Midnyte Flare
From Unofficial Handbook of the Virtue Universe
 |
Introduction
"And then everything changed..." How often I have heard those words... sometimes used to describe minute and even amusing changes, other times to describe sweeping and horrifying ones. In the entire universe one thing seems to hold true. Change is inevitable and constant. Without it life might be very dull indeed. It is amazing to me how a tiny insignificant seeming thing can sometimes be the catalyst for sweeping changes that rewrite lives. But then my entire life changed because of a rock.
Imagine waking up to find that you have lost three years, add to that waking up to discover you are now highly radioactive, no one can come near you without a suit and this is slowly killing you PLUS your skin has turned red, your eyes have become glowing green orbs with no pupils, your sister can control fire... all because you saw a meteorite crash to the ground and had to have it.
Over the years so much of my life has changed, sometimes voluntarily. In my twenty-five years I have been a child, an experiment, a prisoner, a fugitive, a mercenary, a student, a scientist, a hacker, an entrepreneur, a husband and a father. It’s a journey I never would have imagined, but not one I regret. The Chinese philosopher Laozi once stated “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” Truer words were never spoken in my opinion and I eagerly await the changes and challenges my next steps will bring.
Excerpt from Leo's personal writing dated August 21, 2012.
Leo and his sister Lilly grew up on a farm with their parents until the age of seven when Leo accidentally exposed them both to GC-6 radiation from a meteorite. Following this exposure they were taken into emergency custody by a government agency for treatment. For the next eleven years they lived in various research and lab facilities while being examined for their reactions to a series of “secondary mutations” forced on them. Both of them exhibited visual changes as their skin turned red, Leo’s eyes became a luminescent green and pupil-less while Lilly’s changed from green to a very pale ice blue. These were the only changes the two had in common as Lilly developed the ability to control fire and Leo slowly learned how to manipulate the radiation he still emitted although he was forced to rely on medication to keep it from sickening him.
After eleven years of being used and lied to, the pair fought back and escaped, leaving massive property damage and several dead. The security forces of the facility they had been held in pursued them and eventually managed to capture the pair though they sustained some causalities in doing so. In the end the two nineteen year olds found themselves in the Zig awaiting trial for an attack on a federal facility, destruction of government property and twenty-five counts of murder.
A few weeks later they were freed by Archanos and found themselves in their employ and living in the Etolie Isles. Taking the names Midnyte Flare and Nova they earned money however they could and managed to survive in their new environment. Though problems arose as Flare’s health began deteriorating as his powers once again began destroying his immune system. The next three years would see him in and out of hospitals on a fairly regular basis until he finally lapsed into a coma in Dec 2008. Luckily his sister 'acquired' the assistance of Dr. David Jones, one of the geneticists who had worked on his case before. With help from Dr. Percy of Cap au Diable he managed to recreate the medication that had kept his radiation in check previously, though by then he had lost most of his vision along with his right arm.
That near death experience marked a turning point in his life as following it Leo suddenly became highly motivated and developed a keen interest in all things high tech. Signing on with Ares Corp he worked as a mercenary while still managing to attend first Aeon U then MIT and the University of Cambridge, currently he holds a doctorate in Nanotechnology (5/2011) as well as several Master Degrees in Computer Programming, Chemistry, Electrical Engineering and Physics. Inspired by Ares co-owner Short Circuit's creation of an Artificial Intelligence he began working on his own and slowly began to lose interest in field work in favor of spending time working in his lab. Then in Jan 2010 he became engaged to the Mirror Shade and pretty much retired from Ares altogether in order to spend time with his family and pursue a career in research and design with Biogenics (which he is a partner in).
It was in 2011 that Leo first began hanging out on Formspring as a way to chat with folks who might have some inkling of what his life had been like. He also earned his doctorate, saw the twins turn one, witnessed Ooshun's mad scheme to destroy the world and nearly died as a result of a hex cast on him by an angry Angus Torentsa. It had been intended to kill him but instead he survived though he had lost his radiation powers. Publicly Leo appeared determined to restore his abilities, though privately he wondered it if might have been a blessing in disguise, especially once he learned Lilith was pregnant with their son. Whatever misgivings he might have had were not enough to prevent him from helping to stop the mad Torentsa, which in turn lifted the hex. Re-powered but still considering himself to be retired once more Leo again focused on his family following the birth of his Bryce in October (many months earlier than expected).
2012 got off to a terrible start for Leo and his son as the plane they were on exploded and the pair were reported killed, a report that he has allowed to continue as truth despite the fact that they did both survived. Fearing for his son's life Leo has remained hidden and started going by Critical Limit. He sought out assistance from The Androygne and was brought to Nation where he has remained since, happily contributing his technical know how to help upgrade and maintain the station. Although he is genetically "Evolved" Leo has never really seen that as anything of import until recently. Now that he is learning more about the experiments he was a part of he has basically renounced his US citizenship and is quietly working to get hard proof in order to go public.
