▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ xxxxxxxxx> BASIC INFO xxxknowing one self is the first step xxxxthe first step to eternal greatness xxxxxknowing one self is the first stepxxxxthe first step to eternal greatness
» NICKNAMEx/ x Nightlight » FAMOUS NAMEx/ x Nightlight » AGEx/ x 12 » GENDERx/ x Female » SEXUALITYx/ x Straight » BIRTHDAYx/ x June 17th » HOME COUNTRY, CITYx/ x Country, City » CURRENT LOCATIONx/x New York
▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ xxxxxx> PHYSICAL INFO xxxfrom my head to my toesxxxxfrom my skin to my bones xxxxxfrom my head to my toesxxxxfrom my skin to my bones
» HEIGHTx/ x 59 inches » WEIGHTx/ x 90 pounds » EYE COLORx/ x words here » HAIR COLORx/ x words here » BUILDx/ x Average physically active child » OUTSANDING FEATURESx/ x None to speak of. Seems like an average girl.
» CASUAL CLOTHES DESCRIPTIONx / x Her mundane outfit is typically her hair down, jeans and a Aerosmith t-shirt, clean and devoid of any foreign matter that her tinker life produces. » COSTUME DESCRIPTIONx / x She wears a smooth white mask with a painted on girls face, the eyes depicted as crying and the mouth twisted in a silent scream. The dress depicted in the character image, stained with grease and oil is her costume of sorts.
▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ xxxxxx> COMBAT INFO xxxsticks and stonesxxxxwith swords and bows xxxxxsticks and stonesxxxxwith swords and bows
» DISPOSITIONxLawful/Evil x
» CLASSIFICATION NUMBERSx/ x Tinker [ 8 ]
» POWERS
Drone Tinker
Your primary specialty as a tinker is that of creating drones to do your bidding. These mechanical minions are capable of performing complex tasks and can put up a fight against sentient foes, especially when they are massed together against fewer opponents. There is a limitation on size however as you are unable to build them larger than say a motorcycle. However what they lack in size can be made up for with an array of different appendages, armaments, and on board VI (virtual intelligence).
▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ xxxxxxx> PSYCHOLOGY xxxthose who think that they're mad are truly sanexxxxthose that think they're sane are truly mad xxxxxthose who think that they're mad are truly sanexxxxthose that think they're sane are truly mad
Megan is your average lawful evil undersider. She has her own set of laws, and obeys her groups rules. She has a playful demeanor even though her games are PRETTY DAMN DARK. She toys with her prey like a cat would a wounded mouse. She wont typically kill it because then she just wouldnt have anything to play with anymore. She is very much afraid of the dark, and most of her inventions tend to have some sort of illumination system built into them. Be it headlights or plan lightup synthetic skin she doesnt get caught in the dark anymore. In fact her fear of monsters and things worse than herself comes out full bore if she is somehow trapped in a dark area. She panics and will mostly shut down. In the end, she is a young girl that is just scared in these situations. She never goes anywhere without her teddy bear. Wont you give her a hug. .
» LIKES
↳ Artificial Intellegence, Robutts, Siren
» PASSIONS
↳ Teddy Sir Frederick, Working on new toys
» DISLIKES
↳ People that break the rules, People encroaching on her territory, Bullies, Dumb Brutes.
» ANIMOSITIES
↳ Darkness! No Parents!
▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ xxx> OCCUPATION INFO xxxgotta get up in the morningxxxxgotta get up and work work work xxxxxgotta get up in the morningxxxxgotta get up and work work work
» POSITIONx / x Undersider
Full Time
» RESIDENCEx / x New Brockton
» INFAMYx / x 250 » FAMEx / x 0
» NOTABLE ACTIONS
- Write stuff here - Stuff that would end up in a report - Or in the news - Or in a newspaper - It can be good or bad - Stuff
▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ xxxxxxxxx> INVENTORY xxxanother man's junkxxxxis another man's treasure xxxxxanother man's junkxxxxis another man's treasure
█ »x inventory █ »x Basic small toolbox with common garage tools █ »x School backpack (Legend featured prominently on it) █ »x Spare Clothes █ »x Tinker Tools █ »xMoney: 3060 █ »x █ »x █ »x █ »x █ »x █ »x
▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ xxxxxxxxx> BIOGRAPHY xxxmy past does not define mexxxxit only shows where I have been xxxxxmy past does not define mexxxxit only shows where I have been
» BACKGROUND
Megan was born to a third generation Heartbroken cape. As such, nature and nurture were ******** on a few levels. She has always struggled with social interaction but has a sense of what is right and what is wrong. Her father gave her a teddy bear when she was 4 years old and she has kept it around her, at furthest length from her body just across a bed or a table. The heartbroken have been a part of the undersiders for a century by this time, if a more scary group of enforcers. They were cared for as long as possible by Imp and still follow her laws for the most part. So its more of a family thing at this point. She is expected to take her own territory and is beginning her life as a cape on her own. Despite issues with her siblings they have a fairly close relationship.
» TRIGGER EVENT
Megans older sister and her were in a fight. Deciding to pay a cruel prank and play on Megans fear of the dark, the girl through her teddy bear into the screen porch. Not thinking, Megan ran out to get it. A slam and a moment later is was apparent that her sister shut the door behind her and locked her it. After that the girl inside killed the lights and proceeded to go to sleep, leaving Megan outside in the dark, locked out of her house for the evening. Being a Young girl, her mind payed into her fear the entire evening and she ended up panicking most of the night.
[imgleft]http://i1125.photobucket.com/albums/l583/Ivizalinto/tumblr_np6yix88kH1uvjclyo1_500_zpsi0equvvf.jpg[/imgleft][img]http://i1125.photobucket.com/albums/l583/Ivizalinto/Nightlight_zpsri9huljd.jpg[/img][size=9] [color=#519688]M[/color][color=#6AC4B0]oney[/color][color=white]__[/color][color=#519688][/color][color=#6AC4B0][/color]: [color=#25443D]0[/color] [color=#7CE2CB]0[/color][color=white]___[/color][color=#519688]Ｍ[/color][color=#6AC4B0]ｏｏｄ[/color]: [color=#7CE2CB]Mood Here[/color][color=white]___[/color][color=#519688]Ｓ[/color][color=#6AC4B0]ｅｃｕｒｉｔｙ[/color][color=white]__[/color][color=#519688]Ｌ[/color][color=#6AC4B0]ｅｖｅｌ[/color]: [color=#7CE2CB] Security Level Here[/color][color=white]___[/color][color=#519688]Ａ[/color][color=#6AC4B0]ｌｅｒｔ[/color][color=white]__[/color][color=#519688]Ｌ[/color][color=#6AC4B0]ｅｖｅｌ[/color]: [color=#7CE2CB]Alert Level Here[/color] [color=white]________________________________[/color][color=#519688]Ｏ[/color][color=#6AC4B0]ｍａｋｅ[/color][/size] [color=white]______[/color][color=#7CE2CB]━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━[/color] [size=11]Text Here.[color=#6AC4B0]"Talking."[/color][i][color=#519688]'Thoughts.'[/color][/i] [/size] [color=white]_______________________[/color][color=#7CE2CB]━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━[/color] [align=center][size=28][color=#519688]☣[/color][color=white]_____[/color][color=#6AC4B0]☣[/color][color=white]_____[/color][color=#7CE2CB]☣[/color][/size][/align] [color=white]_____[/color][size=14][color=#519688]❶[/color][/size] [size=9][i][color=#6AC4B0] Drone Tinker: Your primary specialty as a tinker is that of creating drones to do your bidding. These mechanical minions are capable of performing complex tasks and can put up a fight against sentient foes, especially when they are massed together against fewer opponents. There is a limitation on size however as you are unable to build them larger than say a motorcycle. However what they lack in size can be made up for with an array of different appendages, armaments, and on board VI (virtual intelligence). [/color][/i] - [/color][/size]
XXXXXXXXXXXX ❖ Etain Hayes xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx ↳ Classificationxxx Master
▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ xxxxxxxxx> BASIC INFO xxxknowing one self is the first step xxxxthe first step to eternal greatness xxxxxknowing one self is the first stepxxxxthe first step to eternal greatness
» NICKNAMEx/ x Ain » FAMOUS NAMEx/ x Siren » AGEx/ x 25 » GENDERx/ x Female » SEXUALITYx/ x Pansexual » BIRTHDAYx/ x April the 28th » HOME COUNTRY, CITYx/ x United States, New York City » CURRENT LOCATIONx/x United States, Brockton Bay
▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ xxxxxx> PHYSICAL INFO xxxfrom my head to my toesxxxxfrom my skin to my bones xxxxxfrom my head to my toesxxxxfrom my skin to my bones
» HEIGHTx/ x 5'8" » WEIGHTx/ x 116 lbs » EYE COLORx/ x Gold » HAIR COLORx/ x Crimson » BUILDx/ x Lithe » OUTSANDING FEATURESx/ x Avian feet and legs, animal like ear structures, and animal irises. Her back, parts of her arms, and her hips are all feathered.
