Erskine Hyde
Age19
GenderMale
PersonalityA brash individual, Erskine grew with the impetus that the truth mattered the most in almost every situation. As such, he developed a rather direct approach at handling social situations. It didn't borderline on awkward and socially anxious, but varied on the side of crass and just a tad rude. Sometimes Erskine doesn't quite know where the line is with some people and, with being so close to his father and having no issues with the children in his neighborhood, Erskine didn't quite develop the boundaries most people tend to have in the U.S. It's lead to some very precarious situations and a few mishaps in his high school years, but nothing he couldn't get himself out of.
With such an aggressive nature, it'd be obvious for Erskine to err on the side of hyper-masculine, however due to his own upbringing, Erskine falls under a more ambiguous category to most. Unashamed of most of his likes, Erskine finds it rude not to share his own thrills and desires with others. They border on an entire range of things, as Erskine definitely has the, 'I'll try everything once,' policy. As such, Erskine tends to be a very open minded individual in an entire variety of ways—sometimes sexually and with his lack of boundaries, that can make cause for some very awkward situations. Awkward for the recipient, as Erksine tends to have no shame for anything that he does.
Unfortunately, the brashness tends to carry over into the negative aspects of his personality. Erskine, despite contrary belief, isn't tantrum oriented in relation to his anger, but often comes off as very vindictive. He'll be forward about his issues, but that doesn't mean he won't do something in a controlled and timely manner to get back at the offender when desirable. This lead to some form of grudge holding that his therapist attempted to hammer out of him. It worked to a degree, but Erskine is still capable of holding grudges for a small amount of time, though it takes a big problem for him to hold a lengthier vendetta against any one person.
AppearanceA tall individual with a very lithe, wiry appearance, Erskine boasts a relatively fit physique. 6'0" and 178lbs, he tends to vary from person to person in terms of whether he's intimidating or just incredibly lanky. With arms as long as his, he tends to side on the lankier variation, especially since he's more prone to wearing baggier shirts and jackets and tighter pants. Accustomed to running, however Erskine tends to brag about his amazing calf muscles and that more often than not succeeds in weirding people out.
With longer, bird like features and an angular tilt to his face, Erskine comes off as almost nonthreatening in his expressions and yields a lax and dazed tone that unknowingly shares. Coupled with doe eyes, there is absolutely no reason why people should ever think he's intimidating, at least from the front. Throw in a slightly poor posture for a man as athletic as he is, and you've got someone who looks more down to cuddle than he is to fight—which isn't entirely untrue. There's often a Scottish lisp that aids in the baritone of his voice and the feel of his unassuming presence. All in all, Erskine doesn't ping on many people's radars, even in spite of his contradictory personality.
BiographyYoung and full of energy, Erskine Hyde grew up in the highlands of Scotland as a young boy, to a father who owned a small pastry shop and a mother that frequented business trips all over the UK. Attached to the outdoors the moment his father allowed him outside, Erskine grew close to nature and, well into his teenage years, it aided in consoling the child in the rougher times of his life.
Due to the nature of his mother's work, she had little time to spend with her family outside of her days off and most of the holidays. For her, that didn't come as often as it should have and Erskine eventually learned to live without a mother. This, in and of itself, developed a large attachment and dependence on his father to take care of him and show him as much affection as two parents should. Life in Scotland tended to be easy, however, thus his father made as much time as was possible to give his only child his due attention. That usually came in the form of bringing his son to work with him, teaching him how to cook, and playing with the children that often wandered into the baker's door. Time off meant time outside and, having gotten his love for the outdoors from his father, that usually meant time on long walks along the countryside, or down by the town's river and sometimes through a few of the forests.
However, among the things that lasted little, good things and childhood often lasted the least. Erskine quickly understood the woes of adulthood into his years of adolescence. For a child of his age, having to mature that quickly put Erskine into a mental shock and the years following his fathers death and the subsequent emergence of his powers came and went with the tides.
Murdered for harboring an inhuman being and birthing one to begin with, Erskine's father fell at the hands of men shrouded in shadows and secrecy. The reasoning why didn't come until much later, when Erskine himself was in danger. Now tied to his mother and her work, both fled to various reaches in Europe—places his mother had made connections. Unbeknownst to him, his mother had been the one to pass on her superior genes to him and, thus, was one of the reasons he developed powers in the first place. The super his father harbored turned out to be the woman he married.
