Genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist, son of a supervillain. VIRDEUS
Julian Alexander Luthor ♦ Male ♦ 18 ♦ Cadmus Level XXXIII.I
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C H A R A C T E R C O N C E P T:
"A fight isn't about who's got the bigger stick. It's about who's got the best leverage."
Julian Luthor is the latest, and last project headed by the genetics division in New Cadmus. He was created using Lex Luthor's DNA plus the DNA left behind from when the destroyer, Doomsday seemingly killed Superman, eight years ago. Julian was built with Lex's own brainwaves, plus a body meant to perfectly hold the kryptonian DNA, unlike his brothers in projects KR and 'Match'. Julian's purpose was to serve as a new body for Lex, an empty vessel. Yet somewhere in the process, the husk grew a mind of it's own. Perhaps stimulated by the genomorphs who helped create him. Soon, Lex came to see him as more of a son than a escape plan. Julian was raised within the confines of Cadmus, growing quickly and fast, appearing a teenager within a year and his powers would soon manifest.
His powers proved too much for him, or the handlers to control. Julian would instead spend the next year of his life in a cell, being radiated with red sunlight every single day to keep his kryptonian side in check. Here he'd grown to his current age, approximately 18. He would spend his time reading and tinkering with whatever he would be given and Lex would take distance from him, further putting up walls between himself and his would-be son.
Julian's imprisonment came to an end when the Justice League found out about Cadmus's level 33.1, where Lexcorp and his Light had been doing countless experiments on metahuman teenagers, aliens and even dabbled in magic. It made headline news the world over and many of the teenagers were rescued. All of the data surrounding Julian's creation was destroyed by one of the scientists at Cadmus, ensuring he could never be remade. Julian's mind was fragile upon being rescued and he lashed out, unable to control his powers, he was taken to the north pole and Kal-El's fortress of solitude. There, the boy was helped by the Martian Manhunters telepathy, going through weeks of therapy, and soon he chose to steal something from the Kryptonian's vault. The blue rock that would help him forge his own destiny.
Since, Julian's been inspired to help people in his own way, he did not wanna stick by Superman or the League, and he certainly did not want to reconnect with his estranged father. Yet, he had memories of Lex. Datapoints, feelings and instincts shared between both of his genetic matches. He strives to create something standing outside of the polarities of good and evil - break away from the binary of Luthor or El. His cryptonym reflects this choice, Virdeus is latin for 'mangod'. Julian is powered by perhaps the greatest rivalry on earth, and he aims to stand above it all.
10th Level Intellect: Thanks to his genetic makeup, genome training and studies, Julian is an equal in raw intelligence to his progenitors. He's as pragmatic and cunning as Luthor, yet as optimistic and a master of solving problems, just like Superman. He proves to hold spatial awareness, scientific know-how and creative intelligence all enough to rival the older Luthor, or Superman himself. Given time and dedication, Julian could match any of the other geniuses on earth. His interest piques around engineering and technology, though. With a additional interest in people skills and learning how people act. His intellect is at odds with his empathy - the willingness to put people into folders and turn them into numbers, yet his ability to feel with them on a deeply emotional level. He can't shake that he's an outsider to things and certainly not normal but he wishes to learn how to adapt.
Kryptonian Powers:
Unlike his brothers in project 'MATCH', The Superboy, as well as the failed clone simply known as 'KR', Julian has all of the kryptonian powers under a yellow sun. It's been a few years since he used his abilities last, meaning they've only grown in power since he destroyed Cadmus and gave the League a run for their Wayne-sponsored money.
Yet, Julians powers are subdued thanks to the blue kryptonite on his hand. He lacks control and chooses not to use them. And frankly, they disgust him. He does not enjoy the power his physical body grants him, and instead searches for other avenues to further his heroics. Therefor, his powers are a well guarded secret that very few outside of the Leaguers who found him know about.
C H A R A C T E R M O T I V A T I O N S & G O A L S:
Julian's a Luthor, capable of being a Superman, but he's sure he doesn't want to be either of them. He's smart, he's resourceful and he's a problem solver. He's a leader and he's flawed, both from a lack of experience and a lack of exposure. He doesn't know much about life, he understands data and facts. Emotions overwhelm him and he doesn't understand, but he wants to. He's a young man trying to find his place in the world, bearing the pressure of knowing that he could do so much more.
He founded the Renegades for that very purpose, to do more. To do it differently. To fight the people that needs fighting, and save the people that needs saving, everything else is secondary.
C H A R A C T E R N O T E S:
Basic Stats:
6'0, athletic build, blue eyes and ginger hair. The fair looks of Luthor and the strong features of Superman. Seen wearing some variation of business casual or athletic clothes.
