Legion's quest : Introduction eabecerr@nyx.cs.du.edu (Edward Becerra) I've been reading this group for over a year now, and it's brought a great deal of happiness to my life. In return, I'd like to give something back to it. But I wasn't sure quite _what_ I could do. Then it hit me. I've disscussed this with Megazone, (the All-Mighty Moderator of this group) and he said to go ahead. Years agon, I screwed up, and innocent people paid for my error. I went into seclusion for 10 years. In trying to work out my guilt, I created a character for the role-playing games I loved so much. I put myself into my character. Now, I'd like to _GIVE_ this character to RAAS to do with as they see fit. I'd hope that some of you might see him (? me ?) as something you would be willing to write into one of the stories you work so hard upon. Besides, it might be fun to see myself thru the eyes of others. ( Oh, wud God the giftie gie us, to see ourselvs as others see us. ) If you are willing to do so, feel free, go ahead. Just let me know. I'd like to see myself drifting thru the anime multi-verse. And who knows, it might help with the guilt, knowing that I've given others some innocent entertainment. Well, enough about me, and more about my character, LEGION. Take a look. And _ENJOY_! ************************ Hello, Twister, it's Ed Becerra again. Well, as they say, here goes nothing... To understand my character, you have to understand me. As a result, doing this _hurt_ a _LOT_ more than I thought it would. I created Legion during a dark time when I was in a great deal of pain & despair. I had thought about ending it all. I suppose that putting my feelings down on paper helped to work them out. Doing it over again brought the pain back. So if you don't want to read this, I can understand. Legion is a reflection of myself as I was then and am now, much as the fictional Twister is of you. And I'm not a pretty person, in the dark of my soul. I can at least hope that I've grown a little since those bleak days. I hope you DO read this, and find at least a little fun in the character. Playing him in several RPG's has, I honestly think, saved my sanity. It would be nice if others could enjoy him, as well... Now, On With The Show... "Sherman, set the Wayback Machine for July 3, 1962." "Yes, Mr. Peabody. Where are we going?" "To Ft. Belvoir, Virginia, Sherman. To the Base Hospital located there." "Oh, wow, Mr. Peabody. Who are we going to meet?" "Someone who has just been born, Sherman. Someone who has just been born." LEGION NAME: EDWARD ANTHONY BECERRA DOB 7/3/62 KNOWN ALIASES: RED JACK, JACK O'SHADOWS, BORIS, COYOTE, JOHNNY ZED, KICKAHA, STALNOVIK HEIGHT: 5'8'' WEIGHT: 150 lbs. HAIR: VARIES. USUALLY BLACK, W/ SILVER-GRAY TEMPLES, OCCASIONALLY WHITE OR RED EYES: VARIES. USUALLY BROWN, OCCASIONALLY GOLD PERSONAL HISTORY: Prior to his birth, Edward was subjected to the (unknown at the time) dangerously teratogenic drug Thalidomide. Fortunately, the drug was administered to his mother after the six-month cut-off point, allowing his arms and legs to develope normally. A sister, born somewhat later, was not so fortunate, and died shortly after birth. Some damage was done, however. As follows: Attention Deficit Disorder Seasonal Affective Disorder (Winter hybernation tendency) Hyper-activity Hyper Immune Syndrome (resulting in rheumatoid arthritis) Once this was recognized, an additional problem occured. Edward was one of the first to have his symptoms regarded as an official illness. Military doctors immeadiately regarded this as the opportunity of a lifetime. Papers could be written, careers could be made, some even thought "Nobel prize for medicine" was within their reach. If only they could have him to experiment on and with. By law, military doctors _CANNOT_ be sued for malpractice. They can be court-martialed, but that is a difficult thing to do. Every experimental drug/treament/therapy/psychiatric/ psychological method was tried. Even failures were enjoyed by the doctors, as they could be written up & published, thereby making reputations. This phase ended eventually. At 18, he enlisted in the military, as it was the only life he had ever known. Upon retiring from the military after eleven year of service with a medical discharge, he remained at loose ends for several years. Then, he happened, out of boredom, to volunteer for an experiment into the nature of serial time and the possibility of parallel timetracks. Previous subjects had failed due the stress of the testing, giving them cases of schizophrenia. As Edward was already mildly schizoid from his years of mistreatment at the hands of over-eager doctors & shrinks (see above), and had learned to deal with it with some success, he was viewed as the perfect test subject. There was an accident, and the lab, along with everything in it, was destroyed. Edward was not killed, however. He was displaced through both time and space. In effect, he was "smeared" across the multi-verse, becoming everyone he ever had been or ever would be in every possible universe throughout infinity. Being personally familiar with schizophrenia was the only thing that kept him alive, while an infinite number of 'other' personalities flooded thru his mind. While this occured, someone heard his mental 'screams'. Coyote, trickster god of the American Indians, noticed his plight, and since Edward was related by blood to Coyote, Coyote decided to rescue him, & accept Edward as one of his own. To, in effect, become Edward's sprit guide in the Indian sense. Coyote had no idea that Legion was now potentially more powerful than he was. Legion now roams the multi-verse, afraid to return home for fear that he (or others) might abuse the powers and abilities he has gained over time and space, trying to learn how to use his powers for good. Or, at least, not quite so destructively. Until such time he remains away, in order to keep his family safe. POWERS & ABILITIES The transformation has given him perfect health, at least physically. Primary powers include