Radiopath/Origins
From Unofficial Handbook of the Virtue Universe
On May 26th, 1987, a hero was born somewhere in the world. Elsewhere, in Midleton, County Cork in Ireland, a premature, underweight child was born to Mary and Patrick McDough. Fenwick McDough - in comparison to his older siblings - was a runt, and also suffered Cardiomyopathy, a condition in which the heart muscles were weaker than normal and were subject to an arrhythmia.
Devoutly relgious Catholics, the parents did not see the need to keep the child in the care of medical professionals for corrective surgery, seeing his condition as God's will. Instead, they chose to keep him sheltered in his youth, not allowing him the rambunctious lifestyle that many children were prone to.
Fenwick was born into wealth. The McDough family owned a wide scape of land and business in the Cork countryside. Most of the family resided on the estate, or lived in nearby villages where the name held authority or respect. However, while Patrick and Mary were human purists to the point of extreme racism against mutants and metas, the rest of the family wasn't.
The final straw that broke the camel's back in this disagreement came from the hand of a curious child who was rarely allowed to see the outside world.
A distant cousin of Fen's who was visiting the estate was a mutant. While not particularly renown or near the capibilities of a Paragon resident, the man's abilities were fascinating to the locals. When the young boy his own cousin to play with him and observe his control over fire, he was so excited that he'd actually worn himself out, and his parents quickly rushed with sharpened tongues, quickly blaming the visitor for exasperating their son's heart condition. Little did they know or care that young Fenwick was fine, he was just excited to meet a metahuman.
With mounting aggression and animosity between Patrick, Mary, their sons, and the rest of the family, the small branch of the McDough tree quickly found itself ousted from the estate grounds. And so...
They left... Fen was only six.
Does that mean that I get what I want for free?
Seattle, Washington. The McDoughs found themselves going from a countryside estate of wealth and renown to a blue-collar neighborhood. It was there that Fen would continue to grow under his parents and brothers' vigilance. Church every Sunday and Wednsday, no 'fraternizing' with mutants, and no socializing with the meta population. And no sports. These were the rules Fenwick McDough grew up with under punishment of grounding or worse. Fen always skirted the rules, and was always caught for it. It was only a matter of time before something gave...
..And when it rains, it pours...
The Rikti invasion of 2002. Fen was fifteen. The invading forces decimated key cities around the globe, and Seattle was one of them. Half of the city was in ruins, and Fen's family watched in horror as they saw his brother Marcus, who was a Navy sailor, disappear as the air craft carrier in the Sound was destroyed on the news.
Fen, who had spent his entire childhood under the boot heel of 'order' finally snapped. He called his parents on their hypocrisy. For all of their disdain and hatred of the 'inhuman' populace of the world, for all of their 'Earth was meant for mankind' talk, neither his parents or his brother seemed interested in combating the Rikti threat. Instead, they seemed content to allow Vanguard and the metahuman forces of America handle it, and Fen wouldn't stand idle. And so...
/He/ left.
Fen spent the next three years as a vagabond. While he was a runaway, he was never fully homeless because of friends and acquaintances. His hobby at the time was tweaking sound systems and refurbishing stereos, it was a service he offered for small time bands as he stayed in Seattle's musical underground. The details of this block of time are hazy, as Fen's never really opened up about them.
Will you put me in a place where I make sense?
Cause nothing last forever...
