Name: Thom Dekker, aka 'Sunshine' Age: 28 Nationality: American
The Three Facts:
1. Thom hates the New York Yankees, though he hasn't told anyone it's because he was once signed to a contract by the Boston Red Sox. 2. Technically, Thom is a Captain in the United States Army Air Corps. He has never worn a uniform, nor claimed to be in the military. 3. He has a problem bringing women into combat areas; yet he has never let it be known.
Mutant Power: Thomas Jebediah Dekker Junior has the mutant ability to absorb, manipulate, and emit visible light from the Electromagnetic Spectrum. So far he has shown the capacity to form force fields, destructive blasts, project various displays of light, and levitate/fly. He is also capable of entering into a physical state of intangibility by attuning his body to surrounding photon waves.
Howard Stark has pushed Thom hard, and seems convinced Thom is yet capable of more.
Biography:
Thom Dekker is a country boy from the Blue Ridges of Tennessee. Raised in the isolated, rural, communities of south-eastern Tennessee with no one but his mother and father for company most of the time. Although his mother would see him schooled to gain an education, Thom's primary education would come from the moonshiners and other unsavory elements that gravitated to the harsh isolation the mountains provided. Had Thom never picked up a baseball, it's likely he would have become just another booze runner or moonshiner of Tennessee.
Luckily for Thom, he did in fact pick up a baseball in his youth. So quickly developing and promising were Thom's baseball skills that he would sign a contract to play ball. Instead of stardom, however, Thom would only make it to the Bigs for a handful of games before being sent back down to the Minors. By this point, Thom had other obsessions: speed foremost among them. Thom had discovered motorcycles and the joys of being a gearhead from a fellow Minorleague ball player.
That connection would take Thom away from the ball fields, and into the air fields. He would start by doing simple mechanical work on older bi-planes under the mentorship of his buddy, but soon Thom would find himself behind the seat of those planes, instead of fixing them. After an airplane breaks and is fixed, but before it can be officially considered fixed to fly again, it must undergo a 'functional check flight'--it most be flown to see if it was, in fact, fixed.
A dangerous job, and one Thom Dekker came to love. When the word for civilian pilots who wanted to help out the Royal Air Force came to his little neck of the woods, Thom signed right up. It was during the Battle of Britain that Thom would first discover his seemingly magical abilities: in particular during the battle, Thom learned he could not just hide his aircraft by flying in front of the Sun...he could make the sunlight STAY with his plane, even when his plane turned away from the sun.
When he landed, enough had witnessed something in the air to earn Thom the nickname 'Sunshine'...though none of his fellows ever considered it anything more than a bizarre, and very fortunate, turn of nature's favor in Thom's direction.
None of his fellows considered it, but those who had heard his fellow pilot's stories about 'Sunshine' had bigger imaginations; not the least of which was SSR agent Howard Stark. Quickly thereafter, Thom Dekker was drafted by the Army, though he would never serve a single minute in an army unit. No, Stark and the SSR had other plans for Sunshine: defacto team captain on a team of people more like him than Thom could have ever imagined.
While Thom's happy to help in such an exciting way, he is less than happy about the prospect of getting close to new people all over again...just so he can lose them as he lost many of his pilot friends. The losses were hard, and only got harder.
Name: Luke Lubowski Age: Twenty-seven years old Nationality: American
Three random facts about your character:
1: Mild mannered and open minded, but easily tempered. 2: Carries around a lighter to use his powers in a pinch 3: Has murky yellow eyes and visible yellow veins.
Mutant Power:
- All liquids in Luke's body have been replaced with gasoline. - Luke's entire body is blast-proof and fire-proof, but he can be wounded by projectiles. - Luke exhales gasoline fumes, allowing him to breath fire if lite. - Immune to multiple forms of hazardous materials.
Biography:
Luke Lubowski is a male Caucasian mutant from the small suburbs of New Jersey. Luke spent all of his formative years living in a small home close to the interstate with a loving mother and father. Through most of his life, Luke always felt odd amongst his feel peers and found himself never making much friends and spending most of his time at the local gas station and dinner.
When Luke hit seventeen years old though, his powers manifested. It began what seemed like a stomach illness. His body ached as the usually organic fluids change and shifted into something resembling petroleum gasoline. His breath began to stink of gasoline and his eyes changed to a sick murky yellow. No local doctors could figure out what was wrong with him.
