Quantum Core
From Unofficial Handbook of the Virtue Universe
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| Quantum Core | |
| Player: @Quantum Core | |
| Origin: | Mutant |
|---|---|
| Archetype: | Brute |
| Threat Level: | 41 |
| Personal Data | |
| Real Name: | Joshua Alan Bell |
| Known Aliases: | Enerjack |
| Species: | Human |
| Age: | 28 |
| Height: | 6'6" |
| Weight: | 280 lbs. |
| Eye Color: | red |
| Hair Color: | brown |
| Biographical Data | |
| Nationality: | American |
| Occupation: | Professional criminal |
| Place of Birth: | Los Alamos, New Mexico |
| Base of Operations: | St. Martial |
| Marital Status: | Single |
| Known Relatives: | Confidential |
| Known Powers | |
| Energy Melee, Fiery Aura, Flight | |
| Known Abilities | |
| Street Brawling, Directional Sense, Limited Psionic Resistance | |
| Equipment | |
| N/A | |
| No additional information available. | |
Contents |
Character History
Birth and Childhood
Joshua was born to Evan and Carla Bell in Los Alamos, New Mexico. Though the pregnancy was unexpected, the two decided to raise the child together. When Joshua was five years old, Carla, a chronic drug abuser, left her husband and son with the only explanation being that she couldn't handle the pressure of being a parent right now. Though he struggled to raise his son alone, Evan began gambling heavily, sometimes leaving his son with friends or relatives for days at a time as he took trips to Las Vegas and St Martial for gambling sprees. His gambling debts began to build and he suddenly found himself deeper and deeper in debt to loan sharks and bookies. He began to formulate a plan to pay off his debts quickly. As the Director of Corporate Services at Paragon City Electric, he had access to corporate and residential accounts. Desperate to pay off his gambling debts, he began fleecing the company's customers a little at a time, telling himself he would make up for the service charges as soon as his debts were paid. Instead, he became more bold in acquiring funds from the company, extorting nearly 2.1 million dollars by the time of his arrest. The following year, he was convicted for multiple counts of extortion and embezzlement and sentenced to twenty years in federal prison. At only 10 years of age, the traumatic experiences of being abandoned first by his mother and now his father, finally began to take their toll on Joshua. He found it difficult to trust anyone, believing they would one day abandon him. He would lash out at others, sometimes violently. Because of these issues, he was placed in several foster homes only to return when the foster parents found him too difficult to deal with.
Power Emergence
Each time a set of foster parents 'abandoned' him, Joshua became more and more distraught and his reactions to new 'parents' began to become increasingly violent. At 14, while living with a couple in King's Row, he received a letter from his father. With this letter, his father explained what had happened to him all those years ago and wanted to make ammends with his son before he died. It seemed he was diagnosed with heart disease and wasn't sure how long he would live, especially in prison. Soon afterwards, Joshua began having nightmares, some of them violent enough to cause him to curl up into a corner of his room, drenched in sweat. On one particular night, his dreams were haunted by the faces of those who had abandoned him: Mother, father, foster parents. The dream took a horrific turn that triggered his innate mutant ability. The power within him flooded into his body, releasing itself in an explosive shock wave that destroyed half of the house and killed the couple he lived with. Upon waking and seeing what he had done, he grabbed a few meager possessions and flew into the night.
