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ARDENT
"Let's try and make it look like you stood a chance. For the cameras."
[ NAME ]
David Schwartz
[ HERO IDENTITY ]
Ardent
[ NICKNAME/ALIAS ]
@ArdentOfficial on Twitter.
[ AGE ]
23
[ GENDER ]
M
[ AFFILIATION ]
Probationary member of H.E.R.O., formerly an independent vigilante.
[ APPEARANCE ]
Meathead-type hero. David is tall and powerfully athletic, with a certain brutish charm to his looks. Aside from his stature and intense expression, the most striking part of his look is his bright green hair in an undercut style. He is not someone interested in hiding, and he prefers to make an impression. David has some grasp on fashion and aims to look good in public, but prefers to dress casually in loose clothes or athletic wear whenever he feels he can privately get away with it.
For hero work David wears a dark grey sleeveless costume with an orange pattern and a green jacket. He has goggles occasionally worn for eye protection, but no mask. Concealing his identity is not a priority.
For hero work David wears a dark grey sleeveless costume with an orange pattern and a green jacket. He has goggles occasionally worn for eye protection, but no mask. Concealing his identity is not a priority.
[ PERSONALITY TRAITS ]
Self-Possessed: David is not a team player by nature. He makes his own judgments and often commits to them in the extreme. He dislikes overcomplicated situations and generally aims to bulldoze to a solution without regard for the feelings of others.
Media-Savvy: Public image is key. David tends to be very mindful of the possibility that anything he does might be recorded or publicized. Originally, this meant he was very vocal about his views on justice. Now, it means he must pretend to be happy with his position at H.E.R.O.
Rebellious: David is not accustomed to taking orders. Any H.E.R.O. paper-pusher who spends a few minutes in a room with him becomes very aware of just how much he chafes under authority. He is staying in line, for now, but orders should be worded carefully.
Sense of Justice: As David puts it, "Cowards always have a hundred reasons why you shouldn't hit them." His simple policy is to give a beating to anybody who's asking for one, and not to let anything slide. For all that talk, though, innocent lives do come first. Hostage situations are his least favourite situations, by far.
Ashamed: For all his fire and pride, David has been beaten. He can only remain content by convincing himself that giving up his crusade and joining H.E.R.O. was the right thing to do. Beneath that excuse is an inescapable sense of failure and loss of purpose.
Media-Savvy: Public image is key. David tends to be very mindful of the possibility that anything he does might be recorded or publicized. Originally, this meant he was very vocal about his views on justice. Now, it means he must pretend to be happy with his position at H.E.R.O.
Rebellious: David is not accustomed to taking orders. Any H.E.R.O. paper-pusher who spends a few minutes in a room with him becomes very aware of just how much he chafes under authority. He is staying in line, for now, but orders should be worded carefully.
Sense of Justice: As David puts it, "Cowards always have a hundred reasons why you shouldn't hit them." His simple policy is to give a beating to anybody who's asking for one, and not to let anything slide. For all that talk, though, innocent lives do come first. Hostage situations are his least favourite situations, by far.
Ashamed: For all his fire and pride, David has been beaten. He can only remain content by convincing himself that giving up his crusade and joining H.E.R.O. was the right thing to do. Beneath that excuse is an inescapable sense of failure and loss of purpose.
[ BIO ]
David grew up to have something of a negative outlook on the state of the world. Two foster families tried and failed to fix this, and when his powers began to manifest in late childhood he came to be called a lost cause. By sixteen, David was a local menace in suburban Boston, clobbering local gangs, Child Protective Services, and anyone else who he felt was asking for it. He was on the radar of local heroes, who determined that it was better to just perform weekly wellness checks on the superpowered youth rather than to try taking him into captivity. Perhaps they could have saved themselves some trouble by grabbing him back then.
Confused and angered by the state of the world around him, young David resolved to become an independent hero. In his eyes, what the world needed was somebody who was willing to rip through all the red tape and beat the hell out of anyone who deserved it, consequences be damned. Soon enough, the hero Ardent had become notorious on the East coast as an enemy of the corrupt and powerful. His online popularity skyrocketed after a particularly bold incident during which he tore apart the German embassy in Boston to drag out a foreign villain who had been seeking shelter there. The video of this, recorded by a passerby, garnered views in the tens of millions online. As much as this drew criticism and caused headaches for proper superhero organizations, it was working, and Ardent was making a name for himself.
