Threshold
From Unofficial Handbook of the Virtue Universe
| |
| Good and Evil are mutable concepts. | |
| Threshold | |
| Player: @Kinetic Rush | |
| Origin: | Mutant |
|---|---|
| Archetype: | Dominator |
| Threat Level: | 50 |
| Personal Data | |
| Real Name: | Lance Richards |
| Known Aliases: | Threshold |
| Species: | Human |
| Age: | 27 |
| Height: | 6' 4" |
| Weight: | 213 lbs |
| Eye Color: | Crystal Blue |
| Hair Color: | Midnight Blue with Black streaks |
| Biographical Data | |
| Nationality: | American |
| Occupation: | Crimelord? Ex adult film star as Threshold. |
| Place of Birth: | Paragon City |
| Base of Operations: | Undisclosed |
| Marital Status: | We'll See *winks* |
| Known Relatives: | Jenica Richards(Sister). Richards L Richards(Father). Sharon Richards(Mother) |
| Known Powers | |
| Detection, generation and manipulation of gravitational forces. Minor Mu charms. | |
| Known Abilities | |
| Tattoo Artist. High Pain Threshold. Sketch Artist. Field Medic. Student of Mu teachings. | |
| Equipment | |
| A device implanted under his skin that seems to be able to open Ouroboros Portals. Sin Enterprise issued GravSuit. | |
| Fans of S&M and or Dark Fetish films will know Threshold in his leather and chains. Those who pay close mind to politics will know him as Sen Richards troubled son who was sent to the Zig in scandal. | |
Contents |
Character History
Early Years
Lance Richards is the second son of Republican Senator Richard L Richards of Rhode Island. There was nothing the young man wanted that was not bought for him and in time his thirst for pushing limits went beyond his father's bank account's ability to quench. Lance wanted things that money could not give him. He wanted to feel things people did not feel and see things the normal world did not offer.
Bloodsports, Man Hunting, Deviant Personal Acts he tried them all and each time he wanted more.
Unable to control himself no matter how much he was scolded by his father Lance was cut off from his Father's funds. Sinking into the underworld he went from twisted nightmare to hellish fantasy. In the throws of passion Lance's powers awakened. During the filming a his 19th "special" film his co-star died before she was supposed to. This landed him in The Zig.
That is the short story, the story most know.
Hereditary Madness and Mutations. Incest. Mental domination by his father. Betrayal by nearly every woman he has ever loved. Death. Rebirth. ...all the murders.
That makes up the bulk of his real history. Maybe one day you will ask him about it.
Recent Events
Angels to some Demons to others
Appearance
Tapestry
Threshold's body is covered in a good number of scars and some of the best body art in the world. Tattoos, brands, piercings, wounds and scarification. Collected over the course of years each one has a story.
Right side of neck: Inhuman multi-fanged bite wound. It radiates a very weak infernal taint. Left side of neck: Vampire bite scar.
Right shoulder: Nude blond Angel with a garrote around her neck. She has lashes all over her body which appears to be nailed to his shoulder.
Mid and upper right arm: Twin pair of tattooed bald Angels. Both are bound by razor wire and kneeling in a pool of their blood.
(More to Come)
Personality and Reputation
Goals & Motivations
Powers and Abilities
Powers
Gravity Manipulation
The detection, generation and manipulation of gravitational forces is the core of all that he does. The ability seems to come natural to him and it's use and development as instinct and reflexive reaction. While this does give Threshold an edge it is also a slight curse due to the fact that extremely intense emotional states can cause his abilities to do the unexpected as well as the down right dangerous and bizarre. One of the basic laws of the Universe, Gravity has a claim over all mass. There are no known mass in the universe that does not have a gravitational charge. Another little known fact is that gravity has no range limit to it's reach. An object light years away will still exert it's pull on another object here. Stronger, nearer and or more plentiful fields jut negate it's effect. It is when you push gravity to the upper limits truly magical things happen.