» CASUAL CLOTHES DESCRIPTIONx / x If siren is in casual clothes for some reason, they consist of a black tanktop and a pair of jeans. She never wears shoes. » COSTUME DESCRIPTIONx / x A hooded blue ensemble bearing a shoulder cape of feathers, and an avian skull on the right shoulder. Some of it is ornamented in red and it ends in a skirt a little past the hips. Her legs are wrapped in blue cloth. She doesn't disguise her face because it'd be impossible for her to have a civilian identity anyway.
▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ xxxxxx> COMBAT INFO xxxsticks and stonesxxxxwith swords and bows xxxxxsticks and stonesxxxxwith swords and bows
» DISPOSITIONx/ x Chaotic Good
» CLASSIFICATION NUMBERSx/ x Master [ 11 ]
» POWERS
Aura of Fear
Whenever Siren's adrenaline rises she emits a fear inducing aura that effects everyone in her vicinity with feelings of fear and intimidation.
Dancing Blades
Natural feathers exist across various parts of Siren's body which while attached retain a downy softness. However once they leave contact with her body their edges become sharp as steel. With telekinesis over her feathers she is able to launch them from her body at up to three hundred feet per second. The closer her feathers are to max speed, the sloppier her control but at a standstill she is able to levitate them with ease. Once a feather is plucked from her body a new one replaces it instantly. Most notable is the danger of her turning herself into a living frag grenade by jettisoning multitude of feathers all at once.
Shared Senses
Is able to see, hear, and smell what people cut by her feathers are able to sense. Spending three posts more than 300 feet away from her will cause the effect to cease.
▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ xxxxxxx> PSYCHOLOGY xxxthose who think that they're mad are truly sanexxxxthose that think they're sane are truly mad xxxxxthose who think that they're mad are truly sanexxxxthose that think they're sane are truly mad
Etain Hayes, aka Siren is not the kind of woman one would expect to have the word supervillain associated with her. She abhors killing, seeks to aid others, and is more than willing to risk her own life for other people. However she believes herself to be unable to exist among normal society and as a result ended up associated with Nightlight. From that relationship she became a member of the Undersiders and now assists them as it means keeping worse criminals out of the city. Seeing herself as having already been sullied by the events of her trigger, she has few qualms about assisting the gang. However she has a tendency to take a more lawful route where she can, always tries to do good deeds, and has no problem going against the law if it means getting people the help they need.
