Callum Isaac Thompson
Cal- Cal is what most people call him, and it's how he introduces himself. People only use Callum when they're trying to piss him off.

17

Male

Student at Verona High

One word to describe Cal's appearance? Charming. He has the soft, kind eyes of someone who cares, sparkling blue with an intent to listen. His face is soft, not so much pudgy, but he doesn't have a jawline that could cut diamond by any means. When he smiles, his eyes crinkle up at the corners, and it gives it this sort of, infectious vibe, something that's always made him a good person to be around in the event that you're feeling down. He's well built, with broad shoulders and a body that implies he spends a few days at the gym, but nothing particularly special. His hair is dirty blonde and tends to have a few strands sticking out here and there, though he does his best to keep the rest of his appearance rather pleasing to the eye. His skin can best be described as sunkissed, lightly tanned with a smattering of freckles that cover his cheeks and nose. All in all, Cal is an attractive boy, with an air of kindness and warmth about him.

How does one describe Cal Thompson? To most, he's Verona's Golden Boy. Smart, funny, and genuinely kind, it's hard for most not to like him. He's a clear extrovert, seeming well at home whenever he's in any social situations, and he gets along well with pretty much everyone. Even those who dislike him will rarely ever see his ire. He's known for having a cool and collected demeanor, and always being willing to crack a joke. Having grown up in Riveredge, most people suspect that he's a bit of a snob, when in fact, he doesn't seem to subscribe to any of his grandfather's views. He's a genuinely good person who only seeks to help others.

Throughout Cal's life, his greatest enemy has always been himself. He's insecure, and has some major trust issues. He's reluctant to ever make true friendships, and so many people see just golden exterior that he shows to the world. Inside, he's constantly doubting his words, his abilities, and his friendships. He endeavors to focus on other people's problems and attempt to fix them because he's not quite sure he can fix his own. This means he has some trouble staying out of other people's business, though he does always mean well. His insecurities and the anxiety that comes along with them, has also given rise to some control issues, and he gets incredibly stressed out when he can't seem to manipulate the situation at hand. Despite all his flaws though, Cal is a decent guy as well as a loyal friend.

As far as gender goes, Cal isn't too picky. He's pretty sure he's bi, though he hasn't quite figured out wheter or not he has a preference. Cal would very much like to believe he's not one to have a type, but he certainly does. Blondes have always caught his eye, as have redheads, though he's the first to say that he is definitely one who would prefer a long term relationship with someone who's smart and funny, rather than just pretty.

The Thompsons are what you would call, "old money." Way back when Verona was founded, a Thompson was there, already thinking of ways he could make money off of the sleepy little town. That man, Jeremiah Thompson, would go on to open the first general store in town, Thompson's. Yeah, yeah, I know. Jeremiah was a lot of things, but creative was never one of them. Thompson's would go on to be a great success, mainly because it was the only general store in the burgeoning town, and also because Jeremiah's competition had a nasty habit of being killed. As you can see, the Thompsons don't exactly come from a very nice man.

Fast forward a few generations and you get the Thompsons of present day Verona. There's Eli, Cal's grandfather, and his wife, Lucille. That brings us to Cal and his mother, the stain upon the Thompson line. Cal's mother, Lillian, had quite the rebellious streak back in high school, which brought a great amount of aggravation to her parents, especially her father. When she finally did turn 18, she ran off with her high school sweetheart, vowing to never return to Verona until she'd made her way in the world. One year later she was on her parent's doorstep, newborn Cal in her arms.

Lillian had gotten pregnant around three months after she'd left Verona. She and her boyfriend had gotten an apartment in Seattle, a sleazy little place where Lillian practiced her art. During the pregnancy their relationship flourished. But when Cal was born, his father was nowhere to be found. He left a note, saying that she shouldn't look for him as he'd be much too hard to find. He explained that the responsibility was too much, and had fled. He never did say sorry though. Lillian was left with no other choice but Verona.