Wormholes: These are tunnels in the geometry of space and time, connecting otherwise distant or completely disconnected regions of the Universe. In fact, there have been two explosions in two almost unrelated subjects. One is macroscopic wormholes, the kind that science fiction writers or sufficiently advanced civilizations might use for space travel across cosmic distances. The other is microscopic wormholes, on a scale 20 orders of magnitude smaller than an atomic nucleus. At this scale, space and time should obey the rules of quantum physics rather than classical laws. Again the fact that Threshold's use of his powers are said to be instinctual and his rejection of study leaves us no real proof of his powers mechanics. According to him he is proof of and and an example of the micro wormhole. Somehow he is collapsed down by a powerful localized singularity within himself. And in his words "Shot through the Quantum Foam". Quantum foam, also referred to as spacetime foam, is a concept in quantum mechanics, devised by John Wheeler in 1955. The foam is a qualitative description of the turbulence that the phenomenon creates at extremely small distances of the order of the Planck length. At such small scales of time and space the uncertainty principle allows particles and energy to briefly come into existence, and then annihilate, without violating conservation laws. As the scale of time and space being discussed shrinks, the energy of the virtual particles increases. Since energy curves spacetime according to Einstein's theory of general relativity, this suggests that at sufficiently small scales the energy of the fluctuations would be large enough to cause significant departures from the smooth spacetime seen at larger scales, giving spacetime a "foamy" character. However, without a theory of quantum gravity it is impossible to be certain what spacetime would look like at these scales, since it is thought that existing theories would no longer give accurate predictions in this domain.
The speed in which this happens and then he is reconstructed is said to be instantaneous. How this happens is of great interest to many researchers. Ideas vary from reconstruction from loose atoms to the less popular and controversial idea that objects are Quantum duplicates of originals and the original is obliterated or switched on transport.
In any case Threshold can summon up objects and people from various locations and hurl them from the mouth of the Wormhole. His control is based on vision and or detection. He is also capable of opening what he calls WyldOnes. This type of Wormhole opens in random locations and exits where every Threshold intends. To spite the seemingly random and blind nature of WyldOnes they always seem to gather an object for hurling. This was the first hint that some sort of outside guiding entity or a higher level of consciousness from Threshold himself may be at play. The second was The Singularity.
Attraction/Repulsion: His control over gravity allows him to increase or decrease it's hold on objects. This he uses to many effects and is in most cases his primary form of attack as well as defense. Threshold understand that every object pulls on every other object. His control on said forces allows him to increase, decrease and in some cases even seemingly reverse the effect but this is unproven. From making Titan class powered Armor shoot up twenty feet in the air to crushing men under their own increased weight. From repelling 500 pound demons away from him to calling a glass of water into his hand he seems to enjoy using his abilities as much as his body to do day to day tasks. As with all of his abilities this seems as much a matter of instinct as training.
Gravitational Awareness: Through an unknown process Threshold appears to be able to sense the gravitational fields of the objects around him. His level of detection varies on his level of concentration in other words if he is not actively trying to feel the fields around him he can not feel them at all. The range of this detection is unknown at this time but it appears to be limited to around 30 to 40 feet. His perceptions do not include details such as colors or shapes or temperature but speed, direction, mass density and of course weight is perceived in great detail. This also allows him to detect artificial and natural gravimetric forces and things like wormholes that have an origin or effect on gravity.
The Singularity: A gravitational singularity (sometimes spacetime singularity) is, approximately, a place where quantities which are used to measure the gravitational field become infinite. Such quantities include the curvature of spacetime or the density of matter. More accurately, a spacetime with a singularity contains geodesics which cannot be completed in a smooth manner. The limit of such a geodesic is the singularity.
The two most important types of spacetime singularities are curvature singularities and conical singularities. Singularities can also be divided according to whether they are covered by an event horizon or not (naked singularities). According to general relativity the initial state of the universe, at the beginning of the Big Bang, was a singularity, or single point. Another type of singularity predicted by general relativity is inside a black hole: any star collapsing beyond a certain point would form a black hole, inside which a singularity (covered by an event horizon) would be formed, as all the matter would flow into a certain point (or a circular line, if the black hole is rotating). These singularities are curvature singularities.
This..is..not what is created by Threshold. It has been said by him that he awoke one night after a drug fueled orgy and found this thing floating over his bed. The thing he calls The Singularity shows signs of intellect and to an extent, cruelty. It's abilities and it's very make up is gravitational in nature and it also seems to have a connection and influence over kinetic reactions. The constant hums and color shifts of The Singularity has been known to calm Threshold, he has also been seen talking to it.
Energy Generation
To date none are known to have studied Threshold closely or deeply enough to understand the source of the unknown energy he seems to generate and project. His nearly instinctual applications of his powers have proved deadly enough, if he were to truly understand them and use them to his full potential then he could become an even more dangerous entity than he is now. Thankfully for most he has a lack of trust in people and guards his secrets closely. He will not submit to anyone's testing and none have shown an interest in understanding the source of his ability to control and emit the energy source. What is known or has been guessed at is a list of abilities:
Energy Projections: He can release blasts of focused energy in pulses as well as streams for varied effects and damage. A long range intense beam to snipe far targets to a scattered wave that has been known to blow back a fully armored Crab Spider over 600 feet.