» LIKES
↳ Pizza, Fruit, Generosity, Nightlight, Flirting
» PASSIONS
↳ Dicks, Reading, Baths, Helping Others
» DISLIKES
↳ Rats, Xenophobes
» ANIMOSITIES
↳ Killing
▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ xxx> OCCUPATION INFO xxxgotta get up in the morningxxxxgotta get up and work work work xxxxxgotta get up in the morningxxxxgotta get up and work work work
» CURRENCYx / x $00.00
» AFFILIATIONx / x Undersiders » POSITIONx / x Muscle, Nightlight's Guardian
Full Time
» RESIDENCEx / x The Sewers
» INFAMYx / x 225 » FAMEx / x 150
» NOTABLE ACTIONS
- Write stuff here - Stuff that would end up in a report - Or in the news - Or in a newspaper - It can be good or bad - Stuff
▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ xxxxxxxxx> INVENTORY xxxanother man's junkxxxxis another man's treasure xxxxxanother man's junkxxxxis another man's treasure
█ »x inventory █ »x items █ »x go █ »x here
▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ xxxxxxxxx> BIOGRAPHY xxxmy past does not define mexxxxit only shows where I have been xxxxxmy past does not define mexxxxit only shows where I have been
» BACKGROUND
Etain Hayes, born 2088, was the middle child of seven. Growing up she was the forgotten child. Her life was not the best, and then in junior high she killed her boyfriend in self defense. The incident caused her to trigger and unfortunately she underwent an anomalous event. As a result her DNA warped and she became quite birdlike in appearance. Her parents kicked her out, and fearful of being arrested for murder she fled the city. Unbeknownst to her it would be discovered that the boy she'd killed had already killed twice before. Ironically if she hadn't been so afraid, she probably would have become a ward. Alas, in a different world maybe. She ended up in New Brockon, living among the sewers and drainage pipes. It was there that she saw real suffering, people who were hopelessly homeless or dying of diseases they couldn't pay for. Etain did what she could to help them and her self survive but was never willing to use her powers on people. Many years passed, and she watched many of her friends die. Starvation, disease, murder. It wasn't a nice place to live.
But then something occurred which changed her life. About a year ago she heard the faint sounds of a little girl crying. She came across a child who seemed to be lost in the dark. Etain sought to comfort that child and guided her through the underground while singing softly for her. They became rather close and the child visited her often. Megan was her name, and soon Etain began to view her like a daughter. As she spoke with the girl she learned of the Undersiders and what they did. Seeing it as a chance to help people she set about joining the organization and protecting Megan from harm. In addition she would work to keep others safe, and provide aid to those who couldn't get it for themselves.
» TRIGGER EVENT
Etain Hayes is the middle child and also the forgotten child, with five sisters and a baby brother she never got much attention. When her parents weren't busy with her siblings her father was drunk and her mother was busy doing cape things. So it was no surprise that when a boy showed some attention to her in junior high that she latched right onto him quicker than he could finish saying "go out with me?" The two got along well and she was absolutely enamored with the boy. So much so that she thought they'd end up getting married and having kids of their own. Then one night they were studying together at his house he asked if she wanted to see his father's study. Curious as to why Etain accepted the offer. Once in the study she noticed that his father had a thing for birds... well a taxidermy hobby or fascination. It was actually kind of creepy in her opinion. She turned to look at one of the birds in particular and at that moment she heard the door lock turn. A sense of fear rising she turned to look her boyfriend, he was holding a pocket knife. To this day she remembers him saying with chill emotion, "I think you'd make a nice addition to the collection." The sense of betrayal was like no other, they were soulmates how could he do this to her? A struggle ensued and somehow the knife ended up sliding under a reading chair. He went for the knife, Etain searched for anything she could find to defend herself with and grabbed a fancy looking feathered pen. She rushed to where he was crouched and began stabbing him in the back of the neck. When her stood up and turned she stabbed him repeatedly in both eyes until he started flailing wildly. Etain remembers crying then, yelling about how they supposed to be together forever. As he continued to try and slash at her she circled around behind him and began to stab at the side of his neck. Eventually she must have hit something major because he dropped to the floor and bled to death. Etain herself dropped to her knees and wept over his body with all those creepy dead birds seemingly watching. Then it happened.
