Trader

Powers:

Immortality (s): thanks to his driving passion to understand trade in all its myriad forms, the Trader has effectively become immortal. He can be killed by being brought to 0 Health, but he will eventually recover from any injury or demise.

Unless he somehow loses his passion for trade, that is. Furthermore, the machinations of the Grand Master have barred him from Death's realm; Death was forced to claim him temporarily after this, but he got better; Death is a rather intransigent entity after all.

In other words, the Trader effectively has this power twice. For him to pass permanently, he would have to a) lose his love for wheeling and dealing, and b) somehow have Death convinced to kill him - and keep him dead - or else he'll eventually return.

Power Primordial (i): as do the other Elders, the Trader has access to the Power Primordial, the energies loosed by the Big Bang itself. Though able to produce virtually any effects with it, the Trader has only demonstrated the following thus far:

* Invulnerability (s): the Power Primordial has granted the Trader a veritable invulnerability to a wide array of threats. He effectively possesses complete immunity to Aging Effects, Disease, Energy, Pressure Variance and Poison assaults of any stripe.

* Life Support (s): tapping the Power Primordial to handle the sundry needs of a physical existence, the Trader has done away with such base needs. Possessing this power at intensity 15, he no longer needs to breathe, eat or drink to sustain his life.

* Telepathy (w): the Trader has not done great things with this ability, mostly wielding it in order to communicate with others who are in the void or, as is usually the case, no longer speak his dead language. He possesses this power at intensity 1, at least.

Equipment:

Bodycase (a): the Trader keeps a belt with a special case attached, one he can use to retain particularly valuable property. When held by this device, an object is seized with intensity 20 power, and is tied to the Trader's very life force.

Since the Trader is immortal (in more ways than one), this means one must overcome this immensely powerful binding or simply trade for the object within - which is what the Trader wants in the first place. Objects or entities can be held by the bodycase.

Hindrances:

Obsessive: part of the reason he's immortal to begin with, the Trader overwhelmingly obsesses with his chosen art. If presented with a financial opportunity, the Trader must contemplate it immediately or drop to zero (0) in all abilities for the duration of the encounter.

Skills:

Finance (w): it should probably go without saying but the Trader knows just about everything there is to know in this area of expertise; he's had billions and billions of years to get good at it, after all, and should be considered a world class financier.

Psychiatry (i): as a necessary aside to his one true passion, the Trader has made a habit of studying how people think - the better to more easily trade with them. He makes all behavior-based actions at a reduced difficulty level.

Calling:

Greed: though he lives for the act of trading and not acquisition, the Trader knows that you can't (usually) trade something for nothing - although if he can manage something like that, he often finds a trade of that stripe the most satisfying of them all.

Costume:

The Trader wears a simple outfit most of the time. It consists of a short white light blue robe accented by an exceedingly long blue cape; it's actually longer than he is tall. He also wears blue sandals and small white wrist bands as well.

Personality:

As is the case with most of his fellow Elders, the Trader shares a passion for his art which may be described as 'monomaniacal' - and he loves to talk about it. He gains the most satisfaction when he trades to his advantage - but makes the other guy think he won in the end.

Real Name: unrevealed
Occupation: trader, financier
Legal Status: citizen of an unknown, dead world
Marital Status: (very) single
Alias(es), if any: none
Group Affiliation: Elders of the Universe

Height: unknown
Hair: orange
Eyes: unknown
Weight: unknown
Other Distinguishing Characteristics: the Trader has deep purple skin, a larger than normal nose, and a large orange 'unibrow'.

Story:

Little has been revealed about the past of the entity now known as the Trader. It is known that, as a mere mortal, he was obsessed with the fine art of trading, whether he be bartering for food or arranging the wholesale acquisition of an entire planet.

His love of trade drew him away from his world, working hard to master every aspect of business dealings known to the cosmos. Over time, his obsession began to take a toll, after a fashion, for the Trader could think of nothing else in this life, for good or ill.

Instead of just dying an old, unfulfilled man however, the Trader's intransigent passion for his financial arts began to stretch his lifespan, like taffy. He found that his aging slowed, and his need for mere physical sustenance was growing less as the unending years dragged on.

Having lived for so long that he forgot where he actually came from, the Trader has actually managed to outlive his entire species, itself lost to history as he alone continued, crossing the universe and beyond in his search for one satisfying transaction after another.

The Trader was more than content to simply live out his existence in this fashion but was approached by another being like himself. This fellow, the Grandmaster, was also the last of his kind, and also found his life stretched eternally by his sheer passion for gaming.

He Explained that, as some of the oldest beings in the universe, men like the Trader and himself were more fit to rule it than interloping outsiders such as Galactus. Finding the acquisition of an entire universe an enticing deal, the Trader agreed to help take over the place.

To this end, the Trader helped his fellow obsessives, the so-called Elders of the Universe, to collect six gems of staggering power: the Infinity Gems. They used these to set up a trap to capture and destroy Galactus, the Devourer of Worlds, but this plot ultimately failed.

In its immediate aftermath, the Trader and two of his fellows were cast into the black hole their machinations created, until the Silver Surfer came after them - and with the Infinity Gems that fell in with them. Of course, this was when things got worse for the Trader.

You see, he and his cohorts were followed by the so-called In-Betweener, who developed staggering power as he rested in the spot between two universes - the very heart of the singularity the Trader's actions helped to create. Furthermore, he no longer needed the Elders.

When they sought to oppose the In-Betweener's plan to dispose of Galactus in his realm, the In-Betweener used his unbelievable might to summon forth Death herself, forcing the entity to slay the three Elders outright. Though supposedly immortal, the Trader was killed on the spot.

Of course, the Grandmaster's scheming had earlier barred the Elders of the Universe from Death's realm, even if they managed to lose their obsessive passions that otherwise made them immortal. So, as soon as the In-Betweener was dealt with, the Trader returned to life.

His activities after parting with his fellow Elders of the Universe have yet to be detailed.

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