Adimarkus the Swift
From Unofficial Handbook of the Virtue Universe
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| Adimarkus the Swift | |
| Player: @Gene88 | |
| Origin: | Science |
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| Archetype: | Stalker (DM/SS) |
| Security Level: | 35+ |
| Personal Data | |
| Real Name: | Adimarkus |
| Known Aliases: | Adimarkus the Swift |
| Species: | Human/Feline |
| Age: | 27 |
| Height: | 5 ft. 8 in. |
| Weight: | 158 lbs. |
| Eye Color: | Slate Gray |
| Hair Color: | Silver |
| Biographical Data | |
| Nationality: | Unknown (American) |
| Occupation: | Vigilante; delivery boy to pay the (increasingly expensive) bills |
| Place of Birth: | Unknown (America; mid-west) |
| Base of Operations: | Talos Island / Dark Astoria |
| Marital Status: | Single |
| Known Relatives: | Unknown (Parents deceased; no known siblings or relatives) |
| Known Powers | |
| Ability to mix the forces of darkness with melee fighting; super speed. | |
| Known Abilities | |
| Master of nearly a dozen forms of martial arts, notably Hapkido, Krav Maga, and Wing Chun. Highly trained in infiltration and assassination techniques. Also decent with a computer, fairly intelligent, and in peak physical condition.
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| Equipment | |
| Envenomed knives, grenades of various types, and other standard equipment. | |
| Theme Song: Henry Jackman - Rage and Serenity | |
"Father has called me many things; experiment, abomination, flawed... I am so much more."
-Adimarkus
Contents |
History
Before the Medic
Born Aaron Eshire to a family of pig farmers in the Mid-West United States, Adimarkus was a rather peculiar child; while most children his age were happy to go outside and play, Aaron was too busy watching martial arts flicks and playing video games. In school his professors always said that he had a brilliant mind but was never going to get anywhere in life until he started applying himself. At the age of sixteen this all changed.
On his way from school one day a group of local bullies jumped him and, after a savage beating, promptly wandered off to torment another young man from his school. Thinking his day couldn't get any worse, Aaron continued home. Upon his arrival, the presence of police cars hinted that something horrible had occurred. Making his way into his home, Aaron found the interior in ruins and blood staining the walls. That was all he saw before he was escorted away from his former residence by a pair of police officers. His parents killers were never found.
Aaron drifted from house to house in foster care until arriving at the domicile of Ted and Rora Nosemburg. Ted was ex-military and saw something in the boy. Ted refused to give up on him, harshly punishing him when he broke the law and often brow-beating the boy into doing various services for elderly neighbors, Aaron began to slowly appreciate the value of an honest day's work. At the age of eighteen, Aaron's interest in martial arts movies had become something of an obsession and, at Ted's urging, he began to learn Judo at a nearby dojo. Several more years passed and Aaron excelled at fighting with his hands and feet; in lieu of going to college, he asked his adoptive parents if he could travel the world to learn as many ways to fight as he could. They said yes, and Aaron disappeared across the sea.
Aaron traveled the world just like he said he would, doing odd jobs in various small towns and cities to earn keep and pay for his continued traveles. By twenty three he had mastered nearly a dozen martial arts, learned several languages to perfection, and had formed several dojos of his own; he had finally made something of himself.
Then... he met the Mad Medic.
One night he was practicing kata at his dojo when a gang of members from a rival school decided it would be best to take him out of the picture. The fight was more than a dozen against one and Aaron barely survived it; lying amidst his broken and battered challengers, bleeding from a dozen wounds, Aaron knew his time had come. Then he saw him, a figure standing over him and eying him with evil intent. That is the last thing that Aaron ever saw.
After the Medic
"The first goal was, of course, to keep him alive; this required several weeks in a tank of restorative gel. After that the true experimentation began. Having witnessed his fight, I was sure that he could be more deadly if he were faster; perhaps as fast as... a cheetah? Yes! Several rounds of DNA splicing later and the results were immediately noticeable, the ears were a bit unfortunate, however. After that I figured why not wipe his memories, it's easier to work with a blank slate, after all."
-The Mad Medic
The first thing he saw was the evilly grinning face of the Mad Medic who promptly introduced himself as 'Father.' After a battery of tests it was determined that Adimarkus would be his name. Next would come the schooling.
Basic knowledge is often ingrained into the mind, addition, subtraction, spelling, and so on are so intertwined with who we are that even if you forget them you often still remember them even if you don't know it. This is how it was for much of Adimarkus' first few years; relearning things that he didn't know he already knew.
After that, the combat training. Hours a day were spent re-teaching the boy his katas and various masters were brought to oversee his learning. Then came stealth training, for all his speed and reflexes he would not be a proper tool were he not properly taught! It turns out that Adimarkus excelled at being an assassin; someone trained in a dozen martial arts, that is as stealthy as the wind, and utterly loyal. Doesn't get much better than that, does it? Well, there were... problems.
Several years after having been thoroughly trained, Adimarkus escaped the Mad Medic. Initially it was just a test of his own to see if he could do it, but after awhile, he grew to enjoy his new found freedom and decided to see just how well he could mesh into a society that he felt familiar in, but didn't entirely understand.
Here and Now
Adimarkus has been on the run for two years now. The Mad Medic gave up 'chasing' the boy and took a more passive approach; should they meet he does some tests to see how his experiment has been performing, then he disappears once more. Adimarkus wouldn't have it any other way, his feelings towards his father are mixed... hate, fear, loathing... love?