XXXXXXXXXXXX ❖ Michael Pearson xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx ↳ Masterxxx11
▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ xxxxxxxxx> BASIC INFO xxxknowing one self is the first step xxxxthe first step to eternal greatness xxxxxknowing one self is the first stepxxxxthe first step to eternal greatness
» NICKNAMEx/ x civilian: Mikey (family only), Pears (pronounced pierce); cape: Puppets, Hat » FAMOUS NAMEx/ x Dreamer » AGEx/ x 23 » GENDERx/ x Male » SEXUALITYx/ x Straight » BIRTHDAYx/ x June 6 » HOME COUNTRY, CITYx/ x USA, Golden Gate City » CURRENT LOCATIONx/x USA, New Brockton
▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ xxxxxx> PHYSICAL INFO xxxfrom my head to my toesxxxxfrom my skin to my bones xxxxxfrom my head to my toesxxxxfrom my skin to my bones
» HEIGHTx/ x 6'2" » WEIGHTx/ x 210 lb.s » EYE COLORx/ x Blue Green » HAIR COLORx/ x Dark Brown » BUILDx/ x Athletic » OUTSTANDING FEATURESx/ x Blood red eyes which glow briefly when he calls forth minions, very defined dimples, strikingly attractive
» CASUAL CLOTHES DESCRIPTIONx / x Collared shirt, slacks, belt, dress shoes, occasionally a tie, and an extremely nice watch » COSTUME DESCRIPTIONx / x Charcoal suit, combat boots, red overcoat, an enormous red hat, and a theater mask, tragedy or comedy depending on his mood or the job he's on
▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ xxxxxx> COMBAT INFO xxxsticks and stonesxxxxwith swords and bows xxxxxsticks and stonesxxxxwith swords and bows
» DISPOSITIONx/ x Lawful Evil
» CLASSIFICATION NUMBERSx/ x Master [11]
» POWERS
Portrayal
Things that I draw can be turned into living three dimensional minions which do my bidding. These minions will have the anatomy/structure which I draw them to have and will be under my complete control. Physically speaking they will be as I draw them but are ultimately composed of the material I drew them with. IE if I draw a picture in the sand they will be made of sand, if I draw them with ink they will be made of ink. Small sized drawings (things no larger than a cat or dog) take an offensive action to draw. Medium sized drawings (things no larger than a car) take one post to draw. Large sized drawings (things no larger than a tour bus) take two posts to draw. My minions may only exist within 1,000 ft of me and I may only have up to 4 at a time. If my animated drawing sustains damage such as at least two missing limbs, large chunks of it are destroyed, or it is otherwise sustaining damage to more than what would be considered roughly 25% of it, the animated drawing will cease to be animated. When I lose/give up control of a minion or it becomes too damaged to continue it will quickly fade from existence.
▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ xxxxxxx> PSYCHOLOGY xxxthose who think that they're mad are truly sanexxxxthose that think they're sane are truly mad xxxxxthose who think that they're mad are truly sanexxxxthose that think they're sane are truly mad
Michael has every reason to believe the worst about people, and does, but his optimism is boundless. Part of the reason he chose the name Dreamer when he became a cape was to reflect his deep belief that the world could be better, that we could be better. The obvious connection to his powers made it too good to resist, as he's a fan of double meanings and such things. In particular, he enjoys saying things which will be interpreted completely differently by his real audience than by passersby which has come in handy many times when making threats since becoming a villain. Michael was always a proponent of honesty and keeping one's word, but has taken it to an entirely new level since his trigger event. It's likely that he now considers his word as divine proclamation, and so considers it truly unbreakable and immutable.
Michael is, of course, very creative and will take any chance he can get to show that off to people. Michael is narcissistic literally to the point of insanity. This is a very new aspect of his personality, he actually thought very poorly of himself throughout his life due to the incredibly high expectations of his father and his teacher, as well as the constant bullying of his peers. Deification can do marvelous things for your self esteem, however. Because of these two things, easily the quickest way to Michael's heart is through complimenting his art. Interestingly, though he sees his art as perfect due to his monolithic self esteem, he has not received many compliments in his pre-trigger life, and so is still surprised when people compliment him. He never learned how to deal with compliments, and so is prone to excessive blushing when it occurs.
Michael was extremely devoted to his family once upon a time, but the enormous amount of dysfunction within it has greatly reduced his connection to his half-brother Titus and changed his feelings towards his father into absolute hatred. The only remaining family member towards whom Michael feels any positive feelings is his sister Dani, who he was always closest to, and who has become even more important to him since the loss of his mother and "loss" of his father and half-brother.
