Matt Grave
From Unofficial Handbook of the Virtue Universe
| |
| "Have you ever seen a HUMAN bounty hunter before?" | |
| Matt Grave | |
| Player: Gleech | |
| Origin: | Natural |
|---|---|
| Archetype: | Widow |
| Threat Level: | 50 |
| Personal Data | |
| Real Name: | Matthew Grave |
| Known Aliases: | Matt Grave |
| Species: | Human |
| Age: | 21 |
| Height: | 6'7" |
| Weight: | 174 lbs. |
| Eye Color: | Unknown (He never takes off his glasses) |
| Hair Color: | White |
| Biographical Data | |
| Nationality: | American |
| Occupation: | Bounty Hunter |
| Place of Birth: | Atlas Park, Paragon City. |
| Base of Operations: | Cap Au Diable |
| Marital Status: | Single |
| Known Relatives: | Father - Deceased, Mother - Deceased. (All family members are either missing, or dead) |
| Known Powers | |
| Claws/posion spikes. | |
| Known Abilities | |
| Slightly above average agility, mainly from his widow training, he learned to be more agile. | |
| Equipment | |
| Claws, fists, (rarely) guns. | |
| His poisoned spikes do have a cure, but only Widows carry it. His theme song is, "Getting Away With Murder" by Papa Roach. | |
Contents |
The Story
Matthew Grave was a normal kid growing up. Born in Atlas Park, he was raised there until he was about 4 years old. He barely remembers life there, but whenever he goes to visit for work, he usually gets a warm, home-like feeling.
Matt and his family moved to Skyway, after having financial issues, and had to sell their house. At the time, Skyway wasn't too bad. Heroes were patrolling the streets, so kids like Matt could feel safe, and secure, knowing that the bad guys were behind bars.
However, some other parts of Paragon were in need of heroes, at the time Matt turned 6. After that, the world went down hill for him. With no one but the PPD patrolling the streets, and monsters like The Lost, and gangs like the Skulls forming, Skyway became less of a safe zone, and more of a nightmare. Drug obsessed "Trolls" swarmed the streets, gang wars broke out, people disappearing. The place was a dust-bowl waiting to be blown up by the Trolls, just like the Hollows.
However work was work. Matt's dad refused to leave, no matter how bad things got. His work at the local Pawn shop in Skyway was much too important to leave. He finally had a job that had a steady income, and one that let him afford to keep his house.
Matt grew up in a drug and crime infested area of Paragon. However that's not what turned him to the villain side. One day, after returning from school, Matt walked inside. He closed the door behind him and yelled out, "Mom? You home? Dad?" with no response, he walked up stairs, asking again. Still no response, he walked down stairs. He walked into the living room to see a bloody mess. His parents, dead on the floor. The carpet was stained with blood, the room was all destroyed, and covered with his parents' blood. it was on the walls, "Skuls were here!" with a skull face sitting next to it. Matt couldn't believe his eyes. His family... gone, in the blink of an eye. The rage made him wish he could have been there to die by their sides... but he knew what had happened wasn't going to change.
7 year-old, Matthew Grave, ran to the PPD's local station, and begged them to come help. The PPD ignored his request, believing him to be just a mindless kid who was trying to make a scene, and to get attention. However one officer, listened. That officer became pretty famous in Skyway, from helping the little white-haired kid. The news spread about what happened to Matt's parents, thanks to the officer helping him out. They had come to the conclusion, that Matt's dad was attacked after coming home, because he refused to bargain with an undercover member of the Skulls, for reasons unknown. The members of the Skulls decided to teach him a lesson for refusing an offer, by coming to his house and killing him, along with the rest of his family, and the other workers at the Pawn Shop.
The PPD knew Matt would be in a lot of trouble, now that information about him being the last of the Grave family alive, has been released, so they took him in. They made one of their prison cells his 'home', they used the rest of the money his family had, to pay for his school, and to let him continue on with life.
Even though his new bedroom was a prison cell, Matt grew up to be a very nice young man. From the age of 7, to 9, he lived in that prison cell, however he also was allowed to view the PPD officers train with guns, and other technology, socialize with them, and more. He was the favorite of almost all the officers there, they knew he'd become a great PPD officer some day. At the age of 9, one of the officers was willing to 'adopt' Matt, just so he'd have a nicer place to stay. Matt was still on his own, but at least he had someone to live with.
PPD days
Matt actually did become an officer. At the age of 15, he was allowed to join the ranks of the PPD. They were surprised how well he passed the tests and training. His mind was focused on justice, and helping the people of Skyway that didn't get the help he needed. He was driven to restore the good name of Skyway City, and take down the drug dealers, gang leaders, and drive the Lost out of town.
Matt's first mission, was actually a shock to everyone. An alarm went out that there was a raid on an old warehouse, Arachnos was trying to steal something from there, but Skulls came in after them, and foiled their plan. The shock was that the mission was to RESCUE an Arachnos Widow, that was being held captive in the warehouse.