Overload: At some point in time Threshold picked up the idea to flood himself with this energy giving him a sort of power boost or super charge. The act seems painful but this does not stop Threshold from doing it. It's guessed at that his cells are charged with this energy and is used to fuel all the normal actions of his body, including the use of his abilities. The state wears on him and he has complained of being hungry afterwards. It should be noted that he has been known to discharge energy at odd times but mostly it tends to either run up and down his arms or leak from his eyes.
Energy Crush: One of the more interesting talents of Threshold is his ability to unlock and or learn his own inner ability by watching others with a similar ability. He studies a subject and then reasons out the ability in himself, this is a mix of instincts and mental awareness granted from his unique mind state. While working closely with Leaf Spring he was impressed with her ability to move from ranged to close combat and be just as deadly. AT that point in time he himself never wanted to touch or be touched by his foe's bodies. Seeing them as unclean and unworthy but watching her changed his mind and peaked his arousal. The thought of flowing from ranged to close in a constant dance and flux of tactics appealed to him. Over and over he watched her work on their outing together until he was able to duplicate her ability. Flooding his lower arms and fists with energy he creates a charged field of highly unstable charge particles. Pushing them towards a sort of critical mass he transfers the power of the explosion to the target, a sort of concussive blast at close range. As a side note this study had the pleasant side effect of him knowing in great detail the subtle nuances and minute details of Leaf Spring's body movements.
Skills
Artist
Lance Richards is a talented artist. He has a gift for both Sketch and Tattooing. While he can paint, carve and even animate with an impressive amount of skill his true calling is Tattooing and Drawing. Right handed he has taught himself to work with his left hand nearly as well with a pen or needle. He can envision a thing in his mind and transfer it to paper or skin, any artist could tell you how hard it can be to make ones vision into reality. To spite being so talented with the Needle, Threshold never sells his skills but tends to work his craft on them as a gift, requested or not. He sees this as a special ritual of some sort, giving birth to a work of art. It is why many of his past victims were also found with Tatts or in most cases ritual scarification on their skin.
High Pain Threshold
His namesake. Lance Richards has had his mind and body conditioned to absorb large amounts of pain. The mental impulses he gets from the mix of agony and pleasure has blurred the line in his mind. His state of mind, his training as well as his mental conditioning at the hands of Po have all come together to create a state of mind that does not ignore but embraces the agony he feels.
It should be pointed out again that Threshold does not ignore pain or does not feel it. He embraces it and lets it as he says, pass through him. Threshold tends not to hold back screams when in intense pain but screams out louder than need be or in some cases has been known to shout songs, laugh loudly or even cheer. His time studying with Po has unlocked something in him akin to a form of self hypnosis. In this state he ignores the signals that tells his mind that his body is in danger and pushes on with the actions that call into play that very signal.
Medical
Battlefield medicine, sometimes termed combat casualty care, is the treatment of soldiers in or near an area of combat. This is the style of medical training he has. Threshold has been heard quoting, "You have to know how to put a thing together in order to take it apart properly.". Again it is Po's teachings seen at fault here. Threshold's Medical training allows him to keep victims alive for longer than normal which allows for further torture or interrogation. A very advanced MediComp borrowed from The Wraith Spiders aids him in his treatments. The knowledge of anatomy and nerve clusters also gives him another edge in his practice of inflicting pain.
Strong Willed
Insanity, arrogance and a very strong mind has given Threshold a strong will. He has shown the ability to fight forms of mind control though not mental assaults. His mind seems to teeter on the edge of breaking all the time but he never seems to break... for long. Manipulation have failed time and time again though when it does work he has found himself the path to freedom each time. Threshold is the type of man that when he decides not to do something it is hard to move him from that stance. When he has become fed up with a situation it is hard to stop him from moving out of it like a juggernaut.
Weaknesses
His strong resistance to physical and mental torment does nothing to protect him from emotional abuse or psionic attacks. While indeed his strong will does help him try to resist mind control type of abilities he has little defense verses direct mental assaults and attacks.
Threshold is a being of extremes. There are very few people he has light feelings about. They tend to fall into two groups, people he feels a strong tie to and people he would like to see burn. Leaving little room for an in between has made him more than a little paranoid and unreasonable in most social situations. Time and very bad choices in the people he has allowed "in" in the past has created a very strong "With me or Against me" mindset that damages most potential alliances and relationships but plays the dual role of weeding out any but the most loyal of friends and allies. Thus this also plays into him being very trusting and blindly loyal to people he views as friends.
