[CENTER][h1][color=Gold][b]L U K E   C A G E[/b][/color][/h1][hr]

[img]https://i.imgur.com/QZue8jkl.jpg[/img]

[h3][sup][sub][color=Gold]Owner/Proprietor, Heroes for Hire, Inc. [color=Yellow]♦[/color] Harlem, Manhattan, NYC[/color][/sub][/sup][/h3]
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[COLOR=Gold][INDENT][B][SUP][SUB][H3]C H A R A C T E R   C O N C E P T:[/H3][/SUB][/SUP][/B][/INDENT][hr][/COLOR]
[CENTER][sup][color=Gold]"All right, how many of y’all are tired of your teeth?"[/color][/sup][/CENTER]
[INDENT][INDENT][color=Silver]
Once upon a time in Harlem, a punk kid named Carl Lucas ran with a bad crowd. Betrayed by his former best friend and sent to do hard time for a crime he didn’t commit, Lucas’s story would have been headed for an unhappy ending, until he volunteered for a secret experiment that gave him superhuman strength and unbreakable skin. Adopting a new name, the man now called Luke Cage learned he liked helping people a lot more than hurting them– especially when he learned he could pay the bills doing it.

Since going into business for himself as a Hero for Hire, Luke has done a lot, been a lot, and been [u]through[/u] a lot. He’s been slandered by the media and hounded by crooked cops. He’s fought with and against the most powerful people in the world. He’s stood up against the might of the government, and he’s dished out a beating to Doctor Doom for stiffing him for $200. He’s been a Defender, an Avenger, a [u]New[/u] Avenger, a member of the Fantastic Four, and even spent a little time as the Mayor of New York. More than any of those titles, though, the ones he’s most proud of are the title of husband and father.[/color][/indent][/indent]

[COLOR=Gold][INDENT][B][SUP][SUB][H3]C H A R A C T E R   M O T I V A T I O N S   &   G O A L S:[/H3][/SUB][/SUP][/B][/INDENT][hr][/COLOR][INDENT][INDENT][color=Silver]Luke’s a really great all-rounder character, who can plug into any kind of story, fight, or team-up and never feel out of place. He can be funny, he can be serious, he can be a warm-hearted softie or an ice-cold badass. And best of all, the Heroes for Hire business means he can be up for pretty much any possible encounter and always have it make sense for him to be there. And while I don’t think a middle-aged pasty white guy like myself should be dipping too much into his jive-talking soul-brother persona from the early years, the modern Luke still has an undeniable charisma that makes him immediately likeable.

To that end, I’m planning on having Luke be a solid utility player, adding both his muscle and his force of personality wherever it’s needed. Want to bust a drug den and crack some skulls? He’s there. Need to protect a tenement house from a crooked politician? Happy to lend a hand. Want to put out a fire, take down a crime boss, slug it out with a rampaging villain, or pull a cat out of a tree? If you’ve got the bills, he’s got the skills.[/color][/indent][/indent]

[COLOR=Gold][INDENT][B][SUP][SUB][H3]C H A R A C T E R   N O T E S:[/H3][/SUB][/SUP][/B][/INDENT][hr][/COLOR]
[indent][indent][color=Gold][b][u]Powers and Abilities:[/u][/b][/color][/indent][/indent]
[hider][color=Silver][list][*][color=Gold]Superhuman Strength:[/color] Luke’s muscles are far more powerful than a normal human. On a good day, he can lift over 25 tons, and punch through up to 4 inches of solid steel. With enough effort, he can throw a punch hard enough to knock out the likes of Rhino, though he’d risk hurting himself to do it.

[*][color=Gold]Extreme Durability:[/color] Cage’s extremely dense muscles and bones, combined with skin stronger than steel, make him incredibly resilient against most forms of harm. Point-blank gunfire leaves little more than a bruise on him, he can withstand forces up to 150 pounds of TNT without serious injury, and he is impervious to extreme temperatures or electrical shocks. He’s far from indestructible, however, as Luke is still vulnerable to internal injuries and poisons, and he can still be cut or pierced by exotic weapons like high-powered lasers or blades made of Adamantium.

[*][color=Gold]Accelerated Healing:[/color] While nowhere near as powerful as Wolverine or Deadpool’s Healing Factors, Luke’s cells regenerate several times faster than an average human, letting him recover in a few days from damage that would take most people weeks or months. However, while his healing is rapid, it doesn’t extend to permanent damage like lost limbs, spinal trauma, or brain injury.

[*][color=Gold]Hand to Hand Combat:[/color] Between his upbringing fighting on the streets, his extensive training with the master martial artist Iron Fist, and his years of on-the-job experience as a hero, Cage is an extremely skilled fighter, knowing how to leverage his strength and the environment around him to fight opponents far more powerful than him.

