Kid Whip
From Unofficial Handbook of the Virtue Universe
| |
| Whip Fight! Whip Win! | |
| Kid Whip | |
| Player: @Kid Whip | |
| Origin: | Magic |
|---|---|
| Archetype: | Scrapper |
| Security Level: | 50 |
| Personal Data | |
| Real Name: | Tyler White |
| Known Aliases: | Alex, Ty-Ty, Whip, Ears, That guy with the tail. |
| Species: | Human |
| Age: | 15 years, 4 months |
| Height: | 4'9" |
| Weight: | Varies, depending on form taken. |
| Eye Color: | Usually blue. |
| Hair Color: | Usually brown. |
| Biographical Data | |
| Nationality: | American |
| Occupation: | Student |
| Place of Birth: | Paragon City, R.I. |
| Base of Operations: | Founder's Falls/Artful Dodger's base. (depends on mood) |
| Marital Status: | Single, but in lurve! |
| Known Relatives: | Parents (deceased) Thomas and Lillith White (adoptive parents, very much alive) |
| Known Powers | |
| A variety of martial arts and combat techniques that he picked up with the help of his fast learning power. Enhanced by magic. | |
| Known Abilities | |
| Fast learning-allows Whip to pick up on anything astoundingly quickly. Stealth from hunting and the ability to change colour/shape. | |
| Equipment | |
| None, although he occasionally calls a notepad to his side. | |
| Smarter than he looks-by a long way. | |
Kid Whip is the product of a story I wrote once about an impish fellow who lived his whole life in a forest, until he encounters humans.
Contents |
Humble Beginnings
Whip was born Alex Zumekis to seemingly normal parents in the seemingly normal section of Paragon City commonly referred to as Perez Park. But how normal were his parents? Let's find out...
Birth Parents
Whip's mother Jane was nothing special. Seriously, she couldn't have been anymore white bread if you cut her up, put her in a plastic bag and sold her at a bakery...but that's gross.
His dad however,was Eli Zumekis, AKA The Desert Rat, who was a relatively famous hero who worked mostly in the Perez reigon, defending such landmarks as The Bendis and that famous make-out point (lads, you know what I mean, right?)
The Desert Rat himself had control over sand. However, he could also 'burrow' through reality by using an enchanted whip that allowed him to open portals in time and space. However, the day he met Jane, he knew that he would have to hang up his goggles.
Early Development
Alex grew up much like a normal child. He played with his toys, went to day care, even learnt about his dad's time as a hero (but he never told. Biiig secret, y'know). Other than that, he was a regular kid, until a few days after his fourth birthday...
Origin (the meaty part)
The attack
One ordinary day, Alex was walking with his parents. One hand in Jane's, one in Eli's. He looked up and smiled at them and they smiled back. It was really one of those moments that couldn't have been ruined.
That is, until THEY came.
Who are they, you ask? The Circle of Thorns! Granted, they were supposed to be nestled tightly within Oranbega right now, but a splinter group had somehow emerged in Perez and saught to use Whip as a host for a horrible demon.
Suffice to say, Eli and Jane didn't take this lying down. They quickly hid Alex in a small rock formation and managed to take down an impressive number of the cultists with nothing more than parental instinct and a couple of rocks to the head.
Still, it wasn't enough. A guide managed to scoop the boy up and carry him off. In that one instant, Eli and Jane were overpowered by this 'fearsome five.'
When the three came to, they were bound to three identical altars, with Alex in the middle! As the magic swirled around them, both Eli and Jane knew that this was it-but Alex could still be saved!
"Alex! Listen to daddy-your parents both love you, no matter what!"
With those words, daggers were plunged into both Eli and Jane's hearts and a demon began to seep into Whip. However, something went screwy. Just as the demon's power was fully entrenched into Alex's body, the demon was thrust out! However, the damage was done. Alex had an incredible amount of power and it had forced his body to change. His ears grew to an impressive size and he developed a prehensile tail!
Using this newfound power, Alex broke free of his bonds and ran for it. He didn't stop running until he was sure that his captors had given up. After all that running, he sat under a tree and cried. He cried for his parents, he cried for his fear, but most of all...
