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Name: Alman Kastrati

Alias: Astromancer

Nicknames: Alms

Age: 17

Gender: A boi

Personality: Alman has a generally pleasant demeanor, and seems to be "chill" most of the time. He is noted to be highly enamored by ‘cute, fluffy animals’, and possesses a keen sense of intuition of trustworthiness. Alman is pretty protective of those folks he happens to like, though those that he had a bad experience of could expect to be suddenly abandoned in the middle of a fight.

Aside from that, Alman is incredibly petty. Ruin his day, or his property? He’ll do the same, but he’ll try to make it a bit worse for whoever pissed on his parade. He is pretty much the embodiment of karma in this regard; actions will come back around, so better be nice to the guy, or else you’ll find yourself randomly inconvenienced by small, but infuriating things. Rule of thumb with Alman, then, is that he always returns to sender.

Appearance:

Biography: Alman wasn’t from Redline originally. Nor was he originally a citizen of the United States, either. His earliest memories, at least as far as he is willing to admit, traces back to their apartment in the city of Pristina, Kosovo, as the firstborn son of Selim and Jelena Kastrati.

Either way, Alman doesn’t remember all too much of his home country, as his family left it when he was five years old due to the highly volatile situation that it was in. They first arrived in New York City, and then moved up further north into Maine, where they finally settled down, somewhat. Now, they faced a whole new world.

As a child, he had the dream of becoming an astronaut, and reaching out towards the stars. Every night, he would look through the telescope, thinking of impossible dreams as typical for someone of such a young age. He knew every famous star and constellation, recognizing them as they shone in the night sky. Alman had quite a few difficulties with the English language, and was as such bullied for it in school, though that was simply the first reason. Other causes arose, namely because of his lack of aptitude for sports, and other generic reasons. He was passive though, and simply took it without telling anyone else, as he knew he couldn't fight back against the likes of them. Not like this. He would just get beaten even more. To make matters worse, his mother had been feeling unwell a lot of the time, but she always said that it was just her getting tired at work, which just made Alman worry to the point of being nearly physically sick. It seemed that the sorry state of everything was going to stay that way for a very long time.

One day, however, everything changed. Alman' mother had fallen ill. All those headaches weren’t just from the stress of work; it was a brain tumour. Alas, they didn't have the money to pay for the medication/medical bills to aid with her situation. She was, in all respects, dying.

In desperation, Alman’ father and uncle went to a dangerous, but deceptively friendly connection. They did not know what price they might pay in the process of getting the funds they required, but surely any sacrifice was worth it, if only her life was saved? By this point, Alman’ mother’s cancer was close to getting to a terminal stage, and there was little time left before it would begin to be difficult to dislodge.

That connection that they went to, it turned out, was a group for organized crime, who had them meet outside at night, where the Milky Way itself was visible in the sky. They were apparently willing to provide the money that the Kastratis needed, if only they would do something in return. That something, however, was heinous in its nature. Murderous, even. The boss wanted someone dead, and the assassination was their price. Alman father and uncle balked at this. They had expected something that would involve them and themselves alone, but it now seemed that this would be a life for a life. Now that they know who was the target, though, they cannot leave. Not until they say yes to the deal.

And so, the gangsters took hold of Alman’ father and uncle, and began to beat them to submission. The crime lord made him watch, forcibly keeping his eyes open even as he tried to look away. Here, he felt rage, and chaos. Rage at his father for believing that it was a good idea to plead the mafia for aid. Rage at the mafia for what they were now doing, and what they would make them do in exchange for a promise they may never carry out. He managed to close his eyes shut, if only for a moment, and heard only the chaos from his surroundings; the laughing of vicious thugs, the cries of pain, the sounds of blunt implements impacting against flesh. Rage. Disorder. They were all his to bear.

At that moment, an entity that skirted in the dimensions far above the ken of mortal perceptions found a suitable vessel. A shard unraveled, and in a split second, Alman was enlightened. He could now create the shiniest of lights, the fiercest of flames, the purest manifestation of starfire. And so, instead of his family being the victims that night, the gangsters were annihilated. Orbs of starlight burst into existence, setting clothing and flesh alight. The chaotic constellation that ensued wiped out the gangsters, purging them from the face of the earth. The gang were all dead, and the Kastrati clan still lived. The money, which had been in a suitcase as a fleeting proof of the deal they could have made, was now theirs for the taking. His mother will live, but at what cost?

Later in the morning, as the Kastratis recovered and spoke to one another about the events of last night, PRT investigations found traces of ionized gas within the area of concern, as well as charred bodies belonging to some of the most notorious gangsters in the state. Investigations pinpointed just who these gangsters were supposed to meet at the night, which led them to this moment. Self defense was cited as defensible cause for such wanton destruction, and the PRT didn't give chase.