The Hellions
Having nowhere left to go to, Joshua lived on the streets around Perez Park, surviving by using his new found powers to break into grocery stores for food. It was during one of his shopping sprees that Joshua was confronted by the Hellions. The leader saw potential in Joshua and took the youth under his wing. He began tutoring him in using the environment to his advantage, brawling techniques, using his intuition and street survival. He was soon initiated as a member of the Hellions gang, specifically their Perez Park chapter. He ran with this gang for a number of years under the name Enerjack, mainly participating in burglaries, muggings, arsons and other crimes. He rose quickly through the ranks, his ruthlessness and commanding presence earning him respect with his blood brothers, even as far away as Cap Au Diable. It wasn't long before Joshua, on the verge of being initiated into the ranks of the Damned, was tasked with striking a deal with a demon to imbue him with more power. Instead, he struck a strange deal with this demon, named Hfamrok, that released the demon from the bonds that prevented him from entering this plane of existence. Instead of bargaining his own soul, he bargained the demon's freedom and a lifetime as his partner in crime for more power. Hfamrok agreed and bestowed him with the gift of a controllable fire aura. As Joshua stared in awe at the flames now enveloping his body, Hfamrok vowed to return and fled, his astral presence leaving no trace of his existence. Furious at his blatant disregard of his blood brothers, Duke Mordrogar stripped Joshua of his rank and blacklisted him; If any Hellion ever saw Joshua in any of their territories after dawn, he was to be killed on the spot.
Capture by Doc Quantum and Longbow
Donning a makeshift costume and continuing to use the moniker Enerjack, he and his new demonic companion were wanted for questioning by the police on a string of brazen bank heists. During one such robbery, Longbow received an anonymous tip and intervened. With nowhere to go Joshua urged his demonic partner to flee the scene in the hopes of hooking back up with him later. He was finally captured and placed in the custody of Doc Quantum. Doc had been experimenting with power nullifier bands for energy-based metahumans and Joshua seemed the perfect subject. Through a new microscopic technology, Doc Quantum had discovered he could control several types of energy on a molecular level, literally snuffing the energy before it could be created. Helpless and lethargic, Joshua awaited his fate.
Imprisonment
Joshua was found guilty of numerous robberies and was given the maximum sentence, to be served in the Ziggurat. He was also kept powerless by Doc Quantum's nullifier bands. Joshua attempted suicide on a number of occasions and was soon required to see a psychiatrist on a regular basis. Though these visits were helpful in some ways, Joshua found them amusing and a break in the monotony of prison life. Due to his suicide attempts, Joshua now shared a cell with Jack Sumner, also known as the villain Lock and Load. Joshua learned of Jack's incarceration and his brilliant mind when it came to technology. He got Sumner to examine the bands and learned there was no way to reverse engineer them or remove them without killing Joshua. He would either have to deactivate the bands or find the device used to remove them if he ever wanted his powers back again. Meanwhile, Joshua had to deal with monthly visits from Doc Quantum to ensure the nullifier bands were still functioning to peak efficiency. It was during one of these visits that a guard mockingly informed him of his father's death in federal prison due to heart complications. Stunned, Joshua called the warden into the room and verified the story with him. He unexpectedly flew into a rage, nearly killing the guard who had mocked him and smashing nearly every piece of furniture in the small room. When Joshua noticed the nullifier bands were beginning to malfunction, he quickly submitted to the guards and allowed them to toss him back in his cell, his meeting with Doc Quantum cancelled. He informed Sumner of his discovery and was told that the failure of the nullifier bands couldn't have come at a better time. There was a rumor that the prison was about to get attacked by unknown forces. With the surprising appearance of Arachnos agents later that night, the two escaped and were transported to Mercy Island. Feeling they owed no loyalties to Arachnos, they left the Arachnos base and struck out to fulfill their own desires; Revenge against their captors. But, no longer would Joshua Bell be known as Enerjack. With his purpose now clear, he took the name Quantum Core and began his mission to destroy Longbow and his new nemesis, Doc Quantum.
The Nemesis Enforcers
Quantum Core was reunited with his partner in crime, Hfamrok, who had set up a base of operations in an abandoned warehouse on the island of St. Martial during their separation. With this base, they could plan their operations in secrecy and use the area as a sanctuary when things began to get too hot. Quantum Core, Hfamrok and Lock and Load parted ways briefly to earn their reputations and recruit other like-minded metahumans to help them in completing their goals. During this time, Quantum Core began to learn more about his special powers and would come up with ingenious ways to use them. He also found others who agreed to help him with his cause: Hot Mistress, Talric, Malifore and Infuriator. Each had their own agenda and were, like Quantum Core, seeking revenge against those that had wronged them. As a result of their cause, Quantum Core dubbed his new allies The Nemesis Enforcers. Hfamrok and Lock and Load brought in their own recruits as well, strengthening their numbers to nearly twenty.
