Sadim
From Unofficial Handbook of the Virtue Universe
| |
| Sadim | |
| Player: Jaaboo | |
| Origin: | Mutation |
|---|---|
| Archetype: | Dominator |
| Threat Level: | 14 |
| Personal Data | |
| Real Name: | Robert Roy |
| Known Aliases: | "Nik Sadeen" |
| Species: | Homo superior |
| Age: | 29 |
| Height: | 6'1" |
| Weight: | 195# |
| Eye Color: | green |
| Hair Color: | auburn |
| Biographical Data | |
| Nationality: | American |
| Occupation: | Serial killer |
| Place of Birth: | Paragon City |
| Base of Operations: | Rogue Isles |
| Marital Status: | Widower |
| Known Relatives: | Unknown |
| Known Powers | |
| Psycho-electric manipulation, telekinesis | |
| Known Abilities | |
| Ability and thought theft, mental domination, electrical assault, leaping, fist-fighting | |
| Equipment | |
| None | |
| No additional information available. | |
All that being said, it may become clear to anyone familiar with the show that Sadim is very much influenced by Sylar, the mass-murdering power stealing villain of "Heroes". Even his costume is based on the season one appearance of that character (before Zach Quinto joined the show.) I also would like to point out another profile on this site, that belonging to Moroii as a bit of inspiration on how an energy based mind controller would work. While Sadim is Mind/Elec, there are a lot of similarities to how I saw Sadim's power and how Moroii is written up, so, props.
Contents |
Personality
Sadim was not once as he is. Once upon a time, Robert Roy was funny, well-liked, kind-hearted and in love. Life's cruelty does not spare the good ones, however, and Robert's wife was killed in a car accident that his mutation contributed to. Within the man that would become Sadim there was a dark side - a perfectionist whose drive would spark into angry outbursts, humor that held back a violent temper and kindness that masked a perverse curiosity of evil. Scenarios would often form in his mind of doing violence, committing unspeakable acts. After the accident, the guilt over his own darkness consumed Robert and he soon took a mad comfort that this monster was his true self. As a result, Sadim really is the worst of who Robert Roy was - driven, angry, cruel and willing to do evil simply because he can.
A part of Sadim's power is that of thought-theft, and the resulting fragments of memories and personalities that are not his own have begun to form a splinter in his mind that can sometimes intrude on his own thoughts. As a result, the more he uses his power on other people, the more he has had to learn to concentrate to keep their thoughts separate from his. This process has actually been a benefit to him as his mind becomes more focused and capable of processing information faster. However, the thoughts he has stolen are something he relishes in his new found embrace of all that is evil. He can often be found in quiet times reflecting on what he has taken from others, especially the good moments in life that they have lost forever.
Sadim is quiet, a recluse, and operates much as a serial killer does.
Powers
Sadim's mutation allows him to control and manipulate psychosomatic energy, literally the electricity firing within the mind's synapses. He likely feeds off this energy, being able to remove memories, talents and sometimes powers from his victims' minds. It is thought that he can convert this energy into attacking abilities such as projecting lightning or powering his telekinesis. It is unclear at this time exactly what range his power has or to what extent his ability to manipulate the mind covers. It is also unclear if his mutation extends past the purely physical and motor functions of the brain or if he can affect the electrical synapses of the rest of the body's nervous system. Based on his demonstration of being able to freeze a victim in place this is likely correct.
What is also not clear at this time is if Sadim could indeed steal or mimic another super-powered being's power. While he has been observed being able to reduce and drain power and effectiveness levels, it is unlikely but theoretically possible for Sadim to completely absorb and remove someone's power.
Abilities
Sadim hunts as does a spider, something that has not gone unnoticed by Lord Recluse. Sadim can freeze a victim's mind, induce sleep, paralysis or wracking pain rendering his victim unable to defend his or herself. His telekinesis can also halt someone in flight but keep them alive and in full understanding of what is happening to them. He then uses the stolen power from his mental domination to project electricity back into his victim, delighting in the pain it causes.
Sadim's ability to manipulate psycho-electricity allows him to project bolts of sooty red electricity or envelop his fists in electric discharge for an even deadlier attack. He seems to be able to use that energy to power himself as one would power a circuit, although he is not immune to the electricity once it loops back to him, making this a painful process that he is loathe to do often.
Sadim does not have the ability to "read minds" but rather he can extract a person's memories (or knowledge or mental abilities such as rapid calculation or eidetic memory) but the process removes said memory or knowledge from the person's mind. This ability depends largely on the target, however, as those with a strong mind are less apt to lose parts of their mind.
Weaknesses and Limitations
Sadim's sorrow and guilt are a large sore spot in his ego and deep down inside he has never quite killed the friendly funny man that used to be Robert Roy. There is still a part of Sadim that longs for redemption, a part that has begun to merge with some of the stolen memories that Sadim keeps. At times Sadim will linger on those stolen memories of happy lives that he has ruined as a form of penance. As a result, Sadim has not fully given himself over towards villainy as he would like to suggest. Self-doubt is his therefore his largest weakness, one easily exploited by those with a strong, swift wit. However, his natural distrust of anyone makes approaching Sadim a dangerous idea.
