Thermal Stride
From Unofficial Handbook of the Virtue Universe
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| Speeding through the Rogue Isles and stealing your money! | |
| Thermal Stride | |
| Player: @Captain Jupiter | |
| Origin: | Science/Mutant |
|---|---|
| Archetype: | Corruptor |
| Threat Level: | 50 |
| Personal Data | |
| Real Name: | Gary Gruever |
| Known Aliases: | Hotfoot, Therm, Thermal |
| Species: | Human |
| Age: | Confidential |
| Height: | 6' 1" |
| Weight: | 175lbs |
| Eye Color: | Brown |
| Hair Color: | Red |
| Biographical Data | |
| Nationality: | American |
| Occupation: | Professional Bank Robber |
| Place of Birth: | Chicago, Illinois |
| Base of Operations: | Chicago, Illinois |
| Marital Status: | unmarried |
| Known Relatives: | unknown |
| Known Powers | |
| Superspeed, Fire Blasts/Manipulation | |
| Known Abilities | |
| Amateur Chemist | |
| Equipment | |
| Chemical darts | |
| No additional information available. | |
Contents |
Character History
Gary Gruever was born in 1981. Growing up, Gary saw his father rarely. His father Morris, was always in and out of jail. When he did spend time with his father, Morris would entertain him with tricks. Tricks like burning flames from his fingertips for example. Morris would also tell him stories about bank robbers and they would watch movies about a famous bank robber named John Dillinger.
On his 16th Birthday, while in the living room, the television grabbed his attention. A special report showed a bank robbery from that day. The robber wore a mask and they called him, FireFist. Sadly, while running to his car, the police shot him in the back. One hour later, his mother came into Gary's bedroom and informed him that his father would never be coming home again. He had been shot by police that day. At that moment, shocked, Gary knew his father was the masked bank robber he saw on TV. Gary Gruever's path was chosen.
In the following years, remembering his father, Gary amazingly began to manipulate fire. He could even manifest it from the palms of his hands. There was no doubt he would follow in his father's footsteps and robbing banks was next on his list. He donned the mask of his father and became FireFist!
The name was well known in the Midwest, but Gary had made it become even more famous. A well organized, unethical group known as the 5th Column had become extremely interested. They wanted to harness FireFist's power and use it for their own dirty deeds. They laid a trap for Gary in the next bank he robbed and captured him. While in captivity they kept Gary drenched in water, while their scientists ran blood tests, injected him with serums and treated him like a basic lab rat.
Weeks went by while Gary thought he would never escape the clutches of the 5th Column. Then one day, Gary had an itch on his back, but could not reach it because of the shackles that held him. He became frustrated and then angry. He clinched his fists and shook them repeatedly. Before he knew it, his hands began to shake so fast they went right through the shackles on his wrists. It was unbelievable, he couldn't believe it! He stood up and quickly whipped his feet into a frenzy removing what was left of his chains. Before escaping the 5th Column compound for good, he made a point to teach some of the soldiers a lesson with a combination of his new found speed and his firepower! They were no match!
The experience not only made him more powerful, but made him stronger in body and mind. His bank robbing skills just went from good to utterly fantastic! He sported a new costume and to this day calls himself Thermal Stride!
Affiliations
Supergroup: Rogues Gallery
Personality
Thermal Stride has a colorful personality with a hot temper. He is pretty upbeat for a criminal. Robbing banks is one of his passions, so he enjoys what he does. He idolizes the famous bank robber, John Dillinger. Dillinger was known for robbing banks with style and Thermal fits that description as well. He likes his private time too. He spends some of it in his lab learning his other passion, chemistry. But he does have a fiery side to match his mutated fire powers. If you make him angry, the flames start flying.
Superspeed
Thermal Stride is a speedster that can run at hypersonic speed. This is as fast as a rocket. His mutant fire power allows him to easily stand the friction from the speed. He did however have his costume specifically designed to withstand the intense heat. He can also vibrate himself so fast that he can move his body through things. This may also allow him not to be hit in a fight.
Fire Blasts and Manipulation
Thermal Stride has the mutant ability to create the fuel and oxidant, and provide the energy required for ignition to create fire. In a word, Pyrokinesis. He received this ability naturally from his father. He can hurl balls of fire from his hands and can emit it from his entire body. If he desires, he can leave a trail of fire as he runs.
Random Trivia and OOC stuff
- Thermal Stride's inspirations include (but are not limited to) Professor Zoom, The Human Torch
- Thermal Stride was Fantasmo's(aka Captain Jupiter) first serious attempt at a villain speedster
- Fantasmo's first attempt at a speedster was a hero named Light-Speed.
- Thermal Stride's costume and name stemmed from a failed hero attempt by Fantasmo. The hero's name was Thermostride, but he was not a speedster. Hence why he failed, the concept didn't fit.
