[hider=Viper] Name: Jasper Maxwell Ford Age: 21 Alias: Viper Gender: Male Previous City of Operation: Los Angeles, California Appearance: Stands at 6'0 with a semi muscular build, mostly in his upper body. His hair is black and spiked up around the back of his head with a single green streak going down the middle. His eyes are that of a serpent's, light green with a slit iris. He usually wears a pair of aluminium frame sunglasses at all times. He usually wears a white tee shirt with a black collar and lining around the hem and sleeves, a black metal watch on his right wrist and a white and black checkered pattern band on his left wrist. Below he wears dark blue jeans with a brown belt complete with silver buckle and a chain connected to his belt which is usually attached to his wallet. Below he wears red and white sneakers with a thunderbolt symbol on the outsides. In colder weather he dons a dark green jacket with white sleeves and a serpent eye image on the back. Powers: Jasper's powers are based on being able to shift parts of his body into more reptillian versions of them which can vary but usually amount to a single whole being. - Bone forearm blades: Viper's standard method of attack, similar to how fangs retract into a serpent's mouth, a pair of forearm length sharp bone blades can retract and extend from Viper's forearms. They are sharp enough to damage metal and can cause serious injury is used against flesh. - Venom sacs: A space beside Viper's lungs is replaced by a pair of venom sacs, allowing him to exhale a cloud of poison at his opponents. This poison can vary from a paralytic poison to stun those who inhale it or a more dangerous substance that can kill a victim within a day if an antidote is not administered. - Retractable fangs: Inside Viper's mouth a pair of fangs lie in wait that can be used to bite enemies and inject them with poison. Like his venom sacs, this can range from a paralytic to a more fatal concoction. - Hardened scales: When fully transformed, Viper's body becomes encased in rock hard scales that act as a perfect set of armour. The scales are tough enough to withstand gunfire and can also allow him to survive extreme heat. - Serpent lower half: When fully transformed, Viper's lower half becomes akin to that of a naga from mythology. When shifted this way, Viper can use the serpentine tail to both move faster and fling himself akin to how a serpent flies, reaching up to 23 kph. This lower tail can also be used to ensnare victims and crush them with increased force. - Forked tongue: Like most snakes, Viper can use his forked tongue to smell and detect vibrations, allowing him to track criminals and suspicious smells. - Infrared vision: Like most snakes, Viper's eyes are naturally equipped with an infrared vision he can use at night. This is the one power he can use without having to transform his body, due to his eyes being stuck as serpent's. Abilities/Skills: - Physically fit: Whilst not particularly athletic, Jasper is in good shape and is a decent enough runner so he won't tire particularly easy and he can hold his own in a fight without using his powers. - Decent memory: Having once worked as a coffee barista, Jasper knows how to memorize multiple orders at once and so can remember a lot of information at once so long as he lists it in his head. - Sociable and streetwise: Thanks to his job, Jasper knows how to be sociable and is decent at getting information from people on the streets. Equipment: - Serpent's Eye Medallion: When Jasper is in human form, this medallion is sunken into his skin and invisible. When he is transformed, the medallion shows itself, fused into his neck and chest. It is theorised that if it were ever removed, Jasper would die and he has not managed to remove it himself yet. - Antidote pouch: Usually kept at his belt, Jasper keeps a small collection of antidotes for the various poisons Viper can hit victims with. This is in case he needs to save someone he bit or if his poison hit a civillian. Personality: Jasper is generally very easy going and laid back. He's a very sociable guy and is prone to chit chat about unimportant topics. He also has a sense of humour, both about himself and those around him. He can take a joke about himself quite often. He has something of an ego, mostly regarding his appearance and particularly his hair. Due to his easygoing nature, Jasper is also somewhat lazy and often prefers to pass over tasks to others. Deep down, Jasper has a deep seated fear of his split between his human side and the new reptilian form that has been created thanks to the medallion. He fears that he will never truly be a whole being, either human or reptile and deeply fears being rejected by other human beings for his differences. Though he never lets this show and keeps up his easygoing facade. History: Jasper was raised in California to a pair of rich parents, his father a film director and his mother a casting agent for an up and coming young actor. Money was never an issue during his childhood and thus he was able to live a life of luxury, spoiled rotten with possessions and friends as they all flocked to his wealth and overly sized house. His childhood, whilst it lacked a lot of parental guidance, was a happy one as he coasted his way through life on a wave of wealth and fame. Then came the day that his life started to cave away from beneath him. His father became a laughing stock after one of his films failed to make back even a tenth of what had been spent on it and his mother was fired from her job thanks to casting her up and coming actor in said film and thus ruining his career. The house and most of Jasper's possessions had to be sold gradually as time went on and his friends slowly dribbled away when they realized that Jasper was actually pretty obnoxious once you got past his wealth. Eventually came the day when his parents saw how high Jasper's spending had been and decided to kick him out of the house after finishing high school. Out of spite, Jasper stole an artefact his father had bought at an auction many years ago and was taken in his parents now fired kindly maid, Arianna. Jasper was left to live in Arianna's apartment with her and started job hunting, applying what little skills he had to the world of work. It eventually landed him the pathetic job of a coffee barista and he struggled to pay his half of the rent from week to week. It didn't help all his old friends openly came in to mock how far he'd fallen in life, whilst they had moved on to higher education and jobs provided to them via nepotism. At the age of 20, Jasper was looking to sell some old junk of his to try and come up with his half of the rent that month when he came across the item he'd stolen from his father. The serpent eye medallion. Jasper had no idea the medallion had been found at an ancient Aztec temple over 50 years ago and that it had once belonged to a now long dead race of reptilian beings who had breeded underground, away from surface eyes. Casually trying it on, Jasper was suddenly imbued with its great power, his DNA warped and melded with that of the ancient serpentine race, giving him the ability to shift back and forth between each side, but always bearing some resemblance. In human form, Jasper's eyes are always reptilian. And in his fully transformed state, only Jasper's face remains human. Unable to remove the medallion, Jasper viewed his new state as a curse and was forced to don his shades to hide his eyes. However, one night when he was working the late shift, a robber arrived with gun in hand. Some instinct within him called out and he leapt in, biting the man's neck and paralyzing him with venom. Astounded, Jasper continued to test his new found abilities with the help of Arianna. Before long, he finally plucked up the courage to announce himself publicly as Viper, a super hero to uphold justice. Now, after only a year of his superhero career, he was called upon to be a part of the Argonauts. Leaving Arianna behind, he made his way to locate them and etch his name into history... and possibly find a way to end the medallion's curse upon him. Other: - He has a natural weakness against cold temperatures and climates, and thus, tends to avoid cold areas. - He enjoys some summer sports but, surprisingly enough, loathes surfing. - His lucky number is 19. - Viper's arch nemesis was known as "Snake Charmer." He has not been seen since a car pile up three months ago. [/hider] Sorry for just kinda shooting this out there, but no-one was replying to me whether this was still open or not, so eh whatever.