Clerisy
From Unofficial Handbook of the Virtue Universe
| [[Image:|300px|]] | |
| Clerisy | |
| Player: @Cleretic | |
| Origin: | Technology |
|---|---|
| Archetype: | Brute |
| Threat Level: | 50 |
| Personal Data | |
| Real Name: | Ashley DeFlemsey |
| Known Aliases: | Clerisy, Ash, Ashie |
| Species: | Human/Demon |
| Age: | 18 |
| Height: | "Eh, about six foot." |
| Weight: | "I'unno. Hundred and something pounds?" |
| Eye Color: | Green |
| Hair Color: | Red |
| Biographical Data | |
| Nationality: | American |
| Occupation: | Villain |
| Place of Birth: | Warwick, RO |
| Base of Operations: | Rogue Isles - beyond that N/A |
| Marital Status: | Dating Tara Gregory |
| Known Relatives: | Carl DeFlemsey (Father), Mary DeFlemsey (Mother), Audrey DeFlemsey (Grandmother), Charles DeFlemsey (Grandfather, deceased) |
| Known Powers | |
| Electricity manipulation for offensive and defensive purposes, ability to absorb energy. | |
| Known Abilities | |
| Very observant, relatively high-level computer and technology skills | |
| Equipment | |
| Powersuit (now bonded to his very being), Arachnos mace, remote-control camera drone, two revolvers, rocket-skates | |
| His grandfather was part of the crew of the Enola Ghey. | |
Contents |
Overview
Debatably mad, Ashley 'Clerisy' DeFlemsey is known to teeter on the edge between serial killer and full-blown supervillain. With power over electricity rivaling even some of the greatest electrokineticists, he is especially known for killing entire bases full of agents solely on the basis of intelligence.
Personality
Surprisingly, if one were to approach and speak to him, Ashley would show almost no signs of any sort of madness. A kind, patient sort, he has seems far more likely to do office work than to go around killing people. While he's known to be rather observant in most cases, he's nearly blind to anybody possibly flirting with him or showing other forms of interest. Almost all of this tends to change when somebody in some way wrongs him, though. Be it that a friend of his is hurt, or you simply anger him, he can suddenly become exactly the villain he is known for being, with taunts and visible displays of power.
The Clerisy Complex
A mental complex that Ash seems to have has been named after his criminal alias. The Clerisy Complex is a disorder wherein the individual considers themselves smarter than a large portion of humanity if not all, and often looks down upon those who are less intelligent. Ash himself seems to be aware of and slowly improving upon this, having stopped a large amount of his murderous tendencies. He reasons this quite simply: "Tara'd kill me if I did".
History
Early Years
Ashley's early life appears, on paper, to be hardly disagreeable. His father a relatively wealthy lawyer, with his mother maintaining a steady job as a librarian, his school life quite adequate though not without the average childhood squabbles. Reality, however, was not so kind to the boy. A very effeminate individual, his father quite quickly distanced himself from his son, considering him a disappointment. Most of Ashley's true 'parenting' came in the form of his grandparents, Charles and Audrey, who treated him the best they could when in contact with the child.
By all accounts his school life is where things began to significantly worsen for him. One particular boy, Lance, constantly harassed him for his effeminate looks, book smarts and as it soon turned out complete lack of ability in sporting ventures. This led Ashley to become a highly insecure and timid boy, and this compounded by the teasing itself caused him to have very few, if any, actual friends for the majority of his schooling. Were it not for the care of his grandparents, and his somewhat sympathetic teachers, it is theorized that Ashley might have committed suicide sometime during middle school, if not earlier.
High School
Normally, the case tends to be that elementary school teasing and hassling stops over time. This was not so for Ashley. As the years went on, Ashley only became more effeminate, shy and paranoid, while Lance found his position as quarterback of the school's football team and became, essentially, the archetypal jock to Ashley's target. He was known to take classes in both Chemistry and Physics, facts which came into play later on. One of the only anecdotes anybody could provide about Ashley during his high school years was on Valentine's Day of junior year. For what was reportedly the first time, he received some form of positive recognition from somebody outside his grandparents and teachers, in the form of an anonymous love letter. The boy who provided the anecdote, a nearby senior who considered Ashley a casual acquaintance, asked him who it was from. Ashley, in response, grumbled about somebody 'setting up a trap', proceeding to tear up and throw away the letter.
While it was never confirmed who wrote this letter, common theory both from various experts examining his case and Ashley himself is that it was from Emily Walker, a girl who later approached him for assistance in Chemistry, becoming perhaps his first real friend. For a number of months, the two spent a lot of time together, even if due to his paranoia and shyness Ashley took a while to actually open up to her; eyewitness reports refer to him 'being really cold to her' and 'completely ignoring signals'.