He cried because he couldn't remember any of it. In his efforts to suppress the sight of his parents being killed, Alex had sealed off most of his mind. Now, he was little more than an animal in a forest. Now, he was Whip.
Unfortunately, due to his heavy repression, he also locked away certain parts of his mind, ones that involve relationship and language development, which means that he often sniffs hands that are extended to him. He also refers to himself in the third person.
Life in the wild
The next few years passed like a dream to Whip. He climbed trees, swung from branch to branch and jumped in the lake whenever he pleased. With no master, no owner, no nothing to worry about, Whip just played all day, except for when he needed to eat.
Diet in the wild
Whip ate what he wanted, when he wanted. His diet mostly consisted of discarded picnics and small woodland creatures, particularly squirrels. He even ate from the trees that grew good food.
When he ate, he was often oblivious to the world around him, which gave plenty of opportunity for passers-by to snap a photo of 'The Wild Boy of Perez,' as the tabloids were calling him. Of course, Whip had no idea what the fuss was about. If people got too close, he'd just escape into the bushes and they'd give up, thus allowing him to keep eating and climbing.
The Rikti War
During the War, Whip mostly sat on the sidelines. He kept to the safe tree branches, which he knew that the 'big head shiny guys' couldn't climb through anywhere near as well as he could. However, he did inadvertedly cause quite an upset during the war.
During one of his many food-based outings, Whip stumbled across several crates. To him, they looked like picnic baskets, but they were actually brimming with Rikti weapons, which were to be distributed throughout the warzones!
So, Whip opened up the crates and tried to eat the shiny-tube-things. A few of them made funny sounds and explosions, but they weren't good for eating, so he left them alone, but not in the right boxes. That meant that conscripts recieved swords meant for Chiefs and Chiefs were lucky to get anything better than a pistol!
Still, that was all he did for the war. For Whip, life went on as always, just with more booms.
The gang flood
After the war finished, Whip didn't notice. He just ran, jumped, climbed, ate and occasionally bathed, just as he had before and during the war, but now there was a new food source-gangs.
No, Whip didn't eat humans, but they did bring with them doritos and other such snacks, which he stole and ate without challenge. However, that was not to last...
Captured!
During one of his now regular food runs, Whip found a pile of food in an abandoned apartment complex! Unable to realise that it was probably a trap, he jumped right for the food-and got chained up by skulls! This would begin the darkest point in Whip's life (that he could remember.)
As the Skulls' new 'pet,' Whip was chained up, fed very little and forced to fight in their underground animal arenas. He usually tore through whatever he was put up against, but his hair was so far over his eyes that he couldn't tell what it was he was tearing up and eating! Still, he battled, he won and he ate his opponents. Hey, food's food.
Despite all of that, Whip still seemed naiive and upbeat.
The risky move
Things for the skulls would have been sweet, except they needed to move their 'Berserker of Death' to King's Row. That was a risk with any dangerous animal, but a dangerous animal going through puberty and with opposable thumbs? THAT'S dangerous.
Whip wanted to escape. He knew that what he was doing wasn't right. As they passed from Perez to King's Row by car, Whip saw a flash in his mind-a twisted knife. This was a memory that he had repressed and now that he could remember it, he could use a little magic.
Unfortunately, the Circle Magi that had captured him had tied him down incorrectly, so instead of unleasing magical energy from his arms, it came out through his feet. He cut through his chains with ease and jumped out of the car. His captors gave chase into a dimly-lit alley, where they tried to tie him down with shadowy magic.
Whip simply shrugged off their attempts and beat them to a pulp. Taking one of their Skull-masks as a trophy, Whip went out into the world in search of help.
Captured-again!
His attempts to find help were more or less fruitless. Every time he approached someone, no matter how, they would scream 'help! Monster!' and run away. He tried to run after them, but he was soon stopped by a group of trainee heroes from Pine Forest Academy for the Gifted.
The team, who at that time consisted of Ms. Matter (Tia Stevenson) Caldablog (Calvin Jones) and Hydron (Daniel Jones) cornered him and managed to subdue him.
The team took him to the school's safe house and cleaned him up. Even with a mind-reader, a muscle-bound swordsman and a hydrokinetic, this was a task that was easier said than done. Soon enough however, they got him into a brown martial-arts robe and shorts. His hands and feet were still dirty, but it was a start.