invulnerability & enhanced strength, gained by drawing on the infinite number of other 'Edwards' throughout the multiverse. Strength is drawn from them, increasing it; and damage is distributed among them, diluting it. Mental and/or psychic powers are available to him by 'tapping' the powers of those 'Edwards' who _DO_ posess them naturally. This includes: Teleportation, Levitation, Telekenisis, Healing, Pyrokenisis and a limited amount of Precognition. Enhanced intellect is available, via the 'tapping' of others, but is dangerous. (See WEAKNESSES). Having the memories of an infinite number of lifetimes sometimes proves useful as well, by providing information otherwise unavailable through normal channels. Due to the interference by the Trickster god, Coyote, Legion posseses certain magical abilities, but refuses to use them under normal cercumstances. (See WEAKNESSES) These include, but are not limited to: Shapeshifting, Mental Influence (the Jedi trick, also known as the "these are not the Droids you're looking for" thing), the power to influence animal spirits, and the ability to speak any language (useful to gods who dealt with dozens of Indian tribes, each speaking a different tounge). Finally, altho never used, (*and _HOPEFULLY_, never !TO! be used), he has direct control over the fabric of space/time. The only exeption to this is his home universe, where he seems to be totally incapable of affecting space/time/reality. (This may be a simple case of mental blockage, for fear of harming his home plane.) This ability allows him to warp space, time, and reality in any way he sees fit, in a manner similar to that of Kevin "Proteus" MacTaggert, the late mutant son of Moria MacTaggert, in the Marvel comics universe. Reality returns to normal as soon as he leaves the area, or ceases to concentrate on the alteration. It _IS_ possible, but extremely difficult, for Legion to make such an alteration permanant. It is also ***VERY*** ***DANGEROUS***!! (See WEAKNESSES) He _CAN_ use this power in one safe way. He can transform himself from matter to sentient energy and back again. He sometimes uses this as a weapon, or to power hardsuits. WEAKNESSES Due to the events in his early life, Legion's main weaknesses are primarily mental in nature. He is somewhat paranoid, and finds it very difficult to make friends or learn to trust people. In addition, his base personality has fragmented, giving him several sub-personalities. The Berzerker, from the inherited tendency toward berzerker rages that ran in his family line. The Sadist, sick from thirty years of cynicism & unvented rage. Thrilled only by mastery, power games, control, armor-plate with a wounded beast inside. Kickaha, the trickster. That part of Legion adopted by Coyote. And the White Knight. An old fashioned hero. Legion's greatest fear is that he will lose control of either the Sadist or the Berzerker and cause some innocent person injury. This is especially true given the power he currently posseses. Any usage of his power that draws too much attention away from his constant effort to contain these two could allow them to emerge and try to take control. When he uses his ability to access the multi-verse, he runs the risk of his personality becoming lost in the crowd of other "Edward"'s that exist throughout reality. If that happens, he fears that, like a sugar cube in the ocean, his mind might simply dissolve into the infinite and disapear. There is also the risk that, as his power increases, and the number of "Edward"'s that he absorbs into himself grows, he will be subject the the 'Phoenix' syndrome. The dangerous tendency to grow away from humanity, thinking that one has become a god. Megalomania, in other words. The delusion of godhood. The trouble in this particular case is, simply, that with the power potentially available to Legion, he _COULD_ become a god! No delusion there. He thereby runs the same risk that Jean Grey once succumbed to with the power of the Phoenix. Tampering with reality runs the risk of causing permanent damage to that universe. Significant alterations are quite naturally resisted by the native reality, which 'fights' back, attempting to maintain the original state of things. The battle between the two states could simply cause the fabric of space/time in that area to fail. ( Can you say '_Black Hole_', boys and girls? Good! I knew you could! ) Finally, he is extremely reluctant to use any magic-based powers. These power 'belong' to the Trickster personality, and that personality maintains control over them. To use them, Legion would have to 'release' the Trickster, and he is reluctant to do that. While the Trickster is not dangerous in the sense that 'he' would cause deliberate harm to the innocent, Kickaha is an incarnation of Coyote, an impression of the god, if you will, whose sense of humor is unpredictable, often embarassing, and usually quite twisted. Kickaha's motto is "Be careful what you wish for. You might get it.". And Kickaha would want to be the one to grant that wish. People of European descent might be reminded of Puck the Spirit of Mischief. Like Puck, Kickaha's has a very low sense of humor and a fondness for crude (and sometimes cruel) practical jokes. In this, he is much like his mentor, Old Man Coyote. CURRENT STATUS: He has spent some time in the Marvel Universe, studying under Tony Stark of Stark Enterprises, in order to increase his understanding of the physical sciences. He is also interested in powered armor and robotics. He is redesigning Stark's NTU-150, (the Neuromimetic Telepresence Unit Model 150, the remotely controled 'Iron Man' robot used during Tony Stark's recent paralysis), with an eye towards his own powers. Most recently, he has been seen visiting the universe recorded by Lois McMaster Bujold, studying from and with Lord Miles Naismith Vorkosigian, and Miles' brother Mark Piotor. He hope that by studying them, and how they have dealt with their mental problems, he might gain a better understanding of and control over his own mental difficulties.