July 14th, however, was one of if not the most significant days in Ashley's life. It isn't known, but it is thought that the 13th was a particularly bad day for Ashley, though there are no reports of anything specific happening outside of normal occurrences. On the night of the 13th, his school's chemistry lab was broken into, with the only thievery being the school's minute supply of Francium (a highly reactive element). There is no doubt among any about who the thief was, at least now.
The next day, at lunchtime, was the moment that would shape the rest of Ashley's life. Witness reports of the incident are very clear: Ashley walked up to his eternal tormentor Lance, asking if he would mind 'trying something'. Lance agreed to this, perhaps intending to use it as ammunition to further belittle Ashley.
The 'salt' that Ashley put on Lance's sandwich reacted so violently to his saliva that it destroyed the majority of his head as well as severely injuring his torso. Not that this would have mattered, as Lance was killed instantly by the blast.
Assuming, not without foundation, that Ashley was a dangerous metahuman (which he was not; and genetically speaking still is not), he was arrested within the hour, and before sunset was taken to Ziggursky Penitentiary. During his brief stay, he received no visitors. Not his grandparents, parents, or Emily spoke to him. While it is all but confirmed that Emily was forbidden from visiting him, and such may also be true for his grandparents, his father is thought to have no excuse, and did not even put forth the effort to attempt to defend his own son as his attorney.
The birth of Clerisy
Unsurprisingly, within two weeks of being admitted, Arachnos staged a breakout, looking for Destined Ones. Interestingly, while it is known that Ashley escaped with them, he never appeared to be on Kalinda's list of 'Destined Ones', making him a rarity. It is unknown how Ashley managed to gain transport to the Rogue Isles; the assumption is that he was mistaken for somebody else.
As he arrived at Mercy Island, quickly attempting to form a business relationship with Mercenary Burke, he was instantly recognised as a 'nobody' due to a lack of any kind of powers, training or equipment. Nevertheless, likely due to a desire to not become 'lost in the crowd', Ashley persisted. Soon, he appeared again before Mercenary Burke - this time in a haphazardly constructed, yet surprisingly functional, suit that harnessed electricity, presumably based off of Crey's Voltaic Tanks. He called himself Clerisy, after the upper echelon of intelligence in society.
And so his career began. Quickly carving himself a niche as being particularly agreeable in mercenary work against groups such as the Lost, Freakshow, and the grunts of Arachnos and the Council, he slowly upgraded his suit. At one point he was in a somewhat brief relationship with Akina Dose, however this was not to last; and given Akina's known less than intellectual leanings it's debatable who exactly thought it would. He moved from livivng on the streets, to a run-down apartment in Haven, eventually into squatting in an abandoned mansion in New Haven. It was approximately mid-October when, for reasons unknown, Ashley disappeared suddenly for about a fortnight. Given that when he returned, his suit had received as significant redesign and upgrade, as well as somehow having obtained a new girlfriend by the name of Amelia who claimed to be from Praetorian Earth, it is thought he went willingly on a pilgrimage there for unknown reasons.
After again moving, this time to a comandeered underwater Longbow base off the coast of Mercy, he moved to kill his ex-girlfriend, Akina. The reasoning behind this is unknown, but is again theorized: The popular theory is that she did nothing explicitly wrong, but Ashley murdered her solely by basis of intelligence, the same reason he murdered everybody else. This happened mid-December; Akina was revived by causes outside the scope of our analysis in a few days. Slightly less than a month later, after New Year's Day a number of Akina's friends and family attempted individually to murder him as revenge. Ashley, making use of his suit's various upgraded abilities, managed to avoid at least three murder attempts. Finally, after having his suit's peripherals destroyed by an EMP, having the suit's defenses destroyed by a large concussive blast, and being chased halfway across Sharkhead Isle, Ashley was shot in the head, and thought to have died. Unit v4.0 and Robin 'Sky-Scar' Fenix were his would-be murderers.
Cheating Reality
'Would-be' being used because a body was never actually uncovered. The head wound from Robin's bullet was, judging by CCTV footage of the incident, has been judged to be enough to have instantly killed a person; however, one of Ashley's numerous gadgets, an often-unreliable teleporter back to his base of operations, activated and teleported him away just after the bullet struck. WHile never confirmed nor denied, the conclusion generally agreed upon by analysts is that he died in his base, with Amelia nearby. Over the course of about a month, it is thought that Amelia repaired his suit, and brought Ashley back from the dead, as he soon returned to continue his work in the Rogue Isles as if he had never left. At this point, he joined Inevitable Evolution for a rather uneventful few months: He likely joined for security reasons, and left for ideological ones.
When he was at approximately threat level 30, Ashley reportedly became frustrated at his suit: He had brought it from a barely-functional tin can, to a legitimate weapon, over the course of just under a year, and yet he was not satisfied, as it had reached its peak. Desiring to become a figure of fear and terror that attacks those who are unintelligent, he desired to be stronger, beyond what even science could cause. He soon got the idea to plug himself directly into the power source of Cap Au Diable's Power Transfer System - the demon Bat'Zul.