In his sickbed, Luke's father found the true nature of his son's abilities while lighting a cigar in front of him. As soon as his lighter sparked to flame, his son seemed to do the same. For a moment his father was absolutely terrified as he watched his son breathe pure fire like misty breath on a frigid day.
After a moment of panic, Luke's father got his son some water and began working with him to understand his powers in secret. It would take months for his father to pay off the doctors to never say anything about his son's 'illness' and get him back to school with whatever they could do to mask his unnatural smell.
After some years of experimentation and training, Luke finally felt like he understood himself and his incredible powers. Taking up a job at the gas station he enjoyed spending his childhood at, Luke would go on to buy the establishment from the bank after it's elderly owner died. He felt normal working at the station, always polite to customers and a diligent worker.
Only a few months into his new life of management, where no one would ask him about his odd gasoline scent, the U.S. Government enlisted into an unorthodox Allied program known as "The Strategic Scientific Reserve". Despite his obvious objections, Luke was shipped off to England where he would be with others like him.
'Mutants'.
On the outside, he was worried for his life and his family back home. On the inside, he was more then excited to know what other like him were like, and what the future held. The only thing he knew was that he was going to survive whatever trials and tribulations were ahead and get back home.
The real girl-well, no one cares about her. Let's talk about the image, the legend.
Cynthia's a starlet-wavy auburn hair that tends to hang over her left eye and part of her face, a dazzling set of pearly whites, and the pale complexion of someone who's spent too many years hunched over a piano and not enough sprawled out in the sun. She's pretty-most people could be, if they had access to the resources that she does. She stands at around 5'6-so she's not dwarfed by everyone, but neither is she the most domineering physical presence, and has worked for the bombshell physique envied at the time. While she hasn't entirely succeeded in this regard-Cynthia remains a little too skinny for her (or her agent's) liking, there's sure to be a few enlisted men with Cynthia Summer pin-ups in their barracks. Her posture is excellent-her instructor hammered sitting up-right at the piano into her at a formative age, and it transitioned into the way she walks. She seems to glide moreso than walking-she moves casually and at total ease with herself, all unyielding smiles and perfect poise. Her voice is fluid and melodic, and very soothing to listen to-her laughs are infectious, her whimpers heartwrenching, her shouts commanding.
The real Cynthia-whose name is something far harder to spell and far more annoying to pronounce, hence a more Anglicized pseudonym, is different. Off-camera, off-stage, Cynthia's the sort who finds a chair, curls up into a ball, and sleeps at every opportunity. While she's living her dreams, it's certainly a taxing experience. With the makeup washed off, with the endless bobby pins taken from her hair, she doesn't put much effort into her appearance, and is scarcely recognizable. Without a fitted dress and two hours' worth of prep time, Cynthia's a different girl to behold, her brown Scandinavian eyes wide and tired. She has a small button nose and thin pink lips which are usually pretty chapped-she's not fond of them. Outside of the spotlight, her posture does tend to slouch a bit, and she will occasionally indulge in purely unladylike actions (yawning, stretching, scratching herself) just because she can. After a while, every actor gets tired of playing the part.
Name: Cynthia Summers is her stage name. Her real name is Finnish and of no concern to her audiences. She'll be going by Cynthia primarily. Age: Cynthia is 29. Nationality: She is originally Finnish, however she has spent a considerable amount of time in Great Britain and the US, as well as some time in the USSR.
Three random facts about your character:
-She is generally regarded as the top soprano performer in the world currently-as a result of her mutation, Cynthia's musical abilities are unparalleled. It is akin to trying to run a race against Quicksilver. -She is relatively recognizable, but as an experienced actress, she's able to lower how recognizable she is for missions. Her status as a lesser celebrity (she's somewhat more well-known in Europe than the US) may prove useful on missions. -Cynthia's not very well trained with weaponry, but is attempting to learn. She carries a German issue pistol-the Mauser HSc-she's evidently sunk a bit of money into it, as ornate calligraphy on the side of the slide reads "Show Stopper" in Finnish. One would generally not count her as a markswoman, however, and Cynthia's strengths are better suited to work outside of direct combat.
