Bullet
BACKGROUND
Douglas grew up in the Bankhead neighbourhood of Atlanta, the son of an African American father, Darius, and an Irish American mother, Alice. Darius, a construction worker, was killed in an industrial accident when Douglas was 7 years old. Douglas subsequently became withdrawn from his mother and lost interest in school, frequently playing truant.
By his early teens he had become involved in petty crime and was soon recruited by a local criminal organisation, whereupon he became involved in the selling of street drugs.
As his physique developed, he was put to work as muscle, guarding the corners against rival gangs. He showed promise, being involved in several brief shootouts. In one notable example he shot and wounded a high ranking enforcer for a gang based in Washington Park. He displayed an aptitude for guns, being naturally quick and coordinated.
However, as the rise of crack cocaine began to take an ever greater toll on the neighborhood, he became increasingly disillusioned with life in the street and began to look for another way to make a living. Ultimately, as he was making plans to retire from crime and to attempt a reconciliation with his estranged mother, Alice, he was caught in a Washington Park ambush. Three gunmen caught him alone in the open and seemed certain to kill him, but for a sudden manifestation of metahuman powers, whereby Douglas was suddenly not where he had been, but instantly transported to a nearby sidestreet. The gunmen had, however, already opened fire when, instantaneously, he had appeared elsewhere. But their gunfire had taken the lives of a passing mother and daughter, Veronique and Bethany Dupont, even as they attempted to flee. Unnerved, the gunmen fled, while Douglas rushed back to the scene, hearing the screams of the fallen.
Finding him at the scene of the shooting, apparently in shock, the Atlanta PD took Douglas into custody. Though they knew of his criminal connections, they had no evidence with which to charge him. Douglas, however, was sickened by events and agreed to tell them what he knew of his would be assailants. When eyewitnesses to the shooting testified to Douglas’ display of unnatural powers, the police realised that the man they were holding was a Meta. …
His mother, Alice, works as a nurse at Atlanta’s Kindred Hospital on Juniper Street. She continues to live in the family home in Tazor Street NW, Bankhead.
PERSONALITY
Douglas has a powerful determination to atone for his involvement in Atlanta’s criminal underbelly. He is able to draw on his experience of criminal organisations and the street and places emphasis on planning, using both observation of and local knowledge to prepare for work in the field. He is not particularly erudite, but can grasp the essence of situations fairly quickly. Allied to his remarkable reactions, this makes him adept at reacting to changes in events even where he has a detailed plan in place.
His time as a gang member taught him the value of teamwork and reliance on colleagues. However, he has a stubborn streak which frequently leads him to react badly to direct orders, particularly where he perceives a lack of respect on the part of the giver, or else doubts their competence.
Douglas remains traumatized by the deaths of Veronique and Bethany. He has frequent nightmares wherein he relives the attack and, when he encounters children in dangerous situations, is forced to relive the trauma, and is rendered unable to act proactively. He tries to hide this fact.
His encounters with rival gang members especially those from Washington Park have led to his having a number of enemies within the Atlanta underworld. Following the ambush attempt and subsequent arrest of the perpetrators, he is also suspected of being an informant. Some members of the underworld have sworn to end his life.
Douglas has begun, tentatively, to rebuild his relationship with his mother, claiming that he has left the street behind. She knows nothing of his life as a meta and he tells her simply that he now works as a security guard. He is wary of the threat posed to her by former rivals and hopes to rent her an apartment in a different neighborhood, once he has regained her trust.
Summary
Douglas is driven by guilt over his gang dealings and, particularly, the deaths of two innocents during the failed attempt on his life. He hopes to atone through working for ECHO; repairing his relationship with his mother and beginning an outreach project in Bankhead (via a childhood associate). His priorities in the field involve protecting innocents from harm where possible.
Raised a catholic, Douglas hasn’t been to church in years. He has no faith, as such. Having witnessed a great degree of inequality and unfairness, he has come to believe that all people should have equal life chances.
Despite being employed by the forces of Law and Order, he isn’t above the redistribution of wealth a la Robin Hood.
Quote
“I’m not proud of what I’ve done: I hope that one day I can take some pride in what I will do.”
Shockwave
BACKGROUND
A happy youngster who enjoyed a comfortable existence, with his loving parents. At the age of 12 he returned home to find his parents business had been ransacked and that they had been murdered. They were the brutal lesson used to remind the other small business owners of what happens if you don’t pay your dues.
Harboring a bitter hatred of those responsible, the Kukusa Gokiburi, he sought out and joined one of the Dojo’s they used as a front to recruit new members. His goal, being to destroy the organisation from within.
He was a quick student and his master soon realized that Shockwave could harness his Chi to leap large distances and land with such force that he could unbalance or stun his opponents. This rocketed him from trainee to apprentice in record time.
Shortly after receiving the gangs mark he realized that to achieve his goals within the organisation, he would have to become the sort of monster he was hunting.
As no one leaves this organisation alive, he fled not only the gang, but also Japan, hoping to hide himself in plain site, with ECHO.
The Echo recruiters would have turned him away, but his honesty about his motivations for joining the Japanese underworld was in his favor.
PERSONALITY
The trauma of discovering his parent’s bodies still weighs heavy, leaving him a man of few words.
He seems to have little time for frivolities and continues to dedicate himself to honing his skills and trying to hone his control of Chi.
QUOTE
“This nose comes equipped with a straw”
Stratus
BACKGROUND
Was a Student at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York state. Studying meteorological sciences at the Atmospheric Science Faculty.
Working on a project with Dr Stephen Carlucci, Karl was accidentally trapped in the “Low-Atmos Crystallization Unit” whilst a 72 hour test was being undertaken.
Due to extreme hypothermia, Karl fell in to a coma. When he was discovered in the unit, after the experiment was complete, he was found to have lost his fingers and toes through sever frostbite.The damage was so extreme that Karl had to have both hands and feet amputated.
During his recuperation whilst still in hospital, Karl was plagued with the pain of his ‘phantom fingers’. During one severe bout of pain, whilst wishing for the pain to abate, he saw the the bandaged stumps of his wrists and ankle’s belching forth a sky blue gas. The gas writhed and then formed in to what looked like fingers.
As soon as the gaseous digits had manifested all, the pain in Karl’s hand vanished. However, the new fingers did not remain for long before they lost form and disappeared.
Over the months, Karl learned to invoke his new extremities for longer periods, he realized that he could manipulate the amount of vapor present allowing them to be anything from a wisp of air to solid ice. The new hands and feet would only manifest if Karl was conscious, if he slept when they were active he would awake to find them gone.
Eventually Karl found he could propel parts of extremities away from his body, or allow the gasses to flow out and surround him. He could use these emanations as projectiles, barriers or a means of propulsion.
PERSONALITY
Before his accident and transformation, Karl had a passion for high adrenaline thrill seeking.
Thanks to his wealthy parents, Karl had access to pass times which sated his lust for adrenaline pumping activities. Karl was a member of a Motocross bike racing team, loving the thrill of high speed and big air. Karl also had a love for sky diving – his yearn for being in the skies went hand in hand with his academic interest in the great blue yonder, being able to take flights in to the skies and throw himself out in to the void again slaked his thirst for an adrenaline high.
His study of the what made the skies tick and how it could affect his plummets to the earth was mainly conducted via simulations on the universities immense weather profiling system.
Quote
“Your boss is a ‘class A’ asshole”