Drag

Powers:

(none)

Equipment:

the Drag Suit (s): his current (if flawed) masterwork, this living biological armor suit is what gives Bartholomew access to his considerable power; he's quite the weakling without it. This suit makes him appear to be a 6' 6", 30's style gangster, complete with a built-in, gray pin striped suit.

The suit provides +7 protection, enhancing Bartholomew's rather paltry Strength-granted defense considerably. Of course, the true defense that the Drag Suit provides isn't from its physical armor, so much as the bizarre ability that it grants its wearer. The Drag Suit has these special characteristics:

* Ability Boost (w): in addition to providing a high defense for its wearer, the Drag Suit makes him or her much stronger. This power works at intensity 7, raising the Drag Suit's pilot's Strength score by that value. This power also has the Dual Boost stunt, raising its wearer's Agility by 3.

* Hindrance / Susceptible to Corrosives: as is the case with its kinetic control power, this disadvantage was not intended for use in the Drag Suit, but has nonetheless proven to be a thorn in Bartholomew's side. The suit's fatal flaw, it is very vulnerable to acids of any type, having no protection against them.

Furthermore, when exposed to an acidic attack, the wearer of the Drag Suit (admittedly, with the benefit of his or her enhanced Strength score) must pass a challenging difficulty Strength action. If this action fails, the Drag Suit will immediately begin to dissolve, leaving its wearer high and dry... whoops.

* Kinetic Control (i): this strange power, one that Bartholomew neither intended or designed into the Drag Suit, is nonetheless present. It allows him to manipulate kinetic (but not potential) energy with intensity 15 ability. He primarily uses this power to enhance his own melee attacks.

However, he does have the ability to alter the trajectory of objects in motion, as well. He can do so by applying force against moving objects, and can either stop them flat (say, by using force equal to the kinetic energy of a bullet), or change - or even reverse - the direction of an object with greater force.

Curiously, Drag doesn't seem capable of generating a force blast with this power, able to only unleash it (in a damaging sense) when punching somebody. However, he has demonstrated the Absorption, Energy Reflection, Force Field, Immovability, Momentum, and Repulsor Field power stunts so far.

* Self Repair (s): being a living, biological creature, the Drag Suit can easily recover from damage inflicted upon it. It heals rather fast (it was designed that way), and will usually repair signs of damage it receives even before the actual Health loss inflicted by incoming damage is recovered.

Hindrances:

(none)

Skills:

Scientific Genius (i): Bartholomew is, despite his considerable faults, arguably one of the greatest scientific minds on earth. Having studied for years and years, he is competent in the fields of Biochemistry, Biology, Bionics, Chemistry, Genetics, and Medicine - wow!

Calling:

Greed: while he originally set out with the goal of improving the world for all mankind, Bartholomew has grown bitter over the years, and now he only cares about making things better for Number One. He seeks to hog all the credit (and material gains) of his researches for himself and himself alone.

Costume:

Bartholomew mainly wears his Drag suit while engaging in criminal activity. This suit makes him appear to be a full foot taller, stockier, and gives him a different, thuggish face altogether. It essentially makes him appear to be an immense gangster, in the tried and true 1930's style.

The only actual accessory that Bartholomew wears, besides the suit, is a gray fedora.

Personality:

Bartholomew is a small-minded, bitter man. He's a true revolutionary in the fields of genetics and bio-engineering, but his ego prevents him from collaborating with others; he wants to share all the glory for his innovations. That's why he crafted the Drag suit in the first place - to prove his theories were sound.

And to steal the loot he needs to make his dreams come true. Of course, when he's wearing his Drag suit, Bartholomew's true personality comes to light, and you can see the petulant, bullying side that is well-hidden when his small, 115 lbs frame would otherwise fail to intimidate.

Real Name: Bartholomew Smithers
Occupation: bio-engineer, occasional criminal
Legal Status: Canadian citizen with no known criminal record
Marital Status: single
Alias(es), if any: none
Group Affiliation: the Tenacious Ten

Height: 5' 6"
Hair: brown, graying
Eyes: brown
Weight: 115 lbs
Other Distinguishing Characteristics: Bartholomew has something of a 'mousy' look to him.