The entirely of Cap Au Diable was without power for eight hours. However, despite all logic and reasoning, it worked; Ashley and his suit had become fused into one by the demonic energy, and his power over electricity increased in turn. He could now reach the levels of power that he wanted to.
The Rest
Afterwards, Ashley continued to climb the ladder of notriety in the ROgue Isles. When he entered Grandville, he joined Black Scorpion's ranks specifically to betray him later. Despite not being a Destined One, he muscled his way into Project Destiny solely to gain further notability. His list of defeated heroes and villains when alone became nearly frightening; as virtually every villain group leader, be they correlating with Ashley's motives or not, appears on it. It is assumed he did this out of a desire to become known, at the expense of appearing to be a simple 'destroy everything' villain.
At some point, Amelia disappeared. It is unknown exactly when, or to where. After a small, uneventful relationship with old friend Emily Walker, Ashley met and began dating Tara Gregory. The two have been inseperable ever since.
Powers
Ashley's suit is now fused to his very being by a demonic force. As such, he is now considered part-demonic, though not fully (demonism is difficult to quantify, especially without analysis, so it cannot be said just how demonic). When visibly human, his powers are nearly nonexistant; he has very mild electrokinesis, at a level that is functionally useless. However, when he is visibly suited and demonic, his powers amplify a thousandfold, and he begins to gain some strange properties.
The exact workings of Ashley's powers when in hsi suited/demonic form is unknown. This is the commonly theorised and accepted version: Ashley is now a being of energy. The few people that have survived fighting him have been said to feel 'tired' and 'drained', despite being pumped full of electricity. It is thought that with every strike, Ashley saps a small amount of chemical potential energy from the target. He also has an ability that is thought to do this on a large scale to a number of people around him.
It is also unknown if Ashley is indeed mortal anymore; can he be killed by normal means? Would he have to be drained of his energy? Is he, like a demon, functionally immortal unless his murderer knows his true name? These questions may never even be answered.
Relations
((If you know Ash in any meaningful way, just put your name down here. I'll put something down soon.))
- Tara Gregory - Without question the person Ash considers most important in his life. Deeply in love despite the inherent issues apparent with a part demon dating an angel, the two would likely do anything for each other.
- Highly Envious - Nobody's completely sure how the two became friends, but what can be discerned is that they're friends now. Even if Ash can't keep up sometimes.
- Sky-Scar - Constantly at each other's throats, Robin may actually be called a friend by Ash. On a good day. Maybe.
- Unit v4.0 - Very much in the same boat as Robin, Ash might call him a friend on a good day. They seemed to call a truce after realizing neither one can kill the other.
- Raine Heartfall - Ash and Raine don't have in pretty much any case a 'good' relationship, but one could definitely say there is one. It can't really be told what it is, though.
- Keshka Di'mir - Hates his guts. -Player doesn't through! <3
Quotes
((Write whatever you think about Ash here.))
"I dunno what th'fuck t'think 'bout 'im. I mean yeh, s'fun t'bust his balls. How could'n it? Th'fucker looks like a bitch. But when he comes up mopin' at me I cain' help but try'n do somethin' bout it. Who gives a shit if he takes th' advice'r not, s'his life... if he's even a dude, heh." - Raine Heartfall
"I hope he finds a most unfortunate end." - Keshka Di'mir
"He's my best friend. Hurt him and you will forever be on my 'kill and maim' list." - Envy
"So... You got a good shot in on me when I had my back turned... But boy, you're gonna regret EVER having messed with me. You're dead, plain and simple." Shimmer-Strike
Trivia
- Ash broke Omega Clearance on national TV. Nobody seemed to notice, because everyone knows already.
- While Ash does have at least one revolver on his person at all times, it's never loaded.
- In-character, Ash's greatest influences are Iron Man, The Riddler, Doctor Doom and Ganondorf.
- Out of character, Ash's influences were Mortimer McMire from the Commander Keen series, some aspects of Bioshock, Revolver Ocelot circa Metal Gear Solid 3, and later on Naoto from Persona 4.
- He has a group of haphazardly-reprogrammed and reconstructed Nemesis Automatons called the Courtroom. He rarely brings them into play, however.
- Ash's theme song is "The Fallen" by Franz Ferdinand. Five Iron Frenzy's "My Evil Plan To Save The World" is also worth mentioning.
- He watches the Freelance Astronauts.
- His player envisions Ash's speech as similar to Lumine from Megaman X8 (look it up). But, y'know, imagine him sounding however you want him to sound.
- Ashley, despite having died, dating an angel, and being part-demon, is an atheist. Read into that what you will.
- Ashley has a chronic hatred of time-travelling children from the futre. There's way more of those than he can tolerate.
- No, I've never played Infamous.
