● Ben Robert Cummings ●

● 28 ●

● Male ●

● Garbage Man ●

Ben is almost constantly wearing a depressed face, and he always talks in a low tone of voice. He is fairly muscular, and would be considered attractive if he didn't have a constant 5 o'clock shadow and looked like his dog just died. He rarely dresses formally, and nearly every piece of his attire has some sort of stain or blemish. He has dark brown eyes and and curly, black hair. He wears a small bracelet on his wrist constantly, even when he sleeps, which appears to be handmade. He stands at 5'11 (180.34 cm) and weighs 173 lbs (78.47 kg). He talks in a deep voice and wears dark clothing. A small, cheap set of earphones is carried in his pockets for use while working, and he rarely looks like he has had a good night's sleep. His biggest feature is the large scar that traces itself from his bottom lip all the way to his chest, a remnant from the accident that took away his daughter. He is very pale, a combination of only leaving his home during the night time and having few, if any, windows in his home.

Out of all the emotions out there, Ben is best described with sadness. Nearly every person he has ever cared about has died, and he has not held up well. Years of little interaction outside of work has caused him to be very 'out of the loop', displayed when he frequently freaks out and begin to apologize for any insult or complaint he receives. Ben develops relationships at a slow, snail-like pace, but his friendships quickly display themselves as harmful to him, particularly when he begins to rely on others to shop for him. Ben prefers to take the burden of other people's problems, and he would gladly be chewed out by a boss or superior if it meant someone would thank him. He does his best to keep others happy and has a tendency to make fun of himself for other people. He is very obsessive over his main hobby, weightlifting, and does it in almost all of his free time. Ben prefers to avoid direct confrontation, and will attempt methods such as letters or emails before resorting to such. Ben thinks of his power as a god-given gift that are to be used for the benefit of others, and will become agitated if someone uses their power to commit crimes. He places other people far above himself, and would more than willingly sacrifice himself for a complete stranger. Ben REFUSES to touch alcohol, and will do nearly anything to avoid doing so.

Ben is attracted to short, soft women who are, or at least appear to be, weak. Someone who is in need of protection and require his help are what tickle his fiddle, and he is in a mighty need for someone who relies on him. Women who are in a more traditional role, or are unable to function on their own in society. Unfortunately, however, ever since his wife died, he has become completely detached from dating or creating a relationship. He became afraid of commitment, and now he tries to keep himself as far away from women that attract him as possible. He wouldn't do that to Laura.

Ben was born on a cold, November night in Baltimore, Maryland. His parents soon moved to Verona in order to 'escape the city life'. Ben quickly grew to be just like his father, becoming a sort of 'meathead'. Playing football and eating at barbecue dominated his childhood, until the age of 12. Ben's father, an alcoholic, died at the age of 43 from a drunk driving incident. Ben was left with a single, grief-stricken mother, and got a job as a secretary at the Town Hall at the young age of 14. For the next 4 years, Ben worked tirelessly to provide for his depressed mother and, on his 18th birthday, she committed suicide.

Having lost both of his guardians, he moved into a small home with his high school girlfriend, Laura Stevens. The next year would prove to be very difficult, and numerous arguments erupted throughout their small home. Eventually, however, they came out stronger, with Ben sporting a job as a garbage man and a wife. Only nine months later, and Emily Cummings was born, a healthy baby girl. Things were finally beginning to look up for Ben.

His wife died only a year later. The cause? Apparently, a trip to visit Ben's grandparents in Baltimore proved far less hospitable than they had anticipated. Laura was stabbed repeatedly, and bled out from her wounds. The perpetrator then beat Ben to a pulp, and left him next to the corpse of his wife. They were never convicted of their crimes, and still roam those streets.

Ben's return was met with the constant reminder of his wife: from the furniture, to the poorly constructed sandwiches he began to ate during his lunch breaks, to the soft, green eyes of his daughter. Ben did everything he could to support Emily, driving her to and from school, working over time to buy her gifts, and even setting aside nearly a fourth of his income for her college education. Unfortunately, fate wasn't done screwing with Ben's life. His daughter, Emily died at the age of 5 from a hit-and-run. The only thing Ben had to remember her by was the small bracelet she had made for his 26th birthday.

The next 2 years were spent in a blur, and Ben had been an emotional train wreck ever since. The only difference between the days were the type of exercises he did, and the weather outside. Sometimes, he would pause and begin to wonder what day of the week it was. Other times, all the things that had happened would come crashing down, causing the very clothes around him to feel white hot and sharp, forcing him to pause and reflect. That all changed on Thursday, November 10th.

The day began far differently than any other he had experienced, with a sever migraine and several nosebleeds. Ben slowly trudged his way to work and, while in the middle of driving, crashed into a tree. He awoke twelve hours later, gasping for breath with tears pouring down his face. He had fallen into a coma, and he was in a hospital. Luckily, Ben had more than enough money to pay the bill. After all, his daughter... wasn't going to use it. He began to make the drive back to Verona later that day.

Just as he was making his way to his front door, he was no longer in his body. Now, he was a floating entity, observing a boy playing in the middle of the street. Several seconds later, a Sudan plowed through the boy, leaving a red puddle in it's wake. Just as suddenly as it arrived, Ben was back to normal, looking around the entire neighborhood in astonishment. Standing 20 feet away, in the middle of the street, was a small child, directly in the path of a brown Sudan barrelling down the road. Ben ran with all his might and, with a few seconds to spare, managed to pull the boy to safety. After a heart-felt thanks from the boy's mother, Ben had already decided what to do with his gift. He was going to save... Everyone.

● Future Sight ●

● Mystic ●