koolerkid

Fullmetal Alchemist: Fate's Gate

Simon had been just about to shake Penny's hand when he felt something behind him. He was already turning, one hand up to defend himself while another dropped to his belt for one of his throwing needles. His weight nearly tripled, and the chair he was in creaked ominously under the weight. However, before he even registered that it was merely the drunkard from earlier swinging a bottle at him - hardly even a threat, given the armor he wore under his cloak - said bottle exploded abruptly. Simon was briefly puzzled, until he saw a nearby man reaching for an eyepatch. Simon's eyes widened marginally, and he managed to shield his face just before the man exploded into flames.

Dear lord. Why? Why did it have to be... him? Noisy, rambunctious, uncontrolled... and wielding the dangerous power of fire. Ralph the Alcoholic Alchemist was, in many ways, the exact opposite of Simon's own cautious personality. Not that indiscriminate destruction didn't have its place, but its place was most assuredly not here. Thankfully, some passing stranger put the poor man out quickly, before Simon even had a chance to locate water. Less fortunately, said stranger was the inquisitive sort.

Thank goodness for Penny. Her excuse wasn't the best, but she thought fast, so that was something. He gave the interloper a tranquil grin. "It certainly isn't meant to ignite like that," he said with a shrug. "I wouldn't have left it lying around if I had known it was so volatile. It must've been the impact that did it; I truly am sorry." He did his best impression of an apologetic face. "As for the earlier ruckus, I'm afraid the man was harassing my friend... Ashley here. I was merely dissuading him. I did give him the option to walk away. He attacked first." Simon bowed his head. "Thank you very much for your concern, but I wouldn't wish to take up any more of your night with this."

Fullmetal Alchemist: Fate's Gate

It was, Simon mused to himself, rather amusing how stealthy a nearly six foot tall man in armor could be when he only weighed about twenty pounds. Magnetically lightened through alchemy, his armor didn't make a sound as he stepped, cat-like, through the tavern. His feet, wrapped in cloth to disguise the boots as poor shoes, were equally silent. The armor was concealed with a rough-spun tunic and cloak, giving him a rather spooky appearance. All of these factors combined meant that when he reached the large, alcoholic man harassing the girl he recognized as his contact, from the man's point of view it was as if a shrouded giant had suddenly materialized behind him and placed a suddenly-heavy hand on his shoulder.

"The lady is clearly not interested." Simon's soft voice issued from beneath his hood. "Moreover, we have business to conduct. If you'd be so kind as to be on your way, we can continue with our night without any undue excitement." His voice carried no hint of threat; he was kind and courteous, as casual as if he was discussing the weather.

Unfortunately, the drunken man was not in the mood to be soothed, and lacked the sense to be afraid of large, hooded strangers. He scowled at Simon, standing up as if to try and intimidate him. The effect was... less than threatening. "Hey now, if you think you c'n just barge in here, and tell me what to do..." He made a clumsy lunge at Simon, who was suddenly very light indeed.

Moving like lightning, Simon's arms whipped about, seizing the man and using the weight of his own charge to flip him up and onto his back. There was a distinct thump as the man hit the ground, which briefly drew attention from the bar's other patrons before they all swiftly returned to their drinks. Simon peered down at the man, and spoke, still utterly calm, as if nothing had happened. "Now, if you walk away now, we can continue without making any more of a scene. Frankly, I don't have time for you."

The man on the floor glared at him, before climbing to his feet and trying to pretend he wasn't running away, grumbling under his breath. Interloper dealt with, Simon sat down across from his contact and lowered his hood, revealing a young, peaceful face. "You are Penelope Draven, the Prankster Alchemist, correct?" He closed his eyes and leaned back in his chair, which didn't so much as creak under his weight. He looked, for all the world, like a man settling in for a nap. "Simon Everett, the Lightning Alchemist. I was told to meet you here." His voice was a quiet murmur, to avoid being overheard.

Fullmetal Alchemist: Fate's Gate

Sorry for the delay! Reduced the size of the railgun shot; it's now armor-piercing rather than a building-buster. I left it a bit open-ended to include the possibility of discovering a way to use a larger shot later, as well as the opportunity for desperate last-strike maneuvers if he's willing to mangle his own arms for it.

Fullmetal Alchemist: Fate's Gate

*pokes head in*

Well, this seems interesting.

Simon Everett

Name: Simon Everett

Age: 21

Height: 5'10"

Weight: Hard to tell, considering how often he lightens himself. It's a lot.

Appearance: Click here

Race: Human

Nationality: Amestrian

Personality: People who know of Simon tend to have one of two impressions of him, both false. Those who know him only by rumor and reputation tend to only know of his more spectacular fights, and believe him to be some kind of crazed berserker who leaves nothing behind but rubble and collateral damage. However, those who meet him in person form quite the opposite view, seeing him as little more then a dim-witted, sleepy layabout who coasts through life on his reputation. Neither impression could be further from the truth. While Simon is generally calm and easygoing, and has a habit of keeping his eyes closed whenever they aren't needed, he's always alert and listening to everything going on around him. He is highly aware of the destructive power of his alchemy, and so prefers to think carefully before unleashing it. Once he's decided that it's time for violence, however, he holds very little back. He carries this philosophy over into everything he does - he gathers information, waits for the appropriate moment, then moves like a blitz to get everything done at once. When not in a situation that requires immediate action, he prefers to relax and listen to music, and rarely speaks. When action is required, he reacts with incredible speed and force.

