Nemesis Red
From Unofficial Handbook of the Virtue Universe
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| |
| A Villain Reborn | |
| Ahreman the Red | |
| Player: @The New Black | |
| Origin: | Magic |
|---|---|
| Archetype: | Brute |
| Threat Level: | 50 |
| Personal Data | |
| Real Name: | Aaron Tetherson / Host body- Tim Tetherson |
| Known Aliases: | Aaron the Bloody, Aaron the Red, Red Aaron, Nemesis Red, etc |
| Species: | Magical Being |
| Age: | N/A |
| Height: | 6’5 |
| Weight: | 260lbs |
| Eye Color: | Black |
| Hair Color: | Black |
| Biographical Data | |
| Nationality: | N/A |
| Occupation: | Supervillain |
| Place of Birth: | The Abyssal Plains |
| Base of Operations: | N/A |
| Marital Status: | Red Aaron's last known interest was the woman Gabijah. Ahreman's relation to Gabijah is not publicly known. |
| Known Relatives: | Michelle Tetherson (cousin of Tim Tetherson, working in Paragon City) |
| Known Powers | |
| Super Strength / Willpower / Flight / Fitness / Speed / Fighting / Mu Mastery | |
| Known Abilities | |
| Magical transformation, demonic lineage | |
| Equipment | |
| Tim Tetherson, the host of the Aaron power, is able to change Ahreman’s attire at will. | |
| The physcial information given is for the powered form of Ahreman, not the host body of Tim Tetherson. | |
Contents |
The Origin of a New Power
((The following is presented for background information. The only way to get this information ICly is to get Tim to reveal his full name, then to research his family history. If you wish to try to do so, by all means, please do.))
During the late 18th Century, Aaron Tetherson was the leader of a secretive cult that worshipped the dark godling Gholnyaraechobog. While Aaron was an occultist and obsessed with gaining power through any means, he also valued his bloodline and considered himself a family man. In his adult years, Aaron finally found what he was looking for, a black magic ritual that would grant him the power he craved, but it required the sacrifice of the remaining members of his cult. Without remorse, Aaron set his plan in motion, and on the night of his ritual, he personally slaughtered the other cultists who had attempted to follow him down his path.
For his devotion, Aaron was granted a magical power by Gholnyaraechobog. By saying the word “strages” Aaron would be able to magically transform into a super-powered champion of darkness. To his dismay, Aaron quickly learned of the greater price he had to pay. This power was now tied to his family, however, and would be passed on to the youngest child of his bloodline upon his death. In turn, once the bearer of the power met their death, they were locked into damnation in Gholnyaraechobog's realm by Aaron's agreement.
Throughout his superhuman rampages, Aaron came to be known as Aaron the Bloody by the terrified local public. For as much as Aaron enjoyed his superhuman abilities, he still made an effort spent time in his mortal form. Years into his reign of terror, an assassination attempt while he was in his human form dealt Aaron a mortal wound. While he was on his deathbed, Aaron passed the power to his youngest son, Andrew.
The first time Andrew Tetherson used the power to transform, the dark champion answered to the name Aaron the Bloody. Andrew carried on in his father’s wake, and he passed the power to his youngest son, and this practice continued in secret among the Tetherson family through the generations. Over time, Aaron the Bloody came to be known by many variant names, the most recent of which is Ahreman the Red.
A Villain Returns
Previously, the dark champion’s last period of activity was in the 1950’s, when Alek Tetherson possessed the Aaron Power. A vicious man, Alek would have come to rival his ancestor Aaron in bloodlust, but a fateful encounter with a mysterious woman known as Gabijah prevented Alek from spiraling further into darkness. Alek Tetherson eventually met his end, and the power was passed to his son, William. Gabijah seemingly disappeared altogether after Alek’s death.