Mutant Power:
You're going to have to indulge me in a bit of rambling before I explain her power directly-my apologies. Think of any object-let's say, your heart. Whether it's the visible muscle contractions (lub-dub) or the infinitesimal electrons whirling around it, every object has some degree of movement, of a rhythm, of a pattern. The natural laws that govern it, how it functions, how it operates, they simply determine that rhythm, measure out beats and rests like any sheet music would. To Cynthia, everything in the universe is an instrument, and they're all adding to one cosmic symphony. Cynthia interprets this information musically-as a clairvoyant can see auras and visions, she hears the world around her, the people, the animals, the trees and water. This information is all represented musically, hidden in code-as the reality around her changes, the music does accordingly. To give an example, let's say that Cynthia was in a bar-a packed one. The Symphony would be loud and frenzied, a cacophony of drunk people all going in different directions emotionally. It would be hard for her to listen to any one song in particular, because there would be such a whirlwind of energy. But let's say that the bar clears out except for two people, both of whom are looking to fight. Now the music shifts to an Ennio Morricone piece, a quiet buildup that you'd hear in the movies when a Mexican standoff happens.
To a certain degree, Cynthia is capable of listening to individual songs. These fluctuate to represent the person, and what state they're in-someone who's euphoric would have a subsequently happy piece, someone who's dying would have a slow and mournful requiem. So on and so forth. To this degree, Cynthia's power is something of a jack-of-all-trades-she can't read minds, but she can gauge the emotional and physical state of someone by listening closely to their song (something easier said than done when you consider how many people are around, etc-it's hard for her to pinpoint an indivudal's leitmotif unless she can really stop and focus, and in the chaos of a battlefield or a crowded party, it would be very difficult).
Where this gets interesting is Cynthia's ability to alter the song-like a conductor amidst an orchestra the size of the universe, Cynthia is capable of nudging the Symphony in one direction or another. By singing (or playing an instrument), Cynthia can alter individual songs or the Symphony as a whole. This requires a considerable amount of energy-she can't simply start humming and bring a dead man back to life. Think of martial arts where the focus is not throwing haymakers, but rather redirecting where someone's punch goes-Cynthia can bend the music, but she could never sing something into existence or fundamentally alter the world around her. If someone was bleeding out, she could sing something slow and sweet, making their heart drowsy and their blood clot a little more. If an enraged mother bear stumbled across our team, she could lull it to a calmer state. Likewise, an energetic doo-wop from Cynthia might boost morale, revitalizing everyone from the brink of defeat. As you can see, given her lack of proficiency in combat and power, she's best suited for a support role-she won't be securing the Western Front on her own, but her power lets her augment those around her, scouting the battlefield for her allies and supporting them wherever they need it most (or hindering their enemies where they expect it least).
On a more mundane level, Cynthia's ability translates to a mastery of musical theory and music general-she was picked up by record companies at a very young age, and has been in the spotlight ever since. Her gifts are quite literally superhuman, and after learning to sing along to the cosmos, going off sheet music was pretty simple. She has an intuitive understanding of music and, subsequently, may be able to help our characters infiltrate a high-profile event. What's that? Cynthia Summers wants to give the Nazi High Command a private concert at the Reichstag? You can see the utility of plain ol' star power when it comes to operating a group like ours. Additionally, her voice is naturally very beautiful-while it taxes her somewhat, she is capable of tapping into her powers while she talks, of speech-singing in-time with the universe. This can make her a very persuasive speaker, and tends to command the attention of those she's talking to. Coupled with her electrifying musical abilities, Cynthia's an excellent performer and a natural onstage.
Biography:
When Cynthia was matching pitch before she could walk, her parents knew they'd struck a goldmine.
As far back as Cynthia can remember, she was taking lessons of all sorts-violin, vocals, cello, piano, trumpets, flutes. There seemed to be an initial lull, as if she was testing the waters-but then she threw herself into it entirely. By about age nine or ten, there were very few instructors in Finland who could offer her any real assistance-the little girl just absorbed everything she was taught, and at the expense of her normal education, her parents, agents, and coaches started breeding her into a starlet. She learned manners and poise, took years of acting lessons, and before she'd had the chances to flesh out a normal life (as normal as life in the shadow of a war-hungry Soviet Union, as normal as life in the brutal winters and scarce opportunities of 1940s Finland could be) she was whisked away. Stockholm and Copenhagen at first, and in time Cynthia forgot the look of her bedroom, remembering just hotel rooms. She had trouble differentiating between her persona and herself, and the normal teenage coming of age, of figuring out who and what you are, was tumultuous for her. She still isn't entirely sure, and those who get to know Cynthia more closely can see the confusion behind the endless smiles and mascara.
