Masked Bolt
From Unofficial Handbook of the Virtue Universe
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| The Masked Bolt on patrol! | |
| The Masked Bolt | |
| Player: IanTheM1 | |
| Origin: | Technology |
|---|---|
| Archetype: | Blaster |
| Security Level: | Security Level 50 |
| Personal Data | |
| Real Name: | Mark Noves (Secret) |
| Known Aliases: | None |
| Species: | Human (Minor Mutant) |
| Age: | 17 |
| Height: | 6' 1" |
| Weight: | 160 lbs. |
| Eye Color: | Blue |
| Hair Color: | Dark brown |
| Biographical Data | |
| Nationality: | American |
| Occupation: | Student |
| Place of Birth: | Paragon City Central Hospital |
| Base of Operations: | Kings Row |
| Marital Status: | Single |
| Known Relatives: | Gregory (Father), Maria (Mother) (deceased), Melissa (Sister). |
| Known Powers | |
| Archery, Devices | |
| Known Abilities | |
| Minor regeneration, slightly higher than normal overall fitness. | |
| Equipment | |
| Custom bow and arrows (and quiver), Advanced Lightweight Tactical Ovoid Nanosystem (ALTON/Alton), web grenades, smoke grenades, taser-weapon, minor-grade anti-personnel explosives, cloaking device. | |
| No additional information available. | |
Masked Bolt is a Security Level 50 Archery / Devices Blaster, of the Technology origin. He is currently a Senior Member of the Paragon Youth Corps. Masked Bolt was created and is played by IanTheM1.
Also known as The Masked Bolt or simply Bolt to friends, Masked Bolt is a character inspired by classic golden age themes, but given a few modern twists. He was originally intended to be a somewhat humorous fanboy for the Teen Squadron.
Contents |
Origin
Mark Noves was born during the New Age of Heroes. As he grew, he became more and more interested in the exploits of such notable crimefighters such as Statesman and Manticore. Perhaps young Mark saw the many colorful peacekeepers as father figures, something his life was missing after his own father abruptly left for parts unknown when he was only two years old.
Later, living in post-Rikti War Kings Row with his mother and sister, Mark took eager notice of the rising crime activity in his district. In his preteen years, he merely acted as an unofficial neighborhood watchboy for the Paragon Police Department, but something would happen that would push him closer to donning the cape.
One otherwise uneventful weekday afternoon, an army of Nemesis soldiers invaded his neighborhood and kept the occupants of the many apartments and houses hostage as they went to work on a scheme in the name of Prussian Prince. However, their operation was cut short by several members of the Teen Squadron, including Tina Colossus, NeverDark, and Gothic Defender. Mark was awed that several younger heroes were able to fight against one of the most stringent villain groups Paragon City had ever known.
On his fifteenth birthday, as she was begged to, his mother sewed for him his very own superhero costume. This tickled Mark's sister, Melissa, who thought that his fascination was altogether childish. With a new sense of identity, the boy continued surveillence on the goings on of Kings Row.
Many months later, tragedy struck. During a patrol of the Aqueduct sector, Mark saw smoke billowing up from his home. He rushed there as fast as he could, but was too late. The blaze, which authorities could not determine the exact cause of, had killed his mother. His sister had simply disappeared. Ultimately the police ruled it a Hellion gang crime and assumed that Melissa was kidnapped. The only thing Mark was able to save was a singed newspaper clipping with the headline "Teen Heroes Clean Up Kings Row", along with his costume.
Mark was entered into the foster care system and was soon put in the open arms of a new couple which had recently moved into the Kings Row area. In secret, Mark began working to fufill his dream, probably to cope with his loss. In school he began practicing archery and mailed away for various technology magazines. After a few short months, Mark put on the mask, the gloves, the boots, and the tights. He took up his bow and his web grenades and entered the world of heroes as The Masked Bolt.
Powers, Abilities, and Quirks
Archery
Bolt uses a custom bow along with a variety of arrows to help him fight crime. His arsenal includes:
- Standard carbon-shafted arrows, used in a few different ways.
- "Fire" arrows that use self-heating tips, useful for wearing away armor or damaging a more hefty target.
- Explosive arrows that are armed with impact bombs -- big boom, big thump to anyone in range, little to no shrapnel.
- Stun arrows tipped with beanbags, ala police beanbag shells.
- Spread mortars -- bulkier projectiles that contain several standard arrows which then rain them down on a large group. Some careful aiming and help from Alton ensure that damage is kept non-lethal, like the rest of Bolt's shots.
All of his arrows are stored in a double-quiver stapped onto his back.
Devices
Masked Bolt is a lover of gadgets and uses many of them in his heroic duties. Most are stored in or on his utility belt, and include:
- Web grenades.
- A low-voltage TASER weapon.
- Smoke grenades.
- A cloaking device that closely surrounds Bolt with a light-bending field.
- Anti-personnel trip mines. These are the most lethal item in all of his inventory and he thusly only uses them on extremely dangerous or well-protected targets.