Due to his great love of stories and art, Michael is very keen on the idea of love and romanticism. It is the subject of so many great stories and works of art over the years, and the inspiration for many more. As such, he is always very actively seeking romantic partners, and always on the lookout for his own great love to inspire him. The very cold relationship between his parents has made him all the more interested in finding true love, though it means he has no firsthand experience of it, and must rely upon secondhand accounts of what it looks like. This means he falls in love early and often.
Michael is incredibly strong-willed, even more so since his believed apotheosis and the only thing he really fears anymore is the loss of those few who are close to him. In particular he worries about his sister Dani, because he feels that on some levels, he has failed her already.
» LIKES
↳ artists, authors, composers, other creatives, dating, women, cooking
» PASSIONS
↳ art, family, seeking his soulmate, fine foods, cigars, and alcohols
» DISLIKES
↳ Black Gate, cynics, being treated like a "mere mortal", people who give up, doing dishes
» ANIMOSITIES
↳ bullying, therapists/psychologists, his father
▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ xxx> OCCUPATION INFO xxxgotta get up in the morningxxxxgotta get up and work work work xxxxxgotta get up in the morningxxxxgotta get up and work work work
» CURRENCYx / x $00.00
» AFFILIATIONx / x Undersiders, Mercy High School » POSITIONx / x Guidance Counselor (MHS); Recruiter/Member (Undersiders)
Seasonal and Full Time respectively
» RESIDENCEx / x New Brockton
» INFAMYx / x 0 » FAMEx / x 0
» NOTABLE ACTIONS
- Extremely effective Undersiders operative when he was a teenager - Triple degree with perfect grades - Made his debut as a cape by pulling a perfectly executed bank heist, then donating the money to charity in a way that was obvious but impossible to prove legally - Designed the logo for an extremely popular energy drink
▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ xxxxxxxxx> INVENTORY xxxanother man's junkxxxxis another man's treasure xxxxxanother man's junkxxxxis another man's treasure
▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ xxxxxxxxx> BIOGRAPHY xxxmy past does not define mexxxxit only shows where I have been xxxxxmy past does not define mexxxxit only shows where I have been
» BACKGROUND
Michael's trigger event changed him on a very fundamental level. He had lacked confidence for most of his life, but was now supremely confident. When he set his mind to something he had no doubt that it would come to pass, and that he would be the architect of his own future. Though he was terrified of his father most of his life, only rebelling after the example of his older sister gave him the confidence, Michael now felt no fear regarding his parent, only hatred. The only reason Michael has not taken action against his father is that he considers it so much a given that someday he or one of his "children" will kill him and exact revenge for his mother and his sister. Since his trigger, Michael made an enormously public debut as the supervillain dreamer by robbing a bank in broad daylight, even giving an interview during the robbery and claiming his name: "Dreamer", while his minions fought off the responding capes, and continued taking money. Immediately afterward, an anonymous donation of exactly the same amount of money stolen was donated to a large charitable organization in the name of a "Mr. Aislingeach", the Gaelic word for "dreamer", but the money came back as clean, and couldn't be linked to the supervillain definitively. Shortly after this, he would approach the Undersiders about rejoining their ranks, as a cape this time. In his civilian identity, he would fulfill his ambition of becoming a counselor at Mercy High School, giving victims of bullying the help he had never found. And, if the kids who showed a likelihood for a trigger event, or who had already experienced one just happened to be gently nudged in the direction of the Undersiders... so much the better.
» TRIGGER EVENT
Michael Pearson had an… interesting childhood. Early in his life he’d been the apple of his parents’ eyes. He aced every test and surpassed records in every area of study he was exposed to. He and his older sister Danielle were the perfect children, and their parents couldn't have been more proud. That was not to last, for either of them. Michael's father, Otto was a real estate tycoon of incredible wealth, and one of the blue blood aristocrats of Golden Gate City. When he was ten years old, his father returned from one of his frequent trips to one of the other Earths (whether for business or pleasure, he never understood) with a small child in tow. Apparently it was his with some woman he’d been seeing during his trips. His name was Titus. His arrival had about the expected effect on Michael’s mother, and though they stayed together “for his sake” the home became a much colder place to be from then on.
