How does a 42 year old man who never attained a college degree and is from a normal working class background manage to exude the regal self-confidence, importance, and automatic respect? This is a deed that requires a certain amount of determination, self-discipline, and fortune.
This particular man has likely put more self education and life into his 42 years than a 70 year old master. Sir Lesley John Hyland was born to fulfill the empty hole in society, a deed that should have been done by dozens of men instead of one determined one.
Lesley was born in 1965, the son of John and Laura Hyland. He came to his water manipulation abilities at the very young age of 9. Having grown up in a time of fear against the evolveed, young Lesley kept his discovery to himself, but spent hours and hours of his youth playing with his abilities.
When he was 16, Lesley's younger sister, Diana, began to show some manifestation of the water power. Lesley staunchly ignored it, even pouted inwardly about having to share the ability with her. Unlike him, Diana was not careful about letting others know of her ability. Some weeks into her discovery, Diana was mobed by some angry classmates. In an attempt to defend herself, Diana made the mistake of trying to use all her ability at once. She lost control as the water, instead of surrounding her peers, it was attracted to her. Diana drowned.
Lesley's reaction was to fairly assault any newspaper he could with dozens of letters in the following month about the incident and the need for awareness and acceptance and help. When a camera crew came to interview this outspoken teenager, his parents turned them away and forbade Lesley's protests. Lesley obeyed, but withdrew from his usual gallivanting, losing himself in hours of research and anonymous writings. Perhaps his salvation from becoming indefinitely withdrawn was finding another evolved, and the first of many of his students.
At 18 years of age, Lesley went to University, but the moment he was no longer home, he once again became an outspoken defender of the evolveds. Despite scoring well in his classes, Lesley was kicked out of the college after his first semester.
Ashamed and not willing to inform his parents of his condition, Lesley hunkered down and found a job on his own while sending out other University applications for the following year. He found one, but it was not in the stars for him to attend. At the end of his summer, he was boating at a lake taking time off to fish. An over-excited child fell into the lake. Without thinking, he spouted the water upwards and placed the child safely on deck.
He was jailed for endangering a child.
Lesley was irate and as defiant as he dared to be at such a move While he allowed the police officers to arrest him and put him in a jail cell, he refused to be handcuffed or otherwise detained, using a wall of water to protect himself.
He spent the next week chit-chatting with the officers. He was furious, but on a mission to prove the evolved stereotype to be incorrect. He remained courteous, concerned, and cultured. In the end, he won the respect and friendship of the sheriff and many of the officers. Though he officially was jailed, they offered him a job while he was there, giving him a chance to test his beliefs and ideas on the small community they resided in. Lesley swallowed his frustrations and agreed, just until the next year when he could go back to school.
At the end of the year he should have returned to school, Hyland was offered a job in a larger city with a higher rate of evolved problems. He agreed almost reluctantly, unable himself to deny the opportunity, but informing them that he'd only stay long enough to start it and train staff. He felt wrong about not honoring his parents wishes to pursue a higher education.
Two years later in 1987, the royal guard came ot Hyland with an urgent request. A powerful evolved criminal had emerged. Could he help? Lesley was terrified, but bowed to the wishes of his queen. Up to this point, Lesley had been well known almost exclusively as a passionate advocate and honorary police force member. Though he oftentimes used small bits of his water abilities to aid, the media looked over this little 'problem.'
Even Lesley was surprsied at his own amount of power in his encounter with Bermuda. The other man was by far his superior - they were equal in power and control, but the villain had the same power and control not only over water, but fire and earth as well. Lesley held his own, but barely. Bermuda only lost because of the military back-up against him. Even then, the powerful evolved only retreated.
Lesley felt like the biggest disaster left by Bermuda was in the minds of the people. He left his job to go on a year long campaign, demanding help from the nations for the evolveds. He blamed Bermuda's actions on the governments as a whole, for their condoning of the fear and ill treatment of the evolveds, if even only be negligence of acting to prevent these attitudes and actions. He used reports, statistics, and psychological studies to back himself up. But he didn't only complain, he offered solutions and pointed to his own work. He offered to be of service. And he continued to do what he had been doing all along.
In early 1989, Lesley married a former student of his, Gabriella. Although he flushed and spoke the world of her when asked, he also endeavored to keep her out of the public spotlight except on rare occasions. Toward the end of the year, he and Gabriella were unexpectedly attacked - victims of hate crime. Apparently evolveds shouldn't get married and start families, as by this time Gabriella was obviously pregnant. Gabriella did indeed miscarry their first child.
