Menace Beta
From Unofficial Handbook of the Virtue Universe
| |
| Beta | |
| Player: Trystan Laryssa | |
| Origin: | Magical mutation |
|---|---|
| Archetype: | Stalker |
| Threat Level: | Classified |
| Personal Data | |
| Real Name: | Beta Xion |
| Known Aliases: | Menace Beta, Archon Beta, "Sir" |
| Species: | Human/Infernal hybrid |
| Age: | 22 |
| Height: | 6'2" |
| Weight: | 145 lbs. (too thin!) |
| Eye Color: | Pale blue |
| Hair Color: | Black, occasionally dark reddish |
| Biographical Data | |
| Nationality: | Caucasian (human side) |
| Occupation: | Paramilitary group commander |
| Place of Birth: | Classified |
| Base of Operations: | The Rogue Isles |
| Marital Status: | Single |
| Known Relatives: | See "The Menace X Project" |
| Known Powers | |
| Claws / Dark Armor | |
| Known Abilities | |
| Melee combat and nether energy control | |
| Equipment | |
| Confidential | |
| No additional information available. | |
Contents |
Affiliations
- Menace Alpha - The only one Beta will call his "brother"...a love/hate relationship at best.
- Menace Gamma - Deceased, Alpha and Beta's other "brother" in the project, and reportedly the only being Beta openly cared about
- Menace Adjutant Tau - An adjutant under his command, she has shown remarkable insight into Beta's nature, much to his chagrin
- Menace Force Kappa - A younger generation Menace who reports to Tau, and who had a habit of putting his nose where it's not warranted
- Dark Xion - A strange infernal who claims to be Beta's father, and has recently bound and kidnapped him, to "teach him a lesson"
- Lyo Xion - Another child of Dark Xion, with whom Beta had a brief encounter
Personality
Menace Beta is extremely volatile, calm and calculating one moment, then ready to leap the next, flying into impassioned rages almost at the drop of a hat. In stark contrast to Alpha's steady hand, Beta controls his share of the Menace operatives through fear. He has been reported to taunt, injure and even kill some of the Nameless Menace who, as failed experiments, don't exhibit normal human sentience. He seems to be subservient only to Menace Alpha, who has a lot of pull over what Beta will and won't do. Occasionally, a Menace operative will catch him unawares, when he is reported to be rather brooding and pensive. They will usually make haste not to be caught spying by Beta though, or a terrible fate is most assured.
Character History
(Spoilers... if you are interacting with these characters and don't wish to know the truth just yet, you have been warned)
Backstory
Beta was the second viable subject in The Menace X Project and was slated to be trained and enhanced, while Alpha remained the control, unaltered. With the belated success of Menace Gamma, though, the scientists had a bit more leeway, and when the fiends resulted from the second wave of genetic material, it was deemed more important to try to force one of the original three to actually regress, so they could find the point at which the infernal energies broke down the psyche. Then, they theorized, they could isolate the faulty genome and prevent future generations from becoming fiends. As Gamma was not quite developed to the point where such work would be viable on him, they decided to make Gamma the experiment and use the slightly more matured Beta as the subject for the regression. From the age of eight, Beta's body was restrained and put through various physical and chemical stressors, hoping to cause the latent infernal abilities to manifest violently. Beta was apparently very stable, however, and it took a long time for even the first of his mutations to appear. During the horrific process, several scientists quit the assignment. After he had been "broken", other alterations began to manifest more rapidly. Eventually he was able to break free of the restraints, resulting in the deaths of three of the scientists. More scientists abandoned the project. The restraints were made stronger, but a particularly horrible session resulted in Beta getting loose once more, and tearing apart the lab. Alpha was called in to try and talk his brother down, but hours of effort produced no change in his rage. Frustrated, Alpha suggested they call in Gamma... Beta was extremely close to him, so that might have been a better option. Gamma arrived, made stronger by his training, and very much concerned for Beta. In his enraged state, he saw Gamma as patronizing, and moreover, as the thing HE should have become instead, had it not been for the fiends and other project failures. In an uncontrolled frenzy, Beta unleashed his fury and hatred on Gamma, killing him. Having realized what he'd done, Beta bolted. Alpha found him the next morning, and forced himself to try to understand what happened... Beta, whatever he had become, was all Alpha had left now. Most of the scientific team having fled, the guard force seriously weakened, Alpha knew the time for things to change was to be now or never. Thus, at age 16, Menace Alpha took command of the abandoned Menace X Project, and made the frightfully altered Menace Beta second in command. Nobody would touch Beta without his consent again.
