Strong enough in most places to resist pistol caliber rounds. Is quite difficult to cut through,
and in some places, is effectively impervious to blades wielded by human strength. Is difficult to pierce, but is possible.

His primary mutation has altered not just his skin, but also his internal structure. His bones are physically larger, and also denser than ordinary human bones can be. Making it much more difficult to break them. His muscles are denser, which while adding to his strength, but compounded with more connective tissue, makes his flesh more difficult to cut through, pierce, or puncture. Primary and secondary arteries/veins are sheathed with muscle, which can cease blood flow to stem bloodloss, and can also function, for a short period, as secondary blood pumps, should his heart fail. They don't pump as well (less flow, and less pressure), but can keep him alive long enough if he stops moving, for his heart to regenerate from some damage, or restart.

Grew up in a small, mountain town, lead a normal life. Played football as a running back, was good, not not good enough for a scholarship or anything. Learned how to work on cars with his father when he was young, and carried that with him when he went to highschool. When he was 17 however, he got into a rather horrible wreck while racing down a road. split the car in half, one of his good friends in the passenger seat died on impact when the tree took his place. Best friend in the back seat was rendered paraplegic, who was also the school's star quarterback. No one quite understood how Ira was alive, and walking. The doctors and nurses were shocked at how quickly he recovered from his injuries.

That year, they lost the championship in their league of football, and his teammates blamed him for killing the star quarterback. At first they beat the living tar out of him, and left him tied in a shed over night. They were going to free him after that...but when they returned, it was like they hadn't so much as scratched him the night before. Furious, afraid, and in disbelief, they beat him down again, and fueled by liquor and adrenaline, the tied him to the back of someone's truck, and dragged him 12 miles along a gravel road. He recovered, eventually, but his appearance was now, quite different. His skin thickened, almost scaly. He exacted revenge on the former teammates, accidentally killing one of them before disappearing.

Since he left home, Ira has lived in the shadows of the world, from living in a forest for two years, and racking up two deaths from bad mushrooms and being hit by a rockslide, to living in abandoned buildings, and struggling to find work to feed himself. A lot of his childhood notions of right and wrong have been shattered over time, but he still tries to cling to the core tenets of good vs evil, and right vs wrong. He's been forced to steal food to keep himself going. He's been forced to kill on a number of occasions from anti-mutant groups hunting him, to perhaps his worst stroke of luck of being mistaken as an ally to a thief by a superpowered do-gooder who had a very zealous streak to him.

However, it always seems like when he's at his lowest, moments before the tenets he clings to finally wither into dust; something comes and renews just a little hope in him. The most empowering, and longest lasting of which was many years ago. It started back in 1971 when he was nineteen and after the rockslide incident, he made his way our of the mountains into Redding. He began living in an abandoned miner's shack on the outskirts of town. Around this time, he didn't appear too "different" to normal people, just his skin looked thickened, like he was covered in a giant callous. He got himself a job at the local lumbermill and was doing fairly well until one night, when his house was destroyed by the collision of two men, a young Joseph Carter and the man known as Buzzsaw (no one really knew why he called himself that, he was just your typical strong guy). Buzzsaw had managed to get the drop on Joseph until Ira, awakened by two jackasses crashing into his abandoned shack, got up and cracked Buzzsaw over the head with a cast iron frying pan. Thus ending his less than illustrious criminal career.

Joseph Carter, eighteen and with the power of magnetism, and Ira Hawkins decided to team up and be the "Defenders of Redding". And truth be told, they did damned well for themselves and the young, growing city. For the next seven years, they had a tremendous run in learning how to fight, how to work together, and were even rewarded by the city for keeping their streets safe in 1976. By then, Joseph had become known as Magnetron. Ira had several nicknames spawned by the press; Leatherneck, Toughman, and finally Hyde, recalling his growing "disfigurement". Ira was able to buy a car in 1976, a Toyota Celica Liftback GT. Not an expensive car by any means, but a good looking car that worked. 1977 however, was a turning point. Redding's streets were safer than practically anywhere else. Magnetron and Hyde, the Defenders of Redding were heroes. This publicity helped to fuel Redding's population boom from the 16,000 or so when Ira arrived, to 46,000 (with the annexation of a neighboring town). Following this population, and fame....was a small band of "anti-vigilantes". A group of powered thugs who saw the end of organized crime in the future due to the success of these self-styled "Heroes".

This group had a systematic plan, that was rather well thought out. Two female members stalked the two Heroes to learn about them and their habits, and then installed themselves in their lives, quickly becoming "girlfriends". Magnetron's girl was Evelyn, and the girl who became Hyde's relationship was Cassandra. Evelyn began seeding Joseph's ears with words of honey coated lies, saying that Hyde was jealous of his popularity in the town. Truth be told, Hyde sort of was. But he also understood why; Joseph was a poster boy if there ever was one; Young, charming, good looks, able to fly and wield magnetism. He even had a sharp costume. Hyde on the other hand...well, was becoming rather ugly, his power wasn't all that flashy; many saw him as sort of a body guard to Magnetron. Cassandra meanwhile, fueled this jealousy in Ira, pointing out how many times he'd been shot, hurt, and injured while Joseph usually got out of anything without a scratch. How the public liked Joseph much more.

