The Helix Engine
From Unofficial Handbook of the Virtue Universe
Fire Blast
The Boy Genius and the Guardian
Adrian Helix was never the smartest kid but he certainly had his pros and cons. His younger brother Alexander, on the other hand, was a genius and it showed at a very young age. Alex loved to learn; he would spend days simply reading anything that could teach him something, but his true talent lied in technology. Alex would spend hours taking things apart and learn about each individual piece and this would go on for years. While the young Alex worked on his intellect; Adrian worked on honing his body to be strong and hardy. Adrian had to be the guardian for his younger brother since their mother died shortly after Alex's birth and their father had to work long hours to support his two children. Adrian and Alex watched one another and helped each other as often as they could and while Alex seemed destined for greatness, Adrian never let that get to him. He always cared for his brother and did anything to protect him.
Little did Adrian know is that one day he would be protecting more than just his family.
Technological Prodigy
At age 19 Alex was invited to work with a joint staff between S.E.R.A.P.H. and D.A.T.A. He leaped at this opportunity, but felt bad that he would be leaving his brother behind, so to make things easier on their father and keep close ties with his brother; Alex agreed only if Adrian could work as his assistant. Needless to say they agreed, and the Helix brothers were off to Paragon to start their new lives. They got settled in relatively quickly and soon Alex was at work in the R & D department. At age 22, Alex completed the prototype for a revolutionary atomic power source he called The Helix Engine. This was small but generated enough energy to power large sections of the city. With this they could have made Terra Volta obsolete, but companies like Arachnos, Crey, and even the Sky Raiders, had other plans. When word got to them about this device they tried multiple attempts to steal it or even kidnap Alex! This finally forced his hand; he had to weaponize his creation in order to protect not only himself, but his work. However he wasn't sure if the new armor he used to house The Helix Engine would protect the user from the radiation is lets off. Alex was hesitant to even use it, but Adrian stepped up to the challenge. He said he'd rather risk his life than let his brother risk wasting his own life. He knew his brother had more to live for and Adrian was willing to die if it meant keeping his brother safe.
Adrian wore the suit and began to test its power and limits. He took the fight to the villains that tried to harm his family, but even though the suit was a huge success, Alex couldn't risk this technology falling into the wrong hands. He scrapped the project and went on to create safer if not slightly less effective technology. Adrian, on the other hand, became the newest hero of Paragon City, he became The Helix Engine.
Atomic Power
Adrian began to test the suit's full potential before registering to become a full fledged hero. His brother set up a safe test zone for Adrian and it was there he spent most of his time. He first learned that he could produce multiple types of energy: Heat, Atomic, Electric and Pure Energy. The Engine wasn't just capable of generating one type, but multiple types of energy. Helix settled on using the radiation from the Engine and using its power to produce radioactive flames. He can easily debilitate his foes and bring them down easy with a few small, well controlled fires. After a few months of practice and learning the ins and outs of the suit, Adrian set off to Atlas Park to register. From that day on he was and forever is, The Helix Engine.
