Name: Eric Vyle
Codename: E-Vyle
Age: 19
Gender: Male
Place of Birth: Unknown. Found abandoned in a bar in Amarillo, TX
Occupation: Unemployed
Appearance:
- 6'2"
- 130lbs
- Short, neatly combed black hair.
- Tan complexion of indeterminate racial heritage.
- Long, black trench coat, pants and polished black shoes.
Swarm Body: Eric's body is actually a swarm of hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of flying, chameleonic insects working in unison to present the outward appearance of a normal human being. Any physical attack against him merely scatters the swarm and is as useful as shooting a gun at a swarm of bees.
Devouring Swarm: The insects that make up Eric's body are capable of devouring anything an insect could devour like a swarm of ravenous piranhas. They can eat wood like termites, plant matter, other insects, gain hydration and sustenance from blood like a moth or butterfly, eat flesh, etc. A human body could be devoured in a matter of moments, depending on the size of the swarm.
Replenishing Swarm: The insects that make up his body die and can be killed like any other insect. To 'heal' himself and replenish his swarm, Eric's insects lay eggs that have a rapid gestation period, once again being able to use wood, plants, flesh, dirt, etc to plant eggs. Eggs typically hatch within a minute and are fully grown upon birth.
Disease Carrier: Since Eric can feed on flesh and blood, he can also carry blood borne diseases like a mosquito does. If he encounters a foe with a disease transmittable by blood, he can carry that disease and infect another with it.
Flight & Wall Crawling: Since he is really just a swarm of flying insects, Eric can fly and appear to crawl on walls.
Shapeshifting: Eric can rearrange the swarm that makes up his body to take on different appearances based on the people he can see, alter his height and weight or merely take on a form that he has imagined, such as a formless cloud or animal. It does not grant him the abilities of that form (powers, speed, etc) but merely their appearance and voice.
Eyes in the back of his head: Since each member of his swam has their own individual senses and Eric does not have 'eyes' in the conventional sense, he sees what his swarm sees, enabling him to see in all directions simultaneously.
Excess Swarm: While there are limits to how many insects can make up Eric's swarm, he can assign roles to his swarm that are not currently maintaining his outward appearance, such as clothes, a cane or even weapons (even though they will not function as the weapon they are mimicking).
Suspended Animation: Like a cicada, Eric's swarm can hibernate in a form of suspended animation for great periods of time, allowing him to leave parts of 'himself' behind to reawaken should there be an emergency.
Conventional Insecticide Immunity: Since the insects in his swarm are not normal insects they are not susceptible to conventional or store bought insecticides. This does not mean that incredibly potent insecticides will not harm him, but enemies will require more than insect-repellant or a can of Raid to hurt him.
Hallucinatory Toxin: The insects of his swam posses stingers and their bodies secrete a toxin. Once stung or after ingesting the toxin, the victim is subject to vivid auditory and tactile hallucinations that can be controlled and guided by Eric. This toxin can remain in the victims system for several hours.
Electrical Disruption: A side-effect of so many insects constantly rubbing against each other is that they produce a small static charge that causes electrical disruption. It is not enough to shut down a computer, but low level electronics such as lights and digital clocks cease to function in within a 10 meter radius of Eric.
Divided Consciousness: The swarm that comprises Eric's form is controlled by his mind alone. There is no queen, only Eric's mind. Conversely, the swarm is Eric's mind, divided among millions of insects, each acting as a different part of his mind and consciousness. If enough of his swarm is killed, Eric will become entirely guided by instinct, needing to feed to replenish his numbers and entering a kind of berserker state. Once his numbers are sufficiently replenished however, his mind will be 'whole' again and he can regain control.
Money: The oldest super power of them all. While he does not see his father often, he is still family and has access to his family wealth.
Skills: Eric is an accomplished writer and highly imaginative.
Equipment/Resources: While able to wear clothing and carry items, Eric does not actually have any possessions.
Weaknesses: Like any swarm of insects, the biggest threats to Eric are large bodies of water, fire, industrial-grade insecticide or targeted electrical attacks. Also, if he is more than 10 miles from any member of his swarm and they are
not hibernating, they become separated from the swarm, becoming just another insect.
Psychological Profile:
Eric has a vivid and often macabre imagination, largely due to his upbringing. He can be quite reclusive and can seem apathetic at times.
Biography:
Eric was found abandoned in a cardboard box as an infant in a Texas bar. The man who found him, Richard Eric Vyle, happened to be a wealthy bestselling horror author who frequented the bar when working on a new novel. An unwed recluse himself who had always wanted a child, he adopted the child, naming him Eric and raising him as his own. Growing up in the mansion of a horror author certainly shaped Eric's mind and personality, as each room was dedicated to all manner of horror paraphernalia. He was raised on the works of Edgar Allen Poe, H.P Lovecraft and Steven King to name but a few and shared his fathers fascination with all things dark and disturbing. When he was 15 he began writing his own works to much critical acclaim.
In the wake of the Awakening, however, Eric found himself irrevocably changed. In the world of horror literature it was seen as a blessing, but it had an unfortunate price. At his insistence, Eric subjected his father to his hallucinatory toxin in an effort to provide him with vivd visions of his works and ideas that he believed would only serve to improve his writing, allowing him to describe his creations in better, bloodcurdling detail. The hallucinations proved too vivid however, and Richard Vyle was left with a severe fear of the dark, finding himself unable to even describe it through written word without panicking himself.
The horror community reacted in two way. Those who blamed him for depriving them of his fathers future works and those who idolized him, calling him the new 'Lord of Horror' for his ability to send even his renowned father to the edge of his sanity. There were even those willing to pay him obscene amounts of money to subject them to such depraved horrors.
Because of this, Eric left. His ability that caused lights to fail in his presence made it almost impossible to be around his father and he felt his abilities provided him with an unfair advantage when it came to his writing. Carrying the guilt of his fathers inability to continue writing works of horror, Eric turned his attentions to the League. If he was able to use the powers and horrors at his disposal to help others instead of harming good people like his father, he felt that he may be able to let some of the guilt go.