At home, Cal was raised by his mother and his grandparents, and was raised a true Thompson. His grandmother doted on him, and was happy to care for him while Lillian was off at school. In truth, she was just thrilled that she had gotten her daughter back. As for his grandfather, he looked at Cal like a rodent. He avoided the young boy like a plague, and always held him and his mother at an arms length, something that has never seemed to improve.

Growing up, Cal did his best to impress his grandfather, though it never did much good. He seemed to have a constant hatred for the bastard who had, in his eyes, ruined his daughter's life. Cal's insecurities can surely be traced back to these moments of his grandfather's disapproval, although he doesn't quite realize it. Entering high school, Cal flourished among the other students. He excelled in most of his classes, especially English, and he was planning on making a career out of it. That is, until three days ago. After the sickness had lifted, Cal found himself able to do very, very strange things, things that have made him think that he should surely do something with these newfound abilities. The only question, is what?

Telekinesis

Mastermind

As of now, Cal can move small objects with his mind. Nothing much heavier than a textbook, and even that gets difficult, but he can do it. He doesn't need hand motions or anything else to do it, just a shit ton of concentration, and something to move. With smaller, lighter objects, he seems to be able to pick up more, but the heavier he goes, the less control he has, meaning the less he can pick up.

As of now, Cal's limit is pretty low. Nothing heavier than a textbook, and going past that gives him excruciating headaches. He also can't seem to use his powers on himself, and it's unclear if he'll ever be able to. His ability does have a range as well, maxing out at about six feet, and anything past that appears to be untouchable. Extended use of his power causes a pretty harsh bloody nose, as well as some bad headaches.

Charlotte Elizabeth Gallows
Charlie- Just call her Charlie, or else the poor thing is going to get all stressed out about correcting you and you'll just call her Charlotte forever and she'll hate it.

17

Female

She's a student at Verona High, and also tutors for a small fee.

Charlie is beautiful, at least in the conventional meaning of the term. She may not think so, but it doesn't make it any less true. Her skin is ivory in tone, and clear of any freckles, zits, or other blemishes. Her hair is golden blonde, falling just a little bit past her shoulders in silky waves. She's slender, naturally fortunately, because she has no time at all for the gym. To many however, her most prominent features are her eyes. Blue in color, they hold years of wisdom, and sparkle with the dreams that Charlie has yet to see come true. They mesmerize people, not that she would ever notice.

Charlie is a dreamer. That's the easiest way to put it. She dreams of seeing the world, of doing great things, of making a difference. A kind, intelligent girl, her dreams often keep her from missing the world around her. Shy and bookish, it's most likely that Charlie is holed up in a library somewhere, reading The Odyssey for the fifth time, rather than enjoying the rager over in Riveredge. She isn't necessarily antisocial, she's just far more inclined to spend her time alone than with others. When it does come to people though, she's extremely kind, and always does her best to make them feel welcome in her life, even if she'd rather be alone. Also to her credit is her intelligence. She's an incredibly smart girl, and has consistently ranked top of her class at Verona High, a feat that she's quite proud of.

Charlie's weaknesses definitely fall in the social category. She isn't one to stand up and fight, and as such, her ideas tend to get steamrolled by the louder voices in a group. Sometimes this even applies to her herself. She's definitely a pushover, unfortunately. She also is very naive. Years of romanticizing the outside world have left her extremely trusting of it, and as such, she doesn't quite pick up on the subtleties of human nature. She's most definitely far more book smart than street smart.

Charlie is most certainly a romantic. As such, she desires a boy who will do anything for her, handsome and charming, someone who will sacrifice everything just for her happiness. Not that she'd ever let him, but it's the thought that counts. Any guy who could play to her romantic fantasies could easily win her heart.