Matt's long lost rage towards the Skulls was revealed, as the second he heard the name of them, he told them he'd take the mission. The others insisted that he have back up, but he refused. Since it was against the code to take a mission personally, he told them he'd signal them if he ran into trouble, and told them to station some units outside the building, in case of emergency.
Matt took that mission like a man. He used his pistol to take out the Skulls. His rage-filled actions seemed to make him more alert, more agile, more accurate. He felt like he could do anything, but he didn't pay attention to that, all that mattered was that he take out the Skulls. He didn't want to tell anyone why he wanted this mission so bad, because telling them that it was for revenge would break the code of the PPD.
Matt entered the large warehouse room. Piles and piles of boxes and crates lined hallways, and in the middle of the room, stood a Bone Daddy. He was pounding a Fortunata down, trying to feed his rage and villainous deeds.
Matt aimed the gun, "Leave her alone," he calmly ordered, inching forward with his pistol ready. The Bone Daddy got up, and turned around. He was the only type of his kind, to wear glasses, Matt noticed. The glasses were black on top, and shifted to red near the bottom. Other than that, he was just your average villain.
Matt dodged a darkness blast he shot, but didn't recover in time to stop himself from being tackled to the ground. His gun flew out of his hand as he fell, and the Bone Daddy kneeled on Matt's rib cage. The Bone Daddy spoke out, "You're that Grave kid, aren't ya'?" taunted, "The kid who somehow escaped the attack on that Pawn Shop workers house, right?"
Matt blurted out, "Yeah, that's me! And you scum are going down!"
The Bone Daddy chuckled, "You know how long," he said in his hoarse voice, "I've waited to kill you?" Matt tried to struggle out, but it was no use. The Bone Daddy took out a knife from his back pocket, and looked at it, "I was the one who sent those guys after your family. I was the one who your dad refused the deal with... I did all of that. And now, it's time for me to finish my work..."
Matt once again tried to struggle out, seeing the knife, he was also being partly choked by the guys other hand, "Wh... Why would you bother to kill me? You al... already killed my family!" he said, gasping for air as the Bone Daddy lifted his hand,
"Because," the Bone Daddy replied, "You got my men arrested after you told on us. The men who did the job? The PPD found em', and it's all... your... FAULT!" the Bone Daddy jabbed down his knife, but it was knocked out of his hand before it could touch Matt.
The Fortunata had regained her consciousness, and had used her powers to stop the Bone Daddy from killing her rescuer.
Matt used the distraction, as an opportunity to knock the Bone Daddy off him, by rolling to his side. After that, he had jumped up and grabbed his gun. The Bone Daddy jumped up, as well, and started beating on the Fortunata again. Matt quickly reloaded his gun, and aimed. The Fortunata would be killed, as well. He wouldn't be able to live with himself, knowing he killed a victim. On the other hand, the Fortunata was also robbing the place... Suddenly his choice became clear.
The Bone Daddy threw another knife at the Fortunata. Matt quickly aimed and shot at the knife, his skill in accuracy was handy, here. The knife went off course and fell next to the Fortunata. After that, Matt shot the Bone Daddy's legs, paralyzing him. Matt walked over to the Bone Daddy, who was in pain, and shocked at what this PPD Officer had done to him. The Fortunata had recovered again, and started filling Matt's head with ideas,
"Kill him," she said, "He murdered your family, revenge is the only option...". Matt was aiming at the Bone Daddy's head. The Bone Daddy was just sitting there in pain, "End it," she said in a calm voice.
Matt knew the PPD weren't about killing, but justice. However in his mind... this was, justice.
Matt pulled the trigger. The Bone Daddy died a painful, death... All the people he hurt... Matt's parents... all avenged... Matt walked over to the body, and took the glasses, as a memory of his revenge on the Bone Daddy... He wasn't satisfied though. He suddenly became mad at himself, for doing what he had done. He knew he couldn't go back and lie, and what about the Fortunata? He'd be a disgrace to the PPD, and give everyone a bad rep... The Fortunata knew this, and suggested a plan.
She was so impressed at his accuracy, his speed, and his quick thinking, that she offered him a position in Arachnos. One he couldn't refuse. She offered him immediate access into Widow training, a place were people, especially men, rarely got accepted to. Matt knew it was his only option... And he accepted. The secrets of Arachnos would be his, and his shame would be no more... for he had entered the academy. His shame for killing that Bone Daddy had left, as Matt left Paragon City under the noses of the PPD. Matt Grave 'disappeared' for years from Paragon City. Matt's conscience, had disappeared forever.
The Academy
Matt Grave was one of the few male students at the Widow Academy, however he was not the only one, and it was not unheard of to have a male widow at the academy. Matt was very fortunate, very very few members actually make it out of the training ALIVE, or without mental issues. Matt's mind, and body were fit enough to make it through, just barely.