Being the cunning and deceptive man he is Lance Richards took joy in toying with his doctors but two of them came to the conclusion that he may be a sufferer of Algolagnia. Algolagnia is not a paraphilia as defined by conventional medical literature. While many people, especially those unfamiliar with paraphilias (specifically, physical masochism) and algolagnia, tend to conflate the two as equivalent, this is in error. Paraphilias by definition include mental urges where the activity must be the sole means of sexual gratification for a period of six months. Whereas in algolagnia typical pleasure responses are still sought while seeking pain for pleasure might be avoided or be an addiction. In the case of masochism there is a psychological desire for pain and humiliation which may result in sexual arousal. On the other hand algolagnia is a physiological reaction to pain that doesn't involve desire or psychological aspects directly. In other words a person with algolagnia enjoys the pain but might wish they didn't, and a masochist wishes for the pain but might not actually be wired to enjoy it. If this is true or not still remains to be seen and it may be complicated by his being both. In either case like an addict his rational mind can often be clouded by thoughts of or offers of sexual violence or power plays. While not a slave of the urges they can be waved under his nose to lead him into conflict with himself.
Paraphernalia
Weapons
For years Lance has had an affinity with blades. Knives mostly large and small. While he has a strong aversion to touching people in nonsexual ways he does like the up close and personal feel of the knife. It is rarely if ever used in combat, for him the blade is an artist's tool more than a weapon. It's use mainly to terrify and to carve works of his so called art. For threshold the blade comes into play only once the prey is already defeated. He had kept a razor sharp custom made knife with a 11 inch hooked blade. It was the first blade he had ever killed a woman with and he kept it for years. As a gift to Mood Music is bestowed the blade on her as she began to study under him. By his own code of conduct he did not dream of asking for or taking it back when she failed him. He simply took it as punishment for his own trusting nature and a lesson for having an attachment so strong to an inanimate object and a young girl so easy to turn.
Threshold has been seen carrying a new knife with a similar hook blade. The craftsmanship is very advanced and a bit over fancy hinting to a female crafter.
Equipment
Affiliations
Devil's Night Syndicate
No Snitching.
The Ivory Tower
His connection to this shadow organization is a matter of open record to anyone who bothers to ask him or even knows who the hell they are or used to be. One of the few members of the House of Fools, he fit right into the house of madmen and twisted genius. This was his first gathering of so called villains he joined forces with but in the end it was also the first of many that he would fall out of favor with or more to the point would fall out of favor with him. An internal power struggle placed a bad taste in his mouth not due to the struggle itself but for the seeming lack of victor and lack of want for victory of either side. The Tower did leave a lasting impression on him and many of the people he has worked with since he held up to the image of this long lost Tower.
Wraith Spiders
Threshold has little to say of The Spiders and records of them are sketchy at best. Only a few hints and phrases paints them.
"The Spiders? Hah... I was their best kept secret. Kept mostly from them....shit I did get this nice armor out of the deal.".
"Well, if it was not for them I would never have cared who Calisto Blair was.".
"Yeah I was kind of one once in a who the fuck is that guy sort of way. Not a horrid bunch I assume and the best bit of demon pussy I ever had.".
"I had no idea about being a soldier and I still don't but for what it's worth they were die hard Arachnos long before all them other copy cats sprung out of the fucking wood work. Huh? Fuck no I'd never go back to that. I like having a face and not being ignored. Just not my scene but their little white haired leader. Fucking hot.....what? She was not the leader? Well who the fuck was!? Hahah I need to pay more mind to who signed the checks.".
Sin Enterprises
A departure from his normal ways Lance joined this company to spite his dislike for the corporate world. While walking through a back alley in St Martial and cleaning off his knife he heard a ad for the company. The voice of Angela Sin caught his interest and put him in the mood for more fun. When he spoke with the hiring staff he was more so interested in their level of high science and the fact that gravitational fields were an area of study of Angela Sin. At this time in his life he did have a want to explore and learn even more about his abilities. Going in for his interview he took great pleasure in filling in the personal parts of the application being sure not to lie about anything. Shockingly he was called back for a face to face. His amusement shifted to a glimmer of respect for the company. Then he met his Draconic, Man eating once beast that interviewed him and declared Threshold a Monster. This blatant hypocrisy would foreshadow his future there. The constant worries of the interviewer was answered by Lance just smiling and telling him "I don't shit where I eat.". Hired, Lance spent most of his time alone and hard at work both obeying his own commitment to not rape or murder any member of the company and at the same time not fall into the domesticated kitten role many had taken there. In time Lance had met all the people he felt he wanted to and gained the allies he needed to. There was nothing left for the company to give him and nothing more they wanted from him. He left one night leaving every check they ever paid him uncashed and waiting in a safe box. He has no dealings with them or anyone with connections to them he knows about.