Character History
Robert Roy had all that a man could want of a simple life. A good job that he enjoyed, a home, friends and most importantly, the love of a good woman that astonished him every day. What was disturbing however, were the little things. What began as a habit of small static shocks turned into a bizarre string of minor but recurring incidents. Memories, small memories, being crossed over from his wife's mind to his, an overload of the washing machine once, all evidence of his late blooming power. Something was growing in his mind, a shadow of the evil to come, and it disturbed him. Scenarios soon came to his mind unbidden, of his wife dead, images of him shooting up his work, fears of others, inane little macabre fantasies that everyone imagines out of fear soon came to him daily, all accompanied by strange, almost haunting occurrences.
That shadow grew every day. Dread was all Robert knew for the month before his wife died.
They were having arguments. Robert had become moody, despondent, and began to drink far more than was usual. In fear of what was happening to her husband, Melissa Roy suggested a trip to the country, to clear Robert's head, something, anything to help lighten his mood. She drove, he sat, brooding, in the passenger seat, unwilling to respond to her efforts to relive him of his depression. Kind words became stern warnings which became accusations and insults. Tempers flared, and Melissa, bless her soul, had one moment of irrational subconscious, an image of her leaving her husband out in the cold alone. Unfortunately, this is when Robert's power fully manifested, and enraged at the thought which he thought was reality, lost control. His telekinesis clamped down on the gas petal. Electric current coursed through the car, terror coursed through Melissa's mind, pain, humiliation, the sure and certain knowledge that her husband was about to kill her.
And so it happened. Robert ejected himself via his telekinesis while taunting his terrified wife, and watched, without emotion as the car slammed into a tree at 120 miles an hour, instantly killing Melissa, and with her, Robert's life. Before she died, he stole one last fragment of her, and the reality of the situation came crashing down on him. It was all love, nothing in her mind was not laced with the love she had for her husband, even the stark terror that he had stolen mere moments before her death, the terror that this was the man who she loved. The man she wanted to grow old with. It was too much. Madness and sorrow crippled him. He lay there, wishing for death but unable to find it.
The trial was swift. This was Paragon City, after all, and the City of Heroes could easily find sympathy for a man unable to control his powers. Was it not the act of the just to give the man a chance to redeem himself as a Hero? For his part, Robert tried. He did a brief stint in Atlas Park as "The Broken Mask" but there was nothing to it. His powers were not easily understood, his morose outlook on life crashed his teams' morale, and his attitude towards catching criminals was disinterested at best. Finally, during a stint with a small team named "The Atlas Six", he was taken aside by the team leader, a do-gooder third generation hero named "Electric Trayn". Trayn 'suggested' that the disheveled Robert leave the hero business and find something else that he was good at. The conversation got ugly fast, with Trayn telling Robert that he ruined everything he touched.
Enraged at the man's pompous attitude, something finally woke in Robert.
"Oh, I think I found something else..."
Trayn was found two weeks later in a Kings Row alley, electric burns all over his body and his mind a gibbering, insane mess incapable of anything resembling thought. A week after that, a Kings Row family of five was found all dead, looks of the worst horror etched into their faces, their shanty apartment burned with lightning. Two days later, the father of the family was found, barely alive and sobbing unbearably. When Paragon General medical staff finally calmed him down, they learned in horror that the man was held fast by a dark figure who had tortured and killed his family in front of his unblinking eyes.
When asked if he could identify the killer, all the man could mutter was "Sadim. He turns everything he touches to ruin."
The manhunt took three weeks. Sadim killed six more in a terrifying serial spree that gripped Kings Row. Finally tracked down and cornered by the enigmatic Jason Nocht, Sadim was defeated and brought to the Zig to await his trial...
As An NPC
Sadim appears in the first two missions as an elite boss/arch-villain in the AE are "Red Jacket #34: Rise of Duvant." He uses mind control powers to pacify and hold players and then takes them out with his electrical assault.
Future Notes
As Sadim grows in level, I plan on expanding on his story. A mad-dog killer only stays a mad-dog for a short time, after all, until a bigger dog brings him down or he gets smart. Sadim plans on getting smart. The effort it takes for him to keep separate his mind and the fragments of others is having the effect of sharpening his mind and focusing his powers. A mind-thief can climb to considerable heights and the Rogue Isles are...friendly towards... entrepreneurial young men such as "Nik Sadeen" (a further play on King Midas.) Likely we are going to see two identities, the new public face of Nik Sadeen, a ruthless businessman, backed by the muscle and guile of Sadim, already an established ruthless killer.
Or, to put it in "Heroes" terms, becoming less like Sylar and more like Arthur Patrelli.
This article about a character is a stub -- a small, but growing, work in progress. If you're the creator of this character, why not consider expanding it?
