Lamassu
From Unofficial Handbook of the Virtue Universe
| |
| "Hey, where'd you get that camera..." | |
| Lamassu | |
| Player: TehDoomz | |
| Origin: | Natural/Technology |
|---|---|
| Archetype: | Defender |
| Security Level: | Confidential |
| Personal Data | |
| Real Name: | Jonathan Anthony James |
| Known Aliases: | JJ, Jonny, Lijagulep, Tony |
| Species: | Human/Lion Hybrid |
| Age: | 17 |
| Height: | 6' 7" |
| Weight: | 213 |
| Eye Color: | blue |
| Hair Color: | coloured yellow - originally brown |
| Biographical Data | |
| Nationality: | Katserian |
| Occupation: | Superhero, Student |
| Place of Birth: | Katseria, Animal Earth (Dimension TX-C47) |
| Base of Operations: | Steel Canyon, Paragon City |
| Marital Status: | Dating |
| Known Relatives: | Jakey James (Father), Tanya James (Mother) |
| Known Powers | |
| Cat-like Agility | |
| Known Abilities | |
| Archery, Kenjutsu and Climbing | |
| Equipment | |
| Various payloads that attach to arrows | |
| Looks to Manticore as a mentor/idol
Goes to school in Paragon City along with Rose Hides his ears with his hair, and his tail with a belt at school | |
Lamassu is the first cat-person character of mine I've really taken that seriously, and one of my favourites on Virtue. Manticore's side-sidekick.
Contents |
Character History
The Name
Jonathan James always viewed Manticore as an idol - and would dress up as him every Halloween. His self-proclaimed-sidekick mentality continued until adolescence when he viewed himself as a heroic equal to him. Jonathan quickly decided he needed to take up a name that would reflect Manticore's. After a couple hours of research, he came upon the Lamassu - a mythic lion with the head of a man. This was perfect for him, being a lion hybrid himself. The name stuck.
Lijagulep
Once, Lamassu needed to go undercover in the Rogue Isles for a mission, and so he used the name 'Lijagulep', which he thought sounded pretty mystical (which made sense, seeing as he was portraying a magic-origin villain), which is essentially a cross between a lion and a jagulep (a cross between a jaguar and a leopard).
How he met Rose
Jonathan first met Rose in Grade 7, as the 'new kid' at his school. Rose seemed to develop a liking for him instantly, as he was the first one she said hello to (which was on her third day - she was too shy to talk on the first two). The feeling was mutual, as Jonathan found it a little hard to talk to her. During the first month of school, they quickly became close friends, and soon had no trouble talking to eachother. Eventually, in October, the school's Autumn Dance came up - and Jonathan was hesitant and a bit shy to ask Rose to the dance, even though he knew she wouldn't refuse. Rose was a bit nervous herself, wondering if he would ask her to the dance. She knew he would, so the question was more of a 'when' than an 'if'.
By Eighth Grade, the two were comfortable enough to call eachother girlfriend/boyfriend, and the relationship has stuck to this day.
How they came to be on Primal Earth
Animal Earth, or Dimension TX-C47, was only recently discovered, so, naturally, Portal Corp sent an expedition to explore it. Jonathan and Rose were enjoying a game of soccer in a field when a crackling portal erupted not too far from them. Neither of them needed to ask the other if they wanted to go check it out; they instinctively approached it.
Hiding in a couple large bushes, they observed the Portal Corp scientists materialize through the portal, using Personal Force Fields incase the air wasn't breathable. They made their way in a random direction, accompanied by a troop of soldiers incase the locals were hostile. "C'mon...let's see what's behind it..." Jonathan suggested with a grin. Rose agreed.
Before the portal closed (after a certain amount of time without activity), the duo quietly stalked over to it and entered, not caring what was even on the other side. They materialized in the underground portal room of Portal Corp HQ, and noticed the portal was (strangely) unguarded. On the top deck of the room, however, were two people. A scientist, and the other was one whom Jonathan recognized immediately.
Manticore. Albeit, Primal Earth's version. Noticing them, he hopped over the railing and approached them, seeming to know that they weren't hostiles. The first thing to come out of his mouth was, "Oh. So...this is the dimension where all the catgirls come from, then?"
After a long conversation, Lamassu began training as Manticore's 'side-sidekick', since the position was already taken by Swan.
Anonymous Benefactor
Lamassu's undercover mission into the Rogue Isles was when he met this shady figure, who appeared to be a Wyvern Agent. He offered to help Lamassu if he got some help in return. His offer was to let Lamassu field test some of his new inventions - which he'd then sell to him for rather high prices. Nobody really knows (or really wants to) how or where this merchant acquires these items, be it from a benefactor of his own, or if they're his own inventions.
Personality
Lamassu is easy to get along with. He's friendly, charismatic and has a great sense of humor. He'll take just about everything with a grain of salt - sometimes to his dismay. He might be naturally easy-going, but he (usually) knows when to be serious.