[*][color=Gold]Intelligence:[/color] Luke isn’t anywhere near the level of a Reed Richards, a Tony Stark, or a Peter Parker in terms of scientific genius, but he’s still far smarter than many give him credit for. Cage is a skilled detective, a self-taught legal expert, and speaks several languages.[/list][/color][/hider]

[indent][indent][color=Gold][b][u]Allies and Supporting Characters:[/u][/b][/color][/indent][/indent]
[hider][color=Silver][list][*][color=Orchid]Jessica Jones:[/color] A flying, super-strong detective, Luke's wife and better half. (Details can be filled in by anyone who wishes to play as her).
[*][color=Lavender]Danielle Cage:[/color] Luke and Jessica's daughter, Danielle is the best thing that ever happened to Luke.
[*][color=SeaGreen]Danny Rand/Iron Fist:[/color] Master martial artist, CEO of Rand Enterprises, and Luke's long-time business partner and best friend. (Details can be filled in by anyone who wishes to play as him).
[*][color=Orange]Claire Temple:[/color] One of Luke's (many) old flames, Claire is a doctor who inadvertently found herself secretly treating injured superheroes under the alias "Night Nurse," one of several doctors who have used that codename to protect their identity.
[*][color=SkyBlue]D.W. Griffith:[/color] An amateur filmmaker and excitable fan of Cage, D.W. often acts as Luke's eyes and ears in the neighborhood, catching (and usually filming) things that other people might miss.[/list][/color][/hider]

[indent][indent][color=Gold][b][u]Enemies:[/u][/b][/color][/indent][/indent]
[hider][color=Silver][list][*][color=YellowGreen]Diamondback:[/color] Willis Stryker, Luke's best friend in his previous life, who betrayed and framed Carl Lucas over the love of a woman. Since then, Stryker emerged as a ruthless arms dealer and killer. Since learning that the hero Luke Cage was his old friend Carl Lucas, Diamondback has had an vengeful obsession with him.
[*][color=PaleGoldenRod]Bushmaster:[/color] John McIver, a manipulative crime boss from Jamaica with designs on expanding into America, who uses experimental drugs to enhance his own strength and speed to be more than a match for Cage hand-to-hand.
[*][color=Lime]Cottonmouth:[/color] Cornell Stokes, a vicious drug dealer and leader of the Stokes Crime Family, who is a master of various poisons and has sharpened fangs capable of piercing Cage's skin.
[*][color=Magenta]Black Mariah:[/color] A morbidly obese woman who has run multiple small-time criminal rackets in Harlem, and whose considerable mass lets her throw down with Cage and other super-strong heroes.
[*][color=FireBrick]Chemistro:[/color] Curtis Carr, a vengeful inventor with an 'Alchemy Gun' that allows him to transmute matter.
[*][color=Olive]Gideon Mace:[/color] A crazed ultra-nationalist whose arm has been replaced with a cybernetic mace.
[*][color=Tan]Big Ben Donovan:[/color] A corrupt lawyer who makes his fortune representing criminals and supervillains.
[*][color=Purple]The Purple Man:[/color] Zebediah Killgrave, a powerful psychic who has stalked and tormented Luke's wife Jessica for much of her life.[/list][/color][/hider]

[COLOR=Gold][INDENT][B][SUP][SUB][H3]S A M P L E   P O S T:[/H3][/SUB][/SUP][/B][/INDENT][hr][/COLOR]

[hider][indent][indent][b][i]Morningside Park Playground
Morningside & 110th St
Harlem[/i][/b]
[color=Silver]
[color=Lavender]”Daddy, daddy!”[/color] Danielle calls out from the swingset. [color=Lavender]”Watch how high I can go!”[/color]

Backing up in the swings so far she has to stand on her tip-toes to stay in the seat, my little girl gets herself ready, then launches herself into a swinging arc that goes nearly up to my shoulders.

[color=Gold]”Hey, all right!”[/color] I cheer her on, a big grin almost splitting my face in two. [color=Gold]”That’s the highest you’ve gotten! Keep swingin’ like that, you’re gonna have to show Spider-Man how it’s done!”[/color]

[color=Lavender]”I heard Spider-Man has terrible technique,”[/color] Danielle says as she swings back and forth.

[color=Gold]”And who told you that?”[/color]

[color=Lavender]”Uncle Danny,”[/color] she answers.