Past Events
Beta was not a benevolent leader... he was easily enraged, and violent when angry. What seemed to trigger his rage the easiest was the Nameless. As a result of the tests on Beta, the failed experiments were rarely fiends anymore... however, their humanity and sentience had not returned. The failures were mindless and unreactive whether they became monsters or not. They looked like the other Menace, however, so in order to find out what they were, they had to be made to interact. Eventually, Beta was satisfied to see them REact... to anything. He would do terrible things to the Nameless to try and get a reaction, even horrified or humiliated. Those that did react were quickly given training, and most of them became Named. Those that did not were often overlooked, and it was left up to Beta to deal with them. This he did... unpleasantly. He usually allowed the fiends to vent their fury on the unreactive failures. What would they care anyway? Alpha seemed horrified by this once he found out about the oversight, but Beta merely claimed he was "doing what had to be done... what nobody else wanted to dirty their hands with".
Current Story
Menace Adjutant Tau was the only Nameless to have any contact with Beta on the night of Gamma's death. She received her letter soon after, and rose quickly through the ranks. Being a melee combatant, she was assigned to Beta, who took an unreasonable amount of pleasure in keeping her constantly on edge. She began to become paranoid, which led her to try and conceal the fact that she had mutated again since coming of age. When Beta discovered the change, he was shocked and horrified. Unlike the other Menace who had developed wings, Tau was the only one who had managed to develop wings that looked like Gamma's had... feathered instead of leathery. He began to be increasingly uneasy around her, though the unease fostered its own strange brand of honesty. Tau began to have incredible insight into Beta's state, and unwarranted concern for him. Beta had no idea how to take this. After he killed Gamma he had no right to accept the concern of anybody else, much less Tau. Alpha, however, noted the change, and began to assign them to projects together, hoping that Tau could bring him some peace. As it happened, Tau was injured by a villain far beyond the fighting prowess of any of the Menace, and Beta flew into a rage and went after him. The villain was even more merciless with Beta, and the injury and frustration were enough to cause him to snap completely. Beta changed physically into a full-fledged fiend.
Alpha was horrified by this, and locked Beta up until he could be "fixed". However, Tau was the first to realize that Beta was still mentally himself, regardless of what his body had become. She stole into his cell, managed to talk him down in a way Gamma had failed to all those years ago, and the two escaped together.
While they were on the run, Beta was discovered by Dark Xion, who decided it was time he took a hand in the upbringing of his "son"...
Powers
Beta is an efficient assassin. He is able to hide among the shadows, and use the nether energies at his command to deepen the shadows if need be. He is rail-thin, but unexpectedly strong, and moves very quickly. His bony claws, like the spines on his shoulders, arms and legs, are extremely sharp, and he is very efficient at using them as makeshift daggers. When attacking from the shadows, he can fell an opponent in a single strike.
Vulnerabilities
Having limited physical contact, Beta is unused to being touched. He's accustomed to pain, though he resents it unless it's part of a fair fight... however, other touches are capable of startling him. He is also, though he will never admit it bluntly, horrified of being restrained.
Rogue Gallery
Tanshin. Madeline. Dark Xion... sorta. Broadhurst... sorta. Alpha... sorta. (Things are kinda uncertain with him right now. He has... issues.)
To contact this character's creator
Global handle: @Trystan Laryssa
Creator Notes and Trivia
I blame @Vheks. 'Nuff said. (Thank-you SOOO much!)