At age 8, his father began his intensive training to continue his legacy in as a brilliant CEO. Well it would've been more accurate to say that he had the help begin Michael's training. In addition to his rigorous studies in more traditional areas, and his noble pursuits such as fencing, horseback riding, falconry, etc. Otto contracted a high ranking veteran of Black Gate to "make a man" out of his son. Michael took to it very well for the most part. He set records at pretty much every firing range in GGC with every kind of firearm imaginable. He was even better at gun maintenance and repair. He also excelled in his “classes” on strategy and tactics, learning almost everything there was to know about modern urban combat. Where Michael struggled, and where cracks began to show in his relationship with father, were the more physical pursuits. He was passable as a martial artist, but passable wasn’t anywhere near good enough for his teacher, who exploded at any mistake or sign of imperfection. This would then be mirrored in the icy disappointment of his father. Additionally, though Michael had a lot of endurance, he was not all that fast a sprinter, and this was also unacceptable to his father.
As Michael grew up, he discovered an exceptional talent and love for art. Painting, drawing, sculpting, any form of creation was a great joy to him. He particularly enjoyed fantastical beasts and monsters for his subject matter, deriving great satisfaction from creating beautiful or terrifying creatures. His father, however saw it as a useless skill and a distraction, which further drove the wedge between the two, as well as between his parents when his mother weakly tried to defend his right to choose his own path. Given how passive his mother was in essentially everything, it was not a hard fought battle, but Michael had to grasp at any sign of affection he could find. The only exception to Michael's solitude was his sister. They had been cordial but not especially close growing up, but now that their father's true colors were coming to light, they found common ground in commiseration and disdain for the man. In fact, Dani's early teenage rebellions served as a beacon for Michael, showing him that it was possible to live out from under his father's thumb. He had always looked up to her as one does with older siblings, but it was that which would cement his respect and devotion to the girl.
Things came to a head when Michael was fourteen and his younger half-brother began his own training regimen. He took to it like a fish to water, and rapidly became his father’s favorite, causing significant distress for Michael, his sister, and his mother. He thought of a plan to help out though: he proposed that he be sent to New Brockton for high school, so there would be less conflict. Seeing it as a chance to protect his younger son from corruption by the habits of his elder, Otto readily accepted the plan, and sent Michael away. It was devastating to leave his mother, nearly more than he could bear to leave his sister, and surprisingly difficult to leave his younger half brother as well (they had somehow become very close despite the problems they faced), but Michael was confident that it would turn out better for everyone involved.
He also had another reason for wanting to leave: his school days were not happy ones, being the son of the wealthy arms dealer already isolated him from his peers, and his interest in art coupled with its focus on fantasy settings and subjects served as a perfect excuse to ostracize him. He was the victim of nearly every example of bullying one could think of, from the cliched to the inspired, but Michael was able to live with it because he had his art to immerse himself in, and his mother or half brother to talk to. He hoped to escape that by moving. It was a naive and vain hope. His problems with bullying only increased dramatically in his new environment, and he no longer had any family to lean upon, afraid that any contact with his younger brother would be seen as corrupting him, and contact with his older sister as being corrupted by her. It was safer for himself, and his family for him to stay away. He therefore took refuge entirely in his art, throwing himself into it with abandon. He managed to keep himself functional, if not entirely sane by personifying his many paintings, giving them each personalities and goals, and discussing his days with them instead of with his family.