By her late teens Cynthia was a household name in Scandinavia, and she was beginning to pick up steam in other countries. Her familiarity with operas and classical pieces lent itself to learning other languages, and she became proficient in German and French. By the time of the RP, she'd be passable in Italian and English, at the cost of having a rather poor understanding of the other core subjects. As I said, her childhood experience was anything but normal. While the musical elites of Europe were fascinated by the girl who could literally record entire symphonies by herself, it was going to take something a little more to break into the American market-and with the Weimar Republic's stellar financial state to the south and Britain's doldrum economy to the near west, her agent and manager agreed it was the only real shot to success. Airports and hotels and visas blurred together, and over the years they began to develop "Cynthia Summers", the starlet that could sing. Without ever having real ones of her own, she blew kisses at the crowd, rattled off any song request with total ease. Cynthia picked up a few niche hobbies, mostly musically related-she learned Mongolian throat singing in a few days and is currently trying her hand at painting.
As the mood of Europe darkened, however, Cynthia began to mature. With unnerving talk of supremacy coming from the Reichstag, men in black shirts escorting her to her Italian opera performances, Cynthia felt...ill at ease. The Symphony, now, had a permanent darkness to it, a quiet discord that seemed permanently off. It was an ominous feeling, one she could never fully escape from and never truly get rid of. Seeing her home country invaded by the Soviet Union was the final straw-throwing in her weight with the Finnish government (who are officially aligned with the Axis powers), Cynthia put herself at the disposal of any and every means of ending the war (which, presumably, is how this mutant squad got into contact with her). She has already participated in a small handful of resistance efforts-her concerts were used as a front for smuggling Jews from Denmark, to help supply the Finnish with weapons from Great Britain (who couldn't overtly help their war against the Soviets). She's not as familiar with the American side of things, but as one of the few individuals who can travel more or less openly through the Nazi checkpoints of occupied Europe and is welcomed equally amongst the Axis and Allies, Cynthia is certainly a valuable asset. She's embraced her role as a spy, learning from Finnish intelligence and MI6 wherever she can, and having to figure out the rest on her own. She's not a full-fledged operative, but has been receiving training and working to improve. She surreptitiously supplies the Finns with information and occasionally works with Britain-she's leery of cooperating with too many foreign governments, and her status (on paper) as a vassal of an Axis power has drawn suspicion from other nations.
Name: Astrid Strelnikov Age: 27 Nationality: Soviet Union
Three random facts about your character: 1. Always wears a pair of thick rubber gloves over her hands to prevent accidental electrocution of people 2. Speaks English, but often lapses into Russian and Slavic during emotional times 3. Doesn't like the heat
Mutant Power: Electrokinesis including -shooting lightning -electrocution -uses her hands as conduits of electricity -running up walls using static electricity -creation of electric fields -enhancement of intelligence -accelerated healing due to stimulation of molecules to renew damaged cells -teleportation by riding the flow of electrons(slower travel) -circuit travel(like teleportation but much faster) -can control the flow electricity -can't create new electricity following -must charge herself like a battery as part of her daily routine just like eating food or drinking water -overcharging herself results in a high and increase in power level
Biography:
Astrid Strelnikov is a young woman born in the eastern part of the USSR. She grew up in a large family in the mountains, helping her father farm. Every chance she could, Astrid snook away from the farm to explore the mountain range around her. It wasn't the beauty of the nature of everything that had such a strong draw on her, but the peace and quiet. On top of the mountains you were alone, and alone was perfect for Astrid's thoughts.
It was during one of these hikes that Astrid first discovered her power. Standing on top of the mountains overlooking the white landscape, she was caught by a flash thunderstorm. Knowing the danger of being on top of a mountain in a storm Astrid began to stumble home through the rain and snow. Throughout this storm Astrid was struck by lightning, not once or twice, but three times. In rapid succession the lightning slammed into her body channelling itself into her body.
When Astrid woke up after being shocked the storm was gone, and the ground around her scorched black, snow melted away. But she didn't feel hurt from being struck by the lightning. Instead Astrid felt elevated even a little high. Laughing she ran down the mountain, not caring about the danger of moving down the mountain to fast. Arriving at the farm she saw her father standing with a plow in hand, worriedly looking up the mountain. Of course, she realized, after being struck she must have been knocked out and have stayed up there all day. Shouting she said, "papa ya nakhozhus' zdes'" her father turned to her opening his arms to embrace her.
