Birth Name: Ulysse Descombes

Alter Ego: Gant d'Argent/ Silver Glove

Gender: Male

Age: 33

Country of Operation: France (the city of Lille)

Archetype: Gifted

Allegiance: Champions

Appearance: Ulysse is a heavily muscled Caucasian man standing an even six feet. He has brown eyes and keeps his head shaven (somebody might pull his hair in a fight). His “work outfit” is lightweight and simple- dark blue, tight-fitting cotton trousers and a sleeveless shirt to allow ease of movement. Ulysse formerly wore a mask, but ditched it and made his identity public on joining the Champions. He wears weighted boots and metallic sliver gloves on both hands.

Skills: Gant d'Argent possesses no superhuman abilities of any kind.

However, he is a martial arts expert of some renown. While he is well-trained in several disciplines (including judo, shotokan karate, krav maga, and hapkido) he prefers to fight with savate. In savate, he is one of the world's top practitioners.

His intensive physical training gives him exceptional (but human-level) strength, agility, stamina, and pain tolerance.

Equipment/Resources: Gant d'Argent routinely only carries two (or technically four) weapons, meant solely to augment his martial arts skills. His boots contain lead weights and steel plating in the soles and toes to add force to his kicks, and lead shot in sewn into the knuckles of his gloves to do the same for his punches.

For particularly large battles, he may wear a kevlar vest and steel helmet, though he hates weighing himself down.

Finally, he has a small fortune in savings from his kickboxing days, waiting for a rainy day.

Biography: Ulysse Descombes is not a particularly well-educated man. He focused little on school as a child growing up in Lille, but excelled at athletics. Rather than being a stereotypical musclehead, though, he earnestly believed in sportsmanship, fair play, and an equal chance for everyone. He got into savate as a teenager, and found a sport he was even better at than football, tennis, or any of the others. Savate became his passion in life.

Rather than attend college (much to his family's disappointment) Descombes instead chose to become a professional savatuer, competing as a heavyweight. His diligent hours of training and natural talent were paid off, as he won victory after victory, rapidly gaining the title of Silver Glove: the highest rank and honor in the savate community.

However, there was plenty of seedier stuff in the savate community, underhanded practices that threatened the integrity of the sport and rankled with Ulysse's notions of honor and sportsmanship. Match fixing, doping, illegal gambling- all prevented up-and-comers from having a fair chance at success. Finally, Ulysse had enough. He donned a mask to protect his identity and took it upon himself to clean up the sport, under the name Gant d'Argent- Silver Glove. The steroids dealers, the fixers, the crooked managers- their thugs were given punitive beatings and the bosses chased out of Lille. Ulysse found he enjoyed both the new challenge and the rush of doing good, and soon expanded the scope of Gant d'Argent. Gangs, drug dealers, violent criminals, even a few low-level supervillains soon felt the sting of his fists and feet. He enjoyed a high success rate and national recognition.

When the Champions initiative was announced, he was among the first volunteers, giddy at the prospect of working with his peers. He felt so strongly that he went public with his identity Though the reality was less harmonious than he might have imagined, he still believed firmly that the Champions were a force for the equality and fair play he firmly believed in. He largely ignored the problems within the group, instead remaining mission-focused.

In Nagoya, he initially viewed the operation as just another fight, even when surprise was lost and bullets (and cars, and bolts of energy, and fireballs, and spells) starting flying. In fact, Gant d'Argent was rather enjoying himself, testing his martial arts skills against those of several of the gangsters.

Then the building fell down on top of him.

Miraculously, he only got a few cuts and bruises, not serious injuries. But he was trapped in darkness and unable to move for hours, unsure of what was going on above him, whether his teammates were winning or losing the battle, whether anyone was coming for him. For the first time, Ulysse Descombes felt pure and unrestrained terror. He remembers screaming until he blacked out, and then being lifted from the wreckage by firefighters, only to immediately be put on a plane out of the country. He had to learn from CNN about things that happened six feet above his head.

Gant d'Argent was horrified at the scope of the destruction, but also at the accusations thrown at the Champions. Stubbornly, he still believed in the mission of the Champions even as teammates expressed doubt. He at least had one fact to cling to- the destruction was not his fault personally.

When the walkout happened, Gant d'Argent was one of those who chose to remain behind. He does not regret this choice, and feels that continued service with the Champions will redeem their name and help assuage his recurring nightmares of being buried alive. Not to mention dreams of still worse things.

Birth Name: Jack Cochran

Alter Ego: Red Jack

Gender: Male

Age: Physically in his late teens or early twenties, actual age thirty, and he'll look that young for a long time

Country of Origin: America, East Coast

Archetype: Supernatural

Allegiance: Splinter

Appearance: Red Jack is a tall broad shouldered man with sculpted features. He has perfect white teeth and the picture perfect musculature of a model. Those alone would make him a beautiful man, but his natural violet eyes and silver hair with his soft caramel skin give him an exotic almost ethereal allure. When enraged or in the joy of battle, his eyes turn a starling blood red. His ears are subtly pointed. In combat he wears black unicorn fur with minimal fae steel plating and a red head wrap covering his face and neck. When he kills a particularly worthy foe he dips his scarf in their blood. The original color of the scarf is unknown.

Powers/Skills: Red Jack is a painter who only uses one color, guess which. Red Jack is a talented killer who trained in combat since he could hold a blade. He prefers to use his custom forged fae steel hand-and-a-half sword in tandem with a Desert Eagle in combat. Jack also likes his knives, carrying a variety of blades hidden on his person, there's always one in reach of his hand ready to fling into an opponent. He is stronger, faster, and more durable than a normal human due to his fae heritage. Jack has very subtle powers of persuasion, able to mentally nudge people into whatever emotional direction he desires. When enraged or damaged enough Jack will fly into a killer rage, his speed and strength are even greater but he becomes a beast that can barely distinguish between friend or foe. He hates being in this state, preferring to fight with his usual deadly grace and skill. His inhuman powers are also his curse, Jack deals with barely restrained urges for blood and violence on a daily basis.

Equipment/Resources: A set of custom-fitted fabric and armor. The fabric is made from unicorn skin and is soft and supple to the touch. While the metal is intricately made fae steel with elegant curving patterns in the metal. The tight black leather doublet and breeches covers his whole body while the silver armor protects his upper arms, forearms, shins, and chest. The leather is enchanted and will completely stop knives and small arms fire up to military grade assault rifles. The armor will deflect most blunt force blows and provides protection from energy attacks, magical and otherwise.

He wears red fingerless gloves and footwraps. His scarf is a family heirloom, worn by his father and his father before him down a long bloody line of Redcaps. Jack also has an enormous amount of blades on his person, including two wrist mounted hidden knives. Jack goes to battle with his bastard sword strapped to his back and his nickle plated, ivory handled hand cannon strapped to his thigh. The bloody armored helm of his family is affixed to his breast in his pin, a symbol of his status which allows him to access his family's considerable resources.