Soon enough, it was dinner time. Surprisingly, Whip was able to use a knife and fork after seeing Caldablog take one bite of his steak! It was obvious there was something special about this kid.
"So, what's your name?" Ms Matter asked. She was unable to probe his mind, due to strange mental blocks that she found therein, so she decided to ask him.
"Whip" was all he said as he kept eating.
"Where are you from?"
"Whip"
"Give it up Tia," Caldablog said as he finished eating. "'Tis obvious the kid can't say much, but let's see how-holy shi-put that down!" he shouted as Whip picked up Cal's sword! Surprisingly though, he handled it just as the beefy swordsman had just before, exactly the same even!
"The boy's a mimic. He just needs to see something once, then he knows it forever," Hydron said as he watched the boy's movements.
"What should we do?" Ms. Matter asked. For once, she didn't have the answers.
"Well, we can't take him back to school. Headmaster'd have a fit, if he isn't already," Cal said as he wrestled control of the sword away from Whip and put it back where it belonged.
"Well, guess we'll have to find someone here in Paragon to take care of him," Hydron said as he began to search the files he had to find a suitable set of parents...
A new life...
Soon enough, parents were found for Whip. A youngish married couple consisting of Thomas White, a low-powered mutant with the ability to produce small force fields and his wife Lillith White were found to be perfect. After getting to meet him, the pair gladly took him home and named him Tyler, after Lillith's brother who had been Killed In Action during the rikti war.
However, as Whip started attending school, he noticed that more of his memories were coming back. He also noticed superheroes. They were everywhere! They often rescued people in trouble with powers that not even Whip could copy!
Upon asking his parents if he could be a hero, at least part time, they eventually said yes. He didn't have much to go for in way of a costume, just the mask he took from his skull captors and the old rags he was found in, but Whip was more than happy to use them.
That afternoon, Tyler White stepped into city hall. After finding out that Whip had already been taken, he thought hard. He was a kid, therefore Kid Whip sounded right.
As such, Kid Whip began his life as a hero, little knowing the dangers that lurked beyond the horizon.
Meeting The Artful Dodgers
As Whip grew stronger, more of his memories began to flow back. Unfortunately, he also began to loose control of his powers. Fearing for his parent's safety, he ran away from home, with only a scrawled note that said he needed to be lost for a while.
Whip ran as far from Founder's Falls as he could get, to the land of the lost. The place was a dirty and overrun with middle aged, mutant homeless people as it had been when Whip was heroing there...had it all been for nothing? Was fighting even worth it?
Would...would it have been better if he was never caught?
Whip did his best to push those thoughts out of his head as he walked down some random street, muttering random incantations when a random piece of paper hit him in the head...but it was no ordinary piece of paper. As Whip turned it over, he saw that it was a flyer for The Artful Dodgers! He didn't have a phone or anything with him, but he DID have his sense of smell. After sniffing the paper and going through several scents, he found one belonging to Penny Tuesday, a long time member of said super group.
After tracking her down, Whip found that the group was set up mainly as a last-shot hope for kids with powers, but he joined anyway when he smelt their magic. Besides, he...kind of liked Penny, even more than he liked steak!
My real Dad, The Desert Rat!
After Whip had climed as far as his powers would allow him, he was quite excited. He was strong, he had many friends and was doing well in school.
That is, until a mysterious ring appeared in the mail. It lead him, as well as Jessie Tell and Holo Lad on a chase through Perez Park. Every time that Whip placed the ring down on certain areas, a magic hologram appeared of either a man or a woman. These people, who ended up being Whip's biological parents, informed Whip about his past. They also guided him to parts of a new costume.
The biggest twist in the story was when Whip put on the ring-the three adventurers were taken inside his mind, to the way that he remembered Perez Park.
As they followed a certain memory of his that played out, the three came across a blocked memory, which was represented by a huge brick wall. With no way over it and no way around it, they had to go through it!
As Whip, Jessie and Holo busted away at the wall, they eventually broke through to see Whip's parents battling the Circle. However, they failed. Whip was powerless to stop his memory from playing, but he kept watching as those cruel daggers ended his parent's life and summoned the demon that was meant to be his master.
