Back from his extended vacation, it's everyone's favorite detective, Big Band!

[hider=Back on the beat!]
[b]Name:[/b] Ben “Big Band” Birdland
[b]Origin:[/b] Skullgirls
[b]Appearance:[/b] Big Band is 7’6” and 5000 pounds of polished brass and dark steel all wrapped up in a beige trench coat big enough to pitch a tent with. More machine than man but not so much as a micron less soulful, he’s a pneumatic cyborg whose technology may be dated but never obsolete. Beneath the coat, his bell-shaped body sits atop comparatively stumpy legs. With his mouthpiece, hat, and glassy eyes (not to mention his sheer mass) he can cut quite the imposing figure, but beneath the brass contraptions is the face of a kind, middle-aged man who’s seen it all but never betrayed who he is. For the most part he interfaces with the world through a set of small, spindly mechanical arms with cushioned pincers, but for those in need of a little justice he can whip out a pair of enormous, pneumatic arms with brass knuckles, and he has plenty more instruments packed away in there
[b]Personality:[/b] “When the word of the law falls, pick it up and hold it higher!” - Observant and dutiful, with a strong moral compass and a profound respect for spirit of the law, Band is a resolute and nigh-incorruptible authority figure. He exudes confidence and fortitude, and though he can be intimidating, but possesses a lot of fatherly kindness for the young and the suffering, and consideration for the consequences of his actions. While he maintains himself to be calm and collected and prefers to talk things out, he will not hesitate to fight back when he has to. Unafraid to put fools in their place if need be, he fights as he lives and breathes: with an incorrigible style and dedication to jazz. He loves a good tune, quiet company, a nice drink, and his instruments neatly polished. His every other breath is a tribute or allusion, woven into a charismatic dialog as rich as the art itself
[b]Background:[/b] Ben Birdland has seen a lot in his time, including the worst of the Grand War. But nothing was worse than what he saw as a beat cop in New Meridian. When he ran afoul of his crooked unit, he was given a violent early retirement, and his broken body was left to spend the rest of its days in an iron lung. Only his good friend Irvin did not betray, but there was nothing that he could do.

That would have been the end of Ben’s story if it hadn't drawn the ears of the Anti-Skullgirl Labs. With little left to lose, he agreed to be rebuilt with their experimental procedures. Melded with the machinery that allows him to breathe a powerful array of pneumatic weaponry, he was reborn as “Big Band.”

The years passed, enough that he saw the rise and fall of the two Skullgirls before Marie, and Band became not only a fixture of the organization but also a father figure of sort to the younger ASG soldiers. A firm believer in their cause, he has stayed with the project through its controversies and continued to have a place on the frontlines against every Skullgirl. Though working with dated technology, he more than made up for it with experience and fortissimo.

When Marie became the new Skullgirl, he resolved as ever to destroy the source of his enemy’s power: the Skull Heart. His investigation of her hatred for the Medicis took him to the River King Casino where he contended with Cerebella. Upon his return to Lab 8, he found it in shambles, with the man he owed his life to dead and a mysterious doppelganger in Band’s place--the grotesque Double. He eventually reunited with the Lab 8 fighters only to be forced to defend himself against Peacock, who planned to fight the Skullgirl all by herself and refused to accept his cooperation.

Though defeated, he made it his mission to track Peacock down before she could get herself killed. Thanks to a tip off from Irvin, he made it to New Meridian’s Grand Cathedral after running afoul of Lab 0’s Brain Drain. Before he could reach his destination, however, an all-consuming light twisted the tale.
[b]In the Now:[/b] Big Band rode into Al Mamoon in the Sandswept Sky one unassuming day in the desert, his young sidekick Peacock at his side, only to become embroiled in conflict when the Seekers swept into town. He lent his strength to their efforts in order to root out the terrorist organization known as the Resistance, then tagged along for the ride to Split Mountain in order to help see the heroes’ mission through. Along with the other Seekers, he fought and defeated the Guardian of the Sandswept Sky, Red Eye, in a thrilling train battle across the desert, then used the Nyakuza Metro to rendezvous with other teams. When Rush Hour occurred, however, he was part of the small group left behind to wander Edinburgh MagicaPolis, tangling with Consuls L and N and even a rogue Skullgirl until his crew hatched a scheme to catch L in a trap. After defeating her, he extracted aboard the Avenger alongside Ace Cadet and Wonder Red, rejoining the Seekers at last.