The second that they touched her father flew back across the field of crops. His heart stopped instantly and he was dead before he touched the ground. That same day Astrid left the farm, not bothering to say goodbye to her mother or siblings. How could she face them after what she did to her father. After some time Astrid traveled to the US to get an education at one of their colleges majoring in engineering. After college she moved back to the USSR right before the war. It was there that she was contacted by "The Strategic Scientific Reserve." She readily agreed to join eager to take control of the powers that had killed her father.
Name: Heinrich Aschelman. Age: 30. Nationality: German.
Three random facts about your character: 1. He prefers vodka to beer, not something he would openly admit. 2. He despises classical music. 3. He finds his glowing eye to be quite funny.
Mutant Power: Heinrich is capable of generating and manipulating darkness in a variety of creative ways. He has kept his powers hidden fairly well all things considered but he has shown a proficiency for using darkness and shadows for quick transportation or as weapons/constructs to suit his purpose.
Biography: Heinrich was born during WW1 in Berlin where he may not have known of the conflict directly, but he recognized it from a young age and it sobered him up pretty quickly. The economic collapse afterwards was what he was born into and it made him harden up for himself, his father, and his sister. He had to learn how to survive on the streets because of the lack of any kind of money but he saw it as a trial by fire to see if he deserved to keep going on. His powers became something he would rarely use in public unless his thievery caught up to him which would prompt him to either fight or flee both of which he could do.
Heinrich has little regrets about some of the things he did in his early youth because he wanted to survive without being on the edge of poverty like so many others and it colored him to be more independent in his later years. He was alive to see much of the propaganda slung by the nationalists and seeing people being brainwashed was not pleasant, he was prideful of his country and some of the accomplishments the party had managed, but like many Germans he had little love for Hitler or his regime. He was actively opposed to some of the actions of the new government and while he wasn't alone he avoided backlash for longer than most. His father and sister were imprisoned to draw him out, he knew it was a trap but it was obvious his gift was the only reason his family lived and he would find out just how much.
As much as it pained him he ended up as a literal shadow operative for the Nazis to keep his family alive and well but never once did he enjoy it or anything that he did. He has done some horrible things to better people than him and it grew that darkness which he found himself in more and more. He was a curiosity for many doctors and scientists who never got to lay a hand on him which he felt a bit thankful for though he expected if he died his body would have been one of the first things on their tables. He found his right eye as an irony to his power and thought more on it thinking maybe it was a sign of sorts.
Heinrich eventually fled Germany part of the way through the war when he saw an opportunity, he effectively faked his death, and managed to get to Switzerland where he could thing about what he was supposed to do with his new freedom. It was there that he was found by "The Strategic Scientific Reserve" who saw the use in a mutant such as him but not only a mutant, a German mutant who might be sympathetic to a cause. They weren't wrong about him wanting to join up to get revenge on those who forced him to commit atrocities but he had another reason, to rid his country of the dictatorship and make Germany a country worthy of the pride of its people even if he isn't fit to live in it.
- She hates being called 'Rosie', 'Rose' is the only acceptable shortening of her name, if at all.
- She no longer has much contact with her family. Once her fiancé was killed in battle, she refused to comply with her family’s wishes and expectations, and once she moved away from home, she did not seek out to write them, only sending letters of her whereabouts each time she moves, in case they may want to contact her, which they never have.
- She is apathetic towards the social norms of her society. She wears her hair loose, dresses how she pleases, and does not conform to their expectations. She spent her whole childhood pleasing her parents, waiting for her fairytale dreams to come true, then the war began, and she lost hope.
Mutant Power
Elemental Control - Rosalie has the ability to produce and control both fire and water. She can produce both from her palms or fingertips, and can control water and fire to a degree that is not produced by her own body. She can manipulate her body temperature to either extreme. Her power is affected by mood, often being unable to control her fire control when she is angry or aggressive. It is also affected by her energy levels.
Biography
Rosalie Moore was born a privileged beauty. Wealth and good fortune had graces her family for generations, and at some points in their family tree, there were links to the royal family. Her mother and father, Reginald and Patricia Moore, had had high expectations of their only daughter, the youngest of their three children. Rosalie had always been expected to be the accomplished young woman that every high class British family expected, well mannered, beautiful, and silent. She had always satisfied her parent’s wishes, getting good grades at school as a teenager, then becoming involved in her mother’s faux philanthropic hobbies, hosting charity galas for the poor World War One Widows, but there was only so much one young woman could take.