After the women had a few months to work, the rest of the anti-vigilantes started their smear campaign. Colouring the public's view of their heroics. Shortly after, two destructive "Villains" appeared. They stole little, but damaged a lot. In short order, nearly half of Redding began to decry the Defenders. Meanwhile, they were beginning to fall apart themselves. Everything came to a head in 1978. Joseph's ego, fueled by Evelyn came to a head. He demanded to be made Mayor of Redding. By force. Ira, after a two hour showdown that destroyed three city blocks, and several hundred thousand in assorted property damage, brought Joseph down. Hard. He had killed his first partner, and the best friend he ever had. Three minutes later, he looked up into the two dark holes of a twelve gauge shotgun.

He survived. It took a week for him to regrow the parts of his brain that were damaged, the bone structure of his skull, and all of his face. A week of sheer agony. But he survived. On the sixth day, he opened his eyes to the gasping astonishment of a little girl who was crouched on stairs that lead into the dark basement, and then disappeared. Moments later, a man, three years younger than Ira himself came downstairs. His name was Kinsley Morgan. He was a doctor and had found Ira's body in the street where the people had left him for dead. Kinsley revealed that he had a massive respect for Ira and the things he had done for Redding. Kinsley had been 18 when Ira joined up with Joseph, and started cleaning up the streets. The pair had actually saved Kinsley during an attempted robbery, where Ira had jumped into the line of the gunman's aim intended for Kinsley himself. Seeing someone jump, without hesitation into the path of bullet for a stranger, to willingly take that pain and risk of death astonished the young man. While he knew he couldn't be a super hero, he could do something for people, and went to university to become a doctor. Now here he was, a wife, a daughter, and a good practice. Saving the people the Defenders never could.

For another week, Ira stayed with Kinsley, regaining his strength as the anti-vigilantes revealed themselves to Redding. Gloating in their victory. Ira left after that week. Leaving Kinsley and his family with what remained of his tattered jersey and badge, his uniform, and a note; "You're the real Defender of Redding, Kinsley."

For twelve years, Ira remained kept himself out of the light. The only thing he kept, was his Celica. Occasional situations forcing his hand in saving someone, or being stabbed in the back by those he tried to trust. Until in 1990, he dragged back into the spot light for a brief period of time.

In twelve years, his body had changed quite a bit, most of his skin turning to the dark rusty-brown scutes, making him look lizard-like, but lacking the heavier plating and scales of his current stage in life. He found himself in Lubbock, Texas. He had found work as a graveyard shift cleaner of a local school. Hired by someone who didn't mind his outward figure. He was at a grocery store, getting some food in the early morning, when he had just gotten off work. He suddenly heard the alarm as the store had just been robbed. He was there, it seemed like a small issue that he could deal with without attracting much attention; he charged out after the thugs. Only to find the three of them laid out on the ground, bleeding from wounds caused by a man who appeared to have blades for arms. Instantly Ira was mistaken for one of the criminals, and the young "Dark Blade" went after Ira.

Ira quickly subdued the young Hero, and then ran home. Figuring he'd get groceries the next day. Dark Blade however was infuriated. He got the drop on Ira the next day, and managed to sever Ira's right arm. Ira managed to get away, and stay low for three days before he ran into a young man known as Jake Collins. Jake happened to be the Dark Blade. Instantly throwing away his secret identity to catch this "ruthless criminal", Collins went after Ira. He was enraged, having been defeated, and then having this freak escape him....he refused to let that happen a third time. Their fight lasted an hour, and left several people injured in its wake as Ira tried to lead Collins away from people. But it seems like Collins had somehow increased his skills drastically in those three days. Eventually, Ira was able to knock the kid out. He went straight to his boss, and told him that he was leaving. Trying to just get away from the insanity.

A month later and in Dallas, Dark Blade showed up once more. Fully unhinged and with Ira's old boss' head in hand, claiming he was Ira's "Crime Boss". The kid seemed to have somehow increased his skills drastically once more. Practically cutting Ira to ribbons as he realized that the kid also had some kind of power to rapidly learn from his own mistakes. Couple that with his shattered ego and mental state, Ira quickly realized that this kid might finally kill him. How? He wasn't sure, but if anyone was going to, this kid might accomplish it. No longer a fight over right or wrong, mistakes or not. It was down to pure life or death. Subdue him now and leave him, and he would still hunt him to the ends of the earth, and come back stronger than Ira could possibly hope to defeat. Leading Collins into a construction site, finally away from people, Ira tried to come up with a plan to take down someone who seemed to be faster, stronger, and more skill then he himself. Finally, Ira gained the upper hand by practically letting Dark Blade get a hacking cut into his shoulder, where the blade became trapped in the dense bone and muscle. Locking the blade-arm into his shoulder with his free arm, he shoulder rushed Jake Collin's into stack of rebar, impaling the young man to death.