David's fame grew, and he began to attract a very vocal audience of those who felt that organizations like H.E.R.O. were too corrupt and broken to make real change in the world. He leaned into this image, creating a powerful social media presence and amplifying his message even further. While his vigilante career soared, though, his own life began to slide downhill. For all his fame, he had little actual income, and he was evicted from his apartment after posting an open invite to his address for "any villain who needs some teeth knocked out".
The final straw was when David finally began to get direct attention from proper heroes. It started with little conflicts, arguments about how to handle delicate situations like hostages and bomb threats. There were accusations that David was too rough, that he was too often targeting white-collar criminals who needed to be investigated and convicted rather than just beaten black and blue. Eventually, H.E.R.O.'s Boston team had to draw the line. David was given a choice: be branded a criminal and spend his days battling against the government's heroes, or come into the fold and do some real good under the organization's watch. He told himself he didn't want to hurt his fellow heroes, even if they were misguided. He told himself he could make change from the inside of H.E.R.O. Whatever the excuse, he gave in.
Getting Ardent on their side was a big win for H.E.R.O., as his stamp of approval silenced a very noisy community of online critics. Publicly, Ardent acknowledged that he had gone too far as a vigilante and that H.E.R.O. was a trustworthy organization that he would be happy to work alongside. In truth, he is still only a probationary member and must be kept under supervision while operating as a hero, although this fact is not public. Thinking it better to keep Ardent away from the city where he had already done so much damage, the Boston team washed their hands of him and sent him to the one man hard-headed enough to keep the unruly hero in line: Hugo Powers. For the past five days, David has played the role of Castleburg's latest superhero under this man's careful watch.
Confused and angered by the state of the world around him, young David resolved to become an independent hero. In his eyes, what the world needed was somebody who was willing to rip through all the red tape and beat the hell out of anyone who deserved it, consequences be damned. Soon enough, the hero Ardent had become notorious on the East coast as an enemy of the corrupt and powerful. His online popularity skyrocketed after a particularly bold incident during which he tore apart the German embassy in Boston to drag out a foreign villain who had been seeking shelter there. The video of this, recorded by a passerby, garnered views in the tens of millions online. As much as this drew criticism and caused headaches for proper superhero organizations, it was working, and Ardent was making a name for himself.
David's fame grew, and he began to attract a very vocal audience of those who felt that organizations like H.E.R.O. were too corrupt and broken to make real change in the world. He leaned into this image, creating a powerful social media presence and amplifying his message even further. While his vigilante career soared, though, his own life began to slide downhill. For all his fame, he had little actual income, and he was evicted from his apartment after posting an open invite to his address for "any villain who needs some teeth knocked out".
The final straw was when David finally began to get direct attention from proper heroes. It started with little conflicts, arguments about how to handle delicate situations like hostages and bomb threats. There were accusations that David was too rough, that he was too often targeting white-collar criminals who needed to be investigated and convicted rather than just beaten black and blue. Eventually, H.E.R.O.'s Boston team had to draw the line. David was given a choice: be branded a criminal and spend his days battling against the government's heroes, or come into the fold and do some real good under the organization's watch. He told himself he didn't want to hurt his fellow heroes, even if they were misguided. He told himself he could make change from the inside of H.E.R.O. Whatever the excuse, he gave in.
Getting Ardent on their side was a big win for H.E.R.O., as his stamp of approval silenced a very noisy community of online critics. Publicly, Ardent acknowledged that he had gone too far as a vigilante and that H.E.R.O. was a trustworthy organization that he would be happy to work alongside. In truth, he is still only a probationary member and must be kept under supervision while operating as a hero, although this fact is not public. Thinking it better to keep Ardent away from the city where he had already done so much damage, the Boston team washed their hands of him and sent him to the one man hard-headed enough to keep the unruly hero in line: Hugo Powers. For the past five days, David has played the role of Castleburg's latest superhero under this man's careful watch.
