Post by Catalyst on Sept 27, 2012 21:48:02 GMT -5
CATALYST
"And I don't want the world to see me
'Cause I don't think they'd understand
When everything's made to be broken
I just want you to know who I am"
-Goo Goo Dolls - "Iris"-
- Real Name: Condo Arlik
- Codename: Chemical Kid, Chemical King, Catalyst
- Nicknames: Con
- Species: Phlonian (Mutation)
- Gender: Male
- Age: 15
- Alignment: Legion of Superheroes
- Face Claim: Redesign, see image above.
- Powers: Condo is a walking catalyst for chemical reactions. He can speed up, slow down, or otherwise alter chemical reactions, such as increasing the speed of oxidation from slowly rusting to a burst of flame. He can affect chemical reactions within organic beings, an example being to render someone unconscious from shock, but it requires a great deal of focus and he can only affect one enemy at a time; directly touching them speeds up the reaction, basically ending up instantly knocking them out (he jokingly calls it the "Phlonian Nerve Pinch, and wants to hit his friend for showing him Star Trek).
As his control over his powers becomes more acute and his powers themselves evolve, Condo will also be able to change energy reaction rates, such as draining energy from batteries (basic to ship-powering) as well as drain energy from protective forcefields and absorb varying amounts of radiation and use his body to change it into something that his body can use.
Unlike other Phlonians, Condo's mutation has given him the ability to "see" the chemical construction of everything around him, but he can't mentally separate them (like say Brainy might be able to). His holo-glasses are controlled by psion receptors and tap into his brainwaves, helping him to focus on objects and pinpoint the optimal choice for chemical reactions and tells him what the general result could be via a readout on the "lenses".
- Weaknesses: While touching whatever it is that he wishes to affect is the ideal, the further he is away from it the weaker the reaction and the harder it is to control the speed of catalyzation. Various "indestructible" materials are not affected by Condo's powers.
Though his abilities can be very useful in some situations, his mutation (early on) tends to make him incredibly ill, and has the potential to make others around him fall ill if he is under stress. He can control it well enough to affect things outside of his body, but his control over the effects on his own body is rather limited unless he is concentrating. He has to wear "containment gloves" in order to directly interact with most objects without affecting them by accident, at least until he gets the hang of his abilities (kind've like Rogue from the X-Men).
Condo isn't the strongest Legion member physically, and he tries to avoid direct combat where he can. He's "only human" and susceptible to injury, illness (usually caused by himself without realizing it), and death.
- Relatives: Darvon (father) and Volta (mother) Arlik a.k.a. Parents on Phlon that basically gave him up without a second thought. He's never seen or spoken to them.
- History:
Condo Arlik's birth caused seizures and a nearly fatal diabetic coma in hospital staff. Doctors believed the newborn carried a highly infectious virus that accelerated glucose metabolization, and wearing protective gear, was given an IV tube of glucose. Not long afterwards, the infrastructure of the hospital collapsed, leading to a new theory that the infant had somehow caused the building’s disintegration. His parents seemed either disinterested or fearful of Condo and allowed their son to be studied in isolation by scientists. The baby was sedated and sent to Earth.
The doctors that discovered the unique abilities of the newborn Phlonian quickly decided that the most important thing they needed to do was to train the boy in chemistry, and fast. Condo grew up in complete isolation so he would not accidentally hurt anyone, all the while learning everything he could about the properties of chemical elements and compounds so that once he was old enough to consciously control his abilities, substances he came into contact with would be affected by his will rather than as a side-effect of his proximity.
Fifteen years passed, and Condo had become somewhat complacent as a "lab rat", until the day he saw on the UP news net that a group of teenagers had saved the life of R.J. Brande, the man who often helped to fund the medical facility where Condo had lived his entire life. It wasn't long after that Condo learned that Brande would be funding an entire team of teens from various planets, each with unique powers and practical skills.
He had to admit the idea seemed pretty sprocking cool, but his real interest lay in the idea that someone either on the team or the support staff might know how to help him control what was wrong with him...or help him get rid of it completely.
- Personality: Condo is insanely shy and socially awkward having been raised in an isolation chamber by computers, robots, and doctors in protective suits whom he never learned the names or saw the faces of. He's highly intelligent and on par with Lyle NOrg in xenochemistry and xenobiology, but when it comes to social interaction he was basically "taught by TV", so his jokes or responses to jokes might not always be correct and he doesn't always "get" sarcasm or rhetorical questions, usually ending with him trying to answer or explain something said in jest in a factual manner.