Unable to escape persecution, Erskine's mother eventually ran to America, where she immediately put her child up for adoption. In one last hurrah, she made a scene in a public arena in downtown D.C. where she succeeded in taking out a multitude of armed forces in a self-destructive explosion. Unfortunately, she only succeeded in branding herself a terrorist as the media and the government worked to cover the superpowered attack. They eventually blamed it on extremists of a wayward religion and chalked it up among the many attacks that dot the world.
Erskine, however, found himself a part of a small, wealthy Chinese family in New Eastside, Chicago. Not having been exposed for his own powers, Erskine had to eventually live with the fact that he was unwanted and would eventually be hunted into extinction. It took a few therapy sessions to get Erskine back onto his feat and into high school with a clear head, but he eventually made it through the grief with the help of his new found family. Unfortunately for him, high school ended rather quickly and with it the hardships of college. What he forgot to factor in was the nature of his own powers and the genes he inherited from his mother. With the sweep across the nation for superhumans blazing, Erskine was forced to tell his adopted family what would happen should the government find him.
Fearing for his safety, they were adamant about protecting him. However, putting more lives at risk would weigh heavily on his already hefty conscience and the moment an opportunity arose, Erskine left. It was all he could do to protect anyone else from putting their lives after his own—he couldn't take another round of guilt.
Power— Plant Manipulation
—Capable of complete control over plant life in his surrounding area, Erskine contains an extension over a small part of nature around him. This particular ability allows him control over the growth rate of existing plant life and plant life that he is able to create, though the latter of which only lasts for an allotted amount of time. As such, for better effect, Erskine carries a packet of seeds on his person at all times, though it isn't essential to his ability to actually fight. However, as of now, Erskine's control over already existing plants is more tuned and powerful than his control over plants he's created. Plants manipulated in the surrounding area or from seeds he uses tend to pack more of a punch and are allow for better defense, as he can better control their durability. It feels more natural to him than actually creating plant life.
— Body Heat Manipulation
—The complete and utter control of either the absence of heat or the abundance of it within an individual's body, Body Heat Manipulation practically gives Erskine a knob with which to control how hot or cold his body can get. This, in and of itself, seems like a perfectly harmless ability and seems more a useful utility than it does either an aggressive or defensive ability. However, there is no limit to which Erskine can increase his body temperature and the only limit on his ability to decrease it is the universal law concerning absolute zero. Currently, however, Erskine can only increase his core body temperature to that of 750 K and decrease to around 120 K. As by law of physics, it's easier for Erskine to increase his body temperature and far more difficult to decrease it the closer to 0 K he gets.
This ability extends only to the plants that Erskine creates and not plants that he only manipulates. As an upside to this ability, what his plants lack in durability and strength make up for in the fact that, like his own body, they're immune to any type of temperature change.
Skills— Heat/Cold Immunity
—Due to his own control over his body temperature, it would be a pretty lousy power if Erskine could literally die from a fever of his own causing or totally freeze because he decided to lower his body heat on a hot, summer day. This completely renders Erskine immune to any types of powers that would burn or freeze him. This may also mean he's nearly immune to most disease, since he can heat his entire body to the point where anything toxic harming him is thoroughly killed—his fevers can go as high as they want, in order to eradicate any foreign disease in his body.
— Stamina and Fitness
—Being a runner for most of his high school career, Erskine's endurance is through the roof. It's definitely not super human level, but he can definitely boast an above average stamina. Along with that, Erskine is quite physically fit, though he's more built for agility and speed than he is for strength. He's quite flexible too.
— Heightened Senses
—A side effect of having plant manipulation is the entire connection to plants. It's on a near telepathic field and allows Erskine a better form of perception than most. It's entirely through the plants, but there's that little bit of his mind that always stays tethered to the earth itself.
Weaknesses— Reckless
—There's a recklessness to Erskine's personality that translates directly into his fighting style. He'll likely overestimate his powers rather than underestimate his opponents and is prone to miscalculating certain things, such as relative distance, his own durability, and his own stamina. He may have quite a bit, but it's not expendable.
— Astigmatism and Lack of Depth Perception
—Unable to afford laser eye surgery, Erskine's had to live with an astigmatism and prescription glasses or contacts. As well, there's a bit of damage to his retina due to a small accident with a few acids in his high school chemistry class that has all but removed his ability to perceive three dimensions with his left eye, leaving anything seen from it extremely blurry. Thus, Erskine must rely on his right eye to actually see things.
— Asthma
—Due to a lung deformity during birth, Erskine has had to deal with asthma all of his life, though they fixed that deformity during his toddler years. As such, even with his high endurance, Erskine must take short breaks during high adrenaline moments in order to regain his breath.