Leather and Lace Detective Agency
After a night of drinking and soft substance abuse Lance sat in a tree thinking about his choices of late and that's when he met the middle eastern figure head of the Leather and Lace Detective Agency. He saw right through her attempts to manipulate him and she in turn enjoyed the fact that he was not going to be a slave to what was between her legs. This shifted the conversation to real plans and real goals. Allowed to hear her ideas made him smile, she was a truly vile being and saw nothing wrong with the use and abuse of her so called allies. He signed right up. Details are hazy on why he left but he would say that even he had limits to what he'd do to a so called friend. Never really the gumshoe type his role as a Director was to see to the day to day running of the place and his more important to him role of Public Relations Manager to their coalition was a thrill. Through manipulation and mostly charisma he held a few of the big conflicts in check. Then he vanished. When he came back on the scene it all laid in shambles, his arrogance credits him not being there to the failure of the union. Not too long afterward he left the company along with two other Directors to move on to a joint project. For a short time he had rekindled a relationship with the "GummyShoes" as he puts it but time proved he had no true loyalty to them or their fickle leadership. When all was said and done he rejected contact with them and was glad to see them and two unwanted elements from his own camp go away.
"A Crown of Thorns" production company
A small but very popular adult film company once owned by a Mr Blaze. This figure is only a paper trail and none have gone on record claiming to have seen him. Lance Richards joined the company in his late teens as an actor. His looks and capacity for cruelty shot him and his films to the top of the charts. It should be pointed out that while A Crown of Thorns is said to be one of the most "Dark" of the underground BDsM film companies. His personae as Threshold went over very well with the fans and his looks brought over a large female fan base to spite the subject matter. His passion for acting and the fact that he was not acting also got him noticed by Mr Blaze.
The pair worked closely to write darker and more on the edge films. Levels of brutality as well as profits went up. In a two year period of time Threshold was a director and casting agent but he never stopped acting. In his second year all traces of Mr Blaze end abruptly with Lance the new owner of the company. Under his direction A Crown of Thorns productions went even deeper underground and into the realm of quasi legal films. An influx of new Actors as well as cutting edge styles of lighting and sound. He was not afraid to bring the more perverse and objectionable actions to a wider audience. Behind the scene he surrounded himself with a small cult of like minded actors that pushed the envelope when it came to the law. Of course he could not walk this fine line for long. Extremely loyal and wealthy fans began to ask for private films, special requests and private shows. Delving deeper into his own insanity and explorations he agreed to film a murder during a movie. During one such film his powers emerged for the first time killing the woman that was captured for the film. Stunned by the display and overwhelmed by the euphoria of the new experience he simply sat in the gore as the PPD raided the location. This is the crime that he was convicted of and sent to The Zig for.
Friends & Allies
Through the years Threshold has gathered a mix bag of friends and allies. Due to his charisma as well as his insanity many have jumped from friend to foe and then back again. His collection of allies are from all over the moral spectrum and have contact with him for many different reasons. Oddly this same gathering of friends as well as foes have left their prints on his mind adding to who he was, who he is and most of all who he will become.
Bonglung
Bonglung was in Threshold's words, "A Fucking Master of the art of The Heist.". His origin and his past is unknown to Threshold but what is known is he appeared to be some form of living plant. A man made up of leaves and other plant matter. The type of matter could be guessed at as he seemed to smoke parts of his own body and become high from it. Even Threshold could not recall ever seeing the being not high or in the act of getting high. The two met when Threshold who had recently split from The Ivory Tower was wandering around the streets. The vastly more powerful and more experienced Bonglung drove up alongside Threshold. "You, lets makes some money Man.", was all the plant-man said and with a grin and a shrug Threshold got into the van. The days become months as the pair hit every bank in Paragon as well as assets of both The Family and Arachnos. No faction was safe from the pair. Threshold's infinite capacity for cruelty and mayhem was a perfect fit for Bonglung's clinical strikes and clockwork timings. The pair became more wealthy and Threshold under Bong's tutelage became more powerful and cunning.
It is Bonglung's connections in the under market and expansive smuggling operations that allows Threshold to move to and from Paragon with a bit more ease than most Villains. It also laid the ground work for taking A Crown of Thorns Productions international. One night Bonglung vanished without a trace and no amount of searching or brutal questioning by Threshold has turned up any information into Bong's disappearance.
