Steelshock Malleus
From Unofficial Handbook of the Virtue Universe
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| Steelshock Malleus: A mere disguise or a fall into darkness? | |
| Steelshock Malleus | |
| Player: @Cyberwatt | |
| Origin: | Technology |
|---|---|
| Archetype: | Mastermind |
| Security Level: | 34 |
| Personal Data | |
| Real Name: | Steelshock |
| Known Aliases: | Dr. Mecha |
| Species: | Cyberorganic Telepresence Unit |
| Age: | App. 2 years |
| Height: | 8 feet |
| Weight: | 490 pounds |
| Eye Color: | N/A |
| Hair Color: | N/A |
| Biographical Data | |
| Nationality: | American Citizen |
| Occupation: | Adventurer, Security Expert |
| Place of Birth: | Classified |
| Base of Operations: | Paragon City |
| Marital Status: | Single |
| Known Relatives: | CASsie (deceased) |
| Known Powers | |
| Agamemnon-class battle computer: Able to coordinate multiple robotic drones with split-second tactical analysis
Force Matrix: Blast Matrix gigajoule energy projection system, re-purposed as force field projector MCS (Modular Combat System): Hidden body compartments capable of deploying self-assembling devices (primary weapon - laser rifle) | |
| Known Abilities | |
| Expert computer hacker, real-time link with Central Union AI hive and Legion Master Computer | |
| Equipment | |
| Neutrino transceiver: high-bandwidth comm system able to penetrate most jamming countermeasures | |
| DANGER: Approach with caution. Mental state may be unstable. | |
Contents |
Summary
In a moment of weakness, the cyborg hero Steelshock struck a bargain with a horiffic villain to save the life of one he loved. Now the price may be more than he can pay.
Background
Ultimatum
Upon the seeming death of the CASsie AI, Steelshock was contacted by his deadly enemy, The Cybertyrant. The insane intelligence agreed to restore the grieving cyborg's "sister" to a fully functional state if Steel agreed to participate in an experiment: to feel the power of control as only The Cybertyrant understood it.
Using a quantum tunneling device designed by The Cybertyrant, the cyborg superhero transported a newly designed drone body (along with enough equipment to build and maintain a small slave robot construction facility) to the dimension of Praetoria: a place where he could potentially keep his anonymity in the midst of his enemy's sinister project while simultaneously assessing any threats that came from that world into Paragon City. In point of fact, this was an exact stipulation of the evil AI: Steelshock was to maintain a false identity and acquire many of The Cybertyrant's own powers and abilities. The dark intellect's psychotic yearning for a "son," combined with Steelshock's grief over his only sibling had driven the dauntless cyborg to agree to a devilish pact.
Double Life
Upon its arrival in Praetoria Steelshock immediately took control of the drone and, with a judicious hacking of personnel files, created the identity of Doctor Clarence Preston, a brilliant if unrecognized robotics and bionics expert. Approaching brain death due to a non-Hodgkin lymphoma in the cerebrum (so went the fabricated background), Preston transferred his mind into a robotic body in order to continue his work.
Having thus established this falsified ID, the new "Praetorian" submitted his application to the Powers Division of the Praetorian Police Department, immediately setting to work looking for adventure and finding out all he could about this world which he was only barely familiar with.
Temptation
Unknown to Steelshock, The Cybertyrant understood the full depth and nature of the cyborg's mental and emotional weaknesses due in part to his own repeated attacks against Steel's mind. Playing off of Steelshock's endless desire to create, the villain corrupted the control software in the drone and inserted new code which gave his "son" a euphoric sensation upon each act of control over his small army of robotic minions.
In short, Steelshock was being brainwashed: conditioned into sympathizing with his enemy's love of domination. Even when he finally returned to Primal Earth, satisfied that he had gathered enough information about that dimension's threats, he was forever altered: tainted by his willingness to sacrifice his sanity for the promise of regaining the only family he had every known.
And The Cybertyrant has not fulfilled his promise. CASsie remains a memory, her code continuing to function as a part of the Iron Immortals' hive AI Central Union but as a mere shadow only. The soul of Steelshock's sister remains lost to him. Steel remains bereaved, betrayed and burning with thoughts of vengeance.
Personality Profile
While employing the alias of Doctor Mecha, Steelshock styled himself as a sort of philosopher-scientist, equally at home debating the finer points of Kant, Nietzsche, and Chesterton as he was the theories of robotics by Tilden, Turing, and Asimov. Bearing himself as something of an old world patrician, he was courtly in mannerisms, precise and cultured in his speech and tending to treat almost everyone he met as a potential student of science. In battle, he preferred to direct his army of robot servants from afar rather than geting involved directly: nearly unflappable, he often hovered above the battlefield, observing his mechanical minions like a chess player solving a move combination.
But with the dissipation of that persona, Steelshock's increasingly disturbed emotional state has come to the forefront. The corruption of the drone body's software is still operative albeit well hidden, and the cybernetic hero is becoming gradually more and more aggressive as time passes. This is naturally quite troubling for the normally easy-going machine being, who now considers himself forever cursed by the unholy rapport with The Cybertyrant's hellish psyche. The resulting conflicts in his behavioral routines are already beginning to manifest in increasingly violent acts towards the criminal element. The most disturbing manifestation is the tendency to personally throw himself at already downed enemies, yelling imprecations and even physically injuring them on occassion.
But even more troubling and even terrifying is the growing contempt for organic life forms and a willingness to sacrifice the safety of his fellow heroes in the pursuit of mission objectives (see Major Milestones section below for details). As this contradicts his basic life philosophies, i.e. non-lethal force and tolerance toward all life forms, his reasoning power is becoming increasingly impaired.
So far Steel has managed to keep these hawkish tendencies a relative secret from his friends, but the Paragon City news services have already begun to receive anonymous tips that the cyborg may be teetering on the edge of evil.
Powers and Abilities
The Malleus chassis contains several advanced systems which Steelshock uses to considerable effect. Firstly his Agamemnon-class "cybercontroller," an advanced multiprocessing tactical analysis engine and battlefield coordinator, is capable of summoning and issuing orders to combat drones, protector 'bots and assault 'bots, maintaining them as a coherent unit and thus maximizing their combat effectiveness. Secondly, his force matrix, an adaption of the versatile "blast matrix," is capable of generating force bubbles and repelling bolts at will. Third, he stores small arms and ammunition in modular hidden compartments within his chassis. And finally, his Icarus-class flight system allows high and low-altitude travel and battlefield loiter capabilities while he directs his army.
Other additions include a set of upgraded skill software that allows his cybercontroller to act as an operational-level commander (allowing his minions to behave more fluidly in battle) and a nano-repair kit that can supplement his protector 'bots in case their own repair mechanisms become overtaxed.
Skills
Steelshock is a complete master of robotics and cyberorganics. His Malleus frame is designed around the command and control of autonomous goal-seeking units that, while possessed of no true intelligence, are nevertheless able to show considerable decision-making abilities while in combat.
He also utilizes his considerable aptitude in tactics and strategy to direct his robotic minions not only to eliminate enemies more efficiently but also to gather intelligence, ambush enemies and carry out diversionary raids. Whether these latter skills are his own or a result of The Cybertyrant's tampering is unknown at this time.