Vincent Gallows has never been much more than the town drunk. Even when he was a teenager, he was considered the town's failure. He was known for causing trouble at all hours of the night, leaving vulgar graffiti all over Riveredge, and being the only teenager in Verona with two DUIs. He wasn't ever a great guy. The town's pity only increased when his girlfriend ended up knocked up, only a few years out of high school. Juliette Larkin was, for the most part, a good girl. How she and Vincent ended up together is still a mystery to Charlie. But unfortunately, they did, and Charlie was the first born of their very unhappy union.

Growing up, affection was never given to her by her father. He worked and drank, and that was pretty much it. Her mother did do her best to give her a good life though, and made sure she knew that she was loved. Charlie's not quite sure where she'd be without her mother. The Gallows were never rich however, and Charlie didn't alleviate any of their money troubles. Vincent's oddly biblical adherance to the rule of no birth control would lead to four more children as Charlie grew up, her sisters Danielle and Harriet, and her brothers, Jackson and Luke. Charlie became the children's mother of sorts in the absence of their parents, who both began working their asses off to feed their growing family.

As Charlie moved through the grades, she did her best to excel academically, knowing damn well that she wouldn't be getting into college with her parents money. Throughout the years, it's kept her from the party scene, and has certainly kept her from any relationships, but she knows her dreams of seeing the world will never come true without a scholarship. Even in the event of a scholarship however, she's not sure if she'll be able to leave behind her siblings, and she worries that she may one day be stuck in Verona, though with her newfound abilities, that may not be the case, a thought that thrills her.

Teleportation

Aberration

Charlie's ability allows her to teleport herself to any place she's ever physically been, so long as she's within a mile of her destination. Currently, she may only teleport herself, and she must have actually been to the place she'd like to teleport herself to, though she believes that both of these limitation may be lifted the more she works on her ability.

As of now, teleporting more than twice an hour leaves Charlie feeling pretty tired, and pushing even farther gives her a pretty nasty headache. Trying to teleport anything else also results in the second thing being lost somewhere along the way, though this has only been tested once. Charlie's a bit worried to try it again, lest she end up lost somewhere in between time and space, or wherever it is she travels through.

Asa Benjamin Harlow

Twenty-Eight

Male

Deputy Sheriff

Asa merely looks like he could break in half - he's not a literal twig, nor is he really a beanpole. Years of swimming in high school has allowed his body to form sleek muscles built more so for speed than sheer strength. It's obvious there's still that same musculature beneath the baggy clothes he tends to wear - sweaters, sweatshirts, things that keep him cozy - even if it's waned a tad, in the years. The one thing that often fits, like was truly tailored to fit him, is his Deputy uniform. Everything else, the jeans, the shorts, even the shoes tend to either vary on a size or two too big. There's something about having room to breathe that appeals to Asa.

Everything down to the way Asa talks seems concerned with what to do next. Nothing goes without a plan and it's seen in the pace Asa walks, the goals he sets for himself, and the way he speaks - with a purpose, brief, and to the point. He'll talk in a rumbling baritone, but it's never without a crisp diction even if it tends to riddle itself with vocal pauses - he, at least, sounds like he knows whatever he's talking about. Asa's formal, professional, and anything but casual... or, well, he likes to think. Showing weakness is a thing Asa's rather adamant against, but there are plenty of moments where the rigid spine that holds Asa in place relaxes. He finds moments of peace, mostly outside of work, though there's always a spot on edge. Both ears and eyes tune in on more than just one piece of conversation; he's a fox, alert and ready to jolt into a position easiest to defend himself whether physically or emotionally.

Everyone sees Asa in his calmest, a state he doesn't often waver from. Verona finds itself in the smack dab middle-of-nowhere, Washington with absolute shit-all to worry about. Therefore, Asa's disposition keeps steady. No room for an 'action-reaction' type of scenario when the only things to react to fall into a not so subtle rumor mill that churns its way through town. Thus, Asa comes off friendly, albeit aloof; kind, albeit isolated. To most around town, he's simply Deputy.