Personality
Quantum Core suffers from Borderline Personality Disorder, due to childhood trauma, frequently leading to trust issues with his companions. This leads to him coming across as brash, uptight and angry all of the time. One of the few people he has ever shown his vulnerable side to is Hot Mistress, and then only after their relationship had gone on for over a year. Over their years of working together, Quantum Core has also come to see Lock and Load as a father figure and seems to be adjusting his attitude to prove himself to his new mentor.
Powers
Quantum Energy Generation
Quantum Core's mutation is the ability to channel an unidentified form of quantum energy through his body, granting him resistance to physical harm, limited flight and powerful attacks with his energy-hardened fists. This energy is generated internally and gives his eyes a peculiar blue glow that brightens and dims depending on his inner reserves.
Energy Melee
Quantum Core generally focuses his energy through his arms and hands, giving him heightened strength and toughened fists with density similar to hardened steel. This focus allows him to punch through nearly anything, up to and including thick steel doors and concrete walls.
Whirling Fist
By rapidly increasing his power focus, he is able to punch the ground and release the energy into a shockwave powerful enough to cause dizziness.
Powered Flight
The energy produced by his body allows him to fly at nearly any height. It is presumed his fiery aura would protect him from the cold of upper atmosphere flight, but it is doubtful he could survive if deprived of oxygen.
Fiery Aura
Quantum Core also has the ability, thanks to his dealings with The Hellions, to sheath his body in fire, giving him added protection to attacks. He can also manipulate this flame within a limited radius to affect anyone close by.
Healing Flame
By intensifying his aura, he is able to control it in a way that cauterizes his wounds and provides him with increased regeneration.
Consuming Flame
Quantum Core has the ability to absorb the body heat of those close by and use it to replenish his energy reserves.
Abilities
Street Brawler: Quantum Core relies on the street brawling style he was taught as a Hellion during close combat. He is a very capable fighter though he may sometimes let his ego get the best of him in fights he can't win.
Direction Sense: Even underground, Quantum Core has an uncanny sense of direction.
Limited Psionic Resistance: During the recent Rikti Invasion, he has taught himself to block his mind from psionic attacks, offering him a finite resistance to such attacks.
Weaknesses
Doc Quantum was the inventor responsible for creating Inhibitor Bands, a device that directs the motion of the subatomic particles within nuclear and quantum matter, thereby inhibiting the reaction at the subatomic level. At the extreme it is possible to prevent or snuff a fission or fusion reaction in any nuclear or non-nuclear material with similar devices. This technology renders Joshua helpless, as his body loses the ability to create the quantum energy that strengthens him.
Affiliations
Though he has occasionally offered his services to other villains, he will usually only do so if it offers something he can use to further his plans of revenge. Though he spent a large part of his youth with The Hellions, he now shows the gang no mercy and will destroy any of them that get in the way of accomplishing his goals.
Group Affiliation
Personal Associations
Hot Mistress: Since joining the Nemesis Enforcers, she has been by his side helping him to come to terms with his past. In him, she found someone who shares a common background and can relate to her dark past. Though Quantum Core tells others that the relationship they share is purely physical, he can't deny that his feeling for her, though buried within himself, are genuine.
Hfamrok: Quantum Core made a deal with his demon companion: Freedom to cause chaos in Paragon City in exchange for a lifetime as his partner in crime. Though the price was his ejection from The Hellions, he hasn't regretted the decision yet. Of all of his allies, Hfamrok remains the most loyal, bound by his contract to serve as such.
Lock and Load: Lock and Load became an associate by necessity at the time, but he and Quantum Core are bonded by the similarities of their upbringing. Lock and Load has grown accustomed to having Quantum Core around and sees himself as a paternal figure for the young man. Lock and Load secretly hopes he can bring Quantum Core around and see the errors of his ways by not traveling the path of destruction as he has.