[b]Job:[/b] Baritone Bruiser
[b]Specialty:[/b] Long reach, heavy hits, and durability make Band a force to be reckoned with on the battlefield, allowing him to control the tempo of his fights and make his foes play around him, lest they get beat
[b]Inventory:[/b] N/A

[b]Lv:[/b] 11
[b]EXP:[/b] 12/110
[b]Abilities:[/b] 
[list]
[*][b]Musical Ensemble[/b] - hidden within Band’s cybernetic body is a whole orchestra of instrumental weapons, from the tiniest horns and triangles to trumpets and trombones to enormous tubas and saxophones, all of which not only strike physically, but also release physically damaging sound blasts depending on their strength. He’s even got kick pedals and music stands in there. The instruments have a variety of uses, giving him a tool for every job, be it short-range pokes, sliding smashes, head-ringing grabs, or earthquakes
[*][b]Sound Stun[/b] - Once per combo, Band can release a sound-based follow up attack on any instrumental hit that will momentarily leave his opponent paralyzed, allowing him to string together a longer, more damaging combo or open his foe up to allies
[*][b]Dramatic Tension[/b] – Once a fight begins, Band can begin building up Dramatic Tension by dealing and taking damage. If he accumulates enough she can perform powerful Blockbusters. His Level 1 Blockbusters are:
[list][*]Super Sonic Jazz - Big Band transforms into a French Horn and charges forward hitting multiple times, the last hit launching the opponent up and behind Big Band
[*]Timpany Drive - Big Band pulls out several timpani and bangs on them with mallets causing multiple sound blasts to shoot out of the bottom of each timpani. Big Band floats and can move around during the attack[/list]
[*][b]Even the Sky Ain't the Limit[/b] - Band can reconfigure his lower body into a [url=https://i.imgur.com/6OhfQZw.png]rocket[/url] and blaze through the skies. He can't sustain it for too long, and he can barely turn after blasting off, but it's still an effective tool for travel
[*][url=https://i.kym-cdn.com/entries/icons/facebook/000/018/508/bigband.jpg][b]Satchmo Solo[/b][/url] - Big Band’s level five Blockbuster, requiring five times the dramatic tension of Super Sonic Jazz or Tympani Drive. Big Band deploys a tuba, stopping time for as long as he plays it up to a maximum of seven seconds. When the duration ends or he stops playing, he can unleash the massively powerful Satchmo Death Blow, a hydraulic brass-knuckle beatdown that deals an absurd amount of damage
[*][b][url=https://i.imgur.com/esKMsiW.png]Take Five[/url][/b] - Big Band’s Outtake. A strategic option taking the form of a high-knockback, non-damaging attack. If a foe is fighting as part of a team, this special attack not only stuns the victim but drags in whatever enemy teammate Band wants. If the foe is alone, this attack prevents the foe healing until the battle is decided
[*][b][url=https://i.imgur.com/HtotRve.png]Bagpipe Blues[/url][/b] - After playing his bagpipes for a moment to built up energy, Band gains two buffs. One allows him to finish off his next Super Sonic Jazz with Satchmo Blow, a weaker version of Satchmo Death Blow. The other gives him armor on his attacks for ten seconds, making him much harder to stop in close-range combat[/list]
[b]Skills:[/b] 
[list]
[*][b]Hard Bop[/b]  - Band’s mechanical body commands both great strength and weight, meaning he can take and dish out a hefty amount of punishment. Sound mind, sound body
[*][b]My Favorite Things[/b] - While a pretty good musician himself across a variety of instruments, some better than others, Band shines through in his expertise with the subject itself, jazz in particular
[*][b]Never Miss a Beat[/b] - Due to his time spent with New Meridian’s ‘finest’, Band possesses a number of useful skills from investigation and observation (including risk assessment) to forensics and criminal psychology. He even has a feel for Esprit de Corps, the spirit of policing, giving him an understanding of fellow officers of the law
[*][b]My Feet Can’t Fail Me Now[/b] - Prolonged overuse of Band’s reconstructed body in extreme conditions has toughened it up somewhat, giving him increased endurance, temperature tolerance, and durability[/list]

[b]Weaknesses:[/b] 
[list]
[*][b]Lazy River[/b] - When it comes to covering distance, Band is neither quick nor agile
[*][b]Bright Size Life[/b] - Band is a big target, both easy to hit and easy to notice. Dodging and stealth just aren’t his jam
[*][b]Miles Beyond[/b] - Though his melee attacks have some good reach and he has tools to get in, Big Band operates at close range. He has no projectiles and attacking someone from far away means getting close to them first, however long that may take, so keep-away tends to take its toll[/list]
[b]Spirits:[/b] 
[list][/list]
[b]Rapport:[/b] 
[list][/list]
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