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Traits

Strengths

Speed- Being what he considers top notch at boxing, he can land a punch pretty darn quick, and that gives him a measure of speed in many other techniques that involve hands, such as hurling homemade pirate bombs or filching a bag of doubloons so quickly that you would still see it sitting there for a split second.

Pyrotechnics- JK has an above average knowledge of pyrotechnics; as a result, he can rig up just about anything to explode. Though at first it impressed judges in many a science fair, his projects became more and more dangerous and he was made to either desist or keep the explosions minimal, such as a volcano made with baking soda. As a result, he now has a hangout in a several acre field on the outskirts of town, close enough to bike to, where he can set things off to his heart's content. A small, ramshackle outbuilding hidden away in one of the corners serves as his 'workshop', since he would rather not fill his own house up with smoke. His favorite things to make are small 'pirate bombs' that look like a cross between a cannonball and a hand grenade. Upon transforming, he can create one of these in a matter of seconds, but only so many per.

Stamina- JK has a good amount of staying power; he knows how to conserve energy and use it in increments so that he doesn't find himself spent in the middle of a fight. Should he ever need it though, his transformed state also has plenty of 'liquid stamina' should he need a good pick me up.


Weaknesses

Boisterous- Though his mother is quick to dismiss much of JK's antics as boys being boys, JK can get downright rowdy and at times even uncontrollable. In matters regarding Shin, this is a given, as he is constantly trying to boost himself above the other boy and will do just about anything to prove himself better. In a fight though, this can actually be beneficial, as once he gets going, he can be pretty good at holding a target's attention.

Brash- JK has a tendency to go right into things without stopping to think it through, especially when he is angry. He has a hard time seeing too far ahead, and tends to focus more on the here and the now. While it makes for a good attack, it can hamper him if his foe is one to plan ahead, since it becomes all too clear what buttons to push to get JK to overstep and act foolishly.

Nyctophobic- He won't admit it to ANYBODY (and he'd threaten dire things to anyone who found out), but JK has always been scared of the dark, ever since he was a little boy. When staying at home, he likes to have a light on in every room, and when he sleeps at night, he will not so much as close his eyes without something heavy blocking the closet door.

Mother: Audrey Katch
Father: Caleb Katch (Deceased)

An only child, Jack Katch (JK) was raised lovingly by both parents, growing up on his father's stories and idolizing him all throughout his childhood. His father was a great athlete, admired and praised by the town they lived in as a local celebrity. Caleb Katch participated in a few select sports, but was particularly infamous for his boxing abilities. When Jack was old enough to watch, his father arranged (many times against his wife's better judgement) for special front row seats for the pair of them to come and watch him burn up the ring with his skills. Jack grew up thinking the sun set on his father, and his room was decorated with all manner of souvenirs, from advertising posters to match-winning boxing gloves (one pair that his father swore still had a rival's tooth embedded somewhere in the stuffing). In spite of his career, Caleb still made time for his family, and in all they were happy and close as a family could be.

But then things began to get difficult. New challengers were appearing right and left, and he found himself shining less and less in the ring. He harbored the belief that many of the newcomers were using steroids, something that he himself swore he would never do, but as things grew from bad to worse, his manager demanding that he deliver more victories or risk retiring before his true prime, he finally succumbed, telling none but his wife, and especially not his son, who thought so highly of him.

At first, things became better; his number of wins shot back up, and soon he was striking terror into the hearts of his opponents, with new ones appearing less and less often. But as his career soared, his family paid the price; he found himself letting off steam with his weights more often than he spent time with his wife and son; when he was at home, he often felt uncharacteristically angry, and in the dead of night feared that he would find himself doing something he would regret for the rest of his life. His son handled his father's absence with understanding, still unaware of what had brought on the change. Caleb hated what the steroids were doing to him, but reasoned that it was worth it to see that he was a hero to his little boy, fast becoming a young man.