Biography: Jack is the second son in a family of faeries. His mother was a woodland sprite and his father is a Redcap, a fae with a genetic predisposition for murder. Their coupling was passionate but brief as the nature of Fae encounters often was and Jack was born in one of New York City's many "Shadow Towns", hidden communities of supernatural beings living among mortals. His mother was a city dweller inconstantly and preferred to spend time in her beloved woods upstate, taking her son with him and teaching him of the beauty of life and nature. Her father, the clan chief, however did not want to raise a Red Son among his people and sent Jack off to live with his father. Jack's formative years were spent on Cochran Manor in upstate New York. His father, a prolific Winter Court assassin, took an interest in his strong son, for he only had one other son among many daughters and said older brother was a more bookish sort. His mother occasionally came to call on him at the manor, and one year he had a full-blood sister, his favorite sibling.

Jack received the finest instruction in all the myriad arts of combat and killing. He grew up the favorite child, with every luxury and none of the responsibility of being his father's heir. As soon as he hit puberty he began feeling the murderous urges, only barely balanced out by the more gentle nature of his mother's people. Jack followed in his father's footsteps and slaked his lust for blood by pursuing countless liaisons with beings of multiple races. He became his father's apprentice, accompanying him on several of his contracts for both Winter Courtesans and other beings supernatural and mortal. Jack gained quite a few notches on his built and scratches on his bedpost before he reached twenty. Jack acquired the name Red Jack in the annual Winter Court tourney, where he won in a melee that had Winter Knights, Orges, and Trolls. Jack became quite infamous among his kin, his bloodlust and actual lust legendary even for their family. His mother's clan for the most part shunned him, his violent nature making him anathema to the clan's pacifistic philosophy. For her part his mother did her best to balance out her son.

Red Jack begun taking contracts on his own, his mother's teachings and sensibilities compelling him to only seek violence against those he deemed despicable. It wasn't perfect but it was something. Jack's life went like that for years, killing anonymous hordes and having strings of anonymous lovers. When their shadow world exploded into the public eye with the rise of the superheroes, Jack received a much needed shot in the arm. He was one of the first Fae to embrace public life and became a "superhero", his looks and charm endearing him in the public eye while he amassed a reputation as a skilled fighter. He was a team leader in the Champions and one of their best field operatives. He filled another role that only him and a handful of Champions knew about.

Jack was the team's personal hatchet man, taking care of problems in a way that no other Champion could. Whenever there was too much red tape to take someone down legally, whenever they were too much of a threat to remain alive, or whenever plain old revenge was needed, Red Jack was the solution. Nobody outside of the team and very very few inside knew about his role. Jack left no evidence linking the incidents back to them, and Jack had "disappeared" a handful of criminals in the group's short history. Jack's occasional wetwork coupled with bedding rabid fans kept his urges in check. He assuaged his desire for a noble life through his superheroics and he made quite a few friends and bed mates among his colleagues in the Champions.

Nagoya was where things stopped being fun. For his part, Jack didn't contribute to the operation breaking down but he was in the thick of the fighting that came afterward. He lost too many friends that day and over the course of the battle, he started to lose it, taking wounds and becoming more brutal in his takedowns. Eventually he slipped into the blood rage and went on a rampage, slashing necks and stabbing criminals indiscriminately. His final body count was somewhere in the low dozens. Luckily for him his allies knew what was going on and steered civilians away from him and steered clear of his vicinity as he did his bloody work. The camera footage of the affair was quite frightening, with him laughing and yelling and perhaps even moaning in arousal as he snapped necks and ripped out throats. A few of them had tried to surrender. The whole affair was a red haze to him, he remembered almost none of it.

The public backlash that followed angered him even further. Who were the humans to blame him and his friends for the affair? They were ungrateful, moronic, disgusting. Some of the Champions were almost as bad in their arguments. Jack scoffed at the idea of facing legal action and forcibly removed any authorities who tried. His days were filled with frantic damage control and arguments and public censure while his nights were haunted by frustrated lovemaking and vivid nightmares. Eventually Jack just couldn't take it anymore and promptly led the Splinter movement to break off from the Champions, seeking to start over fresh. Jack's goal is to do what the Champions can't and hunt down the criminal groups he believes responsible for the massacre, seeking to brutally destroy those organizations from top to bottom and damn the consequences.

Special Notes: Jack is openly pansexual and not shy about it. Pursuing his sexual desires helps to alleviate his violent ones. He has quite a few bastard children living in the manor, he tries to show up for birthdays.

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Birth Name:
Erik Touré Montaine

Alter Ego:
None / Archos

Gender:
Male

Age:
34

Archetype:
Metahuman

Country of Operation:
France, Montpellier

Allegiance:
Champions? / Splinter Group

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Powers/Skills:
Erik possesses the powers of telepathy, the ability to read the minds of others and influence them for a very long time now and has had his fair share of good and bad with his powers. Having little issues over the way his powers are being used, he was the member of the Champions who handled the majority of the work with public relations and handled a lot of the press. Using his mind and good appearance to influence the way that the media looked at them, he saved the team from a lot of trouble and heat with his abilities. His most common application of his abilities was to gently influence others of what he wanted, 'persuasion' if you would call it that but never outright possession as he lacked the skills for it. However, that never meant that he couldn't read the minds of others or dig into them to reveal their secrets or lies that they might have buried in there.

Like his brain, the other muscles of his body must be kept in shape as well with him having enough training to remain in a generally athletic shape. Being above average in his physical abilities than the regular citizen, like someone who would go to the gym often, he doubts that he's would be the ablest of the group. In this sense, its more or less about vanity and keeping in good health rather than any practical use.

However, his brawn is not what brings in his worth to the group previously before everything happened, it was his way with people that he was quite handy to have on the team besides his powers. With Erik seemingly born into this world with this way about him, he had an air of confidence and charm that pulled people into him. He was naturally gifted to become a leader if he so wanted to as his way with people was simply amazing even without his looks. Having the people skills able to turn even the most committed person with the seeds of reluctance and doubt or even the most uncooperative person into having their attention on him.

Equipment/Resources:
Something that anyone working in this business should have if they're sane, a set of two guns. One holstered on his waist and another hidden at his ankle which is sometimes left out when it's impractical to wear with his clothing but you should also at least expect one.

Biography:
Erik was born into the world with a lovely family who owned a small restaurant in France and grew up around the place a lot. Going to school and coming back home to help around, he was a delightful sight to regulars and customers which he brought in. It was during these adolescent years that his powers came into his life quite suddenly, bombarded with the influx of thoughts that were being handled indiscreetly by other people. From what he learned of others people, he soon learned how to control his powers as some things are just not meant to be known until he was older or entirely not at all.