Tim Tetherson received the Aaron Power from his grandfather William, who had done his best to never use the dark power once he realized what it was. By modern times, though, the exact reasoning for passing on the power had been lost to the Tetherson family. William only knew that is must be passed on to the youngest living male of the family. To his credit, William was actually able to keep Red Aaron from the world until the day he died.
On the other hand, the elder William was somewhat oblivious to Tim’s reputation as the black sheep of the family. While Tim is nowhere near as bloodthirsty as his ancestors, he assuredly has a nihilistic view of society. Ready to take on the world he hates, Tim made his way to the Rogue Isles to make a name for himself and his alter ego.
Powers
By speaking the word “strages” Tim Tetherson has the power to magically transform into a dark champion that currently answers to the name Ahreman the Red. Merely thinking of the word will accomplish the transformation as well, but this requires more concentration on Tim’s part. Saying the word again while he is Ahreman the Red will transform the champion back into Tim’s human form. This works for Tim due to the taint of black magic in his bloodline. For anyone else who says the word, nothing of note will happen.
A more subtle affect of the Aaron Power is that the powered form reflects the desires of the human alter ego. For example, the original Aaron the Bloody resembled a well-dressed bandit, a look befitting an 18th century villain. The modern day Ahreman the Red usually resembles a comic-book supervillain, reflecting young Tim Tetherson’s view of what a super-powered evil-doer would look like. For as of yet unknown reasons, Tim has recently taken to giving Ahreman a significantly more demonic appearance, with red skin, horns, black clothing, and a bare chest revealing a large sigil of Baphomet brand.
The form of Ahreman the Red is powered by black magic, and as such, is capable of several superhuman feats. In addition to possessing greatly enhanced strength, speed, endurance and the ability to fly, Ahreman is also highly resistant to most forms of damage.
Also, due to the infusion of black magic into his bloodline, Tim has become something of a weak demon himself, if several times removed from the original demonic source. Any sort of white magic intended to affect demonic beings will have a measure of affect on Tim as well. This only seems to work on Tim in his human form; while he is transformed, he is resistant to any such effects.
The Rogue Isles
Following reports of the revolutionary group known as Inevitable Evolution, Tim came to idolize the leader of the organization, the terrorist known as Run Riot. Traveling to Mercy Island, an impromptu meeting with one of Run Riot’s lieutenants known as the Veridian Vision led to an opportunity for Tim to fulfill one of his short term goals and work alongside his idols.
Misguided Evolution
It seems that Tim held Run Riot and his group to unrealistic ideals. During his time with Inevitable Evolution, Tim came to see his former idols as nothing more than group of bickering outcasts following a man past his prime. Disgusted with the group’s lack of direction, and even more so with Run Riot’s settling down to a semblance of a family life, Tim decided to take matters into his own hands. After getting into a heated argument over how his alter ego handled collateral damage during a mission against the Freakshow in Paragon City, Tim was put into lockdown in the Inevitable Evolution base in an attempt to help him control the power. Run Riot’s previous precautionary measures to enchant the base against hostile magic prevented Tim from changing to his alter ego and escaping.
Paranoid that Run Riot was going to try to strip him of his power, Tim contacted several allies he had made on his own in an attempt to free him. His escape attempts failed, Tim was finally put into a cell in the Evolution base. Tim believed his cause was lost until a violent interrogation by Calavero, another of Run Riot’s agents, led to Gholnyaraechobog itself freeing its young avatar from his imprisonment. Enraged at the actions of his former allies, once he was returned to the Isles, Tim finally transformed back into his alter ego and declared war against Inevitable Evolution.
Upon his departure from Inevitable Evolution, Tim altered the costume of his alter ego significantly. Keeping with his new direction, Tim, who now rarely transforms back to his human form, is now also openly mocking and combative towards anyone associated with the group he feels is a shell of its former self.
A Change of Plans
Ahreman the Red’s conflict with Inevitable Evolution quickly led to a series of heated encounters with various members of the group. Franco Mancini was at the forefront, continually calling out Red to a fight. But Ahreman would not fight Riot’s lackeys on their terms, and as Mancini never encountered Red outside of the neutral ground of DJ Zero’s Pocket D club, Mancini’s childlike taunting was for naught.