That wasn't the end of it, however. Knowing that the expansive criminal network was never going to just let them go after this, Alman sought them out. One by one, the members of one of the great mafias in Maine were obliterated by undulating starfire. It took about a month of systematic annihilation, but in the end, they were wiped out. He would have thought that it was the end of the matter, with his mother cured and the gangsters purged from the face of the Earth, but he had to answer to someone else.

The PRT caught wind, and showed up in the Kastrati doorstep, having found that he had obliterated around a hundred or so 'people'. It was clear that Alman cannot remain in regular society like this. His parents were somewhat resistant to the idea that their only child is to go away from them, but they relented after about a week as the ultimatum became heavier. In exchange for around the clock protection for them, Alman was to enter the Wards Program.

Powers:
Classification: Blaster 6
Astromancy: Alman produces and channels plasma energy. He is as such able to create and maintain up to four miniature stars at a given time, with three distinct modes that operate in a sliding scale of heat and light. They can move at around 7 to 8 meters per second, with any turns requiring pauses in movement.

Mode 1 (Searing Star): Capable of melting through most metals, as well as turning sand into glass at physical contact. By far the dimmest, but the most potent in terms of destructive potential. These can immolate most materials that they may come across.

Mode 2 (Blinding Star): Little to no destructive capability, but the brightness emanating when it is created acts as a powerful flashbang, temporarily disorienting and blinding those who had not protected their eyes.

Mode 3 (Main Sequence): Seemingly unremarkable, these main sequence stars, as he calls them, are able to sear wood and stone, and can be difficult to look at for prolonged periods. This is the foundation from which the other two derive from in their creation.
Skills: When he was still unpowered, Alman was noted to be a great painter.
Other: No girlfriend since birth, sadly.

Name: Dwayne Lauder/James Chang

Alias: Webber

Nicknames: Jimi, Spider-boy, Oh Hell No

Age: 18

Gender: Male, he/they pronouns accepted

Personality: Jimi comes across as a typical, if perhaps overly cheerful, teenager at a glance. This glosses over some of his quirks, such as how superstitious he is, his somewhat fatalistic beliefs, and his need to be useful. Jimi is cheerful and optimistic, true, about everything but himself. For his part, he's convinced he's host to an evil spirit and one day, it will consume everything he loves and cares about - so perhaps it's best his lot in life is kept small and insignificant. This steadfast belief is directly at odds with his desire to have friends and not be lonely. The only way he could find to reconcile the two was to employ his services for others, regardless of their moral code. He is fiercely loyal to whoever employs him, but it has not stopped him from apologizing whenever someone gets hurt. It was this attitude that made him a candidate for the Wards program.

Since joining the Wards program, Jimi's attitude appears to have improved immensely. The belief itself has not changed but, according to him, "if the spirit takes over, they can all probably destroy me before it destroys them". This he finds to be a satisfactory condition for friendship. In all likelihood, the 'evil spirit' is little more than constant intrusive thoughts manifesting themselves as desires for violence and death. That has not stopped Jimi from maintaining a small herb garden among his possessions, growing lavender and sage in particular to "ward off the evil spirit". His loyalty has expanded to "everyone here", but it's hard to tell how many of them he actually counts as 'friends'.

As a sidenote, Jimi's performance in academic subjects is exceedingly poor for his age, though his creativity has been growing.

Appearance: Standing at 5'5" - a bit shorter than average - Jimi's none-too-impressive build often leaves others with the impression that he can be pushed around, and nothing about the way he carries himself suggests otherwise. Most of his clothing is a size or two too large for him, and is mostly hoodies and jeans, with bandage wrappings under the hoodie. Thanks to those wrappings, he typically smells of lavender and sage. Under the wrappings are ten scattered eye tattoos, which he insists is part of the 'evil spirit's' manifestation. Testing has suggested that, their placement and realism aside, they are completely normal. On rainy days, he ends up with a slight limp on his right side and has made use of a simple plastic cane when not in costume.

Jimi had to be pressured into a cape costume, not entirely understanding the need for one (in his words, "I don't exactly stick out. Who's gonna recognize me?"). His costume is as plain as his general attire, colored green with gold accents and including a pinned scarf that can be easily removed if snagged and a full face mask.

Biography: Jimi's backstory, as he recalls it, opens in a ravine facing down multiple spiders. He startled, badly, before realizing he couldn't move. The spiders crawled around and even over him, but he recalls clearly that "not a single one bit me". He took stock of his memories - he had no idea how he got there, or why he was hurting so badly and couldn't move. The name 'James' did come to him, so he assumed it was his name, though no surname accompanied it. He did know he was thirsty, though. As the thought crossed his mind, the spiders seemed to leave him - and wove a web that captured the next morning's dew and puddled it in front of him. When he wished for food, the spiders brought him insects that, while not tasty, were enough to keep him living.