[ RANKING ]
[ POWERS ]
[ PHYSICAL STRENGTH ]
■■■■■■■■■□
[ AGILITY ]
■■■■■■■■■□
[ INTELLIGENCE ]
■■□□□□□□□□
[ DESTRUCTIVENESS ]
■■■■■■■□□□
[ LETHALITY ]
■■■■□□□□□□
[ ENDURANCE ]
■■■■■■■■□□
[ STAMINA ]
■■■■■■■■■■
[ EFFICACY ]
■■■■■■□□□□
[ SURVEILLANCE LEVEL ]
■■■■■■□□□□
[ SKILLS ]
[ EQUIPMENT ]
Β (Beta Class)
[ POWERS ]
Full-Body Flight: David has forceful and precise psychokinetic control over his entire body. He can freely impart movement to all his limbs, flesh, fluids, severed parts, etc. in 3D space, although the power is not precise enough to operate on a cellular level, to reshape his tissue, or to otherwise change his natural form. There are plenty of potentially bizarre uses, but David's power is generally expressed in the style of the quintessential super human: he can propel himself in flight, move his limbs with super strength, and brace his body to prevent injury.
[ PHYSICAL STRENGTH ]
■■■■■■■■■□
Using his power to move his body, David can output incredible force. He can quite handily toss a truck, crush a cinderblock in his hand, send a villain flying with a kick, and so on. The nature of his power means he needs no support nor leverage to perform these feats, so even an odd-looking attack from a finger or flailing limb can potentially deal tremendous damage to a foe. David's strength is incredible, but he has no special power to properly support something very large, like a building, without having it collapse due to resting its entire weight on his comparatively small form.
Powers aside, David happens to be extremely strong, but not supernaturally so.
Powers aside, David happens to be extremely strong, but not supernaturally so.
[ AGILITY ]
■■■■■■■■■□
The technique that put Ardent on the map: flight. He can psychokinetically hoist himself into the air and move around at speeds that match the finest modern aircraft. Factoring in both his raw speed and the fact that he can avoid all sorts of terrain by simply passing overhead, David is an ace when it comes to quickly reaching a situation anywhere in the city or beyond.
As far as small-scale agility is concerned, David's power remains incredibly useful. His psychokinetic movement does not rely on the impulses of the nervous system, and he can freely reposition in three dimensions to avoid attacks and strike from surprising angles. When it comes to chaotic situations, he considers himself an expert in evasive maneuvers.
As far as small-scale agility is concerned, David's power remains incredibly useful. His psychokinetic movement does not rely on the impulses of the nervous system, and he can freely reposition in three dimensions to avoid attacks and strike from surprising angles. When it comes to chaotic situations, he considers himself an expert in evasive maneuvers.
[ INTELLIGENCE ]
■■□□□□□□□□
Not quite as foolish as he seems. David's instincts are sharp enough, and he has no shortage of life experience or situational awareness. Still, his mind is not his greatest asset.
[ DESTRUCTIVENESS ]
■■■■■■■□□□
David's attacks are powerful enough to rip through steel and concrete, and a heavy blow could even release a shockwave, but his power is close-ranged and does not directly deal in destruction over a broad area. Still, there is something to be said for the terrifying combination of high-speed flight and super strength as a set of tools for demolition. If David flies headlong at an eighteen-wheeler, the truck will be torn apart. With a couple quick loops through a parking garage or skyscraper, he could surely fly through enough pillars and walls to collapse the structure.
[ LETHALITY ]
■■■■□□□□□□
With his power, David should be able to kill a normal human pretty easily with a single blow to the head or torso. Thankfully, there are no records of this ever happening. He generally fights bare-handed and with restraint, so his foe will only suffer bruises and broken bones in a normal engagement. If he were on a murderous rampage, he would have no special means of causing mass death beyond individually smashing people to bits or tossing something big and heavy at a crowd.