Growing up and going to school, he grew to be a popular kid who was friends with the majority of the school and at least acquaintances to the rest of them with no one that should be strangers to him. He learned many things about his peers with his abilities and used them best to avoid many troubles in high school. Whether it be a stray punch during a fight or avoiding an entire incident itself, it proved useful to getting out of situations that dragged him into it. Of course, he used his powers for a variety of things outside of getting out of trouble, as he'd read the minds of students at the school for various reasons. Learning new rumors without having to ask or dirty secrets that shouldn't be known, it was a pastime of his to simply watch and observe people when he had nothing else to do. It was an interesting experience, to say the least throughout high school in which he made a lot of memories. Being academically successful in class for being in the upper portion of the class, he also was athletically great as well with playing in wrestling and soccer for the school.

Graduating High School in a relatively successful fashion, he went to college with a rough idea of what to do when his parents rejected the prospect of going to culinary school. With them telling him that he didn't need certification to be a great cook for people to enjoy food made by him. So, by last minute choice, he decided to go to college for Psychology, because why not get a better understanding of people when he's inside their mind? Thus, began his schooling for his desired path in life and he learned much about the behavior of people along with graduating with a bachelor's in Psychology to prove it along with adding a few more years, he'd also received his master's as well. With his education, he ran a small practice with a surprising amount of patients flowing into his tiny little place with the word spreading out quickly about his place. Earning himself a reputation of being incredible about his patients, having them handle and deal with their problems in such shorter times than it was expected. It came from a combination of his social skills and his abilities to sooth the minds, allowing him to tackle the problem from two fronts before allowing time and rest handle the rest.

However, seeing how dreadful it was seeing the harm and pain that was inflicted on his patients after all of the aftermath made him feel powerless in a way to those who came through his doors bearing the same problems. Thus, when the intuitive for Champions it was a decision he felt that could stop the problem before it could affect everyone. Of course, his role with the team gave him a unique situation in hand which made his identity more at risk to be exposed. As he personally had to venture out to have things done, to pull favors, to pull the story and more or less handle a few things behind the scenes. It was a different kind of hero business then what he would imagine, but it was an important part of work that must be done and who better else to do it than him?

The incident at Nagoya? It was a terrible, yes for every one of the Champions but do you know what could have the situation have been without him? It was a field day for the media, and he'd done everything in his power to try and alleviate the mess of that incident from the first moment that things went astray. From helping people at the scene for publicity to shutting down the news that caught the bad parts, favors were then thrown to be indebted by Erik himself to help contain the problem. News was altered extensively and witnesses had to meticulously have their memories reconstructed. It was a seriously stressful day which forced Erik to force his powers outside of his usual capabilities and even then it was like trying to cup a waterfall futilely. The public was the first to strike obviously the next day as they all were afraid of them from the beginning with no distinction between 'hero' or 'villain' it was only monsters. The Japanese government came next with punishment against the group was reduced and even removed for a few along with trying to those who he could from the public demonstrations which were basically lynching mobs from both the citizens and government but the donations? All backed off despite his attempts to reconcile their relationships to no avail, with him almost resorting to pull up more questionable methods of obtaining income.

His world that he had been controlling in his hands have seemingly slipped out of his grasp in a single night, a single night in which it was all it took to knock them down. Was that all it took for the people to turn against the people who was capable of taking on the criminal's own weapons? I guess so... So, he left the Champions and gave himself a new name as well since he was going there.

Special Notes:
Roleplay wise - Erik did the group's publicity work for them and basically enhanced their reputation, allowing them to achieve a certain respect much faster or reach this level even at all. Allowing the people to be complacent with them and in extension probably the governments as well for their results. Mistakes and mess ups were glossed and covered to reduced the hit on their reputation but in the Nagoya incident was different. That incident was simply too many mistakes piled up to be brushed under the carpet and its only option was to mitigate the damage, so that's what Erik did.

If my character does get accepted I'll just consider what you wrote in the first post as Erik's effort to mitigate the damage of the incident, and without his work there would be a worse scenario of whiplash against the group if he wasn't there. Also, should you want it so, I could change some details and expand on the event a bit more if you want to.

6'1. Beneath that armor he has snow white skin, blue eyes, messy black hair, and a strong yet somewhat slim build. His wings are bat-like with plated scales and he has a tail barbed to the tip with a spear like hook at the end.

Strength: Lift 10 tons
Speed: Mach 1
Firepower: Highest heat production is 855 F, highest blast force about the same as a frag grenade.

Strength: Lift 20 tons.
Speed: Half of mach 1
Firepower: Highest heat production is 1,500 F. Blast force is about the same of 20 dynamite sticks.
Scales are like steel except for underbelly.

Standing at 15 feet tall.

80 feet long, from head to tail.

Strength: Lift 80 tons
Speed: Mach 1 max, only in flight
Firepower: Highest heat production is the same as a nuclear bomb, blast force a fourth of the same bomb

Scales are like titanium except for underbelly.

Birth Name: Wilbur Allthorpe

Alter Ego: The Tortoise

Gender: Male

Age: 56

Country of Origin: Birmingham, England.

Archetype: Augmented

Allegiance: Splinter

Appearance: Wilbur is a fairly short man at 4'5 and skinny as a rake. He lost his hair in his early 50s and as such, is completley bald. He wears a pair of black thick rimmed square spectacles. Usually he wears a green button up shirt with the sleeves rolled up and a pair of light brown overalls with simple brown leather shoes and white socks. He also has a black tool belt around his waist.

Powers/Skills:

His greatest ability is the large mechanical exoskeleton shell he pilots, constructed out of titanium, containing multiple energy based booster units for movement and armed to the teeth with weapons including missiles, standard firearms, a flamethrower, an electrical arc cannon, a high powered laser, a small explosive dispenser and a reflector shield. The entire shell can also be used for physical attacks. Wilbur pilots the shell from within, usually using a small visor at the top to watch or ducking inside the shell for stronger attacks. The exoskeleton shell is extremely dense and hard to crack by most forms of attack.

The shell however, has its limits. Without a pilot, it cannot act on its own and is vulnerable. EMP attacks can also disable the shell until Wilbur can get it working again. Additionally, outside of the shell, Wilbur is fairly weak and small and is thus, far more vulnerable and no easier to hurt than an average pedestrian. The shell also runs on a large lithium ion battery pack and should it run out of power or be removed, the shell will cease to function The battery is also more heavily drained by energy projection mechanisms, making the reflector shield and the high powered laser the most energy draining moves. The shell is also not protected from chemical or gas based attacks and whilst the reflector shield protects the shell from almost all forms of damage, it does not protect against force and strong forces will push the shell even with its shield up.

