Abomination
From Unofficial Handbook of the Virtue Universe
| |
| the Abomination | |
| Origin: | Science |
|---|---|
| Archetype: | Brute |
| Threat Level: | 50 |
| Identity | |
| Real Name: | Unknown |
| Known Aliases: | Abom |
| Nationality: | Formerly American, now unperson |
| Occupation: | Monster |
| Place of Birth: | Unknown |
| Base of Operations: | Cap au Diable, Rogue Isles |
| Marital Status: | Deceased |
| Known Relatives: | One widow |
| Physical Data | |
| Species: | Formerly human, now robot zombie |
| Age: | Unknown |
| Height / Weight : | 8' / 320 lbs |
| Eye / Hair Color: | Blue (left), brown (right) / None |
| Known Powers | |
| Inhumanly strong and tough, able to take and dish out astonishing amounts of hurt, acid vomit | |
| Known Abilities | |
| (before) Free will and memory of his former life; (now) Mindless, unstoppable rage | |
| Equipment | |
| Enhanced cyborg systems | |
| SMASH! | |
| Updated: 10/1/2012 - Player: @Megajoule | |
When you have the bad luck to run into Dr. Vahzilok's goons, you're not supposed to ever wake up again. But I did.
Contents |
Affiliations
The Abomination was formerly associated with Foxtrot Company as a sort of mascot as well as a frequent and trusted ally. (In his darker moods, he thought of himself more as a "pet.") The nearly mindless brute which now roams the Isles, lurking in the shadows and drains, knows no allegiance to anyone.
Personality
The Abomination's original consciousness was that of an ordinary man forced to live as a monster among monsters. The things he has seen and done will be with him for the rest of his new life, a stain upon his soul.
The current Abomination is a creature of primal instinct, untempered by human reason or feeling. It knows only rage, pain, and (rarely) fear. It seems to prefer to hide and scavenge, lashing out violently at anyone unwise or curious enough to disturb it.
Powers
Like others of his type, the Abomination is a patchwork monster composed of organs and tissues from a dozen "donors," grafted together with sutures and cybernetic parts and reanimated through procedures best not discussed here. Dr. Vahzilok and his devotees use a higher grade of parts for the Abominations than for ordinary Cadavers, including bits of fallen heroes, Paragon Protectors, Outcasts, Trolls, and even Council super-soldiers - whatever they can get their bloody hands on.
Super Strength
The Abomination can punch through steel, courtesy of super-muscles and cyborg reinforcement.
Invulnerability
The Abomination's leathery hide is quite tough and he can endure incredible amounts of pain, which often serves only to fuel his fury.
Leaping
The Abomination's leg muscles (both natural and artificial) and servos have been upgraded, allowing him to cover great distances in prodigious leaps.
Additional Powers
Vomit
As many young heroes have painfully discovered, Vahzilok's creations can expel the highly acidic contents of their synthetic stomachs in the form of projectile vomit. [This is represented in-game by Bile Spray from the Leviathan Mastery pool, which was one of the main reasons his player chose Mako as a patron.]
Abilities
The Abomination was once a freak among freaks: a Vahzilok minion that somehow retained consciousness and memory of his former life. While this is typical for the wealthy and desperate patients who become Eidolons, it is nearly unheard of among Cadavers and Abominations. No mutant or supernatural ability seems to have been at work, merely random chance. That mind and soul were eventually removed and put in a new clone body.
No one has been able to get close enough to determine what drives the monster now - possessing demon, fragmentary mental imprint, or something else entirely. When cornered, it has fought back with astonishing fury and power, smashing through entire companies of Arachnos troops with heavy support before vanishing into the night.
Weaknesses and Limitations
The Abomination required regular transplants to replace failing organs and other parts of his patchwork body. This was his greatest expense and the reason behind most of his criminal activity; he had worked out a deal with Dr. Shelley Percy to trade parts (only artificial or previously harvested ones, as a last moral stand) and labor for money, protection, odd jobs and regular access to an example of Dr. Vahzilok's work. Decay and lack of maintenance (since November 2009) should now be taking a toll on the creature; however, if there is some supernatural entity involved, it may be preserving its physical shell by other means.
The Abomination formerly spoke in a low, gravely voice while leaving out less important words, like someone with a bad case of laryngitis. Of late it has only uttered angry roars, grunts and other inarticulate sounds.
Equipment
Most of the Abomination's original cybernetic components (which Vahzilok's followers tend to improvise, steal, or purchase on the black market or from disreputable manufacturers) have been replaced with commercial-grade or even military-grade systems, making him considerably faster and more dangerous than the average Vahz super-zombie, a threat to even experienced foes.
