Hit-Parade
From Unofficial Handbook of the Virtue Universe
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| Hit-Parade | |
| Player: Hit-Parade (@Magnum-Litany) | |
| Origin: | Technology |
|---|---|
| Archetype: | Blaster |
| Personal Data | |
| Real Name: | KOBAYASHI, Russell Keisuke |
| Known Aliases: | N/A |
| Species: | Human (possible divine heritage) |
| Age: | 34 (DOB: 20 August 1980) |
| Height: | 1.8 m. (5'10") |
| Weight: | 81.65 kg. (180 lbs.) |
| Eye Color: | Brown |
| Hair Color: | Black |
| Biographical Data | |
| Occupation: | RCMP detective, on detached duty with Interpol; Interpol liaison to FSBA (Paragon City Field Office); co-deputy director, Daybreak Initiative |
| Place of Birth: | Toronto, ON, Canada |
| Known Relatives: | Rochelle Tanner (sister); Sakuya Donnelly (cousin) |
| Known Powers | |
| Aerokinesis, electrokinesis, cybernetic enhancements | |
| Known Abilities | |
| Master marksman, highly competent and decorated detective, unusually trustworthy | |
| Equipment | |
| GLOCK cybernetic enhancement suite (implanted); pair of HOLLOWPOINT semiautomatic pistols; Interpol, RCMP, and FSBA credentials | |
Contents |
Capsule Summary
Russell Kobayashi, a.k.a. "Hit-Parade," is a superhero operating in Paragon City. A native of Toronto, he is a serving RCMP officer on detached duty with Interpol through the International Policing Program, and currently serves as Interpol's liaison with the Federal Bureau of Superpowered Affairs. His secondary role in Paragon City is to field-test GLOCK, a minimally-invasive cybernetic enhancement suite being jointly developed by the RCMP and FBI. He is a member of the Daybreak Initiative supergroup, serving as its chief of HR and liaison with official agencies.
Character Notes
Russell is a CoH version of my main RP character from The Secret World and Secret World Legends. His faceclaim is Kaneshiro Takeshi, while his notional voiceclaim is Jason Segel (go ahead, try and reconcile that voice with that face, I dare you. :D). The primary inspirations for Russell are: "Tequila" Yuan from Hard Boiled, Bobby Simone from NYPD Blue, Phil Coulson from Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., and Lei Wulong from Tekken.
The GLOCK cybernetic suite is based on the NuCybe Ranged Combat Package from Cyberpunk v3.0.
Character theme songs: The Tragically Hip's "Bobcaygeon", Tito and Tarantula's "Back to the House That Love Built.
Appearance
Russell is a handsome Eurasian man in his mid-30s. Although only one-quarter Japanese, that ethnicity is highly visible in his physical appearance. His physique is toned and athletic, a result of a physically active lifestyle and a long-ingrained habit of exercise. Despite having little need for them, Russell often affects zero-prescription glasses, as he likes to exploit the stereotypes lazy people mentally assign to people with glasses. He has one tattoo, the RCMP coat of arms with his cadre number, on his upper left arm. He rarely goes anywhere unarmed, and is most often seen with his HOLLOWPOINTs in a double-carry shoulder rig under his coat.
Russell has a couple of vanities he is prone to indulging. One is his general style of clothing -- he tends to favor business suits or clothing in a similar vein. This is an artifact of his career as a police detective. Between mostly-frugal spending and a sizable family inheritance, he is sufficiently affluent to (sparingly) buy tailored suits without breaking the bank, so this is typically what he is seen in. Even his more casual clothing tends to fall under the "business-casual" heading. His other vanity is his hair and facial grooming: he wears a neatly-trimmed mustache and goatee with a short, fashionable haircut, and is almost obsessive about maintaining it.
When in the field as "Hit-Parade," his costume is a charcoal-grey suit with matching fedora, mirrored sunglasses, brown dress shoes, electric-blue Oxford shirt, and silver necktie.
One final, minor affectation is part and parcel of his continued love for his hometown, Toronto. He is prone to wearing tie tacks or lapel pins bearing the City of Toronto's coat of arms.
History
Russell's great-grandparents emigrated to San Francisco in the late 19th century. Family tradition holds that the Kobayashis are descended from the noble Minamoto clan, and (even further back) from one of the eight deities created by Amaterasu and Susano-O that later founded the major Japanese noble houses. Truth or not, it is undeniable that the Kobayashi family (both Russell's branch and the "main house" in Hakodate) has a tendency to produce supernaturally-gifted individuals. (Indeed, Russell's cousin, Sakuya Donnelly, is one such person, also operating in Paragon City as a superheroine called "Sakurafubuki.")
Russell's grandfather, Keisuke "Casey" Kobayashi (1919-1988), had been a decorated sergeant in the U.S. Army's 442nd Regimental Combat Team during WWII, but had emigrated to Canada following the war, when his geology degree got him a job offer from a Canadian oil company. Casey would eventually retire as an executive V.P. in the mid-1980s. (The fact that he also found it smart to relocate because of flak from his new wife's Danish-American family was sheer coincidence.) Keisuke's brother Raizo ("Ray") would remain in San Francisco, eventually turning the family restaurant into a successful local chain.