[ ENDURANCE ]
■■■■■■■■□□
In principle, David's power is the psychokinetic movement of his body, so he does not have a special ability to become properly invulnerable. Instead, he basically uses fine and forceful control to hold his skin, bones, and organs in place (and in one piece), preventing them from registering damage from physical trauma. If a bullet is fired that should pierce his flesh, he simply forces his skin to remain in place, preventing a wound from opening up at the point of impact. This is remarkably effective for guarding against cutting, crushing, blunt force, and so forth, but has no use against more unusual forms of damage, such as heat and cold, which directly harm the cells. It is critical to note that David's actual body only has the durability of a normal human's, so if he fails to notice or otherwise fails to brace against an attack, he lacks any solid defence.
Fine control of his power means David can perform a rough sort of healing on himself. He can force broken bones into their proper shape, squeeze wounds shut, send lost blood back into his body, etc. He does not have the ability to actually fuse tissue back together, though, so this is really more of a stopgap measure.
Fine control of his power means David can perform a rough sort of healing on himself. He can force broken bones into their proper shape, squeeze wounds shut, send lost blood back into his body, etc. He does not have the ability to actually fuse tissue back together, though, so this is really more of a stopgap measure.
[ STAMINA ]
■■■■■■■■■■
Secretly David's strongest point! His power controls his body, but does not rely on his body's own strength. Even if he is wracked with wounds that place him on the verge of death, sapped of all his energy, exhausted from hours of work, overcome with sickness, or in some similar state, his power can be used to move his body at nearly full capacity. This is possible as long as David can remain conscious. In the past, he was known to have operated as a vigilante for periods of nearly 36 hours without a proper break, as unwise as that might have been.
[ EFFICACY ]
■■■■■■□□□□
David is very adept with the basic uses of his power. He exhibits fine control when flying around and using his strength, and has very good reaction time. As a side effect of his power, he has constant awareness of the position and movement of all parts of his body. Compared to how much he has explored the most forceful uses of his power, David is less experienced with small-scale uses of the power on things like his spit and hair.
[ SURVEILLANCE LEVEL ]
■■■■■■□□□□
David is only on probationary membership and is considered to be at moderate risk of turning his back on H.E.R.O. It is probably safe to rely on him to fight evil and rescue civilians, but his adherence to other mission parameters is suspect.
[ SKILLS ]
- Possesses the charisma and talent to operate an online presence and maintain a very large following.
- Extremely adept at bare-knuckle fighting and use of improvised weapons. Although he is not properly trained, he considers his wealth of experience and strong instinct to be more valuable than any technique.
- A good cook within the context of his spartan lifestyle. Can make a little food go a long way.
- A gym bro, meticulous when it comes to diet and healthy routine.
- Took a first aid class at the YMCA. Experienced with patching up his own injuries.
- Sewing master! Considers it a matter of pride to be able to completely erase damage to his clothing as if it never happened. His original hero costume was made on his own.
- Animal whisperer. Extremely high affinity for stray animals.
- Extremely adept at bare-knuckle fighting and use of improvised weapons. Although he is not properly trained, he considers his wealth of experience and strong instinct to be more valuable than any technique.
- A good cook within the context of his spartan lifestyle. Can make a little food go a long way.
- A gym bro, meticulous when it comes to diet and healthy routine.
- Took a first aid class at the YMCA. Experienced with patching up his own injuries.
- Sewing master! Considers it a matter of pride to be able to completely erase damage to his clothing as if it never happened. His original hero costume was made on his own.
- Animal whisperer. Extremely high affinity for stray animals.
[ EQUIPMENT ]
- Smartphone. David carries out both personal and heroic business on the same phone. The camera is top-of-the-line, and he has a mechanism for sticking it to surfaces and leaving it to record his fights.
- Zip ties, for quick and easy capture.
- Bandages and disinfectant.
- Goggles.
- Rebreather.
- Hidden beneath his clothes, a very small but durable ankle bracelet with a tracker, keeping Director Powers apprised of his movements. Removing this would be a violation of David's probationary hero status.
- Zip ties, for quick and easy capture.
- Bandages and disinfectant.
- Goggles.
- Rebreather.
- Hidden beneath his clothes, a very small but durable ankle bracelet with a tracker, keeping Director Powers apprised of his movements. Removing this would be a violation of David's probationary hero status.