Shortly after escaping the Medic's clutches, Adimarkus discovered something. For all the training he'd been put through he had also been inhibited in some ways. Apparently, the cheetah who's DNA he had been spliced with was a demon from the Netherworld in disguise. In having his DNA spliced with it, Adimarkus not only gained the speed and reflexes of a cheetah, but the ability to control darkness and negative energy that the demon possessed. He also gained memories of all of the horrible things the demon had ever done and now sees them as things that he has done.
Now tortured by memories that aren't his, Adimarkus tries his best to make it in a world that would probably be better off without him. His nights are often sleepless as rest brings horrific dreams that he would rather not face. "More's the pity," he has often been heard saying to himself, "it doesn't give them any time to hide."
Personality
General
After having the majority of his memories scrubbed out of his head by the Mad Medic, Adimarkus is somewhat naive to the world at large. He knows that there are bad people that do bad things, but he likes to think that there's a little good in everyone. He tends to take things somewhat literally at times and is often more forward with people than he intends to be.
Overall Adimarkus is a friendly and approachable sort, though not one to keep many friends due to his rather flighty nature. Those that he does call friend, however, are like family to him.
When on a mission with those he is unfamiliar with Adimarkus is often silent. He'll follow orders and give his opinion if asked, but he more often than not just wants to get in and get out as swiftly as possible. If running a mission with friends, however, Adimarkus tends to be rather chatty and has no problem making jokes at his enemies' expense.
Due to his feline ears and eyes he is often mistaken for a 'catboy,' this irritates Adimarkus to no end and he is rather adamant about not being one. He often cites that him having feline eyes and ears makes him no more a cat than an ape having thumbs makes it a human.
The Wraith
Adimarkus' newfound contact with the forces of true darkness has left a lasting impression on him. Should he desire it, he can call these forces forth to aid him in battle, however, doing so often leaves Adimarkus terribly weakened afterwards.
When he calls upon power of shadow to aid him, he becomes what he refers to as The Wraith. While in this form Adimarkus' speed and ferocity in battle is increased by several orders of magnitude and he is covered in clinging shadows that lash out at nearby opponents that move to attack him. However, while in this form he has no compunctions about killing those that attack or offend him in some way and even towards close friends he is short of temperament and incredibly cold, brooking no insolence and seeing no light or innocence before him.
Adimarkus only calls upon the Wraith when he absolutely must, as he feels that doing so brings him closer and closer to the Netherworld; a place that he fears he will one day be unable to return from.
Abilities and Equipment
Abilities
Adimarkus is a highly trained martial artist and before having his mind wiped was also an avid body builder. Before having his memories removed by the Mad Medic he was the master of several martial arts schools and held many world-wide awards. He remembers none of this now, of course, and the only reason he still fights as well as he does is because of the muscle memory implanted on his very being by near constant training. In close combat Adimarkus is an incredibly lethal opponent that is capable of taking down foes many times his size.
In addition to his incredible martial prowess, the Mad Medic's experiments unlocked a somewhat darker side to Adimarkus that he refers to as the Wraith. While calling upon these dark powers, Adimarkus gains the ability to manipulate negative energy and darkness to serve him and dispatch his foes. He often calls upon this shadow manipulation to hide him from the eyes of his foes, making him an exemplary assassin should he need to be.
To top it all off, Mad Medic spliced Adimarkus' DNA with that of an albino cheetah. This has granted him a pair of feline ears which enable him to hear incredibly well; also granted to him were incredible reflexes and the ability to run faster than nearly anything else on the planet. In a fight, Adimarkus is a blur of fury, often dropping a foe before they even realized they were under attack. Additional modifications to his legs by the Mad Medic allow Adimarkus to leap nearly two-hundred feet vertically, making navigation of Paragon City a much less troublesome prospect.
His staunch (some would say obsessive) focus on martial arts, has given Adimarkus great strength of mind and, as such, he is more or less immune to mind-reading attempts unless he allows them. Sadly, this does not extend to psychic attack forms.
Equipment
Adimarkus carries a bevy of equipment with him, even if it's not all visible at once. When in his 'working' outfit (which is to say not his casual clothes or his battle armor), adimarkus wears a long leather coat that covers the plasteel breastplate worn beneath it. He also wears a pair of armored leggings capable of deflecting most blows and enduring the impacts of his kicks and (near constant) jumping. On the interior lining of his longcoat are dozens upon dozens of hooks that hold various objects of use to him; from grenades of various sorts, to envenomed knives, to a portable resuscitator. Adimarkus is fairly adamant, however, about not carrying a cellphone of any sort, he views them as expensive distractions at best and liabilities at worst.
For all of his relatively mundane equipment, Adimarkus does wear one highly advanced piece of technology. On his left wrist he wears a device that he calls a Dimensional Slipcase. In it he carries a number of changes of clothes (which can be instantly switched into and out of) as well as his battle armor.
The battle armor itself has gone through a number of iterations, it is currently sitting at its third revision. The suit provides Adimarkus with increased defenses when dealing with heavily armed and armored foes, though it does slow him down a good deal. It has a built in cloaking device and night-vision visor that makes it incredibly effective for stealth missions considering its size and bulk.
Weaknesses
Due to his now-feline heritage, Adimarkus has something of an issue with water; he isn't deathly afraid of it, but he doesn't much care for being in constant contact with it outside of bathing.
Adimarkus' purely physical training leaves him vulnerable to psychic attacks.
Adimarkus' lack of memories before his encounter with the Mad Medic can be something of a liability; he could be looking a sworn enemy in the face and not even realize it.
Due to his strong connection to the Netherworld, Adimarkus faces great difficulties against opponents immune to negative energy; often falling back on his gadgets to quickly end fights or his stealth to avoid them all together.