Russell's father, Alex (1948-2005), was a professor of literature at Ryerson University in Toronto. His mother, Arielle (née Lavigne, 1950-2010), was a notable pediatric oncologist. He has one sister, Rochelle ("Shelly," born 1983); she was a wild child as a teenager and into her 20s, but is now a dental hygienist in Bobcaygeon, and is married and has one daughter (Adrienne Tanner, born 2010).
Russell was born and raised in the Leaside neighborhood of Toronto. His parents instilled in him a strong sense of civic responsibility, but he knew that he wanted to take a different approach than theirs: he wanted to be a Mountie. He was a good-but-not-great student, (solid B-B+ average). Physically active, he also ran track and field, but not because of a natural love for athletics -- he knew he needed to be in good shape for his chosen career.
Russell's relationship with his parents was generally loving and supportive. They were, however, rather disappointed in his career choice; the words "wasted potential" were said quite a bit. They did make their peace with it eventually; they came to see his career choice as, at least, one that helped society. His relationship with his sister was generally amicable, although frequently strained with the usual stresses of sibling dynamics.
After graduating from Ryerson, Russell joined the RCMP and excelled, eventually rising to the rank of Sergeant. Soon after, he qualified for the International Policing Program and Interpol service. After several years as a roving inspector and analyst, he was transferred to Paragon City to liaise with the FSBA field office there. The real reason he was transferred, however, was because he was the prime candidate to test out the GLOCK cybernetic suite, and the best way to do so was to be in a place where registered vigilantes helped fight crime. (As part of his participation in the project, he received a hefty salary bump and a large degree of autonomy in the pursuit of his duties.)
Personality
Russell tends towards quiet, dry-witted affability. He is often reserved in large crowds -- a limited number of close friends is more his speed. Reserved does not equate to shy, however, and he is more than willing to turn loose his wit (or shoot his mouth off, depending on who you ask) if the opportunity presents itself. On the clock, he endeavors to project an affable, thoughtful professionalism. This has generally made him well-liked both professionally and socially.
Among those who've gotten to know him, Russell is generous, gregarious, loyal, and surprisingly charming. Those close to him, sadly, also get to know his less laudable traits: an easily-manipulated guilt complex, overthinking things, an inconsistently-resisted tendency towards self-pity, and easily lapsing into old vices (i.e., heavy drinking, smoking, and promiscuity) when under stress. He takes his job, and the oath he swore when receiving his badge, very seriously. While he has managed to temper his youthful idealism somewhat with a pragmatic understanding of the world, he has proven unable (or unwilling) to abandon it. This "knight in shining armor" tendency both adds to his likability and gets him in hot water. In Paragon City, that puts him in good company.
Russell's hobbies include reading (both fiction and history), clubbing, bad movies and their subculture (i.e., Mystery Science Theater 3000 and its derivatives), “geek” culture, music (both listening to and performing), and time spent with family and friends.
Powers and Abilities
(To be prettied up at some future point:)
-- Master detective -- Master marksman -- Unusually good at gaining/maintaining trust -- Limited aerokinesis and electrokinesis, including flight and the incorporation of electrokinesis into close combat
Cybernetics (GLOCK and HOLLOWPOINT)
The key to Russell's superhuman abilities lies in his cybernetics, a state-of-the-art suite incorporating Rikti-derived miniaturization. The GLOCK (Gene-tailored Law-enforcement Officer Cyber-enhancement, Kinetically-energized) cybernetic suite is a joint FBI/RCMP project, designed to replace the more visible COLT (Cybernetic Officer, Law-enforcement/Tactics) suite for augmenting elite agents. GLOCK consists of a network of nanite-based bone lacing and reflex boosters linked to a central "switchbox" processor unit in Russell's brainstem, providing him with dramatically enhanced agility and moderately increased strength. This switchbox also acts as a "smartgun" interface with his HOLLOWPOINT pistols, and has a 500 TB wetware memory unit that stores audiovisual data from the microcameras and audio pickups in his glasses. The entire system has military-grade hardening against EMP effects, and is powered by Russell's own bioelectromagnetic field.
Russell's main weapons are his pair of HOLLOWPOINT (Haptically/Optically-Linked Law-enforcement Officer Weapon, Pistol, Onboard-Interfacing, Nanite Technology) pistols. These are a pair of scope-fitted, heavily-modified Mishima-Ruger Ranger 11mm heavy semiautomatics. The core of those modifications are Rikti-derived nanofactories built into the pistols' grips; powered by Russell's own bioelectromagnetic field, the HOLLOWPOINTs have effectively unlimited ammunition, and can even infuse that ammunition with special (if mundane) properties. The scopes contain the weapons' smartgun systems, as well as the haptic aim-compensation devices. Finally, the weapons have a burst-fire mode.