Just when she was at breaking point, she was given a taste of freedom. Theodore Parker, Teddy. The eldest son of one of her father’s business partners, introduced at a dinner party. He had a sparkle in his eyes and liked the way she rolled her eyes when her mother talked. The two had a spark from the beginning, and soon fell in love. With an inheritance due of large proportions, her parents instantly approved, allowing their engagement. It was the beginning of a very happy, free life for Rosalie.
Then the war broke out.
Rosalie had begged Teddy not to go, to stay and continue his work with the running of the munitions factory, but Teddy’s patriotism and feeling of duty made him enlist. As a man of high-standing, he was instantaneously promoted to a high rank, but it wasn’t enough to save her beloved. It had been only a few months since he shipped out, that she received the dreaded telegram. She would never be the same. Some mutants develop their powers early, some powers manifest themselves after traumatic life events. This was the case, and five years later, she was stronger than ever.
She had sank into herself when her fiancé had been killed in battle. No longer pleasing her parents with her pleasantries at their many dinner parties and celebrations. They did nothing to ‘raise her spirit’ like her mother had suggested, and she couldn’t stand any more condolences. Although it was not the done thing to do, she volunteered as a health assistant at one of the many war hospitals in the south of England. She was far enough away from her parents that she had plenty of excuse not to visit, and eventually, the letters stopped, from both parties. On the fifth anniversary of her fiancé’s death, Rosalie had an emotional outburst, causing her abilities to be noticed by a wandering corporal. Within days she was enlisted by Stark.
Yiska's not the tallest, clocking in at 5'8 or 5'9. He's relatively bulky-weighing perhaps 180 or 185, with the "Old man strength" of someone who's spent most of their time outside working as opposed to lifting weights in a gym. His hands are callused and a litany of scars etch his forearms and legs-not the methodical slashes of self-harm, but rather the sort he could spend all night detailing how he got. He's relatively hairy, albeit not much in the way of facial hair. Perhaps it all went to his scalp-Yiska wears a ponytail, shiny black hair that normally reaches about halfway down his neck. He has a scar across his face, stretching horizontally over his nose and cheeks, and his eyes are an unnatural golden color. His skin is deeply tanned, a mixture of the pigmentation he was born with and years in the sun. I don't know if they had sunscreen in the 40s, but regardless, Yiska sure as hell hasn't heard of it. Yiska walks slowly and deliberately, either with his head down watching his feet, or with his eyes scanning the horizon or flickering up to the sky. He has what some might call "resting bitch face", with a grim and solemn expression permanently stamped across his features. Having never had braces, his teeth are slightly crooked. His brow is wide and his nose a little thick, with a harsh jawline and stubby fingers. He nearly always wears, more or less, the same outfit-old, old jeans (perhaps SSR will make him switch to fatigues-they're fighting an uphill battle there) with boots or moccassins that have weathered more walking than any store-bought hiking shoe ever will. He wears a plain shirt (Or perhaps, goes bare-he doesn't really seem to mind) and a soft brown leather jacket. Inside, a number of pelts and furs and woven into the coat. He generally has an earring hanging from his left ear and occasionally a necklace resting against his chest. These are wood and bead and cloth and never gaudy gold or silver. Yiska has a heavy leather belt, some thick old thing that will probably still be usable in a hundred years. His features are hawkish and angled, and he has crows feet on his eyes. On his eyes? Around his eyes? What's the proper way to say that. His voice is a rough, low baritone-some old forgotten thing that sounds as if he's forgotten he had it every time he speaks.
Name: Yiska, but he goes by Riley. Age: 26 Nationality: He is Navajo. He does not like being referred to as "American".
Three random facts about your character:
-Riley does not have very much experience at all with firearms and generally dislikes using them. He's not entirely sheltered from the outside world, but he has spent the vast majority of his life on the reservation and is simply unaccustomed to the frenzy and frivolity of the modern world. He firmly embraces his heritage.
-Riley does not play very well with others-he's particularly not fond of Americans, and is generally rather taciturn. He's not one to act very chummy, and detests small talk. He always dresses practically, and always wears a leather jacket lined with animal furs inside.
-Riley, while generally true to his word, is somewhat dark and cynical, and will find ways to twist the wording of his promises or use the specifics of what he said to escape bargains he doesn't truly agree with. It really depends on how much respect Riley has for the person he's dealing with.
-While Riley never had a college education or, arguably, a complete high school one, he reads prolifically, and as such is rather intelligent, even if he's not particularly well-versed in book smarts.