However, Red was aware that planning and preparation were required to continue his agenda. Finding the telepath Nelik, another of Riot's brainwashed underlings in St. Martial, Red tracked down the young mutant and attacked him. A vicious fight followed, but Nelik managed to escape the scene before Red was able to deliver a mortal blow.
Word spread quickly of the attack, prompting Run Riot and his agents to confront Ahreman in Pocket D yet again. Ultimately, their words proved useless as they seemingly refused to approach Red outside of the neutral nightclub. Disgusted with the methods of the modern day “villain,” Ahreman simply walked away, feeling that Inevitable Evolution was no longer worth his time.
Affiliations
Ahreman the Red recently attempted to form a secretive Syndicate of like-minded individuals to further his agenda. Attempting to take advantage of the value of avoiding the public eye, Red took to seeking out the candidates he felts would have something to offer to his cause. However, Ahreman, longing for battle, soon tired of leadership, and the Syndicate disbanded without his wary eye keeping them in check. A short time later while en route to combat the hero Synapse, Ahreman was approached by Agonus with a tempting offer to join a new organization, the Supreme Society. Now Red is seemingly content to act as the enforcer for Agonus and his Society, a position which allows him to pursue his own goals on his own time.
Modern Heroes?
To his extreme dismay, Ahreman has attracted the attention of the Gemuse Force, a group of former child actors who starred in a pseudo-reality “superhero” TV show of the same name. Normally, Red would simply destroy anyone who interfered with his plans as much as the Gemuse Force does. However, Red is hesitant to physically deal with the Force due to his belief that they are mere children and significantly out of their league regarding Red and his allies. The apparent leader of the Gemuse Force, a young girl known as Strawberry Trooper has personally approached Red several times, and each encounter has ended with Ahremand trying to talk the young heroine out of her death-wish of attempting to stop him.
As he has no intention of combating the Gemuse Force until they reach at the very least legal age, Red has attempted other plans to distract the young heroes and give them opponents more on their level of experience. His efforts ultimately proving unsuccessful, Agonus has taken over the situation, assigning Jade Costa (Lazuli Fade under an alias) and Underground Entertainment to deal with the heroes.
To make matters worse, Red's associate Count Logan vonDrake has attracted the attention of a militaristic grouping of heroes known as Joint Task Force Hero. After a lengthy confrontation in Bloody Bay where the heroes attempted to stop Red's Syndicate from acquiring information on the Shivans, the leader of the heroes, Major Disorder called in for military assistance to help turn the tide. Having obtained the information the needed, and having no desire to engage in a confrontation on such a large scale, the Syndicate retreated from the battlefield. Since then, Major Disorder has called for his teammates to confront the Syndicate when possible. This lead to a series of confrontations, and ultimately, the defeat of Joint Task Force Hero at the hands of Red and his allies.
Scirocco
Eventually, Red made his way to Grandville to begin an apprenticeship with Scirocco, the mystically powered lieutenant in Lord Recluse's inner circle. Red was required to prove his worth to Scirocco, however, and he was sent to fight higher calibre opponents such Barracuda, Silver Mantis, and even the hero Foresight. Once Scirocco was satisfied with efforts of his new ally, he began to show Red how to fully unlock other aspects of his powers. Since his training with the Recluse's lieutenant, Ahreman the Red is now able to fire offensive blasts of the magical energies that gives him his power.
Word soon spread of Scirocco's plans, and Arachnos contacted Red in an effort to thwart Scirocco's ultimate plot to alter the world by magical means. Content to work with Arachnos on the matter as Scirocco's scheme's interfered with his own, Red gathered a small group of malcontents to put an end to Scirocco's overly ambitious goal. While Red remained largely indifferent to the results of the confrontation with the nobleman lieutenant of Recluse, Arachnos was pleased with the results to the point that they declared Red to be an equal of Lord Recluse's inner circle. On the other hand, Scirocco's spirit was seemingly crushed by the defeat at the hands of his former pupil.
