(Contest!) Privateer

by **Red** May 11th 2019, 8:05 pm

Privateer

"Who knew the worst day of my life could give me exactly what I wanted?"

Basic Biography

Real Name: Private John Jacob Kern
Alignment: CG
Age: 20 Physically, about 100 Technically
Gender: Male
Race: Metahuman
Ethnicity: English
Hair: Blonde
Eyes: Green
Height: 5'10"
Weight: 155Ib
Blood type: A+

The Looks

The Legacy

Personality: John is a curious, adventurous, and artistic soul. He's not your typical soldier, that's for sure. But what he lacks in strength and aggression, he more than makes up for with heart, creativity, and duty. If he believes something is right, he'll see it through to the end, no matter what threat he faces. He's an incredibly kind, humorous, and optimistic man. His constant smile and laughter is hard to keep from spreading. He wears his heart on his sleeve, is exceedingly honest, and can be a friend to practically anyone.

But, even though the young explorer tries as much as possible to see the good in everyone, that does not stop him from standing against malevolence, in all it's forms. He can't turn the other cheek or ignore something he believes to be wrong, and is ever-relentless in his attempts to stop those things.

At his core, John is a playful adventurer. He's always up to something. The zest for life he wields can get annoying to the bleak at times, but all too often the angst of others fails before John's enduring spirit. The boy will make you smile, no matter who you are, by telling you a story, making light of a bad situation, drawing you a picture, or sharing his seemingly endless well of grandeur. He wants to have fun, wants to be free, and wants to be a part of a great epic. He believes everyone deserves those things, and will always fight tooth and nail for their right to them.

History: John Jacob Kern was born to a poor family in London, England during the 1920s. A bright boy, he always saw himself as more than his station in life, but had very little means to climb out of it. Still, he believed he'd be great someday. He read almost constantly heroic tales and myths, idolizing the characters in such adventures. He even wrote and illustrated some of his own works, though they never got off the ground, not that that deterred the obsessive child.

It was this enthusiasm for adventure that convinced John he wanted to be an explorer. He wanted to see the world—to find great secrets never encountered by men before. Perhaps he had been reading too many epic poems, but to John they were not stories. To the people that told him to face reality, he simply told them that his grand ideas were his reality. There was something more to life than food on the table, a roof over his head, and a warm fire in the living room. He was going to find out what it was, one way or another.

With no money for school or his own means of travel, John enlisted in the Royal Navy. Yeah, there was a war coming, but that did not stop him. He was willing to take the risks to follow his dream. It was a hard job, and an even harder life, but the boy did it with just as much conviction as he did anything else. He rose through the ranks rapidly because of his work ethic. He believed soon he would become a Captain of his own vessel, and it would have been hard to disagree with him. But alas, he soon found it was not meant to be.

It happened so fast. One minute they were escorting a carrier through supposedly neutral waters, and the next the Germans were on top of them. Bombers and fighters attacked from the skies, and a seemingly never-ending supply of wicked fast boats bombarded them with machine gun fire. John's cruiser was sinking before the battle even started. The last nail in the coffin was a bomb that went off right in the center of the deck, blowing the young man into the water, unconscious.

It's this part of the story that most believe John perished. According to the Navy, he had drowned. And, indeed, he did, but that didn't lead to his death. John awoke weeks later, at the bottom of the ocean, alive..... Breathing.

Understandably freaked out, the young man struggled to swim upward at first, but he quickly realized he could travel much faster than normal. He reached the surface in no time at all. However, when his lungs filled with air, he found it did nothing for him. It was like he was drowning on oxygen. He sputtered and coughed, moving back under water to survive.

It'd be clear to any metagene specialist what had happened: With potential death as a triggering mechanism, John's dormant gene activated to keep him alive, mutating his body to a point where it could thrive in the threatening environment. John was no scientist, though, so all he could do was speculate.

At first the young man was devastated. He would never be able to return to his home. He'd never be able to see all the places he'd wanted to go to as a boy. He was stuck under water, in seemingly infinite blue nothing. It was comparable to death, he thought, but that was before he came across the wonders of the deep.

It took ten years, but the underwater world opened up to John, who had seemingly stopped aging. Entire civilizations existed, hidden miles under the water and cloaked by advanced technology. The explorer had gotten what he wanted—uncharted territory, and a whole wide new world to see.

But, things aren't so perfect. With civilization comes the problems of civilization. There were still tyrants. There were still bandits, pirates, and criminals. The only real difference was the lack of heroes. There were no supermen under the water like there were up top. People had to rely on spread thin government, and it just wasn't enough.

John knew this was the adventure he had been waiting for. True, he couldn't help his friends fight tyranny on land, but he could help these people do the same, all while getting that sense of grandeur he had been chasing all his life. With his abilities, the former explorer protected the citizens of hundreds of underwater cities, becoming somewhat of a legend. He was a noble rogue, swindling and dueling the evil doers of the deep. He styled himself as Privateer—a great British sailor stopping the pirates of this new world wherever they may be. The Royal Navy would be proud.

Eventually one city, Atlantis, felt so indebted to the Privateer that they gave him a piece of revolutionary technology. It was a necklace they said would allow him to return to the surface—to go home.

John still spends most of his time patrolling the oceans in his Atlantean ship, but he has returned many times to help thwart threats on the surface, as well as to see the cities he so long ago gave up on ever visiting.

The Powers and Weaknesses

Powers

Oceanic Adaptations: John's body has adapted to not just living under the sea, but to thriving in it. His strength, speed, reaction time, senses, and durability are a hundred times greater than that of a normal human when under water, and fifty times greater at the surface. This also allows him to breath under water (5).

Water Manipulation: John can telekinetically manipulate any water within a a hundred feet of him, often using it to attack by sending pressurized waves at enemies. Understandably, this ability is of a much higher potency when John is under water, where he can use it to tear objects apart or enhance himself even further.

Weaknesses

Necklace: Privateer can't breath above water without his neckless from Atlantis.

Needs Water: The longer Privateer is above water, the move his power dissipates, eventually leading to death, neckless or not.

Fresh Water: Water that is not sea water is much harder for John to manipulate.

Fire: Fire burns John much easier then other things hurt him. It is also the best thing to use against his water manipulation.

Electricity: Due to the high amount of moisture in his body at all times, electrical attacks are particularly effective against Privateer.

Curiosity: John is relentlessly curious. He'll walk right into a trap if the lure peaks his interest.

Items

Atlantean Pirate Ship: A highly advanced underwater ship. It can go as fast as the best jets underwater and has just as effective weaponry, only it's meant for underwater assaults. It is highly durable and allows Privateer to effectively patrol the oceans.
Weakness: Must be refueled at Atlantis once a week. No other place will do.

Atlantean Laser Gun: A laser gun meant for underwater combat, but that packs even more of a punch above water. It could punch a hole in a bank vault, or make some of the most durable metas bleed.
Weakness: Works by utilizing water as fuel. This means it only has power for about a dozen shots before it needs to refuel.

Atlantean Sabre: A swashbuckling sword that uses thermal manipulations of what it hits to saw through seemingly anything. It can become incredibly hot or incredibly cold, and chops of normal materials for breakfast.
Weakness: The battery in the hilt is highly explosive. Damage to it can be catastrophic.

Physical Priority
Endurance 1
Reaction 2
Agility 3
Strength 4