Lock and Load
From Unofficial Handbook of the Virtue Universe
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| Lock and Load | |
| Player: @Quantum Core | |
| Origin: | Technology |
|---|---|
| Archetype: | Mastermind |
| Threat Level: | 47 |
| Personal Data | |
| Real Name: | Jackson 'Jack' Sumner Sr. |
| Known Aliases: | Confidential |
| Species: | Human |
| Age: | 46 |
| Height: | 5'10" |
| Weight: | 170 lbs. |
| Eye Color: | Brown |
| Hair Color: | Grey |
| Biographical Data | |
| Nationality: | American |
| Occupation: | Former military scientist, former Powered Armor Squad Commander |
| Place of Birth: | Clovertown, Indiana |
| Base of Operations: | St. Martial |
| Marital Status: | Widowed |
| Known Relatives: | Jackson Sumner, Jr. (son) |
| Known Powers | |
| N/A | |
| Known Abilities | |
| Leadership, Field Triage | |
| Equipment | |
| Soldiers, various traps, Arachnos technology | |
| No additional information available. | |
Contents |
Character History
Early Years
Jack Sumner grew up on the outskirts of Indianapolis with his parents and older brother, Jason. Even at a young age, Jack and his brother were naturals at building complex machines, even going so far as to enter and win several school competitions with inventions the two had collaborated on. Their father, jealous of the attention his sons received, always found a way to humiliate them and make them feel inferior to him. Jack's father had never been particularly bright and had been kicked out of school at an early age for bullying and nearly killing someone at his school just for being smarter than he was. It was this hostile personality carried over from his youth that made the man a hard person to live with. Jack and Jason used their father's insults and chastisements to better themselves. They had nothing to prove to their father, but the rest of the world was a different story. When Jack was 13, he and his family were heading home from a family outing when their car was forced off of the road by a truck whose driver had fallen asleep at the wheel. The vehicle vaulted off of the freeway and into a river. Though Jack and his father were able to escape the doomed vehicle, Jack's mother and brother lost their lives. Jack's father blamed him for the loss of their family. Over the next three years, Jack's father would drink himself into a near stupor and blindly lash out at his son, calling him worthless and wishing he had died with the rest of the family. At the age of sixteen, Jack left his home, went to the nearest recruiter and signed up for military service. He had to lie about his age, but with a little persuasion and bribery, he got into the Army and headed to Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri.
Military Career & Marriage
Initially, Jack hoped to use his skill with electronics as a military career and graduated from the Ordnance Munitions and Electronics Maintenance School, located at Redstone Arsenal, AL. He met and married Angela Thorpe, an MP at the base he was stationed at, at the age of 25. The following year he welcomed his son, Jack Jr., into the world. Life seemed to be picking up for Jack and he couldn't be happier. After ten years in the military, Jack became frustrated with the lack of freedom to work on new ideas for weapons and defenses. With his wife's support, she and Jack left the army and moved to Rhode Island where she had gotten a job with the Paragon Police Department. Before leaving, Jack had filled a notebook with numerous ideas and schematics he had collected over the years. He worked from his garage creating various offensive and defensive items and even perfected a technology that allowed a person to jump at great heights and distances without harm. When his wife informed him of the creation of a new powered armor division in the police force, Jack jumped at the chance to use his ideas to help the city against the new influx of super-powered villains.
Powered Armor Division
Jack worked hard to get his ideas noticed and five years later it paid off in a big way. Positron of the Freedom Phalanx personally oversaw a lot of Jack's ideas and incorporated them into other ideas and technologies to create the first powered armor suits. Jack seemed to have a natural ability for leading others and was given his own platoon of powered armor cops to work the Brickstown Precinct, which was where his wife was stationed, and given the rank of First Lieutenant. It was through his police connections that he learned of the death of his father. Apparently, the elder Sumner had drunk himself to death, wallowing in his loss and loneliness.
One evening, Jack and his platoon were responding to reports of a gang of thugs from the Freakshows wreaking havoc in Brickstown. Also on hand would be three new super-powered heroes. When he arrived on scene, Jack saw that several patrol cops and SWAT teams were already engaged with the gang. As he and his men moved in, Jack saw a large section of fire escape the heroes were fighting on collapse into the street. Though the heroes were able to escape harm using their powers, three police officers on the street below were not so lucky. Using the enhanced strength of his armor, Jack moved the twisted steel aside and pulled the three officers to safety. It was then that he noticed one of the officers was his wife. All of his efforts had been for naught when he realized she and the other two officers had died before he was able to extract them from the wreckage. In a blind rage, Jack joined in the fight with the Freakshow and attacked the three heroes. The gang, invigorated by the addition of unexpected aid, joined him in bringing down the heroes. By the time he could be restrained, two of the heroes had been killed and the third critically injured. Stripped of his rank and clearance, Jack was thrown into the police lock-up to await a trial on the two murders. While in lock-up, he was not allowed to attend his wife's funeral and was made aware his son would be moved to a foster home. In one short night, Jack's life was changed forever.