However, the Desert Rat's whip jerked one final time and created a portal that allowed Whip to escape, with the demon's power, but not the demon itself. Once the memory finished, Whip removed the ring and they were taken outside of his head, with more mysterious costume pieces.
When he was finished, he had a new costume, one much like the one that the original Desert Rat had worn. However, what excited him more was the fact that he had his memories back AND he could speak normally! After thanking Jessie and Holo for their help, he returned to the basement to try on his new clothes.
A Plot Most Foul!
Things were sweet for Whip for a long time after that, but on one fateful day before Halloween 2008, Whip began to notice a change within himself. His simple playing was becoming more brutal and he was beginning to feel a bloodlust unlike anything he knew before!
One day, he awoke in a padded cell with no clue of how he got there, or most of his sanity! Through a series of adventures both in his cell and within his own mind, Whip defeated an enemy that he had not expected. The demon A'ran, who he thought was safely wherever demons happen to live, had been trapped within his own mind the whole time! With a great deal of assistance from various Dodgers, the demon was tossed away and his heart was removed. As far as Whip was concerned, that was a damn big victory!
However, as Jack Travers and Casval Regelis went to gather his parents, they were presented with a situation-Whip's 'parents' were in fact Nemesis Robots! When Whip was finally brought out and the true nature of his parents was revealed, he was a hearty mix of both anger and sadness. The last anybody saw of him was his back and the words, 'I have work to do'
And work he did! Soon enough, news spread of ten Nemesis strongholds in the shadow shard being completely cleaned out! With his emotions intact, Whip began his treck around all the places that were special to him before this realisation came to pass...what will he find? Only time will tell...
Powers
As Whip's powers continue to manifest and the boy himself learns new spells to counter evil, his skills and techniques continue to increase at an astounding rate. Here's what you can know for certain.
Fast learning
Whip's primary power comes from the demon that he was supposed to play host to. By tapping into his mind, he is able to watch something just once and know it. Hydron correctly identified this ability as a form of mimicricy, although not even he could have known how powerful it really was...
Martial arts
As Whip sees heroing as a kind of game, he loves to learn how to fight in different ways. He prefers to use his legs and feet while going toe-to-toe with his foes, although he has been noted to use his fists and even his tail when things get tough.
Super reflexes
Whip's heightened senses allow him to dodge attacks much faster than an ordinary kid, or even a fully grown human! Along with his fast learning ability, it isn't any surprise that Whip also has the ability to see a few seconds into the future, which may be why even psychic attacks don't have much effect on him.
Memory Scent
With a little concentration, Whip is able to view the memories of others simply by sniffing them! He doesn't always like what he finds, but it sure is a handy power to have when interrogating others.
Other
Eye beams-these came along as a result of screwing up a spell while he was fighting 'tin heads,' or Nemesis soldiers as we all know them. Whip made sure to note the technique down and now uses it whenever he can. Of course, that gets him into a buttload of trouble.
Form shift-by concentrating his body, Whip is able to quickly call upon any of his costumes at a moment's notice. This is especially important when he is running late for school. His first form shift was a result of his body requiring more space to store unused magical energy.
Pattern match-in an emergency, Whip can pump up his fast learning ability and dodge anything, just by studying his enemy's movements.
Fun-Whip sees heroing as a game. Thus, he is always having fun, no matter the situation.
Heal ball-Whip releases a ball of light from his body that has a variety of effects, mostly healing.
The five forms of Whip
As mentioned above, Whip has five 'forms' that he changes into during his day. These range from the heroic hero form, to the dangerous and 'gtfo my way' style rage form.
Skull form
In this first form, We see Whip as he started his heroing career. With little money to spend, Whip chose to use the rags that he was found in, his skull mask trophy and a pair of kung-fu slippers as his first costume.
However, as his memories began to return, he added chains around his arms so that he would remember how he was captured by the skulls and that he was not going to let it happen again...
Hero form
As Whip gained in both fame and notoriety, he gained a special mission from Serge himself! The result of this mission: a new costume was available to him. After a lot of tinkering (and a haircut) Whip got what he wanted-a traditional hero suit, along with a headband to keep his hair out of his eyes.
