[b]Name:[/b] Stefan Stein
[b]Alias:[/b] Helion Strahl
[b]Age:[/b] 27
[b]Height:[/b] 5 feet 7 inches (6 feet when transformed)
[b]Weight:[/b] 160 pounds (170 pounds when transformed)

[b]Appearance: [/b]
Not particularly tall and on the pudgier side of 160 pounds, Stefan is definitely not what you'd expect out of a hero of any sort, what with his long, unkempt dirty blonde hair and wild "I stopped caring a while ago" beard that might look manly or even "viking-like" on a larger, more muscular man but just makes him look like a slob. Stefan's body isn't particularly hardened or scarred from battle either, just marked by the typical nicks and cuts that happen throughout life. His fashion sense is best defined as "jeans, whatever shirt was handy, shoes, add layers if cold out, cleanliness optional".

When transformed into Helion Strahl he mutates into something taller, leaner and decidedly less human. Though still a humanoid in form, his entire body, clothes included, is first enveloped by a metallic, dull black "skin" over which a rock-like exoskeleton forms, grainy grey and slightly cracked, creating a sort of armor which consists of a helmet, cuirass, pauldrons, gauntlets and greaves. The "armor" has pieces of white prism-like crystal growing from its parts, a [url=http://i.imgur.com/k4lRGyV.jpg]starburst pattern[/url] one in the center of his chest and then simple horizontal strips on the outside of the forearms, along with small circular identations on his palms. Of particular note is the "helmet", which covers the entire head and has bug-like characteristics to it such as large compound eyes, seemingly made out of some form of red crystal, a metallic grey "mouthplate" resembling an insect mandible and a single horn-like crest growing from the middle of its forehead area. Oddly enough, the form also has a belt-like attachment to it, a large stone ring securely placed around Helion's waist which features strange markings on it and has a prism sphere placed in the center of the buckle.

[b]Personality: [/b]
Irreverent, upbeat and carefree, Stefan is an adventurous man who seeks to enjoy life to the fullest, always looking for new experiences of any kind and often diving headfirst into them without a second thought. This does not mean, however, that he's needlessly loud or hyperactive about it, nor that he cannot appreciate something that he has already experienced, it simply means that he enjoys the wonders of living like few people do. Stefan has a strong, if rather overly simplistic, sense of justice. He's honest to a fault and hates to see people harmed physically or emotionally, going out of his way to help others if he can. Above all, he greatly dislikes killing and overly violent actions and will avoid them at all costs, to the detriment of his fighting ability, and he'll also stop such actions when possible. When transformed into Strahl his personality gains a more serious edge to it but otherwise remains the same.

[b]Bio:[/b]
Stefan Stein was a normal human but two years ago, an intern whose parents had died of tragic but blameless causes working for an accounting firm and looking at a life spent on a dead end inane job he'd hate with all his might, but would provide a decent middle class living for himself and any eventual family he might form with whoever he managed to settle with. Like I said, normal guy. This all changed when he died. Out camping on his own to get away from the mess of the big city and the urge to punch his supervisor in the face (then kick him in the johnson, to be honest), he was the only person on site to witness what was later defined as a freak meteorite crash, which somehow managed to avoid all prior detection before impact. Civil servants found Stefan in shock but alive and with only minor injuries, from which he recovered incredibly quickly. He was considered quite lucky to be alive.

The truth is that Stefan the human died that night. The meteorite avoided all detection before impact because it was not just a simple hunk of space rock, it was a powerful alien being from the mysterious race known as the Duref. What was left over in the crater, the largest recorded meteorite to ever collide with Earth, was just a byproduct from the creature's path through the stars and the impact did indeed end Stefan's life. The Duref are a peaceful species of explorers and observers who respect the sanctity of life like few others, the crash landing was the result of the extensive injuries inflicted upon it by an unknown assailant and the Duref despaired at the life it had accidentally taken. Since it was dying itself, the mysterious alien entity did the only thing it could to undo the harm it had caused and, in a way, preserve itself.

Gathering what little power it had left, the Duref fused itself with Stefan, bringing him back to life and integrating part of itself into the young man. Stefan retained very little knowledge of what had happened, most of the Duref stored away in his unconscious, but he knew that he was no longer just Stefan Stein but also something or someone greater, a new aspect of himself which he came to call Helion Strahl, though whether this came about from the Duref's influence or just because he thought it sounded cool will never be known. Whatever the case, it was this experience that brought about Stefan's current outlook on life. He quit his job, didn't punch his supervisor in the face and took to travelling the world, making ends meet by doing odd jobs for food, clothes and sometimes lodgings. It was during these travels that he realized that Helion Strahl wasn't just a way to cope with the shock of having survived a near-death experience.

Attacked by a crazed mutant, he realized two things: his regular body healed from things it shouldn't be able to, and he could transform into Helion Strahl. The information flashed into his mind as needed, what he could do and how with his powers, and with his new form he was able to subdue the monster without killing or permanently crippling it. Life had changed for Stefan once again. Though before he was content with simply being helpful, he realized that with his newfound abilities he could be so much more. He could be a hero.

[b]Regular powers: [/b]
-Healing factor: Stefan is able to recover from wounds, poisons and toxins in a much more effective way than regular humans given enough time. Not useful in a fight, much too slow for that, but good for staying alive long as he's not beheaded or anything of the sort. Works best when exposed to sunlight.

-Transformation: Stefan can summon the Chroma Ring, a strange belt which appears on his waist when required and allows his transformation into Helion Strahl.

[b]Powers when transformed:[/b]
-Light Powers: Helion Strahl is able to absorb, project and manipulate light in a variety of ways. Beyond the obvious capacity of acting like a walking flashlight/spotlight and producing blinding flashes of light he can also do more complicated things such as rendering himself and others in close proximity invisible, create optical illusions, project holograms or even focus light into varying intensity laser beams. Strahl's favorite combat application of this power is rapid firing a series of randomly colored light pulses of varying intensity which overwhelm optical receptors, causing powerful headaches, nausea and disorientation to go along with the blinding, allowing him to subdue criminals without causing any permanent damage. The powers work best when there's light sources he can use nearby but Strahl can use his own finite reserves of light if necessary.

-Damage Tolerance: The transformation into Helion Strahl acts much like an integrated suit of armor, protecting Stefan from harm.

[b]Skills:[/b]
-Obviously skilled at using and controlling his own powers, not much else that may benefit a superhero career. He's picked up a number of assorted skills such as cooking, carving or playing some instruments over the last few years but they're neither helpful towards fighting crime nor is he that skilled at them, jack of all trades and all that.

[b]Gear/Equipment/Weapons: [/b]
Nothing of note.

[b]Weaknesses:[/b]
-Lack of hand to hand combat skills
-In his transformed form, sonic attacks cause him intense pain throughout his entire body
-Needs to transform in order to access his most useful powers
-Reflective surfaces can be used to bounce back the offensive applications of his powers

[b]Theme Song:[/b]
[youtube]nRFhCGSy1OA[/youtube]

[b]Other:[/b]
Stefan might not realize it, but his powers have much hidden potential. Basically, if you decide to make things not street level, well, his powers are gonna evolve.