The Trial and Escape
On the day before his trial, Jack learned that the third hero he had attacked had died of his wounds, making his trial for a triple murder. Jack said nothing over the course of his trial, preferring to sit quietly. He did flinch at the mention of his wife at several points, but otherwise he never made a sound. When the trial concluded, he was to serve three consecutive life sentences for his punishment. It was as he was being led from court that six men, dressed in military fatigues and using some of Jack's technology, released him from his binders and provided him with the enhanced jump boots Jack had created. Jack escaped with the six men and hid out in an abandoned warehouse. Jack learned that the men who had rescued him were some of his most loyal supporters from the Powered Armor Corp. Together they decided to make the faulty justice system pay for his near-incarceration and to make the costumed heroes pay for the death of his wife.
Recapture and Breakout
Jack, taking the moniker Lock and Load, began using his inventions and ideas to help him fund projects he would soon begin selling on the black market. He acquired 'cash donations' from various banks and businesses, through blackmails and ransoms, and other criminal acts. Jack tried on several occasions to find his son. On the occasion he did find and attempt a quick visit, he was set up and arrested by the PPD. He was stripped of all of his technologies and sent to the Ziggurat with no possibility of parole. During his incarceration, he met and befriended Joshua Bell, the villain now known as Quantum Core. The two plotted an escape from the Zig while trying to find a way to remove energy dampeners that Joshua was forced to wear to keep his powers in check. The time came a few weeks later when Arachnos released several villains from the prison, including Jack and Joshua. The two turned down the offer to work with Arachnos and instead decided to form their own team of like-minded individuals. They spent the next few weeks in close proximity as they worked out details on several local villains they hoped to recruit. During this time, Jack began to see the youngster as a son, missing the close kinship he'd hoped to have with his real son. With the addition of fifteen new arrivals to their circle, they decided on calling themselves the Nemesis Enforcers. Jack revived his Lock and Load moniker and was asked to be the team's planner and strategist as well as working with the others to improve their inventions.
Personality
Lock and Load is a solemn person but does have an occasional sense of humor. He's not one for jokes and pranks, but does enjoy himself around others of his team. He regrets the choices that mark him a villain and hopes to someday make amends to what he's done.
Powers
N/A
Equipment
Soldiers: Six of the power armor corps best men defected with Lock and Load and aided in his escape from his trial and from the Zig. Each of the men bring their own set of skills to the group. They all share an unwavering loyalty with their commander and will follow his commands, even to their own death. They have all been inoculated with microscopic bio-machines (a reverse engineered technology stolen from the Rikti) that aids them in quickly healing wounds and allowing them to take extreme bodily damage and still perform in top condition.
Traps: Lock and Load has created and employs a variety of traps including trip mines, poison gas traps, caltrops and portable acid launchers. He also frequently uses a robotic shield unit and seeker drones, both equipped with anti-gravity technology for mobility. Lock and Load uses these traps to help his men defeat his enemies and can employ them at any time before or during battles.
Triage Beacon: Lock and Load has been known to place portable triage units that produce a fine mist in a single area. The mist works in conjunction with his soldiers' bio-machines to speed healing and regeneration.
Jump Boots: One of Lock and Load's first successful inventions, his hydraulic and anti-gravity enhanced footwear allows him to jump great heights and distances with pinpoint accuracy.
Light Bending Combat Stealth Technology: A technology stolen from Longbow, Lock and Load can deploy stealth technology onto his men and himself, making them nearly invisible to his foes.
Arachnos Tech: Gifts from Arachnos' own Black Scorpion include a personal tech shield and Arachnos Mace that fires a barrage of energy bolts at his enemies. Though the technology was initially substandard, Lock and Load has fined tuned the devices far beyond the limits imposed by Arachnos.
Abilities
Field Triage: Lock and Load is proficient in field medicine, allowing him to heal him men quickly and get them back to peak fighting efficiency.
Leadership: Lock and Load's close bond with his men work to his advantage during battle. His men anticipate and predict his course of action and strike with more lethality when he's around.
Weaknesses
Lock and Load is a reluctant criminal, doing what he has to do to survive. He isn't predictable and has been known to turn down large payouts for jobs simply because of his conscience. It may be only a matter of time until Lock and Load abandons his criminal pursuits and leaves his life of crime behind.
Affiliations
Group Affiliations
The Nemesis Enforcers: A founding member of the group, Lock and Load is their chief strategist and planner as well as the head of their research and development projects for their corporate front, Prowler Securities.
Personal Associations
Jack Sumner Jr.: Though his son has disowned him due to his criminal activities, Lock and Load hopes to one day reconcile with him and show him why he does the things he does.
Quantum Core: Jack sees Joshua Bell as a surrogate son, helping him to cope with the internal demons the young man faces. Though Quantum Core is the leader of the Nemesis Enforcers, he takes Lock and Load's counsel seriously and trusts the man implicitly.
