Balth
From Unofficial Handbook of the Virtue Universe
Contents |
History
Balth was born into a lower-class family in Paragon City, attending Kings' Row Primary School with his best friend Rebecca. About mid-way through high-school, the boy came out to his parents as gay. In their disgust, they threw him out onto the streets and forced him to fend for himself. Scared and hungry, he encountered a being of pure energy, a kheldian, who offered him a new opportunity. In exchange for giving his body and mind over to the kheldian, he would have incredible powers, and a chance to make a difference in this city of heroes. Naturally, Balth accepted and the Kheldian merged with him.
However, something went wrong.
The kheldian, though a being of good, had a very unique definition of good, in such that he was just barely treading the grey line. Balth, on the other hand, was someone who had, all his life, been out to brighten the lives of others and be as good a person as he could be. Thus, the minds were incompatible and, while the kheldian entered Balth's body and the two became one, a Peacebringer, the minds did not fuse, and Balth was left to struggle with the kheldian's mind to gain control over the body.
Sharing a body gave each mind the access to the other one's thoughts and, eventually, Balth's understanding of the kheldian's idea of justice motivated him enough to push it into the depths of his brain, where it remained a good, long time as Balth began his career of defeating evildoers.
Later on, shortly after Balth was 16, he met Laurel, a boy unlike any other, and began his first relationship. It was, unsurprisingly for all associated but Balth, short lived. Not long afterwards, Balth reunited with Rebecca, his old school friend, who now identified as Chester. The two once again reignited their bond of friendship, and Balth moved in as his roommate. The next year, Balth met Armor On, who, like him, was a hero who was of a younger age. Over time, Balth and Armor grew closer until Armor revealed her identity to him. For a while, everything seemed great for Balth. He had two amazing friends and began meeting even more friends through them.
Until the kheldian decided Balth needed to pay.
On the walk home from Armor's place one day, the kheldian, in a desperate grasp for control, ruptured numerous internal organs and caused Balth severe damage. He was found just in time by Joe, Armor's boyfriend, and was hospitalized for over a month. While in hospital, the doctors revealed to him that his kheldian had severed the nerves connecting his eyes to his brain, and the damage was irreparable. Balth was blind forever.
Due to the energy used to take out Balth, the kheldian itself was weakened to the point where Balth couldn't use his powers, and his hair reverted to a dirty blonde, its natural color. This took Balth off-duty for about 2 months while his powers restored. When they did, he found that he could actually see in his shapeshifted forms, the Nova and the Dwarf, and resorted to using them more often. However, by then, due to multiple reasons, his friends had all disappeared, leaving him to fend for himself.
He has since joined the Teen Phalanx, striving to be an even better hero than he had been before the incident, and has reunited with Armor On and Chester. Life is looking up for the blind Peacebringer.
| Power Grid | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Statistic |
| |||||||||||
| Intelligence |
| |||||||||||
| Strength |
| |||||||||||
| Speed |
| |||||||||||
| Durability |
| |||||||||||
| Energy Projection |
| |||||||||||
| Fighting Skill |
| |||||||||||
Relationships
Friends
After Balth's blindness struck, his friends were all quick to help him. However, as time passed, one-by-one they disappeared. Now, he's started making new friends, and reunited with a couple old ones.
Armor On: Sparrow, or Armor, is Balth's closest friend. Her sweetness mingles with his overwhelming optimism in a way that not many people can. She's saved his life before, and he owes her everything. They currently both reside as members of the Teen Phalanx.
Chester Northing: Chester is Balth's oldest friend, having known him since the two went to Kings' Row Primary School together. Chester's a fair bit older than Balth, having been let into school later than most due to his parents' fear of him getting into too many fights. When the two left primary school they went their own ways, and only reunited a year ago. For a while Balth was Chester's roommate, before he started at Teen Phalanx. Despite moving away, Balth's bond with Chester still stands strong.
Neutral
Like his friends, Balth's acquaintances have all but disappeared from his life, and so he's decided to start anew.
Enemy
Balth's Kheldian: Unlike most kheldians, which are simply one person created from two, Balth's kheldian and human minds clashed and kept eachother apart, causing him to be an odd case of one body with two minds. The kheldian is normally surpressed, as Balth does not agree with its methods of justice, and thus it has developed an intense hatred for him. Once it even lashed out, bursting multiple internal organs and permanently severing the nerves between Balth's eyes and brain, blinding him and changing his life forever. Again.