A brutal cynic, wary of trust in even those he calls close. People only catch a glimpse of Asa, as he tends to stray from catching himself in a vulnerable moment. If anything, Asa's smart enough to know that people see him in a certain light, so regardless of whether they trust him or not, he requires their trust to operate. It's a funny one-way street: he keeps people at a distance, purely to keep from getting burned, yet he expects them to give him their unwavering confidence. He never denied being a hypocrite, that's for certain. His personal barriers aren't infallible, however, and many people often pick up on his own morals if they tend to hang around him quite often. Thus, many of his coworkers, while still having only a surface reading of Asa, tend to realize he's kind of a dick.

Everything, to Asa, comes down to self-reliance. It leaves a man capable of learning various things efficiently, with much room for adaptability. Asa finds he often reaches various methods in which he can do one thing, though goes with the simplest out of necessity - switching to other methods in just a turn of the clock. It's a natural inclination for self-preservation that's made its way into his everyday life. Something dumb like 'Survival of the Fittest.' It almost simply means he's undoubtedly reliable. Responsibilities, to him, are menial tasks.

For a man who boasts being purely self-sufficient, once he's stuck in a rut he's stuck for a long time. Having a philosophy boil down to only relying on the self tends to leave most people in a bind once they hit an obstacle they can't traverse alone. Asa is nothing if not tenacious, however, and will quite literally drag himself the entire distance he needs. Unfortunately, tenacious also means stubborn and refusing help nearly 100% of the time is one of his specialties. Bottling emotions never helps. Never asking for help never helps. Asa does both things, which almost always ends up with a rock bottom, explosive self-destruction.

Ah, yes, the romance. Asa's disposition almost elevates him above petty games of love. Love is child's play; people are too selfish for love; love isn't real. But, like, who is he kidding? Asa craves love and affection, in fact he often daydreams about that perfect guy. Predictably, it's an individual he can trust without a doubt, someone who he can share his vulnerabilities with, cry in front of and rant about the dumbest shit. Share his dreams with, fruitless or not. Of course, the cynic in him has no doubts that this is an impossibility. There's no one in the world that Asa could trust implicitly and both love unconditionally and be loved unconditionally. Which is why he puts up a block for himself and doesn't delve deeper than meaningless friendships. Possibly a few one night stands here and there in a different town or city, but he's sworn off anyone in Verona; rumor mills are vicious.

Most people aren't born cynics; that, itself, is true for Asa. Of course, cynic or not, trust issues had always been one of those things that made Asa typically prickly, even in his youth. In the past, he offered a more amicable personality. People considered him rough around the edges, but, like a cactus, Asa didn't do much harm unless someone actually did want a face full of fist.

That much said, Asa loved his dad like nothing else. If any group of people boasted trustworthiness that had to be family. Unconditional love rang true for people tied by blood. That's what Asa thought. However, his father died his sophomore year of high school. Drunk driver collided headfirst, a large truck into his father's tiny little Prius - anyone could guess what happened to his father, then. Hit Verona headlines, or at least the obituaries; the actual accident happened on the interstate heading toward Seattle. People gave the family their condolences, but eventually moved on. Even if small towns had stubborn memories, most didn't dwell on these things aside from the family. People went through their stages of grief, so did Asa.

Senior year of high school brought with it his mother's boyfriend, which soon turned into his mother's fiance, and finally his mother's husband - and his asshole of a son. He came away from that wedding bitter - at his mother, at her boy toy, at the world. It didn't help that his new step-dad didn't wait until that night to reveal that Asa's bitterness was justified. His new "father" kept most of his outbursts under wraps. He didn't hit his mother and step-brother too much, and in between he made sure to dote on her. Typical of an abusive man, gaslighting his victims. The man learned early not to touch him. Asa didn't mind the pain, as long as he could get even. The only thing stopping Asa from calling the sheriff's department was the man's threats toward his mother's life.