Outside the shell, Wilbur is heavily tech savvy, able to recognise kinds of machinery very quickly, draft up inventions within days and thinking logically around problems. He is also very intelligent and somewhat analytical, using tactics in battle and figuring out the weaknesses of his opponents and using his shell's vast array of tools to strike at them. For Wilbur, every problem just needs the right tool to be solved.

However, outside of his shell, the tortoise is an older man who is not particularly strong or durable, thus, he cannot put up much of a fight without his exoskeleton. He is also untrained in other forms of science such as chemistry and physics, and whilst he is a critical thinker, it means he cannot fight well against unpredictable opponents.

Equipment/Resources: Outside of his shell, Wilbur usually carries around a small tool belt with some replacement batteries, spare parts and a spanner in case he needs to make quick repairs to his shell. He also carries around a small tazer should he ever need to defend himself. He also carries a phone in case of emergencies.

Biography:
Wilbur was born to Martha and Gareth Allthorpe in Birmingham, a pair of experimental weapons mechanics working for the biotech company Zillion Corp. Wilbur enjoyed a fairly upper class childhood with a large sum of money to keep him happy, put into the best high schools and given the best possible schooling that could be afforded. He grew up intelligent if not bullied by the older children, jealous of his wealth and his smarts in class, also by his somewhat meek demeanor and small stature, suffering from his father's short stature.

When he left school, he went on to Cambridge university and graduated with a degree in engineering, going on to work with his parents at Zillion Corp, dedicating his research to a new form of exoskeleton to support someone like him as he continued to be a weak individual. This eventually led him to creating his shell exoskeleton and in practice, it was a huge success. Feeling a surge of pride, he immediately made use of it, patenting the designs for himself and leaving the company before Zillion Corp could mass produce it, a move that was looked down on by his parents.

He outed himself properly as a superhero, calling himself The Tortoise due to the design of his shell and how he had always been mocked as 'hiding in his shell.' He was practical minded, earning donations for his work but keeping a diligent mindset, that he must be careful with his great gift and not abuse it for his own purposes. Eventually he ran across a fellow hero Roger Redbrook, nicknamed the Hare for his incredible speed, dexterity and high jump powers. The two didn't see eye to eye and became rivals, the Hare being optimistic whilst Wilbur was more a pessimist. Their rivalry became incredibly well known across the country and after the pair briefly joined forces in defeating a large crime gang, the pair decided to become a true team.

The Hare and the Tortoise became a notably loved duo in their home country, battling crime and solving problems together. So when the champions initiative came about, they happily joined forces and were among the team's first members. The Tortoise's brilliant mind and gadget wizardry made him an invaluable asset to the team, using inventions to amplify his friends abilities and weaponry, as well as providing analysis and coming up with battle plans for their missions, whilst Hare simply provided a good point man and charming face for the public to love.

The pair were no match for the Nagoya mission, sadly. Hare simply went along with the plans whilst Tortoise was drafting up their movements and using radios to direct them piece by piece. All it took was an unexpected blurt of static to muddle up the plans and their frequency to be discovered before it all went wrong and both Hare and Tortoise were forced into battle. Wilbur panicked amidst all the chaos, unable to analyse or strategise and forced to attack blindly, causing a lot of destruction in his wake. When the dust had settled, The Hare was among the superheroes who were found dead at the scene, crushed under rubble. With his long time partner dead, Wilbur's opinion soured heavily and he became negative toward the idea of the champions continuing with him, choosing to leave for the splinter group as without his partner to balance him out and the outcry against him, he could not act with them anymore.

Special Notes: Some speculate that Hare and Tortoise were once romantically involved, but both have continuously denied this, though rumors circulate regardless, it is a common press hitting point for the pair. He is also among the wanted due to the destruction his shell's tech caused.

Birth Name: Mina Galanos

Alter Ego: The Chameleon

Gender: Female

Age: 27

Country of Origin: Canada (Rocky Mountains)

Archetype: Supernatural

Allegiance: Splinter

Appearance:

Mina has a slender figure and stands at 5'5" tall. Her natural eye colour is green. Her natural hair colour is mouse brown, but she dyes it green to match her eyes. Her uniform is a green cloak that drapes over her head, being a functional representation of a green screen.

Powers/Skills: Like chameleons, Mina can change colours to camouflage with her surroundings. She has layers of colour pigments in her skin that can activate to change her colouring into a variety of patterns, which she can control at will. This extends to her uniform as well; her uniform senses the pigment activity and changes in accordance. This does not work with regular clothes. Although her camouflaging isn't exact, different parts of her body can change colour and pattern to match the general colour of the background, which is usually good enough if she doesn't draw attention to herself.

Mina's chameleon blood makes it easy for her to learn languages. She uses English in her operations in Canada, but is also fluent at speaking the animal language. She can learn the meaning of any animal's sounds, and can imitate these sounds to talk to them in return. Thanks to this power, she has made many animal friends who help her spy and bring her information.

Unfortunately, her aptitude at language takes away from her ability to read behaviour. Only with practice has she managed to grasp using day-to-day facial expressions and reading basic emotions and gestures. She is prone to misinterpreting anything deeper than a false smile and anything more subtle than a furrowed brow.

Equipment/Resources: When Mina is operating, she wears a green cloak that changes colour in response to the pigments in her skin. She also works alongside a number of animals. She is unable to be in touch with them at all times, but they gather to meet every day in the same secret spot to share information, and she often runs into them anyways when they are working nearby.

Biography: Mina was born and raised in a lakeside town in the Rocky Mountains of Canada. Born in their house with the help of a special doctor, Mina's skin was changing colour, although barely noticeable, from the moment she was born. Throughout her childhood, she went to a private laboratory to learn to control her powers and be studied by scientists. She was quickly given the nickname "The Chameleon". Living in the relative wilderness of the mountains, she realized that she could talk to animals, and befriended the deer colony that lived in the forest. She grew up a confused child, constantly being told by the scientists to never reveal her abilities, and wondering why the lives of the other children seemed so different from hers and so similar to each others.

Her parents never spoke much of their past, but in the lab she heard talk of an African legend of Bantu mythology. When God created man, he sent a chameleon to tell man of eternal life. However, upset by the actions of the humans, God sent a lizard to tell man that he would die. Left to roam the earth as a failure, the chameleon tried to integrate with the human population through... let's just say, other ways, before giving up and colonizing as its own species. She was likely a descendant of this chameleon.