Lesley suddenly stopped paying heed to the public eye. Oh, Aquifer came out to continue crime fighting when necessary, and his programs and trainings continued, but he withdrew, only taking care of responsibilities.
To some, it seemed that Lesley Hyland night just be becoming living proof of what he'd been saying for years. When faced with constant prejudice, a person withdraws. Once withdrawn, that person has time to become embittered and angry. This is how we make our own stereotypes become reality, because eventually all those negative feelings we've invested into that person will com back. We create the criminals we are faced with. Rumors flew about Aquifer and just how personal statements like these might have been.
When Aquifer was finally cornered by a news station and confronted with some of these rumors, Aquifer became somewhat unglued. He went on one of his first impromptu tirades, speaking passionately and with conviction about his place and station in life, and his loyalty to his country and cause. He reaffirmed each of these points. Although he didn't take the opportunity to challenge anyone, the challenge was clear in his posture and glinting eyes.
Aquifer was positively embarrassed about his outburst and called later to apologize about it.
There was no need for such an apology. The speech was played several times, becoming a greater success each time. Despite the anger and frustration that came out, also shown was the passion and heart. Aquifer had shown his very human side, something that he never managed in prepared speeches. Maybe he wasn't yet the polished man he would later become, but a certain amount of leadership and charisma still came forward. Aquifer suddenly was no longer just some distant fighting figure, but had entered homes. He was drowned in praise and the support he'd been trying to gain for years. His input into society was finally yielding results.
Aquifer later returned to the public arena, but was now insistent on being Aquifer and no longer Lesley Hyland, and was less open to the point of pure silence about his family and personal life. The public hadn't even known about the birth of his firstborn in 1992 until he appeared with his wife at his knighting ceremony in 1993. Up until that point, there had been rumors of divorce or death in the family. The were stopped then. Sir Aquifer was obviously a very proud and carying husband and father. The outing made it so it didn't seem like his popularity could get any stronger.
When Bermuda and Lady Novara clashed in 1992, Aquifer was asked how he felt about Lady Novara taking "his" position. In response, Aquifer pointed out the many villains he'd fought and the operations he worked for, stating that he was really only a man and could use the help. Especially if that help happened to be better about to take on an area than he was. His stance was strong as ever. Even if he ended up being thrown into the background and someone more able stepped up to all his previous positions, he would state in the background and remain proud and happy to know he could serve.
Of course, Aquifer did not stay out of the fights with Bermuda - but he'd already learned his lesson of delegation. If Lady Novara was more cpable than he was, then Lady Novara could take him.
In 1996, Lady Novara, the second most popular super in the world at the time, suddenly switched allegiances and was counted responsible for the destruction of Neuron City and thousands of people. It seemed to devastate Sir Aquifer. He never made an excuse for her, but did wonder out loud and publicly as to why. There seemed to be no explanation. Once again, Sir Aquifer responded to what he considered personal disaster by withdrawing, though this time he never pulled from the public eye. Sir Aquifer simply became less forceful in words, quieter, calmer, politer. At first it was a disconcerting sort of grieving for a world used to his nearly unbridled passion. After awhile, when the pain left his eyes, and the calmer demeanor remained, it added an air of sophistication to the now 31 year old man. Over the next few years then, Sir Aquifer's reputation changed ever so slightly, and youthful fan girls began to look for a new Super hottie more suirted to their wiles.
Flashcharge couldn't have been gaining in popularity at a better time. He was at first met with cautious distrust, the world not yet quite willing to lend trust and popularity to another evolved, but his defeat of Bermuda in 1999 sealed his fate. Flashcharge was catapulted into stardom, and thus the constant, draining focus on Sir Aquifer was shared, and almost switched entirely to Flashcharge. And finally, given entirely over to him by Sir Aquifer's retiring out of the public eye.
Sir Aquifer couldn't have been more willing. Simply tired, the first super was glad to give the maniacal sort of popularity over to the next generation's super. He switched to working behind the scenes, again fighting only when needed.
He has sense stepped back up, recognizing the strain in his fellow Super's eyes, though partially has because of the publication of his book in 2002. He's taken on more interviews and responsibilities. He has fully grasped the role of the elder sophisticate, but the spark of passion certainly isn't gone. Why else would he directly disobey the legislation of his country to become the leader in the war against the Dark Alliance?
Sir Aquifer's legacy will continue on.
