Psi Havoc
From Unofficial Handbook of the Virtue Universe
| |
| Brooding - or Plotting? | |
| Psi Havoc | |
| Player: @Seer Arcana | |
| Origin: | Mutation |
|---|---|
| Archetype: | Blaster |
| Security Level: | Confidential |
| Personal Data | |
| Real Name: | Unknown[1] |
| Known Aliases: | None |
| Species: | Human |
| Age: | 19 |
| Height: | 6'5" |
| Weight: | 75kg |
| Eye Color: | Unconfirmed[2] |
| Hair Color: | Black with orange dye |
| Biographical Data | |
| Nationality: | Unknown |
| Occupation: | Vigilante |
| Place of Birth: | Unknown |
| Base of Operations: | Unknown |
| Marital Status: | Unknown, presumed single |
| Known Relatives: | Unknown |
| Known Powers | |
| Psionic and telekinetic abilities including limited mind control, Pyrokinesis | |
| Known Abilities | |
| Additional non-mutant capabilities unknown | |
| Equipment | |
| Flame retardant costume | |
| ' | |
Contents |
Affiliations
Psi Havoc belongs to The Watchtower, a supergroup lead by the hero Loewenzahn. Despite the group's recent public exposure, Psi Havoc remains a relatively unknown hero, generally avoiding publicity and leaving it up to the other members of the group to deal with the press.
Because of his apparent shyness, any other past or present affiliations remain largely unknown, with Psi Havoc refusing to even mention them.
Prior to being approached by Ridger and recruited into the Watchtower, Psi Havoc's only affiliations were to a number of petty crooks and drug dealers in and around the Mercy Island slums, for whom he performed various odd jobs.
Personality
Psi Havoc's desire to stay out of the public eye has lead to his being characterised as a quiet loner, an introspective and brooding man with no desire for personal glory. His infrequent talks with interviewers has shown him to fluctuate between two different moods, either quiet and aloof to the point of being shy or open and animated with a dark, sometimes callous sense of humour. Ultimately his tendency to avoid or ignore media coverage means that for the most part his personality is unknown.
Harvey/Havoc
In reality, Psi Havoc has two separate and distinct personalities, a result of his inability to cope with aspects of his past and himself.
Harvey
Harvey, Havoc's "True" personality, is a nervous, awkward young man, somewhat weak-willed and fearful. A capable criminal, skilled liar and passable telepath, Harvey nonetheless abhors violence, and tends to be easily cowed by threats and those bigger than him. Although he's slow to trust anybody, he tends to open up and relax when in the presence of a group of people he feels he can rely on. Harvey has taken well to the persona of Psi Havoc, using it to deny his own insecurities and present a bold front to the world and himself. In this way, he could be considered an Actor.
Havoc
Havoc, Harvey's alternate personality, was possibly born of Harvey's own hatred of his many weaknesses, given a life of his own by Harvey's psionic abilities. In many ways he is the complete opposite of his counterpart. Where Harvey is quiet and nervous, Havoc is loud and supremely confident, to the point of arrogance. Where Harvey is a pacifist and hates hurting anyone, Havoc is a pyromaniac - and he loves pain, no matter which end he's on. For this reason and others, the two do not have a cordial relationship. Harvey despises his psychotic alter ego, but lacks the strength of will to control his other half. Havoc, for his part, holds no grudges and feels no enmity towards Harvey. He just wants to have fun. Havoc sees the Psi Havoc persona and the Watchtower group as something of a challenge. He's interested to see how far he can go and how much fun he can have without giving the whole jig up. Not that he has much choice in the matter. Havoc would be a Machinist.
Powers and Weaknesses
Psi Havoc's powers have not been explicitly stated on public record, but his name and costume give a few major hints as to their nature. He has been seen using what appear to be mind controlling and telekinetic abilities, as well as, to a much greater degree, Pyrokinesis, the ability to conjure flames at will. These abilities are thought to be the result of a genetic mutation. Aside from these, Psi Havoc appears to be a regular human being, with all of the weaknesses that implies.
While for the most part Psi Havoc's powers and weaknesses are exactly as presented, he has one other limitation in that his split personalities each have a different power. Harvey, with his pacifist ideals, is a telepath, while Havoc's more destructive tendencies manifest as pyrokinesis. This requires both personalities to work as a team in order to function as an effective hero. Due to their nature and relationship, however, this teamwork usually dissolves rather quickly, leaving one or the other, usually Havoc, in full control and unable to access his other half's abilities.
Due to his unpredictability, Havoc has been fitted with a shock collar, giving his team leader the ability to incapacitate him if he becomes unruly.
Character History
As with every other aspect of his personal life, Psi Havoc's past is shrouded in mystery. There have been a few different rumours, primarily that prior to joining the Watchtower he was a rogue vigilante or minor supervillain operating out of the Rogue Isles, but nothing has been confirmed.
Prior to the emergence of his mutant power, Harvey grew up and lived in the Mercy Island slums, an orphaned street kid and eventually gang member. He gravitated naturally towards groups of people he felt could protect him, and generally never did anything of particular note. He was scrawny, weak and cowardly and eventually began to seek ways to escape himself. He became a drug addict, his habit soon forcing him to perform various degrading acts in order to make up the money for his next fix.
It was this which, when his mutant abilities finally manifested, caused the schism in his psyche which lead to the birth of Havoc. Havoc was the answer to his problems, able to do the things Harvey himself was too afraid or unable to do. Harvey's money problems were over, as Havoc could simply mug a passer-by or rob a local store when it was needed. He was able to free himself of his obligations to the petty crime lords and drug peddlers that infested Mercy Island while his telepathic abilities and ability to fast talk made him valuable as an information gatherer. He was set for life.
However, he soon found that he could not control Havoc. His alter ego was wild, unpredictable and prone to sudden bursts of violence with little or no provocation. Harvey, who hated violence, was sharing his body with a deranged murderer. Eventually he discovered that, while under the influence of certain mood suppressing drugs, he was able to keep himself under control. It was only the timely intervention of Ridger soon after that prevented him from falling back into his old habits of drug abuse.
Ridger came to him with an offer. He would provide Harvey with a constant supply of "special" drugs, which would allow him to maintain full control without impairing his perceptions in any way. All he asked in return was that Harvey participate in an elaborate con he was preparing. Harvey agreed without hesitation. He is unflinchingly loyal to Ridger and Loewenzahn, the latter of whom controls his current supply of the "special" drug.
Trivia
- Psi Havoc's appearance actually changes very subtly between his two personalities. This may be a result of his subconscious need to differentiate the two and therefore psionically altering certain features. The most obvious change is his eye colour, but others include the set of his brow and shape of his chin.
- Harvey's first name is a reference to Harvey Dent, of Batman fame.