She tried to use camouflage to get information, but the scientists were always on the same page as her. She did manage to learn about the pigments in her skin, and gained an interest in Biology. She also learned that her mother had the same camouflaging abilities as her, both her parents used to work for a spy agency in Spain, and her parents had to escape to Canada. Mina got used to the scientists' secretiveness and distance, but never felt that friendly a relationship with any of them.

After high school, Mina went to university and got a Master's degree in Biology. Before she could pursue a PhD, her lab was recruited into the Champions to study the powers of the superheroes involved. Curious about the lab's plans, she asked if she could help in any way. The principal investigator, Dr. Paules, said yes. He told her about the Champion's goal of worldwide justice and said they could use a spy, and that he would put in a good word for her. Mina hardly knew what he meant and how she could help, but she readily agreed.

At age 26, she was recruited into the Champions and tasked to spy on criminals and evil organizations. She was given a cloak by the lab, a product of years of studying her, that could respond to and emulate her skin's colour changes. It was during her time as a Champion that she realized her talent of learning languages, picking up the language of wherever they sent her with relative ease. She also discovered the severity of her inability to read emotions, which hadn't been so much of a disadvantage before. She focused her energy solely on relaying information the way she had received it, letting others do all the interpreting.

Mina was present at the Nagoya event. She witnessed, mostly in fearful camouflage, the chaos that ensued as everything went wrong. But it wasn't the nationwide chaos that triggered her distrust. She couldn't believe the internal conflict that occurred among the Champions, along with the humiliation of being associated with them and fear for her own safety. Her distrust in the Champions was amplified by the bashing from the press. She jumped at the opportunity to leave the Champions and start an independent superhero team.

Special Notes: People often misjudge Mina to be stupid and shallow because she may respond inappropriately to social situations, which has caused Mina to lose confidence in her ability to read people. Because of this, she prefers to play the role of a tube, connecting people with source information without it being changed or biased by misinterpretation. However, provided the facts, Mina can prove to be insightful, observant, and creative.

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Birth Name: Ara Colt Novella

Alter Ego: God Fist

Gender: Male

Age: 16

Country of Origin: America | Chicago

Archetype: Supernatural

Allegiance: Champion

Appearance: Ara Novella is a half-white half-black teenager with mahogany brown skin. His brown but vivid eyes are clear windows into his genuine heart and all around kind persona. The youth stands at 5’10 and weighs in at 163lbs of mostly sleek muscle. He has a noticeably wiry-like build, thin eyebrows, and a noble powerful face. The hair on his head is loose and long, flowing about the faded bottom stylishly in hues of slate gray.

When acting as God Fist, Ara wears a lightweight, form-fitting dark blue outfit. The suit falls into seamless dark blue boots. On his chest is the symbol of a sharp, edgy, sun that stretches off beneath the clasps of his tatter, black mantle.

Powers/Skills: Ara gained his powers by unknown means one year ago. It was thought that his great-grandfather was a multi-dimensional entity. Thus, God Fist was born. A cosmic-hero who can very well throw down with the best of Earth’s protectors and contend as top hero.

With a Supernaturally Enhanced Physiology, Ara is capable of lifting well over 200 tons and performs feats comparable to this. These powers are technically granted to him due to him having access to the cosmic powers surrounding the earth and inhabiting the universe. Likewise his speed is comparable to blinding, competing with most speedsters. However, the renowned speedsters like Starlight and Grand Prix often trumps him indefinitely. He can catch bullets (though he doesn’t necessarily needs to), fly, think, and react at speeds of mach 10. When in space, for reasons inexplainable, he flies even faster.

God Fist also seems to have a supernaturally enhanced endurance, being capable of taking a beating and getting up to return the pain ten-fold. A weakness of his would have to be his intolerance for pain. While his body can take the punches, Ara often feels the bulk of it. This can often drive him mad and keep him from continuing the fight.

Though it has rarely occurred, it has been suggested that God Fist could use the cosmic radiation he absorbs as some kinetic energy towards his foes. Perhaps his greatest weakness is the illness that sets in if he doesn’t feel the nutrients of the cosmic cloak directly. In other words, Ara has to spend severals hours out in space to feed his body’s needs. Just another necessity that was tacked on to his belt. Along with sleep, normal food, and adequate exercise, he now needs to fill some pocket or vacuum inside himself with dark matter. Without efficient stores of the dark matter, he reverts to his mortality.

Beyond these facts rests a true counter to his godly abilities. A space metal known as Tellurium that can effectively weaken him when in his presence and make him mortal with just a touch. Any weapon, either gas or solid made of this mineral, can and will cause harm. It is a secret that not even Ara himself is aware of, though a few of the Champion's higher ups have conducted experiments to realize this truth.

Equipment/Resources: Nada. . . God Fist needs only himself.

Biography: Ara Novella was born in Oregon but grew up in Chicago. He was a victim of abuse by paternal means and once his mother left his father, they struggled. They lived in the inner-city where gang-violence and police brutality was rampant. Ara avoided the troubles and instead stuck his head in other inane hobbies.

A year before God Fist’s debut was when he started on the path to being a Hero. It was July 4th and patriots were celebrating the birth of America. As Ara was making his way home, gazing at the fireworks, he heard the muffled screams of a woman. At first he ignored it. When got more than half-way down the block his consciousness whipped him into going back.

Novella stumbled onto a rape scene. Two black males had a black woman on her back. He was stunned into submission and later pummeled into submission too. As he laid there, glancing at the bright red, white, and blue firelight; he fought to silence the woman’s pain moans. It was then, that a supernova erupted in his chest, than was smothered out by a black hole. The next moments were a blur. He felt stronger than he had ever been, more monster than man. He knew it to be true when the man shot at him and instead of his chest being ripped open, the bullet simply fell to the ground.

Needless to say he murdered those two men accidentally.

Later on, after denying his powers and deciding to continue his life his dreams became bothersome. Weird pacts with immense, glowing, skinny beings. Symbols written in the forms of literal stars. A legend and legacy in the same instance being fulfilled. Three months or so later and God Fist was discovering himself and his purpose. He was meant to protect the galaxy but he could never leave Earth. It was his home and his love. America soon took notice of this Hero. He was the symbol of the Northern States and soon became one of three names associated with the United States.

The Nagoya Incident was a blunder on his part. He was battling lesser supers than himself and felt, reluctant to hurt anyone. Not to mention when the call came he was nearly drained of his dark matter reserves. He tore a metal beam from the building, not knowing it was a central component to the structure. If not for his exhausted source, he could have saved plenty of people. However, with the situation as such, he was lucky to have escaped with his life.

Afterwards, the politics of it all was lost on him. He remained with the Champions out of loyalty and admiration of the more experienced and leader-esque heroes. Though he is indeed stronger than most, its his inexperience and lack of confidence that more or less has made him subservient to the Champions as a whole.