James took over a week to be able to move again, weakened and with at least one fractured bone but in no way dead. He crawled his way out of the ravine and made his way back to civilization where he was confronted with a new problem: he had no idea where he lived or was supposed to even go. The thoughts in his head grew dark: hurt people, kill people, take their food, take their homes. They no longer felt like his thoughts. He wanted someone he could talk to who'd answer all his questions. Once more, the spiders came to him but could not directly grant this request, so they did the next best thing: they kidnapped a woman and took her to him, working in concert to do so. James was fortunate in two regards: one, that the woman did not have arachnophobia and so could keep her head toether, and two, that she saw a child first and a parahuman second. He apologized as he freed her, and she asked where his parents were. Upon receiving no answer, she offered to take him to the police. The spiders threatened to swarm at that, at which point she offered to take him to her house instead. Thus, Mei Chang ended up taking Jimi home to her husband, Haoyu Chang. While the child was a surprise, he was not exactly an unwanted one and, as long as he helped out around the house, he was allowed to stay.

And so James, nicknamed Jimi by Mei, became a part of the Chang household. He started getting a grasp on his powers and using them for tasks such as getting spiders out of the bathroom and the like. All the while, that little voice in his head never went away. It practically craved blood and when Jimi researched it, he learned about possession, something he felt fit perfectly. He was possessed, and he could not let the Changs know or else, as the voice liked to point out, they'd probably throw him back onto the streets.

Jimi did his best to balance his parahuman status (which he learned, neither Chang were particularly wild about parahumans), his apparent possession, and his less-than-legal status. He knew at any moment the Changs could hand him over to police to find his real parents - why that frightened him so badly, he couldn't remember, but he knew it had to be avoided. The 'spirit', however, simply got worse and worse until it provided Jimi with a gruesome plan to do away with the Changs. That was the night Jimi packed a bag and left the Chang household. The spiders helped him find an abandoned building that was safe enough to stay in, and he did for a time, before leaving the city entirely and finding a new city to call home. He was 16 (probably), he could handle himself. Though it quickly turned out what he couldn't handle was the loneliness. Even with a spider "pet" he was still lonely (and emphasized that this time, the spiders could NOT kidnap someone). It wasn't until reading the police blotter one day that he was struck by an idea: he could hang out with people, easily! After all, he could make for a great lookout and, if he could be honest, he probably wouldn't be as scared of the 'evil spirit' threatening criminals who would hurt others for a quick payout. And so Jimi began assisting various criminals in robberies, burglaries, and other property crimes. Despite his earlier thoughts, he found he had a hard time stomaching the company of those who really would kill for a quick payout. It wasn't to say no one ever got hurt on the heists he attended, but it was more a side effect than a goal. However, he still proved to be a soft touch, apologizing even to cops who got hurt while he tried to distract them or ditching his post to help someone injured and using spider webbing for makeshift bandages. It took a while to approach Jimi about the Wards Initiative, as by now he'd discovered his ability to create fear and used that to keep people at bay but once approached, Jimi seemed eager to join.

It is at this point that, while being investigated for fitness in the Wards Initiative, his fingerprints brought up a missing person case: a married couple and their son, who was 5 at the time of disappearance. They were Jacob and Victoria Lauder, with their son Dwayne Lauder, reported missing by Victoria's parents. According to them, Jacob and Victoria before their disappearance had spoken of having found a better religion to raise their son in, one that promised to "make him important or some nonsense like that". Cross-referencing the area they lived in with known Cape activity brings up one James H. Fisher, a Master known for being able to impose his mindscape on others' over a period of time. It is known he runs a small religious cult with the aim of bringing people to him. Between Jimi's assumed name and history of intrusive thoughts, it can be theorized that Fisher tried also using his power on him and failed due to Jimi's then-unknown parahuman status. From then, it's all unknown, but it's not unreasonable to assume Fisher had this failure "killed" and thrown into the forest ravine to hide the body, leading into what Jimi remembers.

Powers/Skills: [Master/Trump] Jimi's power is a very simple one - he controls spiders. The range is fairly small, only at 100 ft and maintaining control for 100 yards. Control requires him to be precise in his orders, as any vagueness will be resolved in the most literal interpretation available. He is able to direct the spiders to perform complex tasks, however. Verbal instructions are more effective than mental ones. More interesting is the effect he imparts on the spiders - an ability that allows them to 'transfuse' powers between people (most often from others to Jimi) via a bite. The longetivity of these powers is inversely proportional to their complexity and potency, with no copy lasting over an hour.

Jimi himself is proud of his parkour skills and seems to be quick to learn other physical techniques. He also seems to have developed an immunity to most spider venoms.

Other: He has a 'pet' wolf spider, that he just calls 'Wolfy'. It's a little over 2 inches wide and even with Jimi's power occasionally bites him.

It's also worth noting Jimi has not been reunited with his (technically not) adoptive parents, nor his maternal grandparents. This has been a request on his part, and not an oversight.