Things finally came to a disastrous and tragic head one night. Dinner had just been finished, and Audrey had asked her 13 year old son to help with the dishes. Jack had responded with a typical snarky remark as befitting a young teenager (to this day JK can't recall what it was he said), and his father had exploded, leaping from his armchair and grabbing Jack by the collar of his shirt, shaking him and flecking his face with spit as he roared for him to never speak to his mother like that again and who did he think he was, finally throwing him down hard enough for the young boy to see stars. His mother came running from the kitchen, placing herself between her raging husband and the figure on the floor, screaming for him to stop. In his blind rage, he reached out and struck her face, sending her spinning to the floor. In that instant, all of the anger left him like air from a bellows, and as he saw the two figures on the floor staring up at him with such fear and hurt in their eyes, he felt his own heart breaking, and he ran from the house and into the night.
His family never saw him alive again. Witnesses would later say that they saw a large, burly figure throwing himself off of a bridge that night, and the body of Caleb Katch was found the next morning a ways downstream. It was labeled a tragedy with no foul play involved, and Audrey used the bulk of her husband's income to ensure that her husband's steroid usage was never brought to light. She did eventually reveal it to Jack, feeling that she owed it to him to tell him that the man that had turned on him that night was not really his father, but a product of stress and side effects. To this day Jack still regards him as a hero, wishing that he could tell him that he would always love him and regard him as the greatest man he ever knew.

Well, this has been an.....interesting day.
I've written in here many times about that little twerp Shin; the one who seems to have had it in for me since we were little kids. He never leaves me alone and is always trying to prove he's better than me, even if it makes him look stupid, which of course it ALWAYS does.

This time it was during our big boxing match. The one where half the bloody school was watching. We were the last two, and I just knew it was going to be a great match; the guy has a body for Swan Lake, not Eye of the Tiger. Granted, he put up a decent fight, but the whole time he was boasting about all these books he'd read about boxing. Pretty stupid, considering I learned from the best, and he never showed me any books; just good old visual aids in a front row seat. My dad was the best there ever was, and if I let Shin beat me, I would have been letting him down.

Still, in the end it seems like all his books did for him was make his brain swollen enough for his head to bounce off the floor after I showed him who the REAL boxing champion was. It was pretty awesome; the school was cheering, and.....I'm pretty sure SHE was in the audience. I caught a glimpse of red hair that really did look like her color. But just when I was wanting to get a better look, the little idiot on the floor behind me reached up and pulled my pants down! And then I'm pretty sure he hit my a**, like.....I dunno, like I was a two doubloon wench! But my boxers went with them, so....yeah. God, I really hope it wasn't her after all.

You know that thing I wrote about back when we had a prison guard visit our classroom for that 'scared straight' thing, where he said that the fight goes out of guys when they're stripped naked? Well, I don't think I have that. I turned on that little b*****d and clocked him so hard that the monkey he evolved from got a goose egg. Of course, that put us both out of the ring and we had to go home early. Mom was really upset; she didn't like what Shin did and said it was wrong, but she also said I should have let the referees handle it. As if I could let someone else put that little wimp in his place; yeah, that would have made me look REALLY good. At least.....she didn't mention dad. I was really afraid she was going to, but she didn't. I'm grounded for a week now, and I still have the best mom in the world.

Journal Entry

You know, I think a lot of the Christmas hype kind of went with the revelation that Santa Claus was just a fat guy at the mall who took pictures with little kids and not the nice one that sneaks into your house, eats your cookies and leaves you presents, but it still has its perks. Like getting to show up at the biggest Christmas party in town with a pretty lady on your arm to show up Shin and whatever date he managed to con into going with him. Probably told her he was going to make her sushi. Damn, I'd like some sushi...

I KNOW I looked better than him though; my outfit was awesome. Not Christmas-y, but hey, half the stuff people were wearing looked ridiculous. I saw a couple once that wore matching green outfits; they looked like a pair of hobbits, or leprechauns! XD Another guy I recognized had this moldy old sock hat with his expensive suit; geez, if you're going to wear a hat, at least make it match your clothes! I didn't have a hat, but turns out my dreds can hold a pretty good ornamental clip, and mom lent my this red silk scarf that made a pretty cool belt. Hell, as long as I was going pirate, I threw in a patch, and nobody said a word, not even Keagan, my date.

I really should have had the time of my life that night; gorgeous girl, lots of music and food. But I kept finding myself looking for that little geek Shin in every shadow and with every couple. I swear I heard his whiny-a** little voice a couple of times, and in spite of myself I wanted to see who he'd talked into coming with him, but I never once saw him. The guy's like a ninja sometimes; I KNOW he's there, but I never really see him unless he's right in my face. Probably didn't do much for my date; I certainly didn't get any calls back from that night, but oh well. I kind of felt like a sleaze anyway, picking her just because her hair was red and I thought it'd make Shin jealous. It wouldn't be fair dragging someone into our rivalry like that; I'm glad it's all behind me.

At least there's the rest of Christmas to look forward to. And just in case, I think I'll put a few of my pirate bombs in the chimney....can't be too careful with all the weirdos out there.

J.K.