Special Notes: Young and Inexperienced. Needs to refill on dark matter daily to retain his powers. Is often considered the kid of the group. Is a fairly-new hero whose made a big splash. Unknowing of his true strength he is wry of attacking people without mercy.

Birth Name: Patrick O'Brian

Alter Ego: The Celtic Sniper

Gender: Male

Age: 30

Country of Origin: Ireland

Archetype: Gifted

Allegiance: Splinter

Appearance: Patrick is a small man, standing at 5'5 and weighing roughly 130lbs. He is an average looking Caucasian man, with short brown hair and dark brown eyes. In addition he has no facial hair. Of course only the Champions (and now the Splinter group) are aware of his actual appearance. When he is not in a safe area, the only place that barely qualifies is HQ, he wears a form fitting black suit that covers him from his feet to just beneath his nose. He also wears a dark brown Irish Tweed cap and dark sunglasses.

Powers/Skills: Patrick is just a man, his parents weren't some sort of aliens or divine beings. He didn't suffer a severe accident and have to have any part of him replaced by shiny metal. He isn't even a metahuman. What he is, is a world class marksman.

His typical weapon of choice is a customized sniper rifle, designed to be able to handle firing the specialized round he occasionally uses. While there may be certain supers that would be able to outshoot him he is unparalleled among most of the world in both range and accuracy.

Despite being most comfortable at long range he is capable of holding his own in closer quarters with his pistol, though he only does this when retreat is unavailable.

While he isn't necessarily the smartest man he does have acute battle awareness and his "nests" are carefully selected.

Even though his body is not immune to the effects he can ignore both very cold and hot temperatures which is a must as he may end up having to stay in one location for several hours or even days at a time.

Equipment/Resources: As mentioned in the Power/Skills Patrick carries both a sniper rifle and a pistol, of the two only the sniper is modified. He also has a small box of specialized ammunition. Normally he will carry a variety of rounds with him, so he can adapt as needed. However when he has intel in advance he will stock extra of a particular round. At the moment he only has a few explosive round left as most of his more unique ammo was used during the Nagoya.

As for resources he still has contacts from his days as a mercenary and they are his primary method of receiving new ammunition, weapons, etc. Though this may end up shifting.

Biography: The first few years of Patrick's life were rather bland and typical, average family life for an only child, regular friendships etc. The only interesting thing that happened was he discovered his love for rifles at a young age. He was staying with his grandfather, who lived in a quaint little cottage out in the middle of the woods, one summer and the old man decided it was time that he learn how to shoot. It took them both by surprise when it turned out that the young lad was a natural. Every target his grandfather gave him he hit dead center, no matter the distance or size. He did have minor trouble with moving targets at first, but he overcame it before the day was up.

Neither had any idea what to do with this talent of his, so rather than think on that they spent the rest of the summer honing it. When Patrick finally had to leave his grandfather gave him his own rifle, and told him to find anyway possible to keep practicing. His parents were less than thrilled when they picked him up, but they relented when they saw just how much Patrick wanted to pursue this. In hindsight this may not have been the best idea they ever had, as Patrick took his grandfather's words to heart.

For the first couple of months after he returned he did what he could to practice, which mainly involved walking for several miles to reach a secluded area. Obviously this place of solitude couldn't last forever, after all when do things ever remain peaceful for talented individuals. One day while he was practicing he was approached by a group of well armed men, well armed to him at least. In reality they just had a few pieces of heavily outdated weaponry. Compared to his hunting rifle though they seemed liked cutting edge technology. The group spoke to him for a while, complimenting his shooting, asking how he found the area, etc. After thirty minutes had passed by they offered him a chance to join their group, promising him not only better practice but a better rifle as well. Remembering his grandfather's words he eagerly agreed. And so at the age of 14 he joined up with a militia group.

He spent the next six years of his life with them. At first all he really did was practice, which was all anyone in the group did except a few members. It wasn't until a year into his stay with them that he made his first kill. They didn't even have to fed him any lines to convince him, he had known for a few months now that the only purpose for his talent would be death. The next five years passed in a blur of pink mist, however as time went on he started to get bored of the group. He had never believed their ideology, and he felt like he was stalling with the small time "missions" he was sent on. He couldn't leave though, not until he knew what the next step would be. Fortunately for him this information was given to him when he overheard a conversation between two of the other members. They were discussing the possibility that they would hire a mercenary for their next job. With the first step of his plan given to him, he quickly began to work out the rest. It really was simple enough, when the mercenary came he made sure that he was practicing, and just like six years ago with the militia group he caught the man's attention. They spoke at length for a while, with Patrick voicing his desire to leave the group and strike out on his own. Despite the nature of his business, it wouldn't make sense for a merc to want to help out an aspiring one as that meant fewer contracts for him, the mercenary agreed to help Patrick establish himself with a few contracts. He wanted to get out of the business anyway and figured he may as well help the young man out. As soon as the merc completed the job for the militia group the two disappeared into the night.

There isn't much to be said about the nine years Patrick spent as a gun for hire. He killed a lot of people, made a lot of money, earned the name The Celtic Sniper, and established connections among arms dealers and the black market. While many of his contracts were given to him by individuals he was hired more than once by the Irish Government, and they are the one who decided he should join the Champions shortly after the formation of the group. While it would have been very easy for them to strong arm him, which would have been detrimental to their health, they found they didn't need to. Patrick was more than willing to join the group, seeing it as a way to further his skills.

While many of the Champions were hurt, both physically and via the media, due to the Nagoya incident Patrick got through relatively unscathed. He was far from the scene of devastation given his long range, and while he killed quite a few people that day none of them were civilians. However with the intense scrutiny the group would be facing, and the fact that another group was being formed from a few of the former Champions and other miscellaneous supers, he decided it would be best to cut ties with the Champions and join the Splinter group.

Special Notes:

--
The daughter of two metahuman heroes affiliated with the previous, unified, incarnation of the Champions, she was raised full and aware of her parents identities as well as their duties, and expected that she too would become a hero. She loved the idea, and tirelessly sought to puzzle out her ability so as to sooner come to her parents aid in fighting the good fight. Though the Champions, and indeed, the idea of superheroism itself, was still in its founding stage, the idea that people from all over the world would work together to create a better, brighter future appealed to her childish sensibilities. When she got older, she planned to join the Champions and join her parents and save the world alongside them!

The discovery of her ability, however, put her plans to a halt. Upon first realizing that she could animate objects, she had no idea how potent it could be . . . or fatal. Her first companion was Aida, a mannequin she accidentally turned alive while she was out shopping with her mother. Thankfully, her mother covered up the mannequin and it managed to pass as a person, avoiding a potential crisis. Ecstatic at discovering her ability, she tried again, this time with a teddy bear her father had purchased for her, and this time, she put more focus and power into it's animation.