(Honestly, he and Brainy might actually get along...or in lieu of "getting along" they can at least relate)
He's very nice, though, and willing to help out anyone who asks...even if he sometimes makes a mess of things by accident. He's very unsure of himself, especially around others, unless you get him talking on a subject he knows well (even if it's something silly like one of the television series from Earth's archives that he managed to get hooked on while in isolation).
He hates admitting to being a "people-pleaser", but...he is. He just wants friends, wants people to like him, wants a family.
- Aspirations: It may sound a bit cliche, but really? He just wants to live.
- Fears: He's afraid of himself, and with good reason.
- Alias: Cas
- Other Characters: Cosmic Boy
- RP Sample:
Condo's time on the Wire chatting and surfing through random infosites was one of the closest things he ever came to social interaction; it was far easier for him to communicate via text than actually speaking to someone. He knew enough about social protocol and social interaction between organisms to realize that this left him at a severe disadvantage, but...when would he ever get the chance to really meet anyone, right?
ChemicalKing: You ready to give up yet? I'm wiping the floor with you.
YouCantSeeMe: I'm not dead yet, pal. You missed a combo.
Con just scowled as his current game partner's avatar walked over and mixed the "chemicals" on the workbench, gaining another forty points. His own avatar crossed its arms, sulking indignantly.
ChemicalKing: Show off.
YouCantSeeMe: Maybe you should relinquish the title of the chemical KING and settle for Duke of Oxidation.
ChemicalKing: And admit defeat? You gotta earn it, buddy.
YouCantSeeMe: You sound way too much like another smartass I know. You sure you aren't Coluan?
ChemicalKing: I'm sure, now shut up. We've got three more challenges to go before we level up again and I don't have much more time to be online.
The game was an odd mix, really. It was like jumping through various fantasy worlds from old Earth fiction, and luckily for Condo he'd had plenty of free time to brush up on just about every novel that had been scanned into the Earth's virtual library. Unlike his current "questing companion", Condo had a bit of an edge when it came to dealing with certain scenarios, which never ceased to make him or his avatar grin like a smug little bastard.
It didn't hurt that they were currently in the middle of a game section situated in the "Middle Ages" and alchemy was the subject of most of their quests. While it was an outdated form of "magical chemistry", every chemist worth anything had to admit that the science behind it was based in fact, and even some discoveries made under the guise of "alchemy" remained valid even in the 31st century. Condo was snapped out of his thoughts by his partner's avatar getting up close and personal with his own, almost nose to nose with his avatar.
YouCantSeeMe: You alright?
ChemicalKing: Huh? Yeah, why?
YouCantSeeMe: Just asking. We play this game all the time, but I don't even know your name. I don't know anything about you.
ChemicalKing: Nothing to know. I'm nothing special.
YouCantSeeMe: I don't believe that. We should hang out sometime. I know from your IP that you're in New Metropolis, to.
Once again, Condo scowled; he thought he'd masked his IP, but apparently this guy spent as much time with computers as he did.
ChemicalKing: No can do. I'm "housebound".
YouCantSeeMe: Well, maybe I can come visit? You seem like a cool guy, and I know you're smart. I just wanna get to know the face behind the avatar.
Sighing, Condo just shook his head; even if they could arrange a meeting, Condo didn't want a potential friend getting sick or hurt just being around him. It was better if they just stayed apart, right?
YouCantSeeMe: Can you at least tell me your name?
ChemicalKing: Arlik. Co-*
--SESSION FORCIBLY DISCONNECTED--
The screen had gone black and the intense music that had been playing in the dungeon level they had stopped on cut off abruptly. It was jarring to be force-dis'd from the Wire, but it had been happening more and more as the doctors began to notice him inching past his time limits little by little each night. "Teenage rebellion", they'd called it, but...Condo didn't know what it meant to rebel. He barely knew what it meant to be a teenager.
Sniffling, Condo removed his VR sim visor and set it on his desk before looking down at his gloved hands and flexing his fingers: couldn't even play a video game without breaking it unless he was wearing his suit. He looked around his small room, eyes brimming with tears as they fell upon each of his stark-white four walls. He curled up in his chair, forehead resting on his knees.
And now his game partner probably thought he hated him or something.
This was the life of Condo Arlik. Trapped in a box.