-As one may have surmised, speaks fluent Navajo and English, and served as a codebreaker for a brief time before he was reassigned to the SSR.
Mutant Power:
In Navajo legends, there exist stories of the yee naaldlooshii, of high priests who have embraced...darker applications of their abilities. Yiska is one such individual. As part of an under-the-table deal with the United States government, the Strategic Scientific Reserve, and the Navajo nation high officials, the US Government agreed on favorable tax exemptions, more autonomy for the nation. The Feds got codebreakers, the SSR got a skinwalker. That happens to be Yiska. Yiska, along with the others in the forbidden inner circle that signed this deal, are of the belief that these abilities are not scientific mutations but rather supernatural power. Attempting to convince him otherwise has not achieved much, and most of the SSR feels it's generally better to just nod and play along-mainly because, behind the clipboards and lab coats, there are a few suspicions...
To give a quick overview of Yiska's abilities, we'll start with what he's capable of in human form. While not on par with, say, Captain America, Yiska does have heightened physical abilities. He's more durable, has greatly enhanced senses, and is faster and stronger. Nothing that would qualify this to be his only power-he's not throwing around trucks or slapping bullets out of the air-but he's physically not going to be holding any of the team back. He's also got an intuitive grasp for nature, and becomes somewhat more vitalized in the wilderness-in buildings, urban areas, he's somewhat off. He prefers the feel of the fresh air or the quiet sky to the screeches of motorcars. Yiska does not communicate with animals in the sense of "Hey man, what's up?" "Aw nothing much", but he's able to communicate with them on a more instinctive and nuanced level. This does not equate to controlling them-most animals, however, generally hold an amount of respect and fear for Yiska. This may not be the case overseas, away from his native lands.
The real terror of a skinwalker, however, is that their name is somewhat literal-he can "walk" from one "skin" to another. In essence, shapeshifting. If Yiska has the pelt of an animal, he is able to assume its apex form-Yiska can effortlessly shift from human to grizzly bear to wolf to snake, provided he has the pelts. Without his jacket, Yiska is more limited in what he is capable of, and as such he guards it jealously. Yiska's not a particularly warm and fuzzy person to begin with, but he's especially cold when someone messes with his personal belongings. There are a great many powers attributed to a skinwalker, most of which are legend and fearful superstition. However, like any legend, there's a kernel of truth. Yiska is not capable of reading minds, but his heightened senses let him notice subtle facial twitches, pick up on the scent of fear, and with deduction and reasoning Yiska can usually make some pretty informed guesses. As a skinwalker, Yiska is capable of inducing fear in others-this is not crippling, and it is not anything tremendous. Really, it's nothing that wouldn't have happened anyway-if you saw a mockingbird turn into a bear and rip someone's arm off, you were probably not going to react calmly to begin with. This, of course, is essentially the same reaction that people would have to any other mutant-it's more pronounced in animals, whom Yiska can terrify with comparatively little effort. He requires direct, prolonged eye contact to induce this in humans.
Shapeshifting into humans is more difficult-Yiska is capable of doing so, but it takes more time and effort to convincingly do so. He is capable of mimicking human or animal sounds, and where his feet tread, Yiska leaves neither sound nor footprints. And, while not a supernatural power, Yiska is trained as a Navajo witch-he's familiar with a number of poisons and old tribal remedies, which are of questionable effectiveness in the era of modern medicine. He also, by virtue of growing up on a narrowminded, we'll-resist-change-at-all-costs inner sect of a reservation, is quite familiar with his people's history, culture, and tradition, and has spent a great deal of his time outside. He has zero trouble navigating the wilderness, hunting, or making use of a knife, tomahawk, or bow. He's resourceful, pretty good at sewing and tanning, and generally doesn't need much to be content. He likes poetry and sketching. He is quite durable and resistant to damage, and will generally heal up from most wounds given time to lick his wounds. He's tough, strong, and fast, particularly so in animal form.
There are two lethal weaknesses to a skinwalker: speaking his full name, and shooting him with a bullet tipped in white ash. The SSR strongly suspects these weaknesses to be placebos, but they are no less real to Yiska. No one outside the reservation knows of his real name (unless, of course, his elders were talked into giving the SSR leverage...), and Yiska enjoys dismantling firearms left unattended. Yiska also is averse to using modern technology, even in situations when it is infinitely more convenient to do so: he does so as a quiet sign of resistance to the SSR, whom he's not fond of, and to the US Government in general, whom he's even less fond of. He's doing this job as per his elders' orders, and because he does recognize the genuine wrongs being done by the Nazi Government (Yiska, however, is quick to point out the evils of the Americans, British, Russians, etc as well). Yiska, at some primal level (something that is accentuated by his powers, which darkly, morbidly, yearn to be used, to be let free) also enjoys violence, and has awaited the chance, across the ocean, to see what he is well and truly capable of accomplishing. God have mercy on the Germans, or any Americans who don't have witnesses around.