Cimerora
Journeying to the ancient land of Cimerora at the request of the Midnight Squad, Red became involved in a plot to overthrow the usurper Imperious. Red relished the series of extended battles against Imperius's troops, finally having a chance to indulge in his bloodlust on familiar terms. Word soon spread among the locals of his actions, which came to Red's attention upon the completion of his efforts. During a brief encounter with one of the female Sybils that needed to be rescued, the seer commented that Red's battlefield actions were similar to those of a forgotten dark god, Ahreman. Amused at the comparison, Red adopted the name for himself upon his return to the Rogue Isles.
Personality
((Short Answer- I’m currently trying to play Red as a slightly more homicidal Black Adam, a villain with a twisted sense of honor and a vicious streak three miles long.
Long Answer- Upon his arrival in the Rogue Isles, Tim was eager to help others, as much as a teenaged anarchist would, anyway. He also had little problem following orders from the right people. However, Tim was, and still is, for that matter, unaware of the full nature of the Aaron Power.
While Tim spent a significant amount of time as himself, his more benevolent traits carried over to his powered form. During his time in the Isles though, Tim came to feel even more defensive over his lack of a physical presence, being a scrawny teenager. Without really consciously choosing to do so, he ended up spending more and more time in his transformed state.
What Tim doesn’t know is that his powered form does have an influence over him, partially from his ancestor Aaron Tetherson’s bloodlust, and partly from the demonic nature of the power itself. Over time, Red became increasingly violent as Tim spent more and more time transformed, and Tim’s arguments and increasingly negative feelings towards his former allies only added to Red’s current malevolent personality.
So… *I* wouldn’t call Red “evil” now, but hey, that’s just me. Sure, he holds little value for human life, is certainly out for himself and is enraged at his former allies but there is more to him than that. Red does have something of a personal code, and Gabijah had an odd effect on him. But, if Tim could ever be talked out of his current frame of mind, Red would revert back to his former personality. And it’s even possible that if Tim was shown the light, and believed it, and spent significantly less time in his powered form, Red could even become a force for *good*.
UPDATE- Aaron Tetherson's twisted sense of honor, mixed with Tim's lack of experience with the fairer sex, have given Red a weakness or sorts towards females. Coming from an older time, Red still doesn't fully view women as his equals, and as such, he will refuse to fight a woman unless provoked to an extreme level of anger.
Along the same lines, Red will not fight anyone he views to be too young for battle. (This usually comes about from misunderstandings of those he encounters of smaller sizes.) While he certainly has done evil things throughout his extended life, violence against children is a line into monstrosity that Red refuses to cross. ))
Trivia
((The whole concept is inspired by Captain Marvel and Black Adam, or a human-says-a-magic-word-and transforms-into-a-magic-Superman, for those of you that don't speak comic book. The primary twist here is that it’s an evil young kid that has the transformation power.
UPDATE- Upon further review, Alan Moore's version of Kid Miracleman is pretty close to the idea with Tim/Red, but Tim is inherently more wicked than Johnny Bates.
UPDATE 2- I made up the name "Gholnyaraechobog" as a mix of Chernobog and Lovecraftian god names.
UPDATE 3- Red's demonic look is a nod to the Josh Middleton version of the character Sabbac, just sorta bikered up a bit.
The main reason for the name change from Red Aaron to Nemesis Red is that I'm trying to make Red more of a character unto himself. In hindsight, maaaayyybbbeee that wasn't such a grand idea. Anyhoo, now he's Ahreman the Red. No more comparisons to tin-plated similarly named schmucks! Huzzah!
Tim’s magic word, Strages, is Latin for havoc. In other words, Tim “cries havoc” when he transforms into Ahreman. Hey, it was hilarious at the time. :-P))