By then, news helicopters were on the scene, broad casting the battle between the two mutants. Ira managed to get home and escape. Fleeing to the north. Trying to get away from the blood that had been spilled in his past. For sixteen more years, he has tried to remain under the radar of the world. Living in the shadows. Moving sporadically to try and prevent the chances of someone getting hurt. In desperation to escape the law, he fled from America for the anonymity of foreign shores for the past fourteen years.

However, he seemed to have over stayed his welcome in Russia, the Ukraine, and Finland, and found himself back in America. Maximum City this time. Life dragging on, his resources spent, he finds himself homeless, jobless, with nothing to fall back on now.

---

---

---

---

Melissa Locke



Whiplash



30, January 27th



Female



Photo-journalist / Videographer

• Dynamic Camouflage: Able to conceal herself + her clothing to match a background she touches.
• Wall Crawling: Ability to climb most surfaces with ease, even upside down.
• Enhanced Strength: Slightly above peak human ability (~ 1500lbs over her head for short periods of time)
• Enhanced Vision and Spatial Awareness: Enhanced night vision, improved daytime vision and faster reflexes.
• Highly Trained in Krav Maga: Trained from childhood in the ways of Krav Maga. Combined with her enhanced strength, she is truly a foe to be reckoned with.

Camouflage requires a lot of energy, therefore she can only hold it for a minute or two at best. No more durable than an average person and will succumb to most things that would kill a normal human being. Her heightened senses are also more susceptible to damage given their extra sensitivity (ex. Bright light will daze her for longer than someone with regular vision.)

• Professional-Grade DSLR (ED): Her main photography and videography camera. Mel never leaves home without it. She also carries a variety of lenses to suit her needs in the field.
• Laptop (ED): Mainly for sending her photos and footage to large news corporations, main asset in her source of income.
• Black tactical backpack (ED): Something sturdy that will stay put, no matter her orientation, even upside down. Carries all her work gear.
• Hard knuckle gloves (H): Standard duty gloves with a hard carbon fibre inlay around the knuckles. Gives that extra ‘oomf’ to her unarmed combat strikes.

A product of an experiment gone wrong.

Or maybe an experiment gone right…

Melissa’s life has been one of perspective. In her early life, all she knew were the four concrete walls of what was essentially a glorified prison cell. Created from the genetic modification of an embryo, then grown in a lab until she was ready to “be born”, Melissa was purpose built to be the first in what was meant to be the next generation of soldiers. Mind you, there was one issue. She was originally intended to be male. A slip-up by one of the engineers caused an unintended, unnoticed change in her chromosomes, so they were quite surprised when the fetus started showing female traits. Nevertheless, the team continued to grow their reptilian-chromosome-enlaced fetus until birth.

Because of the issues, her portion of the project was scrapped and restarted from the beginning. Melissa was born in critical condition, barely breathing or showing any vital signs at all. She was kept in I.C.U at the Eclipse lab for the first two years of her life until she stabilized, before being transferred to a regular cell when she turned three. Throughout her childhood she was taught a relatively standard school curriculum from age five to fourteen, all the while being trained to fight alongside what was essentially her one year younger brother. The creation that was intended to replace her.

Up until this point, both Mel and her younger counterpart had been considered complete successes. They had both shown themselves able to use their abilities very competently and were both extremely proficient in hand to hand combat. But Mel was exhibiting something that the male wasn’t, something that the top brass of the facility thought was very intriguing and that would be very profitable. Enhanced strength. At age fourteen, she was able to lift almost 500 lbs above her head with no issue, able to slow a moving vehicle significantly and able to beat almost every single combat instructor in one on one combat.

Eventually her “brother” was all but forgotten and Mel took the spotlight, the centerpiece of their super-soldier program. No longer residing in a prison cell-- she had made it clear that she hated the cell by putting a whole through five feet of concrete-- Mel lived a fairly decent life. Now sixteen years old, she trained, ate and slept with the rest of the team while her counterpart sat on the sidelines, jealousy and hatred building inside of him.

And then one night, he snapped. Mel awoke to sirens going off all around. She stepped outside of her room only to see the corpses of the entire research team, the closest thing she had to family, strewn about the lab. In the center of them, her counterpart stood, bruised and bloodied. She couldn’t believe it. It felt surreal, seeing them all dead. The anger began to rise inside of her and she couldn’t help but think about killing the young man that stood in front of her. But part of her held back. He had been through enough.

Time flew by for the next fourteen years after Mel had escaped the Eclipse lab. In this time, Mel had been in and out of both orphanages and schools. She didn’t last more than a month in one place before she no longer felt safe around the other students. Eventually, after living on the street for a year, she managed to get a job at a fast food restaurant and found a cheap apartment to stay in. Mel worked hard to save money for college and applied for a two-year journalism course.

Now? Mel earned her diploma in journalism and through persuasion, managed to land a job at a small, independent newspaper company as a photojournalist. Though infrequent, a story that requires her specific skill set will occasionally come through. Her boss doesn’t know how she manages the pictures she does, but in Mel’s mind all that matters is the final product.



Open