Red skin. Green glowing eyes. Pointy ears. Flare is frequently asked if he is a demon or some other kind of supernatural creature and a few have scoffed at his explanation of simply being a mutant. He pays them very little mind though as sometimes the truth is indeed stranger than fiction. He tends to be a quiet person and comes across as a bit of a push over at times
Heavy surgical scarring visible around right shoulder, chest and back.
(( Stuff Below This Line is Still Being Edited... ))
(( Cause I totally got caught up fixing the appearance... o.O BUT the plan is to go with a sort of tech feel to the wording for the section titles (Database, Specifications, Analysis, Design, etc) I will set up a section to list stories and give them each a page. Also will break Chronology into a separate page and then hit the highlights by years. The OOC info needs to be updated and will be split between a section detailing abilities/equipment and one that details his personal life & career (also likely to be a separate page). Will for sure link the art I have had done and am looking into new ones. Also a spoiler section that can be hid to cover current activities. ))
Biography
“New discoveries in science will continue to create a thousand new frontiers for those who still would adventure.”
- Herbert Hoover
Early Years
--
In April 2005, they escaped from the laboratory facility where they had lived for the past five years causing massive property damage in doing so. The military pursued them under the guise of their being terrorists who had attacked a private research facility out of a misguided belief that it was experimenting on mutants. Flare and Nova were easy to track as they made a beeline for Twin Falls, ID to seek out their parents. The reunion went badly as the twins found them terrified of these red skinned strangers claiming to be the children they had been told had died eleven years before.
When Col Mays found them they had returned to the sugar beet farm where it had all started, though neither one was willing to surrender peacefully at that point. The fight left another fifteen soldiers dead before they were recaptured. Given the public nature of this second fight and the cover story they had used it proved difficult to have the pair vanish quietly. Added scrutiny from Capitol Hill, as well as a group of mutant rights sponsored lawyers who stepped up to defend Flare and Nova forced them to hand them over to the authorities for arraignment.
Footage of the heavily shackled and drugged pair being led into a courtroom under armed guard shows a defiant looking Lilly walking confidently while Leo stumbles along with his eyes glued to the floor and encased in a heavy containment suit. They both pleaded not guilty to the charges brought up against them which included: Attack on a federal facility resulting in death (10 counts), destruction of government property (3 counts), first degree intentional homicide while armed (15 counts) and unlawful flight to avoid prosecution. They wound up in the Zig awaiting trial until Arcahnos broke them out in early November 2005.
In the Isles
November 2005 - Welcome to the Rogue Isles...
It was after Archanos freed them from the Zig and deposited them in Mercy Island to be funneled through what bureaucratic nonsense existed in Etolie, that they took on the names of Midnyte Flare and Midnyte Nova. Partially in order to reinforce the feeling that this was a new start, but mostly to add a layer of protection between themselves and the things they saw happening all around them. Going from a sterile and limited lab environment to what some might consider a circle of hell was a bit of a shock to them both. But it was also a form of freedom and they took to it quickly and wholeheartedly. Flare picked up a few odd jobs here and there, mostly working with computers while Nova used her small size to her advantage and became a cat burglar. Between the two of them they managed enough income to get an apartment and live somewhat comfortably, at least for a few months. That all changed in May 2006 as Flare's health, which had begun deteriorating shortly after their escape, took a downturn and landed him in the hospital.
Current Activity
Personality
Mostly OOC Information
Abilities
Energy Manipulation: including the ability to throw it across a distance, heal others, infect others with radiation, charge his fists in order to stun, draw energy from foes as needed, shield himself from harm (partially), provides the power for his cybernetic enhancements, allows him to interact with electronic objects on their level by projecting his consciousness into them (extremely hard and exhausting for him to do).
Accelerated Regeneration: meaning that he heals at a faster than normal rate. (This is the mutation he was born with). His secondary mutation brought on by contact with the meteorite has weakened this ability to the point where he requires medication daily in order to maintain it. For many months he used triple the dose of his medication to weaken the secondary mutation in order to allow his natural one to strengthen back up and to learn some control over it.
Cybernetic Enhancements: Flare has a network of filaments and chips installed in his brain, along his spinal column and in his abdomen; these all work together to provide the power for his implants as well as the fine motor control he has over them. He has also gone through several treatments to increase both the strength and the density of his muscles along with following a very intense exercise regime. In January 2010 he underwent multiple surgeries to repair a loose filament as well as to install extensive upgrades throughout his body.
- His right eye is fully cybernetic and grants him the ability to see within normal human ranges as well as x-ray vision, thermal imaging, infrared, low light, telescopic, microscopic, microwave and ultra-violet. He can also use it to do some limited scanning of objects/people, track movement and does have the capability of recording (visual and audio).
- He is stronger than most men his size and has quicker than normal reflexes due to his extensive and extreme workout program as well as treatments to increase muscle density that were administered to facilitate interactions with his cybernetic limb. The fact that much of his motor control is aided by his cybernetic implants allows for faster reactions.