Thus, Asa made sure that the next time he got even with the man, it would be with finality. Which drove Asa to head into the nearest city's police academy and become appointed by the then Sheriff as one of the county's Deputy Sheriffs. A long and arduous deal, he then took up all the evidence he could without his step-father catching him, and got his step-brother to file a report in order for him to turn the evidence in. Locked up his father for a good 10 years after the arrest ended with Asa sporting a bloody nose and the man's own criminal record acting against him.

It should have ended with that. His mother should have been happy to have the man gone, grateful to have her life again. His step-brother should've been able to pick himself back up, afterwards. Things shouldn't have gone the way they did, but they did.

She lashed out at him after everything ended, told him he was a shitty son. Told him his father would have been ashamed of him. Didn't want to see him again. Called him an assortment of names. And his step-brother ended up stealing his mom's car and booking it to Seattle where he eventually OD'd on ecstasy at a rave. Probably even took up vaping of all things. Verona looked at him differently, for awhile, mostly confused at what had occurred. They got over it.

And now a few years later he wakes up to his apartment room coated in layers and layers of ice and frost, his blanket shattered on the ground in shards of frozen fabric, and a massive headache to boast. For awhile, anything he touch froze and when he'd reach for something, a blast of ice would freeze whatever he'd reach for solid. A day or two and his room's no longer frozen, but everything is soaking wet and unusable and now it's just a matter of not panicking.

Ice Manipulation

Ascendant

Currently, there's only a handful of things that Asa can do in any given situation:

Brooks Lockwood

46

Male

Chief of Police/Sheriff

Brooks stands at around 5’10 with a stocky figure and a rotund belly. His hair was once a darkish brown, but the roots are starting to shine silver with age. His face is lined and darkened with a faint stubble. From behind his dark, bushy brows Brooks’ blue eyes are usually squinted to accompany the habitual scowl on his face.

When he isn’t wearing his sheriff uniform, Brooks has a penchant for freshly ironed shirts and faded jeans, old leather jackets and sunglasses even when he doesn’t really need them.

To the average guy, Brooks seems like a sarcastic asshole. He’s the type of man who’s seen enough to be unfazed by pretty much anything a backwoods town like Verona could throw at him, and as a result he’s clearly taking it easy. He’s a very direct with his words, to the point of being undiplomatic.

You can tell he places a lot of importance on the wellbeing of family by the way he looks after his own; it’s one of the few occasions where one would be able to see that Brooks is a loving, caring individual.

Brooks is very career-driven and puts a level of professionalism into his work, but has recently become a little more informal due to the lack of criminality in the town. He can be very defensive when it comes to threats against him or anyone he cares about. He’s quick to anger and difficult to impress. He has a strict sense of what’s right and wrong, but he’s very lenient when it comes to bending the rules to ensure that justice is carried out.

When he says he likes "assertive women" what he really means is that he likes "bossy bitches".

Born into a catholic family consisting of a strict but loving mother and a tough, not-so-loving father, Brooks grew up in a world of “tough love”. Being lucky enough to have been raised in a lower middle-class baltimore family, Brooks’ life didn’t look all too bleak. However with the type of crowds he hung out, and the people he called friends, one could only become either a cop or a robber. Years passed and Brooks decided to pick up the shield, serving in the force for many more to come.

Eventually, with the toll of age along with a significant personal reason, Brooks decided to get away from it all and move someplace more quiet and peaceful.
Even though Brooks wanted to escape the pressures of policing, he wasn’t prepared to retire completely. Moving to Verona would had given him the perfect opportunity for that; he was accepted into the required role of sheriff due to his experience.

Brooks has been serving as Sheriff for the past 2 years, ensuring Verona remains peaceful and quiet.

Super Endurance

Olympian

Incredibly durable skin, allows protection against all average weaponry. Firearms/blunt/blade.

Brooks still requires oxygen, thus a lack of air could still lead to his demise. Standard medical tools and syringes can’t penetrate his skin, surgeries to treat any internal wounds become extremely difficult.