Character History
See also: Dead Man Walking
The Abomination has revealed almost no details about his past. It is known that he was abducted off the streets of Paragon City, and that he may have spent as much as two weeks as a mindless minion of Vahzilok before being sent to the Ziggurat. He awoke in a drawer in the Zig morgue during the chaos of a breakout, and was able to obtain transportation to the Rogue Isles.
With no life to go back to and no prospects for legitimate employment, the Abomination spent the better part of a year as a thug (goon, enforcer, "muscle" etc.) for various parties, gradually working his way up the food chain. During this time, he became involved in the intrigues surrounding Ghost Widow and her protector, the Wretch, who he recognized as a kindred spirit; met Dr. Percy and made arrangements for continuing maintenance and upgrades; deliberately failed to stop someone from speaking out against Arachnos, as a subtle/passive form of disobedience against "the Man"; and came into conflict with the Scrapyarders of Sharkhead Isle, much to his unease. His blue-collar sympathies suggest he may have come from a similar background in life.
Arriving in the Nerva archipelago, he formed a close bond with Timothy Raymond, another who'd been experimented on against his will and turned into a freak. Friendship turned to tragedy when another contact asked him to betray Raymond; he refused, but Raymond assumed the worst, and the trust between them was broken forever. Around this time, he also began to nurse a vague, doomed crush on Flora Fairchild, acting as her protector and bristling at the presence of "rival" Doctor Vyle.
The Abomination thought he'd finally hit the big time when, after doing a few jobs for the Golden Giza casino, he was hired on as part of the "security detail" by Johnny Sonata himself. Mr. Sonata treated him with respect and even paid for a custom-tailored white tuxedo jacket, which he wore with pride whenever he was around the casino. But good luck never lasts in St. Martial: the Abomination had a sudden falling out with his employer over Sonata's treatment of Foxtrot Charly. Sonata, as cold as he had previously been warm, dismissed the brute. Some expected a fight from the Abomination, but he went quietly, pausing only to remove the jacket and leave it in one of the casino's trash cans.
The Abomination went back to odd jobs (as well as assisting Foxtrot Company, to whom he'd proven himself) until he was one day summoned to the Arachnos citadel in Grandville to declare his allegiance. He paused in front of Ghost Widow... then proceeded to Captain Mako, who acknowledged him as a fellow killer. (Afterward, Ghost Widow asked him, "Why?" The Abomination nodded to the Wretch and grunted, "You already have one." It was not meant as a joke, but a mark of respect for both and the unique bond between them.) In time, and with the aid of Foxtrot, the Abomination proved himself too dangerous for Mako to betray without risking his own defeat.
It was about this time that heroine Haley Somerset turned up in the Rogue Isles, dead but still walking around, and not in her right mind. Foxtrot assisted Haley's adoptive mother Kusanagi in finding her and restoring her to life. Kusanagi made the Abomination an offer: the same process could be used on him, even giving him a body like his old one, but it would make him immortal in the bargain - so before he said yes, he had better be sure. While he was still considering this, Mako tapped him to be the first guinea pig to pass through a new Destiny Portal. He found himself facing... himself, alone in the middle of a post-apocalyptic wasteland, unable to die. Returning to the present, he quietly declined the offer and resolved to find another way.
For Christmas 2007, he received an extraordinary gift hinting at his eventual restoration. This was followed, a year later, by his formal introduction to the mysterious group of time travellers known as Ouroboros and a second gift: the vital, untainted genetic samples needed to make it possible. Preparations began in mid-2009, with the help of Foxtrot, to grow a new clone body and transfer his mind and soul into it. The ritual was performed on Halloween night, and he was reborn in new flesh.
But the story does not end there. Later that same night, while "John Fox" and his friends rested from their ordeal, something found the soulless husk lying in the Foxtrot infirmary and walked off with it. Perhaps some demon or spirit was abroad on All Hallow's Eve and saw an empty, powerful vessel there for the claiming; or perhaps some shadow of the man's mind and strongest, most primitive emotions had been imprinted on the thing during his occupancy. Whatever the explanation, it was gone the next morning... and in the weeks that followed, there were scattered reports of a patchwork monster popping up here and there around the Isles, lashing out at those who disturbed it. These sightings continue, infrequently, to this day.
Trivia
- The Abomination's original theme music was "The Lonely Man", the piano melody appearing at the end of every episode of The Incredible Hulk.
- In the hypothetical Virtue movie, the Abomination would be voice-acted by Vin Diesel, or someone with a similar register.