- Concealed within his cybernetic arm are various inputs that enable him to connect directly to most computers as well as some vehicles. He is able to communicate with them at their faster operating rate and can exert control over them without the need for input devices.
- HUD Display that tracks multiple variables depending on need at the time. He can track environmental stats (Wind speed, barometer, temperature, miles above sea level etc); GPS coordinates; internal information (his CPU stats, body temp, heart rate, etc) and can communicate via satellite uplinks to Athena and Saga (Ares AI and the one he designed).
- Amplified senses via cybernetic enhancements to nerve clusters linked to sensory organs. For example he can hear beyond the normal human range, is able to (somewhat) amplify what he does hear and can detect and analyze even faint odors.
- A translator chip of his own design allows him to understand Spanish, French, Dutch, Latin, Tosk, Arabic, German, Russian, Croatian, Serbian, Icelandic, Italian, Hindi, Japanese, Hebrew, Korean, Cantonese, Mandarin, Swedish, Tagalog and Portuguese. Though he does update this frequently. It frequently fails to properly translate slang terms. He can only understand these languages and not speak them, other than English, Spanish (fluent) and Japanese (near conversational).
Martial Training: Flare has spent the last two years studying Shinkendo, a type of Japanese sword fighting that not only teaches it’s students to have a strong body and mind, but also a calm, clear and focused spirit. He mainly fights with a single blade that closely resembles a katana but has also begun to experiment with utilizing two blades to fight in a style similar to that of Mirror Shade. Flare trains with the sword daily as well as spending some time in quiet meditation.
Magic: Shortly after his mother in law to be sealed him within a block of ice to shield her family from any radiation he might accidentally leak, Flare has noticed some changes. Primarily the occasional ability to freeze objects he physically touched; though he also noted a twenty degree drop in his normal body temperature. He sought out instruction from Agony Faust on how to harness this odd ability and has since devoted himself to studying the arcane in an attempt to learn mastery over this possible bonus. He has had some success and was able to channel this ice magic to a degree, though this has faded over time.
Current Educational Activities
Flare has managed to complete coursework in undergraduate studies of pre-med, chemistry, mechanical engineering, physics and biology. Given that most universities required lots of useless classes along with the taking of the more advanced ones in a specific order and not in six weeks worth of time he dispensed with actually going to school and hacked himself new ID’s with the needed degrees. He is currently using the following ID’s to complete Master’s level requirement via distance learning at several institutions. Liam Connor (MIT) takes classes in Computational and Systems Biology as well as Electrical Engineering and Computer Science . Leon Carmichel (Duke U) studies both Biomedical Engineering with an emphasis on mutations and Quantum Physics. James Delvin (University of Cambridge) Nanotechnology. (Doctorate level)
Other Activities
Flare has spent the last year and a half making connections and playing the Market to accumulate a rather sizeable disposable income. Using the ID of James Delvin he has bought in to several companies with technological interests. The first was the maker of the cybernetics he uses, Biogenics, in which he has a controlling interest. Soon afterwards he did the same with Horizons Pharmaceuticals, which is rumored to produce the medications he relies on. He helped found NN-Labs which is a nanotechnology group working to bring all the science fiction ideas behind nanonites to a reality. He is also believed to be a silent partner in Moving Forward Inc., a think-tank working on drawing up plans for human colonization of the moon and Mars along with the creation of a space elevator and space station, that currently has satellites in place for communications.
Personal Life
Flare is engaged to Mirror Shade. He has worked extensively with nearly all the Torentsa’s, Agony Faust, Kidd Kumbustion, Dorian St. Germaine, Mirror Shade, Shevha and Zombadonkey. To a lesser degree he has experience working with Bloody Tari, Doc Atrocious, Dr, Bonesaw, Robochic and Melissa Pain. While operating in the Warzone or in Paragon under his Radiant Edge alias he has come into frequent contact with heroes such as Rainfall, Sky Marshal, Plasma Stream, Ressan Fethos and many other members of The Guardian Force and The Nyx Foundation. He visits his sister infrequently though he remains in contact with her via other means nearly daily. Flare very much desires to have a family and is extremely protective of both Mirror Shade and their children.
Medications
Flare takes two medications daily in order to survive. P64 – Is the one developed by the US government twelve years previously in order to save his life by suppressing the deadly effects of the GC6 radiation enough to allow his prime mutation to function. CIRP v 3.5213– Is administered to prevent his body from rejecting the cybernetic implants throughout his body. CIRP is a standard medication used in dozens of people throughout the Isles although Variant 3.5213 is a very specific version manufactured solely for Flare. It works at a higher efficiency since his metabolism is accelerated. Both medications are taken via injection twice a day. Flare is very diligent about remembering to take them however he has survived without both for up to three days and is able to triple the dose of P64 with no ill effects.
Flare keeps all his medications under lock and key at multiple locations, he is able to mix both in a lab if absolutely necessary and has 24/7 access to the storage areas of Horizons Pharmaceuticals as a part owner.