James Yoon

His Korean name is Yoon Jaedong and it is only used by family or when he goes to Korea. Unless you happen to be a close friend, he will take it as a personal insult if you call him something like Jim, Jamie, Jimmy Boy or Jae Dongerino. In turn, he refuses to call people by their nicknames, unless they absolutely insist.

18

Male

High School Student (12th year)

James doesn't exactly look like much. His height is average (5'8") and his scrawny lean build isn't anything to write home about too. Attractiveness is subjective, but even with his ulzzang-like features, he'll swear up and down that he's average in that regard as well. He possesses sharp black eyes and lightly tanned peach skin. There's not much marring it, but if you somehow see him shirtless, you'll see a couple of burn marks on his hairless chest. Not exactly emotionally heavy scars, they're just the result of a cooking accident. The only thing he'll admit to looking good is his hair. His sole pride, James has short and straight chocolate brown hair, maintained as best he can.

A look at his day-to-day clothing habits paints James as a simple dresser preferring timeless styles. Jackets, sweaters and artsy t-shirts with muted colors are recurring items that he is fond of wearing. He also has precisely one type of dark trousers to wear on normal occasions and owns ten identical pairs of said trousers for practical reasons.

James rarely shows himself up as anyone noteworthy. He comes across as an amiable, polite boy and yet also mysterious and out of the way at the same time. Despite this, in his long history of living and growing up in Verona, his peers have learned to respect him in varying degrees. He has a strong sense of respect and dignity, both for himself and for others. Unless you do something to offend him, he will treat you with utmost respect and courtesy, but more importantly, refuses to let others do the opposite him. Considering his position as head of the Lincoln Memorial High School Student Body, this doesn't exactly happen unless you're one of those rebel types.

There are few among his acquaintances in Verona that James can proudly call a close friend, but those who are will be subject to his more...embarrassing habits. Let's just be affront about it, he loves that endearing sensation of physical contact. It's a thing with Koreans, apparently. He'll often affectionately hug, tickle and play with his friends when given the chance to do so without harming his image as a benevolent dictator. Keep in mind that he does this to his friends regardless of their genders and is done without any sort of romantic or sexual intent. He makes sure they know that.

James takes his responsibilities as both a leader and a person seriously. All that he does, he does it with the best interests in mind. His own or otherwise. He sees Verona as an extension of his being; its problems become his problems as well. He recalls being especially troubled when he saw people getting sick from out of nowhere, despite him feeling no such qualms when the same symptoms happen upon him. This makes him one of the most exemplar and active young man in the city, don't let that skin-deep humility fool you. See him walking down the streets when you're in a bind, he'll lend a helping hand, no questions asked (for the most part).

He's also that kind of guy who loves it when a plan comes together. He feels out of comfort when tackling adversity with purely gut feeling and desires to be prepared for any sort of situation. Thus, to prepare for any sort of situation, he considers any sort of knowledge, connection and trick valuable. Not to make him sound like a manipulative sociopath, but the first things that come to his mind when meeting a new person usually goes, in order, "Who are they? How can I benefit from knowing them? Can I stop them from taking advantage of me and turn the tables on them?". Lots of overthinking goes on in every step he takes, but not enough to make him question the road.

Where James falls flat, however, is when it comes to his natural stubbornness. Don't get me wrong, he's not opposed to outside input in his decision-making, but when it comes right down to it, he has full dominion over his opinions and not a single soul alive can forcefully get him to think a certain way. There's absolutely no compromising with him when he's at his worst. It's his way or the highway, but his way usually gets everyone there effectively. Comfortably? Not so much.

To put it simply, James is a heavy-handed yet pleasant person to be around, always having the best for you in mind. Be excellent to him and he will most definitely be excellent to you in turn.

To be honest, the topic of love has stayed out of James' mind until well into his second year of high school. It wasn't that he saw it as a distraction, it just stayed irrelevant for a long time. Now with a good majority of his friends having boyfriends and girlfriends in tow, perhaps it was time for James to get with the program. The idea of being together with a person he loves is nothing short of tantalizing. Plenty of wonderful women were present in his school, but none have yet given him that spark. That feel of intense caring and passion. 'Till then, he remains open.