Mood Music
After the silent break down he suffered Threshold's mind was adrift in an auto response to heal himself and reconstruct what had shattered during his dealings with Joie. It was during this time that Threshold had delved into acts of self mutilation and mental stress tests that were unlike anything he had engaged in since his years under Po. It was during this time he came across the girl known as Mood Music. He can not or will not recall how and when he met her but she was also a member of Commedia dell'Arte. She appeared to be a bright and eager young girl eager to learn and full of wonder. This appealed to Threshold and fell in line with his needs. Through teaching and shaping this female he could relearn the lessons he himself seemed to lose touch with. Her beauty and sexuality also called to him to spite the fact that she was only seventeen years old. This too was a test for him as well as another "Rack" to break and then strengthen his mind on. Taming his lust and being in constant contact with the object of it was the type of self inflicted agony he thrived on. Threshold did not expect to actually care for the girl.
The more time he spent with her the more he really sought to teach her everything he knew, not for himself but he saw her as worthy of his Legacy. Their shared common interests as well as her talent with Tattooing and Scarification only made his respect for her and his attraction grow. Sticking to his guns he kept his relation with her nonsexual to spite riding the line more closely than he had ever in his life. The acts of self control sent the young woman mixed signals which she dealt with by paying Thresh little to no mind at times. As time past her youth and his unstable and hair-trigger mentality began to break down their relationship. Muse, as she rather be called, had taking to a mercenary as her "other" teacher. Her care free and fleeting nature struck Threshold as uncommitted and flakey. His near religious connections to his arts left no room for anything but complete commitment and loyalty to The Path. His utter disregard for the character and beliefs of the Merc lead him to view the man as a corrupter a taint that lessened the once perfect view he had of her. Without argument or harsh feelings the pair simply went their separate ways. This left yet another fracture within him and they seemed to come back to back at them times. To spite the less than happy ending to the pair she reached out to him after a falling out with a young man she was dating. Distressed she called out to him and he sought her to calm and soothe her. In an odd way it gave him closure and allowed Mood Music to escape the disgust, pity or scorn he holds so many others in once he no longer has a use for them. Now she simply is... no.. now she simply was. Just an echo.
None the less his break with Commedia dell'Arte counts her as a casualty. He has no contact with any of them anymore.
Lithium Nocturne
One half of The Nocturne Duet.
Threshold's relationship with Lithium is one of if not the most complex one he has ever had with a person. One of his most guarded and shrouded ones as well. Few bother to ask him directly about Lithium close friends or foes and he tends to reply to both in the same way. "Elle is an Angel, she saved my life.". He will go no further but if anyone knows more it would be Calisto Blair who he seems to tell everything or Leaf Spring from who he hides nothing.
Lithium also seems to play her cards on him very closely not going into great detail on their relationship or throwing up her well known wit as a barrier and deflecting questions. Around other people the pair nearly ignore one another aside from a off comment here or there. Alone the two will sit for hours and hours talking with or to each other. He seems relaxed around her and she with him, their proximity almost always extremely close and in most cases would spread the usual inter office rumors about his sexploits that seem to run rampant in the halls of Sin Enterprises. Two things tend to keep this from happening. The first is the fact that he has never been seen to be flirtatious or sexual with Lithium in any way shape or form. Even when not interested in a female it is as if it's in his make up to do so out of habit. The other is his reaction the very few times anything like that is implied. Threshold seems to sway from enjoying the scorn many in SinEnt have for him joking and laughing about it to being annoyed to the point of ignoring even direct attempts to speak to him but his reactions are almost always calm and flavored with mockery. This is not the case when accused of anything inappropriate with Lithium. Threshold because verbally abusive and cruel. His sharp wit used not like a razor but a saw to drive the other person into the ground. He shouts and curses, calling on all of his knowledge of the person to attack their character and strike low blows. He is relentless with his target seeming to feed off his own cruelty until only Lithium herself has to step in to make him stop in an instant.