I roll my eyes. [color=Gold]”Yeah, that’s about right. [i]Everybody’s[/i] got terrible technique to Uncle Danny.”[/color]

[color=Lavender]”Even you?”[/color]

[color=Gold]”[i]Especially[/i] me,”[/color] I chuckle. [color=Gold]”Your daddy can take on any bad guy in this town, but I move like a bull in a–”[/color]

A car parked along the curb catches my eye. An old blue Caddy with tinted windows, that looks a little too familiar.

[color=Gold]”Awww, ff–....fiddle-faddle,”[/color] I catch myself, trying not to swear in front of Danielle. [color=Gold]”Hey baby girl, go play with Mommy for a second. Show her what you can do on the jungle gym, okay?”[/color]

[color=Lavender]”Is something wrong?”[/color] she asks.

[color=Gold]”Nawww, everything’s good,”[/color] I reassure her, [color=Gold]”just gotta take care of some grown-up things for a second.”[/color]

Danielle shrugs, and runs over to the bench where Jessica is talking to a client on the phone. Once she’s with her mom, I walk over to the parking lot, approaching the Caddy.

As soon as the windows roll down, I see two familiar faces, and feel a little bit of bile in the back of my throat.

Not wanting to cause a scene, I put on a big friendly smile.

[color=Gold]”Shades, Comanche!”[/color] I call out as I approach the two thugs in the car. [color=Gold]”Long time no see, am I right?”[/color]

I put my hand on the hood of the car, just over the fender. These two jokers used to run with my back during the bad old days, when I was with the Rivals. I straightened out. They never did.

[color=PowderBlue]”Hey look, Cage,”[/color] Shades starts, [color=PowderBlue]”We’re here to–”[/color]

[color=Gold]”I wanna show you two somethin,”[/color] I cut them off, pulling out my phone. [color=Gold]”See this? I’m tryin’ to take the whole Heroes-for-Hire thing and make it digital. Make an app out of it, like a super-hero version of Uber. Someone’s in trouble, they open up the app, and the nearest H4H hero shows up. Learned how to program the whole thing myself. Pretty cool, huh?”[/color]

[color=SlateBlue]”Uhh, I guess,”[/color] Comanche shrugs, [color=SlateBlue]”But we ain’t here to–”[/color] 

[color=Gold]”See, I always thought workin’ with computers was all over my head,”[/color] I continue, leaning on the fender of the Caddy to keep them from driving away, [color=Gold]”Programming seemed too complicated. But I called up our boy Gadget, and he broke it down for me nice and easy. See, he says computer logic is all about ‘if/then’ statements. [i]If[/i] I tap this button, [i]then[/i] this page opens. [i]If[/i] I select this option, [i]then[/i] this menu drops down.”[/color]

They both nod nervously.

[color=Gold]”An’ I got the hang of it so well, I started using that kinda logic in my day to day life,”[/color] I keep going. [color=Gold]”[i]If[/i] my girl finishes her chores for the day, [i]then[/i] we go play in the park. [i]If[/i] my wife is having a bad day, [i]then[/i] I do something romantic for her…”[/color]

My warm, friendly smile drops away.

[color=Gold]”And [i]if[/i] I catch your sorry, low-down, good-for-nothing selves skulkin’ around my neighborhood, rollin’ up on my little girl….[i]then[/i] I shove my foot so far up your ass that you’ll be flossin’ your teeth with my shoelaces.”[/color]

I reach in through the driver’s side window and pull Shades out from his seat, lifting him up into the air.

[color=Gold]”Where are we, Shades?”[/color]

[color=PowderBlue]”W-we’re in y-your n-neighborhood…”[/color] he sputters.

[color=Gold]”And who’s that adorable little bug on the jungle gym?”[/color]

[color=PowderBlue]”Th-th-that’s–”[/color]

[color=Gold]”That’s my little girl, yeah,”[/color] I answer for him. [color=Gold]”So that covers the [i]if.[/i] Which means we’re ‘bout to move on to [i]then.[/i] I’m about to get logical on your ass, you feel me?”[/color]

[color=SlateBlue]”Wait wait waitwaitwait, Cage, hold up!”[/color] Comanche says. [color=SlateBlue]”It ain’t like that, man! We’re not here to jump you!”[/color]

He fumbles around in the back seat of the car, finding a duffel bag. He unzips the bag, showing it to be filled with money.

[color=SlateBlue]”We’re here to [i]hire[/i] you,”[/color] he explains.

[color=PowderBlue]”We need help, man,”[/color] Shades pleads. [color=PowderBlue]”An’ you’re the only guy we know we can trust.”[/color]

I look at Comanche, then to Shades, then to the money, then back over my shoulder to Danielle, who’s waving to me from the top of the jungle gym…

…then I set Shades down and sigh.

[color=Gold]”This better be good…”[/color][/color][/indent][/indent][/hider]