contains an elaborate Heads Up Display which allows him to monitor his vitals, as well as scan those of his teammates and even foes. This HUD can also identify and locate clues, evidence, ballistics paths etc during an investigation along with the use of several other tools on Cal's utility belt. The cowl also naturally contains a voice modifier, air filtration and headset. Cal's suit also contains several hidden speakers which allow Cal to create distractions with sound or to simply blast his favourite tunes in battle. His forearm armor also contains holographic emitters allowing for a holographic interface and display wherever he's standing. The suit's electronics run on a self sustaining battery core, while this core regulates its own recharge rate it's able to use the kinetic energy produced by motion to up its recharge rate increasing the difficulty in draining the core while in combat.

Holstered on either thigh, Cal has a pair of high caliber tonfas which expand and collapse to varying lengths as he needs for his unique combat style. These batons administer a high voltage charge upon impact but that feature can be disabled to allow for just blunt force trauma. Cal also carries a collapsible staff across his back, which along with being able to administer a charge akin to the tonfas, is also able to spread into a shield like shape.

Cal's utility belts hold various tools such as flash bangs, smoke pellets, an acidic compound to eat through metals such as locks or hinges, an adhesive and solvent, zip ties, forensics tools, a first aid kit and various forms of currency just in case. Naturally, Cal also keeps a several varieties of tool kits on his belts allowing him to be able to fully use his abilities in the field.

Born along the West Coast of the United States of America, Caleb Murdoch grew up in Gateway City. At the age of four however, his father walked out on him and his mother to never be seen again while Cal's mother was murdered at the age of eight. During the four years after Cal's mother Regina began to date her former highschool sweet heart, a paramedic by the name of Landon Baxter. After Regina's death, Landon became Cal's legal guardian since the boy had no other living relatives. Living with Landon, Cal grew up with a fairly average childhood, although his grades were consistently high despite the fact he often ran afoul of his teachers due to his bored and uninterested demeanor. Landon repeatedly was called to the school to sit down and discuss Cal's attitude in class, each time Landon insisting the material must not be challenging enough while the school argued back they were the best in the area. Despite these frustrations, Caleb graduated elementary school and made his way into highschool without any further complications.

However, Cal remained bored with school and with the rising crime in Gateway City along with the discovery that his mother's murder remained unsolved, Cal decided to take matters into his own hands. Donning a hoodie and leather jacket, Cal fashioned several homemade gadgets out of junk laying around in Landon's garage. Starting a crusade of his own, Cal caught the attention of some of the local crime gangs causing them to put out a hit on the young vigilante. But it wasn't only the gangs whose attention Cal had caught. Seeing footage of Cal in his vigilante garb using his homemade gadgets captured in some amateur footage and then uploaded to Youtube. The man known as Ted Kord made his way to Gateway City in order to find this young vigilante. Recruiting Cal, the two managed to take down some of the city's major criminals before Ted decided it would be best to take Cal under his wing. While Ted didn't remain in Gateway City, he would communicate with Cal through his HUD and various holographic displays. Setting Cal up with a base and keeping him supplied, he kept an eye over the emerging vigilante until eventually introducing Cal to the League and subsequently enabling him to be inducted into the Young Justice Initiative.