Story:

Bartholomew is an angry, bitter man. Not angry like Angry Annie, mind you, but angry in his own, sullen little way. You see, he's something of a prodigy in the field of bio-engineering, the crafting of new life forms, but isn't all that appreciated by his peers, who think him something of a crackpot.

He had the idea of creating biological armor, you see, actual living organisms that humans could wear in all manner of hostile environments, an idea that was scorned as ridiculous in the scientific community. The science just wasn't there, they said, and most people refused to give him any venture capital.

As such, Bartholomew simply worked for various biotechnology companies for a time, including Bio-Logic Industries, attempting to gain the capital he needed to produce the technology chain required to create his dream project. Stymied by corporate greed, however, Bartholomew never managed his goal.

His brilliant mind slowly twisted by anger, Bartholomew began to steal equipment and resources from the companies he worked for, usually staying around only until people grew suspicious. While he would toil for companies during the day, he performed miracles at night, in the privacy of his own home.

At first starting with mere genetic alterations, Bartholomew eventually adopted the notion of engineering all new DNA chains, genetic code built from scratch that did not previously exist in nature. Using these, he produced completely unknown lifeforms with gene structures not cluttered by the process of evolution.

No junk DNA, you see.

These ultra-efficient life forms proved to be somewhat superior to their natural analogues; while all new entities, Bartholomew's creations were built to mirror some existing bacteria and such. Building on this breakthrough, Bartholomew started work something much more ambitious - his living armor!

It took him a good six years, but Bartholomew finally managed to grow, in the lab, a suit to his liking. While his original aim was to make something to benefit mankind as a whole, the now-bitter Bartholomew was simply looking out for number one, and as such produced a bio-suit he could use to make money.

Lots of money. This suit, when worn, gave the rather short, skinny Bartholomew the appearance of a 6' 6" tall gangster, complete with skin molded to look just like a pin-striped suit. Most interestingly, though, it gave him access to powers he didn't originally intend - powers over kinetic energy!

Not sure just how this came about, Bartholomew was nonetheless drunk on power, and began to use the suit in the perpetration of various bank robberies; he didn't just assault the tellers, no... Bartholomew actually cracked into the vaults and took everything he could get his now considerably large hands on!

Suddenly millions of dollars richer, Bartholomew now had the capital to produce his original dream, but was having a moral quandary. He was trying to justify helping a humanity that had scorned him, while at the same time wanting to do more than just engage in petty, lowly crimes.

That's when Elys happened.

This powerful dragon, a techno-sorceress feared in several planes of existence, was looking for a gang of minions with the power to deal with some would-be heroes that were menacing her. As such, her magic pointed her in the direction of Bartholomew, who could do serious damage with his 'Drag' suit.

Seeing the pettiness in his heart, Elys knew just how to push his buttons. She promised him money - impossible amounts of money - if he would simply get rid of her opponents. Elys then showcased her particularly immense hoard of gold and other treasures, and Bartholomew was hooked.

Just one deed would set him up for life, and allow him virtual dominance of the biotechnology sector on earth. Just one job! After that, he wouldn't need to engage in any other lowly deeds, and could instead force others to do his bidding! Revenge fantasies and greed overwhelmed him quite nicely.

As such, when finally sent to deal with Elys' foes, along with her other minions in the so-called Tenacious Ten, Bartholomew leapt into battle with a fury and enthusiasm most of the others lacked. However, during the battle with these heroes, it was discovered that Bartholomew's suit had a fatal flaw.

While it possessed incredible powers over kinetic energy, it also seemed to have an extreme vulnerability to corrosive substances. As he fought with the acidic powder keg known as Rebound, Bartholomew's suit quickly dissolved, leaving the poor man unable to stand against these heroes.

Who handily knocked him senseless after the pounding he'd gave them.

Luckily for Bartholomew, Elys transported him and the others to safety after they were defeated, most likely so they could be of some future use, but Elys herself was slain by these violent would-be heroes. Which meant that Bartholomew wasn't going to get paid for services rendered.

Angry beyond measure, Bartholomew returned to his lab to brew up another Drag suit, and was planning on returning to Elys' cavern to seize her treasure. It may take him some time to cook the suit up, though, much less seize Elys' hoard, especially since the heroes who killed her took it for themselves.

As such, Bartholomew may require the assistance of the Tenacious Ten to get what he wants...!

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