The exact nature of the relationship can not be truly known yet but what is known is that he is her teacher. Teacher of what? According to Threshold he is teaching The Path and she is reminding him of it. The dynamic is symbiotic between the pair. Her great thirst for his knowledge directly feeds his hunger to pass something on to someone worthy. The bond he feels for her is surprising after his dealings with Mood Music. When that teacher, student relationship went sour Lithium appeared not just willing to learn but asking to. Wanting to. The distrustful Threshold was surprised at every turn at her quick mind and her limitless ability to not just absorb his lessons but refine them into her own style at the very same time. Unlike most people who come to learn from another, she challenges him rather often and makes her own judgments on his weaknesses and failures. Mist of the time with no small measure of cruelty. He loves her for it. This has elevated her in his mind to not just worthy to learn from him but to teach him as well. She is his Hier and worthy of complete and unflinching loyalty. As stated Threshold is not liked by many of his co-workers, many of which take delight in speaking of him out of earshot to others. The things Lithium were told only urged her to seek Lance out for her own reasons and ask him directly if he would teach The Nocturne Duet. In front of many others something complicated played out between the two as verbal hints and mental games were played back and forth for the better part of an hour hidden under layers of Q&A and his common negative banter with the males in the females who disliked him in the room. Lance was testing her and she was testing him, it seems both past and he swore he would give over all he knew for as long as she was worthy, the last part thrown in after recalling how bad things with Mood Music turned out.
To date Lithium who he calls with great affection Elle (L), is one of the closest people to him. It seems to go both ways as she has been known to defend him in subtle ways though no place near the heated loyalty shown to him by Calisto Blair that won her so much respect from him but in her own way she is very plain in her dislike of the clucking many do behind closed doors. She is also known to give him advice that he heeds as if handed down from the wisest of sages and often her words echo out of his mouth when he feels he is behaving in ways she might not approve of, she has done the same. All of this is just barely the surface of the interaction the pair have and they guard their quiet times jealously not sharing the exploits with wondering minds. A complex system of looks, catch phrases and hidden word puzzles haze cropped up when they are forced to speak about things around other people. There is also a level of inter office traffic in the form of letters delivered one way from Lithium to Lance, he never sends one back but he also grins and quickly seeks her out after getting one.
Calisto Blair
She is a warrior, cold hearted and without any emotion. She cares about nothing but them dead things she carries around with her. Them pets. She has deep scars and is a time bomb waiting to go off.
This...is what you would say about the woman if you did not get to know her. This is what you would say about her if you were a short sighted fool. Lance Richards is many things, many bad things but rarely is he a fool. His first encounter with Calisto Blair was during his time in The Wraith Spiders. He was a fresh recruit and found the Spiders distant as well as a bit calm and restrictive. Then in walks a woman in a full fury. Yelling and screaming at another Spider about disrespect and something else buried under a stream of venom filled curses. Threshold smiled and watched it unfold then she stormed out passed him as he waved hello.
Time past and now employed by Sin Enterprises for a few weeks and in walks the very same woman. The fiery woman was controlled and contained. She was the picture of discipline and no traces of the hot head remained. It was like ringing the dinner bell for Threshold. He felt it was his duty to unlock her, to free her from the denial of rage. He felt it was his place to help her become beautiful in her fury. He also wondered at the untaped sexual energy such a woman stored.
The pair were seen often by members and employees of SinEnt sitting alone and saying nothing or in more cases with Threshold being insulted by her and he grinning and making flirtatious remarks. Other times with the pair batting back and forth barbed remarks. Then something shifted. None seem to know what but "No Spiders" became a catch phrase between the two that would make them smile and go back to just being silent in each others presence. One day the pair left for a mission and when they returned most noticed a larger change in the pair. They were the best of friends. They would sit alone for long hours talking and then go silent when anyone else would enter the room. Blair would defend even the slightest slander against him if he was or was not there. He would treat her with silent respect getting her anything she even seemed to want or need. Beers, water or food without saying a word and ignoring any thanks. There is very little known of what caused this on either side but somehow this quiet woman has gained his trust and loyalty. Some how this maniacal man has gained her trust and loyalty.
Leaf Spring
Jenica Richards
Synge Cabiri
Synge is an enigma to Threshold. A male that not only does not have a childish or innocent type of personality for Lance to latch on to protect or guide but in fact a male that has some of the surface personality traits of Lance himself in Lance's opinion. His strong distrust of males causes him to behave in most cases as distant from them and at the slightest urging down right hostile. Synge not only did not seem to urge Lance to violence he seemed not to give a shit about Lance either way. The connecting factor, the Demoness Cynder Cole. An ally of both men Lance noticed that her presence did not change Synge's personality, did not cause him to behave like a "dick" or shut down all together. This Lance saw as strength and marked Synge as a near equal in his mind. As time past Cynder faded from the picture and the two worked together on a few more jobs. Without fail Lance was impressed more and more with the man's mastery of his abilities and most of all his utter seeming contempt for the sheep of the world, people who followed the crowd and false alpha males.