...Though speaking hypothetically, the ideal partner for James is a cute-attractive (not necessarily beautiful) girl of his age group. She ideally has a sense of romance and cares for him as much as he cares for her. She also needs to be prepared for both his rough moments and his touchy-feely moments.

Born and raised right here in Verona like his father, Yoon 'James' Jaedong traces his lineage to an angry South Korean nurse named Yoon Hanmin who emigrated to the United States because Private Harvey Lloyd, an American soldier, owed her loads of gambling money. Somehow, someway, she tracked him down to Seattle and after a heated argument that was inches away from coming to blows, the two came to an agreement. Hanmin would lift the debt if he married her right now. Seeing how smoking hot she was, Harvey found it best to agree. They settled in his old mother's house, but moved out to the small town of Verona a few years after. In an ironic twist, it was because Hanmin owed a nasty gang gambling money that she couldn't pay out.

So goes the story that his grandmother liked to tell, anyway. Everyone has that feeling that the story was fabricated and her coming into Verona was much more boring than she let on, but Harvey died of tetanus long ago, so he can't testify! Anyway, Hanmin gave birth to a son, Yoon 'Andrew' Noya. He would later move to Vancouver for his studies and actually met his girlfriend and future wife there, Helen Ling. The couple planned to stay in Vancouver, but upon hearing that his mother was now alone after the death of his father by tetanus, they made the decision to move back there and keep old lady Hanmin company (and stop her from gambling). Andy found work at a general store and Helen ended up being the organist at the local church after the previous one passed away. Not long after they settled in Verona, little Jaedong was born, later christened James.

James was and is a good kid. Growing up, he was surrounded with love and care, which prompted him to want to give others the same treatment. The level at which he cared for what was going on with the town and the people in it was incredible for a child barely 10. The rest of his childhood passed by without much excitement. James' passing into adolescence was, for lack of a better word, boring, but he wouldn't have it any other way.

Middle and high school life seemed to suit him perfectly as it was there that he discovered his capacity for intellect. People expected this small fry to be just another nerd like any other, but James was not about that life, they would soon find out. Not only focusing on his own academics, he strived to make his peers' studies excellent as well. He'd go around offering help with homework and lessons, free of charge. He became renowned in Lincoln Memorial High for the go-to guy if you needed help with studies. Everyone knew him, a good number of them respected him. It shouldn't come as a surprise that some time later, James was elected as President of the Student Body. A great honor for him, to be sure.

Eighteen years into life, and everything in his life was going all according to plan. Then the strange occurrences happened to Verona. Unstable weather, sudden sicknesses and James was no exception. He fell victim to the fevers and aches that came from nowhere, which culminated in a deep sleep...

And upon waking up, he found himself floating above his own body, like a ghost. This development scared him shitless as first, but soon found that it was something he could control. This was a power. Perhaps he could use this to help people further.

Astral Projection

Mystic

James is able to separate his 'soul' from his body, essentially turning him into a ghost. While in this 'ethereal' form, his body enters complete torpor; it cannot move and his heartbeat slows drastically, giving the appearance of death. It's proven that other people cannot see his ethereal form. In turn, he cannot interact with the physical world at all. Touching people or solid surfaces will only make him pass through them. He also apparently is not affected by gravity while separating from his body; he can freely float, hover and fly.

Having only possessed this kind of power for a whopping three days, James can't quite say he's mastered this ability yet. For one, he can accidentally become ethereal at any moment. When under emotional duress, shocked or just plain dozing off, he could slip into the ethereal world just like that if he isn't careful. He also assumes that there is a limit as to how long he can stay ethereal as going longer than twenty minutes resulted in his body nosebleeding and shivering out of control. Also, James finds being in ethereal form liberating. So much so that remaining in his body as usual just feels like drudging through tar. Doing something as simple as walking seems like a chore now and that is going to affect him greatly.