The feedback from the attempt caused her to have a heart-attack, and she collapsed immediately. She woke up in the hospital, to the sight of her parents yelling in concern. What disturbed her most was that she couldn't hear what they were saying. Later on, her hearing recovered, but she permanently lost function of her left ear.

From that point on, her parents forbid her from using her ability, telling her to make due with what she had already. Sullen and also a little scared, she accepted, and resolved to be a hero another way. After all, others became Champions even if they were nothing but regular humans! While she had minor psychic abilities and two awesome sidekicks!

Confident once more in her path in life, she began studying and training in different aspects of heroism, such as fighting, and gathering information, and awesome boasts and one-liners, and cool looking costumes!

It was just a little after she made Red the "incident" happened. An escaped villain was pursued by her parents, and poor intelligence compounded by even poorer planning led to the end of her innocence, the end of her dreams, and the end of her parents. In the end, there weren't even bodies left to bury.

For awhile, she was in a catatonic state. She had lost near everything she held dear. Nothing made sense to her anymore, and for a long time, she did nothing but sit by and watch as more things were taken from her.

People interested in her parents wealth and lands argued over her rights as the inheritor. They were people she knew, even liked; business partners that came over every so often, aunts and uncles that would play with her, older cousins that treated her to candy -- all now squabbling over her parents wealth, using her as a tool to claim it or even forgetting her outright. It was her first betrayal, and it was a painful one. Suddenly, she found herself surrounded on all sides by enemies she'd read about in story books, but unlike the princesses in her fairy tales she had no-one. No prince nor fairy godmother to assist her out of her dilemma.

Some claimed that the wealth should go to this-or-that person/organisation, while others tried to adopt her outright so as to have the money flow to them by proxy of being her guardian. The money-grubbing and greed came to its peak when they turned their eyes to her fathers statue collection.

It was her fathers most prized collection, and he often took her with him to admire them. At the time, she never really understood and appreciated them as he did, and even now she probably does not, but they held memories of her playing with him among the tall and handsome looking statues, memories of a life that could not return, and were one of the last and greatest reminders of his love.

She was not going to allow them to take that away from her.

She made Hatter, Dinah, Cheshire, Haigha, and Weiss in quick succession, and put them to work with the sole purpose of halting every move to steal her inheritance, her memories, and ignore the incoming pain and fatigue that came with the stress of their creation. For a half a year, she struggled with legal cases, using people puppeteered by Hatter and Aida as her proxies to give adult weight to her wishes, and finally, ultimately, succeeded.

The battle for her past life invigorated her, and soon, she fell out of her state of ennui, now alive in the present once more. Now, however, she had no clear direction of where her future lay. Until she happened to see a news report featuring a topic that had been out of her mind as of late: Heroes. They were still around, but splintered now. An incident at Nagoya, Japan, had left her once vaunted heroes as nothing more than shadows of themselves. The Champions were no longer the major body representing heroism, and opinions on heroes themselves were souring rapidly. Another childhood memory corroded by society and tragedy -- but this time, she did not feel helpless.

Recalling her childhood dreams, the image of her parents as heroes she could idolize resurfaced in her mind. Now, she couldn't be the hero she wanted to be, or the hero her parents advised her to be; she had her abilities, and while she had nothing, she also had a lot of things, things that mattered to other people, like money. No, her being a hero was out of the question . . . but she could help.

Over the past few months, she had settled on transforming her home - a mansion and the surrounding lands spanning kilometers wide - into a headquarters, from where she could provide support for herself, and any possible future she wanted to explore. It was easily converted it into a base, a fortress that could support heroes from all sides, and provide refuge if need be. She resolved to send them funds via proxies, so that they couldn't be traced back to her, and the creation of the Deck allowed her to gather information that she could send discreetly to heroes in need of it.

Currently, she has deemed her support necessary for both the Splinters and the Champions, however, she has preference for the Champions in terms of funding and lending of man power, due to their affiliation with her parents. She never shows her face or reveals her identity, always working through proxies and hired hands.

She has taken up the name of her favorite childhood story as her alter-ego:

The Alice.

Birth Name: Xoxi Slevryn

Alter Ego: The Mouse

Gender: Female

Age: 21

Country of Origin: US-Born, immigrated to Sweden at a young age and now represents it.

Archetype: Augmented.

Allegiance: Unaffiliated, although was a Champion.

Appearance: Xoxi stands at a a proud 5'4" and has purple streaks running through a ponytail in her hair. She tends to wear lightweight clothing, and besides having nothing in the chest area whatsoever, she prides herself in how she looks from time to time.

Powers/Skills: Through an augmentation that Xoxi specifically said that she wanted to stay the same way on how she looked, she overall decided to augment her heart with special technology she has nicknamed "Shadow-Tech". Her new heart gives her blood special chemicals that allow for any of her movements to stay completely silent through even the most receptive of sound detection, her blood allows her body temperature to be masked so it doesn't show up on thermal imaging software, and has allowed her body to be more flexible and athletic than the likes of Olympic Gymnasts. The only catch is that the chemicals in her blood are limited, and need to be resupplied with refillable containers kept at most government bases in the world. Each refill can last up to 3 days, although it is unhealthy and fatal to go any longer than that.

Equipment/Resources: In Xoxi's arsenal of weapons, she carries around a katar, forged from titanium, that has received many scratches and imperfections from her years of thievery. Her outfit is made from a mixture of Kevlar and Spandex, allowing it to conform to the individual's body while still being protective enough from injuries (There is a skirt on it, in case anyone was wondering). Lastly, she normally carries around on a side pouch (attached at the hip to her outfit) 2 easy-fill containers of the chemical in her blood, some thin cable, and a single grenade. Back in her hideout, she has about a month's supply of the chemicals for her blood, as well as a few "borrowed" books about bioengineering.

Biography:
Xoxi Slevryn grew up on the streets of Stockholm, making a living by being one of the best cat-burglars on the market. Her mom left her life when she was early, and her father was unable to pick up a job until late in her life, and during this time, both of them didn't know about her potential. Every single job she had she was successful in, and when local authorities caught wind of the supposed 'mouse' stealing many priceless possessions for her clientele, they just had to catch the burglar that was doing so. Unfortunately for them, the Champions found her first. Their representative - Jackson - came at her with an offer, a protection of her father from the shadows in exchange for working with them. She would be outfitted with the best equipment able to be augmented into her, letting her be the overall spy and thief she was destined to be. Clearly, this was a once in a lifetime offer, so as any thieving teenager would do, Xoxi responded with "Hell yes". Her name was cleared in the papers, her father was protected from harm, and everything worked out for the longest time.

