Ken Gabriel
From Unofficial Handbook of the Virtue Universe
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| Ken Gabriel | |
| Player: @Ken Gabriel | |
| Origin: | Mutation |
|---|---|
| Archetype: | Tanker |
| Security Level: | ' |
| Personal Data | |
| Real Name: | Ken Gabriel |
| Known Aliases: | None |
| Species: | Human |
| Age: | 21 |
| Height: | 6'0" |
| Weight: | 158 |
| Eye Color: | Green |
| Hair Color: | Black |
| Biographical Data | |
| Nationality: | American |
| Occupation: | Unemployed |
| Place of Birth: | Paragon City, RI |
| Base of Operations: | Kings Row, Paragon City, RI |
| Marital Status: | Single |
| Known Relatives: | Jacob Gabriel (Father), Melissa Gabriel (Mother, deceased), Aaron Gabriel (Brother) |
| Known Powers | |
| Cannot feel the sensation of pain. Does not tire or fatigue easily. Near superhuman levels of strength. | |
| Known Abilities | |
| A skilled fighter despite being self taught. Has a talent for multitasking. | |
| Equipment | |
| N/A | |
| Wears a breathe-right strip on his nose. Is covered in scars and bruises. | |
| Power Grid | ||||||||||||
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| Statistic |
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| Intelligence |
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| Strength |
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| Speed |
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| Durability |
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| Energy Projection |
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| Fighting Skill |
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Contents |
History
Early Life
Ken was born in Kings Row, the first son of Jacob and Melissa Gabriel. Born with a dangerous and rare condition, congenital insensitivity to pain (CIP), leaving him unable to feel the sensation of pain.
As Ken's condition had no cure at the time, Jacob, who was a then notable geneticist, developed and injected Ken with a serum that would drastically improve his physical resiliency and immune system. This was only intended to be a temporary solution, protecting Ken until the time a cure for CIP was found. However, the injection had an unexpected mutation; He could no longer become fatigued, and could push his muscles far beyond their limit. This potentially put Ken at greater risk, as he could now easily push his body past the breaking point and cause serious injury to himself. He was conditioned by his parents to be gentle, in order for Ken to avoid harming himself.
Ken was raised almost entirely by his mother, Melissa. Jacob spent the majority of Ken's childhood working, having little free time to spend with Ken. Melissa raised Ken with kindness and compassion, imparting those qualities onto him. She desperately wanted Ken to have a normal life, and did everything in her power to give that to him, sending him to a school for humans without superpowers.
Despite his mother's desires, Ken was treated as an outcast in school from the very beginning. Most school staff feared, or even hated him, and his fellow students treated him no better. Because of his disorder, he was often the target of school bullies looking to show off, and was avoided by other classmates. From the constant fighting, Ken picked up some skill, but due to his disorder, had difficulty with restraint. He was expelled many times for causing serious injury to other students. Ken eventually learned to control his strength from fear of causing future harm to other students.
Leaving Home
As Ken continued through school, his treatment did not improve. Over the years, the fights escalated, becoming an even more serious problem. His high school years were particularly rough, often being attacked by multiple classmates. Through either injury from the constant battles, or a side effect of Jacob's serum, Ken developed mild narcolepsy around that time.
After years of research into the CIP cure, Jacob's funds were cut on the grounds of a lack of progress. Jacob continued his research alone, though even he was beginning to lose hope. It was not long afterward that Melissa was murdered. PPD investigations were inconclusive, detectives suggested it may have been a failed burglary attempt. Jacob continued to raise Ken and Aaron on his own for a few months, though he later disappeared.
Following the mysterious death of his mother and disappearance of his father, Ken entered a period of depression. Ken struggled to cope with the loss of his mother, leading him to drop out of school at grade 10. He fled from his home shortly after to avoid being sent to an orphanage like his younger brother Aaron, and the chance that he would experience more confrontation like in his early school days.
Life on the Street
Ken adapted to living on the streets of King's Row over time, his disorder became an advantage in defending himself and his fighting ability had vastly improved.
Ken's compassion paid off in the end, as he would often help people in need, doing chores or odd jobs for them, or protecting them from gangs. The grateful citizens would often repay him with food and sometimes shelter, though Ken almost never specifically asks for either. Through helping people, Ken developed a strong bond with the citizens of King's Row, and a desire to do everything in his power to aid and protect them. (WIP)
Joining a Sentry
Ken encountered Knight Sentinel a little over a year after leaving home. Ken had little experience with costumed heroes at the time, and so being given an invitation to join The Palladium Sentry came as a huge surprise to him. (WIP)
Personality
Ken is an openly cheery and friendly person on the outside. He is very enthusiastic and energetic, and has a strong desire to help others, but his low self esteem from years of being a social outcast sometimes interferes with his ability to interact with people. He tends to bottle up his negative emotions, hiding them from people as to not make them worry, prioritizing the well-being of others over his own.