- A.L.T.O.N. (See below.)
- Anti-gravity pulse jets, allowing him to jump long distances without injury.
A.L.T.O.N.
ALTON is an acronym which stands for Advanced Lightweight Tactical Ovoid Nanosystem. Through plenty of research and catalog orders, Bolt was able to construct Alton as well as purchase and design an AI for him.
While Masked Bolt's targeting drone has many purposes in the field, ultimately he acts as a friend and partner to the young crimefighter. Despite only talking in beeps and bloops, Bolt can apparently fully understand him, and Alton often shows a sense of humor during downtime.
Alton has these known features:
- Targeting and threat identification systems
- Short-range taser arm
- Emergency flashbang
- Remote camera capabilities
- Retractable wheels for ground travel
Alton has an internal battery, and while normal operations don't consume much of his energy, his more esoteric skills can.
When inactive, Alton either spends time on a recharging dock or clipped to Bolt's belt.
When being spoken to or about in conversational speech "Alton" is used as opposed to "ALTON".
ALTON 2.0
After the events of O Brother, O Sister, Masked Bolt built a new ALTON. This second robotic buddy is based partly on schematics for Vandal's Council robots, but is heavily modified. As such, Alton is now bipedal and bidextrous, necessitating a larger battery and more complex combat systems.
Minor Mutation
After his encounter with his sister which hospitalized him for several weeks, Masked Bolt discovered he had a minor mutation. Not only did he recover from his wounds much faster than would be expected, but his overall strength, agility, and eyesight also improved slightly.
Fears and Anxiety
Due to the terrible events that claimed his mother, along with his sister's use of pyrokinesis, Bolt has a mild phobia of fire. Open candles might just cause minor discomfort, but things like Hellion arson attempts can truly bother him.
Another lingering fear is that his secret identity will be discovered and more of his loved ones will be hurt for it. After a year or so of being a part of the Paragon Youth Corps and after another harrowing incident, Mark finally revealed himself to his own teammates, feeling it was time for at least them to know who he was.
Storylines
O Brother, O Sister
A story of conflict between brother and sister, and later, their father.
All forty-four chapters of O Brother, O Sister are posted at IanTheM1's Stories Page.
Reunion
(Chapters 1-11)
Sunless Flame discovers her brother's exploits in Paragon City and, feeling bitter at his success, decides to hurt him for playing hero. After being put in the hospital from the attack, Bolt must deal with the knowledge that someone familiar out to get him along with the fact that he may be a mutant. Both siblings are even more surprised when their their father returns from parts unknown.
The Test
(Chapters 12-22)
After being told that they are opposites and that it is their nature to come into conflict with each other through a strange dream featuring their father, the siblings continue on with their lives. But, Gregory has different plans for the two of them, and contracts the Earthen Devil to test the mettle of his daughter and Anthony The Scourged to lay a trap for his son.
Mark is seriously injured due to Anthony's supernatural nature and the Youth Corps must piece together what exactly is going on in order to save him. Meanwhile, Melissa struggles against the Devil himself, only to receive an unlikely ally...
And in a short aside, the cryptic Inspector LeRon comes to Paragon City.
Inspection
(Chapters 23-33)
Inspector LeRon, revealed to be the Noves siblings' wayward uncle (though not by blood), makes an attempt to bring the siblings together and make peace, but things go disastrously wrong when Gregory reappears.
Devotion
(Chapters 34-44)
The finale of the saga, concluding the events of Inspection as well as "O Brother, O Sister" as a whole.
The Life and Times of Masked Bolt
A humorous three-chapter one-off featuring Masked Bolt and ALTON in a look at what a hero can expect when they hit Security Level 30.
All three chapters are published at IanTheM1's Stories Page.
2015 AD
Eight years in the future, nothing is at all well. The Godby Organization has usurped Arachnos and nearly taken over the world in a massive conflict. Many heroes and villains have been wiped out, captured, or enslaved. But some have survived the chaos and now stand against the organization.
The mini-series 2015 AD takes place in Paragon City, where Mark, his sister, and the Earthen Devil are some of the final defenders of the war-torn city.
All twelve chapters are published at IanTheM1's Stories Page.
Divergence and Destinies
Several parts of the Assembled Girl story Divergence and Destinies take place in 2015 AD. It is in those chapters that the story begun in the mini-series is concluded.
The five chapters concerning 2015 AD are available at the Assembled Girl Archive.
Creator Notes and Trivia
- Bolt was jumpstarted by the concept of being a fanboy of the Teen Squadron. While assuredly there'd be plenty of fans of big names like Statesman, IanTheM1 thought that recognizing the efforts of other heroes, and especially teen heroes, would be a fresh idea.
- Alton is named after the always-awesome Alton Brown.
- The Masked Bolt was once said to be "...so golden age, he shits kryptonite."
- Masked Bolt's second costume (his refined, more mature tights) won third place in the 2006 Golden Age Gathering.