Affiliations
Anonymous Benefactor
Lamassu recieves all his special equipment from a decidedly anonymous benefactor, who provides Lamassu all the technology and scientific know-how he needs. Some of his merchandise includes:
Poison/Acid Capsules, Glue Capsules, Net Capsules, Sonic Resonators, Oil Capsule, EMP Emitters, Explosives Teleportation Device (this one can't teleport Lamassu around, instead it's to retrieve his various payloads from his secret base - he can't carry it all on him!) and a Power Amplifier.
Rose LaFleur
Rose LaFleur is Lamassu's girlfriend from Animal Earth. She was taken to Primal Earth with him, and seems to be the inspiration behind his heroics. She possesses the characteristics of a cougar, and, even though she doesn't have any superpowers herself, she'll wilfully stand up for Lamassu against his enemies. Her hair is coloured hot pink, and often wears clothing of the same colour. She'll usually get angry if she sees Lamassu too close to other girls.
Powers
Lamassu uses many of the same powers as Manticore.
Trick Arrow
On Animal Earth, Manticore was Lamassu's idol - so, like any aspiring fan would do, he trained as an archer, starting once he was 5. Now 17, he's had tonnes of time to practice, and can hit almost all his targets. Thanks to his assosciate, most of the arrows he carries are tipped with varying payloads ((see 'Affiliations')), letting him alter and modify a battlefield with his Trick Arrows.
Archery
Not all of his arrows are adorned with poison capsules or technological oddities. Aside from the various Trick Arrows he uses, he is a master of the standard art of Archery. His arrows are extremely precise - and deadly to boot. Along with all his other gadgets, these are contained in his secret base, and can recall them with his teleporter.
Additional Powers
Super Speed
Lamassu can inherently run pretty fast, as well as boost it to extreme levels with the Power Amplifier.
Leaping
Thanks to his cat-like agility, jumping comes easy to Lamassu. With the use of the Power Amplifier, he can easily leap most buildings.
Fitness
Lamassu's Power Amplifier is always providing him a small but constant stream of energy, letting him heal and recover quicker.
Leadership
One of the Power Amplifier's most powerful capabilities lets it empower allies within a limited vicinity. When he uses this function, Lamassu and his teammates can hit more precisely and with more power, along with dodge attacks easier.
Power Mastery
Thanks to his Power Amplifier, Lamassu can pump artificial energy through his body, giving him temporary bursts of strength or stamina.
Abilities
Kenjutsu
Another art that Lamassu has been interested in is the martial art, Kenjutsu, which specializes in the use of the Katana. Being as devoted as he was to archery, mastering Kenjutsu wasn't in the scope of his ability. Regardless, he's still quite advanced in the art.
Climbing
Lamassu can scale walls, trees, rock faces, and many other surfaces quite easily. A lot of it is due to his claws, but more of it comes from rock climbing with his father, Jakey. His country on Animal Earth, Katseria, is riddled with mountains and cliffs, so it wasn't hard to find somewhere to practice. Because having somebody dressed in bright yellow tights climb up the side of your office building might be a startling experience for lots of Paragon City natives, Lamassu doesn't care to climb a lot in Paragon. But, in Steel Canyon, it's pretty tempting.
Equipment
((For a full list, see 'Affiliations')) The only device that Lamassu ever really carries on him is his Teleportation Device, that lets him call his various gadgets from a storage room in his base. That way, he can run around without a massive backpack and waste little time preparing his weapons.
Rose, however, is suspicious of the origin of his weapons, and will routinely inspect any new equipment that arrives for him.
Weaknesses and Limitations
Rose
Like a cliche from superhero movies, Rose has been kidnapped on numerous occasions to bait Lamassu into a trap. The bait part has worked each time, since he couldn't bear to risk her life over his own. Because most of the villains that do this, and are stubborn enough to do it again, are just street thugs looking to make a name for themselves, Lamassu can easily overpower most of them.
The Villain
Once, however, Rose found herself kidnapped by a known villain of the Rogue Isles - a top operative of the Black Water Agency. The operative was a master of traps, and had a strange device to project radiation. When Lamassu was defeated by the villain, he threw Rose back to him, saying, "I only wanted to gauge your power...I'll let you prosper a bit, then you come back.", and proceeded to teleport away. Lamassu has yet to identify the villain, or find him again.
Water
Lamassu is a cat. Needless to say he doesn't like water that much. He doesn't mind shallow water, like the little lakes in Paragon - but he hates deep water like in Independence Port or Talos Island, for example.
The Black Water Agency
The Black Water Agency is a super-secret band of cold-hearted killers, infused with the power of what is called the 'Black Water', which seems to possess the power to reanimate the dead. Lamassu has declared them his enemy since his first encounter with them.
Trivia
-Lijagulep was originally going to be Lamassu's name, but it sounded and looked too clumsy to be a superhero name, so I used Lamassu instead.
-Lamassu was originally supposed to be an alternate-dimension version of Manticore, but I decided that since I couldn't mimic Manticore's mask I made him a sidekick-type figure to him.