Information about the world:
He holds information about The Light that he keeps secret from The Renegades for the time being, not wanting to make themselves a bigger target before they're able to handle the load. The revelation of a supervillain cabal of evil would probably be a little much for a job description.
Julian has a complex relationship to Lex Luthor. A part of him thinks of Lex as his dad, certainly more than he would think anyone who wears a big S on their person family. But he also cannot reconcile the things Lex have done, not just to Julian or the others at Cadmus, but to the world. Every incident, every bit of evil. The very purpose for Julian's life was to give Lex the opportunity to kill Superman - A tool, was all Julian was meant to be. A weapon. An instrument for destruction.
Instead, he's become a force for good. Using his intelligence to hack financial records of bad men, sell medical hardware so in his short months out in the world he's already made a big impact. But he realizes that blackmailing Morgan Edge into giving him the penthouse to run his operation out of isn't enough.
Julian holds a big variety of technology at his disposal. None of the mare as fancy, expensive or high-tech as Lex's. Most notably is the blue steel-banded ring on his right hand. Covered in a near-indestructible alloy lies the blue mineral that gives Julian a choice in life. It's what negates his powers and makes him just a man.
Besides that, he carries a phone with the most advanced hardware on the planet, rivalring that of Batman's computer that he can use to hack just about anything. He also owns two 'Machinas' Or 'M&Ms', cylindrical spheres that are able to perform a variety of things, from firing laser beams to scanning forensic evidence, to applying first aid and generating forcefields. Though his equipment can be improved on with just the right tools and resources. Julian has no ambitions of doing much fighting himself.
R E L A T I O N S H I P S:
O'Brien, Conor: "Sorcerer Supreme"
I met Conor when Marco Falcone was running his shipping business as a front in Chicago. He had leveraged his family's dirty money from their Gotham days - before Batman ran them out of town, to be replaced with some madman who's face was cut off, I'm sure. Marco had enlisted the up and coming Mage, Elisidur Du Hex to crush his competitiors. I was almost born yesterday at the time, but even I understood that wasn't a good thing. I was tracking the kind of radiation that gets released when someone casts magic - Elisidur's summon spell for his mystical imps was his primary source of weaponry. And instead I stumbled on small spaces, storage units that were littered with them. I figured out a way to triangulate and map their creation and movements, and soon found the second mage that was currently in Chicago. I approached the wizard, who I soon found was a kid my own physical age who was stranded and exiled from Ireland. Somehow, I sympathized. I knew I'd need allies if I wanted to take my little crusade to the next level. I convinced Conor to join me and every since, he's the person I'd consider my first friend. We beat Falcone, who's now rotting in prison with the rest of his family, and trapped Elisidur in a small box that he used to summon his creatures. The box is locked away in Conor's storage unit, heaviest magical encryptions he could muster. And I put up plenty of real security, too. We're at odds about solutions, but me trying to understand the mechanics of magic doesn't always go over too well, and the 'lad' shows his Irish temper from time to time.
Jacobs, Vincent: "Vinny"
Meeting Vincent was purely accidental. I was at a bar, talking to the off-duty Detective from Miami PD, who had a lead on the site that would later lead us to the latest member of our 'little' team. Vincent was drinking himself to oblivion and hustling people at pool - the man acted like an idiot, something I've come to realize isn't quite an act. Sweeping beer and 100's of dollars from people who thought they knew how to shoot pool. I approached. I had never held the poolstick before, frankly, wasn't sure of the rules. Vincent quickly explained to me as I put down 50 bucks for a bet. I got to go first, barely any luck. Vincent cleaned me out in his one turn. By using the Pamula theory of trajectory calculation, I figured out exactly how much force I'd need to apply onto the stick and I felt confident to try again. This time I bet Vincent 750 dollars - every dime he had made that night. I'm competitive, see. I beat him. Badly. He was really mad about it, frankly, I think he still is.
He asked for double or nothing. Putting a fancy watch he - I've come to learn, he had stolen - down. I accepted and was looking like I was gonna win as he hit one of the balls at a slighlty off angle. The striped 17 was gonna miss the corner pocked. And suddenly, it fell through the green matt, appearing inside of the pocket. Vincent won. I paid him 2000 and told him there was another thousand in it if he sat down and had a drink with me. His powers fascinate - and infuriate me. He doesn't know it, but we're not that unalike. I sympathize with his situation in terms of his abilities, a lot. More than he could know. It makes me want to push him to use them more, and responsibly too. We're quite adversarial and competitive about things, and I think it's good. It keeps us on our toes. He became the second person to join my project, and he, along with Conor are the two other parts of my 'bromantic' Ménage à trois.
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