Note that here, unlike his first form, he lets his tail out. It changes colour with whatever he's wearing, which could have been an early manifestation of his stealth abilities.
Whip does the most heroing in this form.
Study form
This is what Whip wears when he's not heroing. Not many people see him with his hair and ears tucked under a hat and his tail tucked into his trousers, but this is Tyler White, ordinary student. Not much to say here, he's just a regular kid.
Rage form
Soon after Whip joined The Artful Dodgers, he began to experience headaches. He dismissed these as just fear of what was to come, but they kept coming. Soon after defeating one of his magical foes, he transformed into this new figure! As he ripped through his enemies, he felt himself slipping away from control. He was becoming an animal and he hated it.
However, after releasing a great deal of rage and magical power against the Villians of Paragon, he found himself worried about Jack Travers, who had been captured and injured a great deal. Somehow that, coupled with Jack's draining abilities allowed him to unleash a great deal of magical power that had been stored inside of him. While he was elated at being freed from this state, he was also very tired and fell asleep in a corner of the basement.
While Whip is still afraid of the rage he feels in this form, he does use it every now and again.
Form of the Desert Rat
See The Desert Rat section for an explanation of this costume.
Friends
Wildfire Magni- Whip first encountered Wildfire while undergoing special training. He was supposed to navigate all of Independance Port without a map, or sight. Unfortunately, Whip was relying on his magical senses to find his way around. Wildfire has no magical aura whatsoever, so Whip simply crashed right into him.
As an apology, Whip grabbed Wildfire by the wrist and showed him around Paragon city. Since then, the two meet up in their secret identities and chat about random things. Wildfire learnt quickly not to give Whip any coffee. They never fight alongside each other, oddly enough.
The Artful Dodgers- When Whip joined this ragtag group, he knew that no matter what, he would help them. So, even if they don't want it to be true, he considers all the Dodgers to be friends.
John, Robert and Susan-Three of his classmates at Paragon Middle school. Of all the people in Paragon City, they're the closest to figuring out the link between Tyler White and Kid Whip. They each have low-level mutant powers.
Enemies
So far, these are the only people that Whip considers enemies. Be warned though, if you find yourself on this list, you're in trouble!
The Fearsome five-One guide, three Magi and a Death Mage make up the five horrors of the circle of thorns that Whip managed to take down as he grew stronger. Each one had a scent that Whip recognised and went 'bats*** crazy' around. Now that they're in the Zig, there's no way they could be a threat...or could they?
The Villains of Paragon City-Without a doubt, this group of rogues lead by Arbiter Death is Whip's biggest challenge. They show no mercy or remorse, as good villians should, but that just stacks up the rage that Whip feels for them! Also, they beat up some of the Dodgers for kicks. NOT a good idea.
The Circle of Thorns-They made his life a living hell. Why not decide to make them enemies?
The Nemesis Army-Come on, this is a no brainer. They're anti-government, anti-Whip and anti-fun!
Quotes
From Himself
"Whip Fight! Whip Win!"~Traditional battle cry.
"You bring Whip to edge of reality, take Whip away from friends, not tell Whip why an' worst of all...YOU MAKE WHIP DROP COOKIE!"~During a certain incident.
"Shut it."~To Jessie Tell.
From Friends
"Whip needs to talk like a grown up now."~Jessie Tell.
"It's wierd, y'know? I've known Whip for ages, he's told me stuff that'd make y'skin crawl, but I ain't never seen him give up, or cry or nothin."~Wildfire Magni
"Hi Whipz!"~Big Richie, to Whip.
From the Enemies that he let Speak when he was Done
"Well, that was a mistake..."~Behemoth Overlord #38.
"No! My true name! You son of a..."~Envoy of Shadows.
"Whip faught...Whip beat us all...still, we'll have the last laugh! We won't be shackled forever!"~Death Mage #19.
"Great, now I'm paralysed AND deaf!"~Maestro.
Random Trivia
That part about the name Whip being taken? Totally true.
Whip's tail is prehensile.
Whip's favourite meal is steak and fries. He goes into a near frenzy whenever he smells the stuff, but always eats with a knife and fork.
The form of the desert rat story was nearly cut short because Jessie Tell had to visit the bathroom.