While the pair never became close friends, with so much in common they should have. Synge is by far the one male he feels he has the most in common with on the planet. Months have been known to pass with neither trying to reach the other but when they meet by chance it is as if little to no time has passed, with them quickly trading insults and laughter then turning their wit on the people around them. It is at this point in time that females dominate their attentions and after a bit they fade in their own directions rarely with anything more than a smile and nod with "Til again brother." thrown in.
Smilee
The Goliath known as Smilee was once very dear to Threshold and one of the key figures he had latched on to in his time on the Isles. The figurative "innocence" of Smilee matches with the large man's utter destructive power was in many ways a metaphor for himself in Lance's mind. So much raw power, such a nearly unstoppable body a true engine of destruction made perfect for it's function. Locked in it's core an innocent child. A Lost Boy that has never grown up. In the mind of Lance Richards this made them brothers. He saw it as a bond between the two. His best friend and little brother that he needed to protect not from the pains of the world but from the ones of the mind. Like himself he sees Smilee beyond the hurts of the world but his mind and emotions were always in danger. Lance has it in his head that he is tainted, spoiled by the things he has done and has had done to himself but Smilee was a symbol for what could have still be fresh and clean in himself. This caused Lance to behave in ways around Smilee that he did not around other people and treat him better than he treated any males. Around Smilee Lance would curb his violent reactions as well as avoid his sexual flirtations around females. He never spoke of the brutal things he did to people and most of all he avoided all talk of his adult film studio. Once when asked about what kinds of films he made Smilee got it in his head that Lance made cartoons. Unwilling to correct his large friend Smilee went on to ask Lance to show him one. To date, Babi-Bloo in "The Summer Sword" is the only child safe and animated film under "A Crown of Thorns" productions.
A Mutable Concept
Mutable Concepts. Friend and Foe. Love and Hate. Good and Evil. Right and Wrong. Threshold and Lance.
So many sides and so many coins, Threshold has left his mark on everyone he has ever met. Some view him as a kind friend and misunderstood man. Some view him as an unreasonable and temperamental child. There are very few people who view him quite the same way. There are even less that can agree who knows him the best. Maybe the answer is not one that anyone can ever know for sure but none the less what you know of him may help others down the road. Feel free to share your own take on him below. Just keep it IC (In Character).
A Sin Enterprises Investigator Speaks
From an evaluation and intelligence report to Angela Sin.
To spite his animalistic acts most who meet Mr Richards seem to find him either charming or interesting. His personality seems to shift to fit the person he is talking to. He can be rather friendly and out going and a dedicated team player as long as he is not bored, which he can get quickly. His ability to seem rather normal and charming makes some think he may have MPD but we are sure this is not the case. He is just a damn good actor or a more complex man than we know. He has been seen speaking freely with a young Hero name of Jumpspark. Seems he is trying to shape her into a Hero "Who can give me a run for my money" as he put it. The young tomboy seems to enjoy trading quips with Lance and upsetting him. Oddly Lance seems to enjoy it as well going from anger to laughter in a word or three. He told her he intends to take his time when he comes for her.
We have come across a small collection of videos stamped "Crown of Thorns" productions. Typical Dom/sub bondage trash for the most part though fans of the films swear by it and claim it's revolutionary, this agent was not impressed. It seems Crown of Thorns is owned by Richards and he does all the work himself. For the right amount of money and the right connections he does what he calls "Request" and they are exactly that. He will do what is asked and film it. The Young Hero "Day Lite" who went missing three months ago is now able to be pronounced dead. There is enough evidence in his films to put him away for all time but his special little movies are only contracted out to people who have or want little dealings with police types.
It has to be stated that while his crimes seem to have a sexual drive we feel that this is not the case. They are more of a power play for him. In fact he seems to care very little about social dating of any sort. He has been seen flirting heavily with a woman and then when she bites the hook he leaves or never speaks to them again. Bar ladies who come on strong to him are flat out sent away. This agent feels that if it was a social taboo to tickle people he would tickle them to death and never even bother with his M.O.
My Suggestion. Not only should we not take on this man. We should send a team to eliminate him.
Po Speaks
What can I say about the boy? He is a paradox, my greatest creation and the biggest let down in my life. I watch him day in and day out and in them days I go from wanting to kill him to wanting to weep with pride. None of this really surprises me you understand. It's evolution you see? He must, as all children, rebel against his father figure. He has to try to flex his wings, test his claws so to speak. While it does vex me and often, I know that every step he takes away from me, brings him closer to me. Friends betray. Lovers betray. Family betrays. I stay the only truth in his life. The only constant. In time all of them will shatter all that is Lance Richards then I will have what's left, Threshold. A refined and pure form of life. My perfect creation.
Then his training will truly begin.