Ken has a habit of overthinking things, and often gets lost in thought. He has a great interest in philosophy, music, and knowledge, which made dropping out of school a difficult decision to make. He continues to study on his own time. He also has a love of exploring, an extension of his thirst for knowledge.
Abilities
Ken has no superpowers, he is a normal human being, however he does benefit from his disorder and Jacob's serum. Since he does not feel pain, Ken naturally shrugs off damage easily, though his body still suffers the damage. Ken's resiliency and fortitude have been drastically increased by Jacob's serum, the effects of which increase as Ken trains and exercises, and so taking damage usually isn't a concern to him.
Another effect of the serum is Ken's inability to become fatigued. He has developed superhuman stamina, almost never tiring. Also due to the serum, Ken can push his muscles far beyond that of the average person. The safety limits placed on a normal person seem to not apply to Ken, who is easily capable of reaching the absolute peak of his strength, being able to perform almost superhuman feats of strength and power. This puts Ken's body at further risk, as enough stress on it can cause permanent damage to himself. Ken has to constantly restrain his strength, which for him, requires a moderate amount of focus.
Affiliations
Family
- Jacob Gabriel: Ken's father, the once famous geneticist. Ken did not interact with his father very much, and has few memories of him. The few memories Ken has of his father are all moments of strict discipline. He has held a slight resentment of Jacob ever since he disappeared, convinced he had intentionally abandoned him.
- Melissa Gabriel: Ken's mother was kind, compassionate, and loving, traits which Ken learned from her. Ken was very attached to her, which bought him some extra bullying in school for being a "mama's boy". Melissa's death sent Ken into a long period of depression, it was an event that he still hasn't completely come to terms with.
- Aaron Gabriel: Ken's younger brother and childhood friend. Ken and Aaron often played together as children, but as Aaron grew older, his focus turned more to his studies and career plans than spending time with Ken. Regardless, Ken and Aaron remained close friends until they were separated the day Aaron was taken by social services, and have since lost contact.
Friends and Allies
- High Jinks: High Jinks is a clown themed hero that Ken tagged around with for a while. Ken loved and respected High Jinks' sense of humor, believing that laughter is an important part of happiness. Time spent with High Jinks helped Ken take his mind off his troubles, and he feels as though Jinks played a major role in coping with his new life, though Ken has lost contact with him.
- Lucy Xiao: Ken mostly interacted with Lucy Xiao while she was accompanied by High Jinks. Despite Lucy's usual rough demeanor towards Ken, he still thought of her as a close friend, convinced she didn't honestly hate or dislike him. Ken was often accused by High Jinks and others of having a crush on Lucy. The two have lost contact.
The Palladium Sentry
- Knight Sentinel: Knight Sentinel was a huge influence on Ken. Ken had the utmost respect and admiration for Knight, thinking of him as the first real father figure in his life. Ken was disappointed with how little time he had to aid Knight and The Palladium, feeling as though he was letting Knight down. He has lost contact with Knight Sentinel.
IC Trivia
- Ken had a talent for arcade fighting games in his teen years. He usually placed highly in tournaments in Paragon, even winning a few. Ken's favorite? Garou: Mark of the Wolves.
- Yes, Ken did have some romantic interest in Lucy Xiao, but preferred to be "just friends". He felt as though pursuing a romantic relationship with her would only cause problems for both of them.
- He has avoided becoming an officially licensed hero because he doesn't consider himself to be the same as the likes of Statesman, Positron, Sister Psyche and other superheroes. He isn't completely opposed to the idea, however.
OOC Trivia
- His first appearance was in a comic doodled in a journal in the early 2000s. The comic involved Samus Aran and Trunks battling a large shadowy demon, with Ken, then known as "Kyle", swooping in to save the day (it should come as no surprised that the creator was only around 10-12 years old at the time).
- Ken's later appearances would have slight changes, such as the possession of power-granting orbs, costume changes, the name change to Ken, etc.
- Early designs of Ken's brother figure were of a character named Drake, who had fairly ridiculous hair.
- Ken was almost completely redesigned for City of Heroes, and Drake was later given his first redesign, his name being changed to "David" accompanied with a drastic visual design change. David would be renamed yet again to "Aaron" with another costume redesign. Ken's costume continued to have slight changes until it became as it is today.
- Ken's backstory received almost as many redesigns as his appearance. His original history in City of Heroes involved unexplained super strength (which later was explained as the result of genetic testing performed on Ken by his father, Jacob), no mention school or siblings, and Ken witnessing Jacob flee from the scene of his mother's (then known as Alexis) murder.
- Another abandoned plot point involves Ken selling his soul to Labal for power, which came in the form of a superhero costume. Ken took up the mantle of Cobalt Reaper, a grim hero with a design inspired by Nightwing. The suit eventually developed a mind of it's own, escaping to cause chaos. Ken later defeated the suit through unexplained and unexplored means.