Michael did wind up with one other surprising source of support during this time: the Undersiders. He’d started his secret association with them as a sort of rebellion against his father’s aristocratic plans for him and the structured Black Gate training sessions, but quickly found himself enjoying his time as one of their henchmen. His father’s arranged training, which he continued with other Black Gate operatives in New Brockton, ensured that he was more skilled than most of the adult henchman, and the fact that he was a child meant that he often had the element of surprise, in addition to fitting in better with the mostly adolescent capes in the organization. He also found an interesting new way to stretch his artistic muscles while with the group: graffiti. Though for the Undersiders he mostly just tagged buildings with their mark for whatever reason (not usually shared with him, but that was fine, safer that way), but he would apply it to his usual subject matter as well in his spare time, and out of Undersider territory. His fellow Undersiders served as an excellent source of desperately needed emotional support and human interaction… while it lasted. Unfortunately, as he neared graduation from high school, he was forced to cut his ties with them in anticipation of his father calling him back to Golden Gate City to further his formal and illicit educations, and eventually employ him in the family business. To use him as a trophy to the other bigwigs, "look at how wonderful my son is, and realize my greatness." Disgusting.
Losing His friends in the Undersiders dealt a serious blow to Michael's emotional well-being, but it would not be the last or the worst blow he would receive during that time. Already stretched to the breaking point at nineteen, a few days before his high school graduation he would receive word that his mother had committed suicide and in the wake, Dani had been institutionalized for some sort of mental disorder. It was strongly implied to him that the shame from watching Titus surpass him in all of his educational and illicit pursuits and in the yes of his father had been what pushed his mother over the edge, and in turn his sister. The intense guilt he felt from this kept him from trying to hard to go and see his sister, and even from attending the funeral. This wound up being the straw that broke the camel’s back, and Michael canceled his trip home, instead accepting an art scholarship to a college in New Brockton. He had effectively run away from everything in his old life, even the Undersiders. It left him again with only his art as a refuge from the world which so often hurt him. He went even deeper down the rabbit hole with regard to his creations, now seeing himself almost as a parent or god, he saw so much reality in the personifications of the creatures he made. He finally felt like he had his life (such as it was) on track, about to graduate from college with an impressive triple major in art and graphic design, childhood psychology, and physics. He planned to take a job as a counselor at Mercy High School and try to help kids like him, being the support system he’d been largely unable to find.
For the second time, he would be hit the hardest only a few days before a graduation. Michael accidentally discovered the truth: his sister had not snapped, at least not nearly enough to have been sent away as she was, in reality his father had payed off the doctors to commit her as a punishment for her rebellion and so that he would have an easier time controlling Michael and Titus. Additionally, He had continued his relationship with Titus’ mother for years more than he had let on, only stopping when she died… giving birth to her second son. These discoveries were the greatest betrayals that Michael had ever felt. Additionally, he had to contend with the terrible guilt of having left before he could stop it, or even notice it until now. Reeling from the betrayal and his guilt and without anywhere else to turn, he literally sprinted to his studio, feeling his grip on reality slipping with every step. By the time he arrived, the line between what was real and what wasn’t had almost completely disappeared. He now truly saw his art as his children, and himself as their father-god. His children would console him.
Throwing open the door, he arrived to find it utterly destroyed. In the latest escalation of the campaign of atrocities his peers committed against him, they had ruined all of the art in his studio, and destroyed all of his supplies as well. This swept out from under him the last vestiges of his support system. Someone had found the camel crushed under that steel girder and had lit it on fire then chucked it into a wood-chipper. He was utterly and truly alone, standing among the desecrated corpses of his last remaining friends and family. Unable to cope, something within Michael's mind snapped. He began to weep openly. His thoughts raced, as his eyes passed over each of his ruined paintings, sculptures, and sketches; his murdered children. As he clutched the remains of one of his youngest to his chest and sobbed into it, the last sliver of brain which was rational thought about how much different things would be if they were as real to others as they were to him. They were all strong, confident, powerful. They’d be able to stand up to his tormentors, and to his father. As his brain worked itself into overdrive, he had some sort of vision or fever dream of two fantastical beings greater than anything he’d ever created, so much grander in scale that he knew the inspiration couldn’t have come only from within himself. Still, his last thoughts before he lost consciousness were almost hopeful. The fact that his brain could conceive of even part of such a thing meant that he must be able to think of many more things to paint, draw, and sculpt. He was more inspired than he’d been in years, he’d be able to create many more children to replace the ones so cruelly taken from him.
Reply