Biography:
Yiska grew up on the reservation, a relatively sheltered life-there's plenty of troubles all around, however. The difference is that Yiska was raised with an extremely "us vs. them" mentality. Without delving into the sensitive politics and murky history of these issues, Yiska grew up under a roof that firmly attributed all problems-moral, financial, and logistical-to the past and to the current US Government. Yiska aims to break FDR's arms to match his legs if ever presented with the opportunity. From a young age, Yiska grew up with a rather intense hatred for the outside, and generally treats most outsiders with the same cold disdain. He was never warm and fuzzy to anyone, however-quiet and reserved, Yiska simply preferred to be by himself, or to keep to himself whenever he was in social situations. He simply didn't see the need for a lot of frivolity, and had a rather ascetic view to life. While others blew their paychecks on liquor and tobacco, comic books and gasoline, he never saw the need for it. Yiska's a bit of a killjoy.
As he grew up-studying, learning, he stood a bit apart from his peers. Some talked of leaving the reservation, finding work elsewhere, becoming lawyers or doctors or what have you. None of this ever appealed to Yiska. He simply felt at home where he was, and anything more than a hundred miles from his home didn't interest him. There was an entire forgotten world just within his reach, and so many were willing to overlook it for paychecks and fast cars. Childish. Foolish. This mentality caught the eyes of some of the higher-ups-the men behind the men in charge of the nation, and as deals were cut under the table with FDR's administration in preparation for the eventual war with the Germans, Yiska was bred into the weapon he is today.
Yiska's birth and circumstances shaped a great deal of his mentality. He's paranoid, reserved, and distrusting. He will generally assume the worst possible outcome of a situation and prepare accordingly. He identifies very closely with his people, and fears losing that identity-he tends to view those who come back from the outside as traitors of a sort. If there was another Civil War, Yiska would sign up gleefully, and when the US government was overthrown he'd turn against that one too. He dislikes authority and dislikes institutions of any kind, and refuses to see any possible benefits they could offer. Yiska sees the war as stupid, and harbors about as much patriotism for America as Hitler does. Yiska developed a rather slanted code of morality, wherein he somewhat hypocritically is quick to pounce on the misdealings of outsiders whilst excusing anything similar that he does in turn. He does not claim to be a good person. Yiska is not needlessly cruel, however, and is notably kinder to women and children than men. He's never outright hostile-he doesn't start fights or insult others, he simply stays cold and quiet. Yiska's also not a big talker in general, and doesn't see the need for most conversation. If you took Yiska on a car ride, he'd probably speak enough to tell you when to pull over and which exits to take. He just doesn't see the need for it. Yiska appreciates the beautiful things in life, and can strike up a rapport for others who appreciate the same. He's very quick to write people off, but does issue grudging respect-Yiska admires strength and excellence in all its forms, whether it's art or battle or intellect. One also can't accuse him of hedonism, as he lives a fairly spartan lifestyle, and displays indifference to most vices. He's very kind to animals, and generally makes hunting as merciful and quick as possible. Given his abilities, this is not difficult.
He also operates under a rather warped code of honor. He will keep his word if he gives it, albeit this is subject to his own interpretation. Deal with Yiska cautiously-if he has respect for someone, he'll keep close to the spirit of his agreement. If not...he holds to the letter of the law. He also tries to avoid outright lying, and will tend to avoid killing unarmed opponents or those who are wounded. As a misanthrope, he holds pretty equal dislike for all belligerents in this conflict, so he'll treat Americans and Nazis with around the same level of respect. He doesn't tolerate violence to women or children and dislikes cursing. He views violence as a way of life, and is looking forward to testing his capabilities after two and a half decades of holding back. He is also fond of stories, and will reluctantly admit that the abundance of written books is nice, as opposed to the reservation's somewhat limited library. He'll also listen dutifully to any story someone's willing to tell, and gets very annoyed if they're interrupted. Yiska also likes riddles, puzzles, and anything that requires meditating on a problem for a while before coming up with a solution.