A few years passed, and Xoxi decided to leave the Champions after being such a big help. She laid low for a while, stockpiling the chemical she relied on so much to stay alive and continue her work, eventually to the point of even stealing chemistry and bioengineering books so she can learn how to produce a suitable replacement in the event everything goes down.

Then Nagoya happened. Xoxi figured the team could use her set of skills again. With their reputation tarnished, she would love to help out and restore it to its former glory.

Special Notes: Xoxi is a homosexual, is generally laid back, and tends to rush into things and work from there.

Birth Name:Gabriel Ardelean
Alter Ego: Phantom
Gender: Male
Age: 23
Country of Origin: Romania
Archetype: Metahuman
Allegiance: Unaligned

Appearance:


Beneath the mask, Gabriel is a 6' tall male weighing 176 pounds, with dark brown hair and muddy colored eyes. Roguish and somewhat handsome, Gabriel knows he isn't the prettiest fish in the sea, though doesn't have any good guess about how others feel he measures on such a scale, and so downplays it accordingly. With a well defined jaw, long eyelashes, and brushed back hair, he does his best to look his best; whether that's enough is up to others. Athletic in build, he is happy to be a healthy individual, though his lack of activity outside is exemplified by his light, not so tan skin.

Powers/Skills:
Gabriel is a self stylized hero, with all of his equipment and gear being items he has acquired through meager funds and persuasion. However, that isn't to say he lacks skill or abilities beyond the normal human. Capable of willingly phasing through objects of his choice, Gabriel has used his power to supplement an adept level of training with two kukri, allowing him to fight using the curved weapons while still phasing effectively during combat.

Of course, despite Gabriel's talents and gifts, he is only human, and an unexpected bullet or knife still drops him just like everyone else. Unknown to him, though, magic and him don't exactly get along; anything of an arcane nature seems... well, unphased by his abilities, and will hit him just as badly as if he hadn't tried to avoid it at all.

Equipment/Resources:
•Two Kukri- Gabriel's preferred weapons, these two knives, if you can call them that, are models of the weapons traditionally used by Indian Gurkhas, measuring 24.5 inches from pommel to tip and crafted in a black metal, including the blades. Bought from a pawn shop where they were sold as "machetes," he's used them for his entire career as a vigilante, and they haven't failed him yet. The sheaths he has are typically strapped to both sides of his hips, on the utility belt he wears.
•Utility Belt- Nowhere near the level of the famed Batman's, Gabriel's utility belt is a black strap of material with a few pockets that he managed to find at an army surplus store. Nevertheless, it is a valuable piece of equipment, holding up his sheaths for the kukri he uses and giving him pockets for a few other tools.
•CD and Flashdrive of 80's hits- Never one to skip a chance to fight bad guys to a good song, Gabriel works hard to find some way to incorporate his jams into a fight, and so has these two pieces of "very important" equipment to give him options and possibilities.
•Ball Bearings- Filling one of his utility belt's pockets, these metal orbs are easily found at a hardware store, and serve a variety of purposes, from annoying projectiles to slippery terrain.

Biography: Being born in Romania, people don't have much chance at being special. They're not American, or British, or Russian, or Chinese, so to the world, they aren't important. At least, that was what it seemed like to Gabriel, growing up in the small town he called home. But unlike so many in Romania, and so many people he knew, he had a way out; father was a man of importance, working in the big corporate buildings that represented Ford Romania. Ford was American; Ford was special. At age seven, Gabriel was already thinking ahead, wanting to be special, and when his father found opportunity outside the country, the young boy was all too excited when, after a week of thought, his parents decided yes.

The real adventures of Gabriel Ardelean began on the shores of England, as he stepped from the plane and into the sprawling city: London. Walking through the streets, he saw people who knew they were important, men and women in suits and ties on sidewalks and buses going here and there and... The young boy's imagination ran wild. Each person gave him a new story to make up as to why they were special. They were British; of course they were special. Soon, he would be British, and he would be special too.

English seemed to almost come natural. He loved it. New words meant new ideas, and when he wanted to be secretive, he could hide behind his old language. The other kids tried making fun of him. He didn't care, and they found a more reluctant victim, who squealed and cried and gave them more fun. Gabriel, however, blended in, assimilated, and became one of them. He was British, absorbing the culture and becoming one with society, until noone could tell he was Romanian. He loved it in England, where opportunity abounded, and the country's power could be felt in his bones. It wasn't America, but it was a step up, and it was home...

Then one day, it wasn't. Mother had lung cancer, stage four, terminal, and it took six months of anxiety, stress, false hope, and finally, reluctant resignation before it claimed her. Father had lost a spark of energy, and London was full of memories, sour yet sweet, nostalgic yet miserable. Gabriel was fourteen at the time, and had just began to try and find himself. His father came to him, and after a talk, they agreed: their time in London was done. Mr. Ardelean had sealed a promotion: Dearborn, Michigan, home of Ford. They were going to America.

American English wasn't like British English. Gabriel said normal things, and he'd get funny looks. He relearned, and reaclimated, but he needed a solace. Mother wasn't there anymore. Sports were a no. Video games were a no. Art was a no. English was a no. By the time he reached martial arts, he expected another no... but he loved it, and it loved him, allowing him to focus, to channel, to think beyond the past. It gave him opportunity, and he took it. But, while inside he was struggling, finding strength through physical exertion and his newfound love of music, outside, his facade began to form, for father. He appeared happy go lucky, quick witted, and relaxed. He smiled, he laughed, he joked, he played, until the facade began to seep in, and his sorrow faded away.

Then he began to fade away, in a more literal fashion. Living in a two floor home, he'd woken up under the bed, on the fridge in the kitchen below, and in the basement. They had thought it was sleep walking, and had played it off on that. That is, until he'd been walking home, returning from a friend's house, and a driver who'd had three too many made a mistake. Gabriel should have died, then and there, and indeed, in a way he did. He became a phantom, as car and driver passed through him and into the yard beyond. Scared and confused, Gabriel ran, returning home putting it away as he tried to forget.

He couldn't. The memory burned, and hesitantly, he began to explore what he could do, always in secret or alone. He moved through walls, floors, passed his hand through fans, and stuck it through the fridge. He began to test it further, and took knives to his arm, only for them to pass through, stuck his fingers in graters, only for them to return unharmed. He was special, and not because he was American, but because he was Gabriel.

When high school ended, he started getting ideas, and decided to avoid mainstream colleges. What he wanted to do wouldn't work with a college schedule, and as he began to form ideas, he worked harder, practicing his fighting skills and teaching himself how to use some "machetes" from a pawn shop. He moved away, to Detroit, and a job as a mechanic got him an apartment with some income. Months passed, and on his twentieth birthday, Gabriel headed into the streets. There, Phantom was born, and he has prowler the city streets ever since.