Background: Simon was born to a family of mechanics. His father was a talented automail mechanic from Rush Valley, while his mother was a tinkerer who experimented with circuitry and electricity. Even as a boy, Simon shared his parents' fascination with all things mechanical. Most amazing to him was the electricity which powered it all, dancing about as if it had a life of its own. As he grew older, he sought for ways to control electricity himself. When mechanical pursuits failed to yield the results he wanted, he turned to Alchemical methods of harnessing lightning. He studied Alchemy for nearly a year before he was able to develop a circle capable of ionizing the air and generating lightning, but in his hurry to test it he accidentally burned down his house. Thankfully, nobody died in the resulting fire, but his mother was badly burnt and lost her arm. Thankfully, Simon's father replaced the arm with automail and both parents eventually forgave him, but Simon never forgave himself for almost killing his family through impatience. As a result, he vowed to never act without careful consideration of the consequences first. With this vow in mind, he headed off to join the State Alchemists, in hopes of learning discipline. It has been three years since then, and Simon, also known as the Lightning Alchemist, has become a respected combatant, well known for careful planning and brief, destructive attacks.

Profession: State Alchemist

Art: Alchemy

Specialty: Electricity and Magnetism - Simon's famous technique of super-charging the air around him is the basis of the majority of his abilities. Using Alchemical circles carved into the palms of his gloves (and tattooed on the palms of his hands, for redundancy), he can generate electricity more or less at will. Controlling it, however, is something that requires careful forethought - lightning doesn't often listen to orders, but rather follows the path of least resistance. Preparing that path ahead of time is the key to controlling lightning. Furthermore, applying a slightly-altered transmutation to metallic objects can cause powerful magnetic effects, which he employs through transmutation circles carved into his bracers and the back of his armor. Electricity is a powerful force; however, water tends to interfere with many of his techniques.

Techniques:

• Electric Aura - Simon's standard technique, upon which most of his other techniques are built. It allows him to protect himself with a crackling field of electricity, which extends less then an inch from his body. Any living being contacting this aura receives a painful electric shock, sufficient to cause a brief muscle spasm. This electricity is unusual in that it is 'stuck' to his armor, and doesn't transmit along metal unless he wants it to (the armor is of course insulated, to protect Simon form the effects of his own technique). However, water will cause it to 'short out' and deliver a mild shock to Simon. Simon requires at least one hand free and not doing anything else to maintain this aura, as it is the circles on his hand that control the electricity.



• Lightning Bolt - the signature from which Simon draws his title, this is a dangerous and devastating technique. By charging his Electric Aura with enough power, he causes the lightning to break free of the alchemical effect keeping it contained to his armor. He can then direct this massive bolt in any general direction simply by pointing. However, lightning is difficult to aim, and without preparation it will undoubtably go astray, striking wherever it pleases. To direct it, Simon first 'tags' his target with a special alchemical circle that lowers the electric charge of an area, making the target a sort of Alchemical lightning rod. The lightning he fires is invariably attracted to these circles, allowing him to strike with unerring precision once the target has been tagged. Simon carries numerous throwing needles with the correct circle on them for this very purpose, as well as chalk to draw it on other circles (and to transmute more throwing needles from the surroundings, if needed). The bolts vary from 'stunning' bolts, which cause excruciating pain, to 'killing' bolts which can cause death if it passes through the heart or brain, and temporary paralysis in the affected body part otherwise.



• Magnetic Aura - by applying a slightly modified version of the Electric Aura directly to his armor, Simon can magnetize it and any other metal he comes in contact with via the transmutation circle on his back. This allows him to projective an attractive or repellant magnetic force around him, pushing or pulling at small metal objects, or being pushed away from or drawn towards larger ones. He can even use this technique to attract or repel the magnetic field of the Earth itself, effectively making his armor lighter or heavier at will. He often lightens his armor to avoid restricting his movement, and can jump impressive heights when assisted by magnetism, but he rarely reverses the charge to make the armor heavier for fear it would crush him.



• Railgun Blaster - Despite his title, firing lightning bolts is not the pinnacle of Simon's alchemy. He has a much more fearsome technique, one which he uses only in desperate situations. Those who are unfamiliar with him know of him only through the spectacular aftermath of this attack, which is where he acquired his reputation as a violent berserker. First, he acquires a heavy metal shot, typically about the size of a bullet; he carries a few of these on his belt, magnetized to reduce their weight, but he can also transmute them from his surroundings if needed. Then, he places his arms near each other and uses the circles on the bracers to generate a magnetic field which levitates the shot. Then, by rotating and expanding the field, he causes the shot to rapidly accelerate forwards at hypersonic speeds - roughly five times the speed of sound. This attack is very powerful, capable of piercing through metal shielding, but requires several seconds to build the magnetic field to appropriate strength and is painful to use, as the recoil and excess heat generated from the blast are absorbed by Simon's arms. He has been experimenting with ways to mitigate the pain, but as-is it causes mild burns and soreness. It is theoretically possible to use a larger shot, which could cause devastating damage, but increasing the size of the shot would also increase the damage done to the guidance rails - ie Simon's arms.