Basic School
Matt started off like every other student, basic school. The school went over the basics of what they'd need to known before they became a full-on Widow. They learned the history of the Widows, Recluse, Arachnos, and learned about the other members of Arachnos. They learned about the Elite Force, and the other sections of Arachnos that are never really seen past the general Arachnos league. The secrets of Arachnos, the ways, the teachings, and some history of Lord Recluse himself. At first, Matt thought this was easy. He thought becoming a Widow was going to be a slice of cake. However, once the training started, he was wrong.
Training
Training was difficult for just about anyone. It consisted of many mental, and physical exercises. One of the tests was to enter someones mind; this was under the Fortunata section of the Widow training. Matt's first idea was to become a Fortunata. He was hoping he'd have the ability to enter other minds, and be able to read their thoughts. However, the Widow training system is far from flawed. They grade you on how well you do in the classes, and depending on if you did better on one side, Night Widow or Fortunata, than the other, they'd send you on to the next level of training for that section. People who placed in the middle, would become both.
Fortunata Training
Matt luckily survived the training to enter someones mind... The test sounds simple, right? Wrong. Every time you fail, you're tormented by the Fortunata, by having them enter your mind, and mess with it; Most of the time the students left mentally retarded, waiting for the Fortunata to either discard them from the training process, or to fix them. Matt's mind wasn't strong enough to enter the mind of a Fortunata, however it WAS strong enough to resist everything the Fortunata attempted to do to it. He actually drew a crowd to him, as he laid there on a metal sheet, tilted up, looking straight in the faces of at least 3 Fortunata's, watching them fail as they attempted to mess with his messed up mind. Matt had been through so much, that his mind wasn't able to be tampered with. His will was strong, as strong as his craving for even further revenge, he still had.
The second Fortunata training, was to sit through a brain washing done by a powerful Fortunata, to try and see how strong someone is mentally, to see if they break. Matt was just about to crack when the time limit ran up. The Fortunata discarded everything they filled his head with, and sent him out of the room. Matt was lucky that time, as well.
Other tests included more powers of a mind-reader, and more mentally-breaking torture that carved Matt into the man he is today. He's strong willed, and can withstand mind attacks pretty well. However he's only human, so it is possible to take him down that way. He can, however, withstand brainwashing, and confusion (Via mind powers) the best.
Night Widow Training
This is where Matt succeeded in. Matt was a grade A Night Widow once he left, after failing almost every Fortunata lesson. Night Widows were about skill, not super powers (For the most part). They were about strength, and stealth; they were about range, and weapons, and most importantly, they were NOT about mental training.
Matt still struggled, however. He broke multiple bones, and suffered severe wounds from fighting against other Night Widows in training, from their poison spikes.
Matt is most famed for his great victory in mastering a power that serves all Night Widows well. This power directed all of your energy perfectly to each section; it gave a Night Widow complete visibility and awareness to his or her surroundings. It gave them more advanced strength, agility, and accuracy. However as great as this may seem, every Widow can only do it for so long. None of them can hold it forever, and when it ends, some of the weaker Night Widows may even die. Some did. However Matt was one of the ones that succeeded in it, with the least amount of severe side-effects. Once he let go of the power, he became very tired, and a bit loopy. He felt sick, too, and couldn't think straight for a few minutes... However compared to death, this was very minor.
He failed the invisibility class, considering he didn't have that kind of power, however later, he gains the ability due to some under-armor that Widows usually wear if they fail that session. Matt constantly wears this under everything, considering danger could strike at any moment. He learned this constantly while roaming the halls of the academy.
Matt succeeded in a few mind related classes, though. However they weren't as intense as the Fortunata ones. Mainly these ones were about weaking your opponent, by mentally damaging them... but an alternative was to strike fear, instead. A fearful opponent is a vulnerable one.
Matt was a master in the claws. His amazing accuracy gave him an edge in their training sessions, being able to snipe any opponent from miles away in their arena. He was constantly changing locations, too, able to appear in a different location every time.
Matt's superior success in Night Widow training, over Fortunata training, secured him a position at Graduation, to be graduated as an Arachnos Night Widow.
Graduation
After the bloody, mentally challenging, and scarring academy Matt suffered through, he eventually made it to Graduation. 18 year old Matt Grave had come a far way from his street days in Paragon City... now he was in the big leagues. His revenge on the heroes grew, as he realized how it was their fault for not being around to stop the crime before it started. This drove him to Arachnos further. He knew that alone, he would not defeat a hero to gain revenge, because of his lack of super powers, but the training of a Night Widow, would assist him. Through all of this he gained experience in the ways of battle, a new set of weapons (Claws), his agility became slightly above average, and, to top it all off, if he completed the final test, he'd become an official Arachnos member.
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