Crimson: Powers and Tactics

Crimson possesses various superhuman attributes given to him by the Power House Enhanced Human Augmentation Process. His body has been enhanced beyond a normal human being that has granted him the following: Superhuman Strength: Crimson's musculature, skeletal structure and connective tissues have all been augmented to levels well beyond those of a normal man of his height, weight and build. As a result, he is capable of lifting 100 tons or more normally, more if using his psychokinetic limbs. Superhuman Stamina: Crimson's augmented musculature is much more efficient than that of an ordinary human. As a result, his muscles produce considerably less fatigue toxins during physical activity. At his peak, he can exert himself for up to a week before the buildup of fatigue toxins in his blood starts to affect him. Superhuman Durability: Crimson's bodily tissues are tougher, more resilient and more resistant to various forms of injury than those of a normal human. Specifically, he is able to resist impact and blunt force to a much greater degree than ordinary humans and a lot of metahumans combined. He can withstand impacts, such as falling from several stories or being repeatedly struck with superhuman force, that would severely injure or kill a normal human with little to no injury to himself. Also, his skin, joints, ligaments, etc. are specifically enhanced to withstand the extreme friction generated by moving at such extreme speeds when flying (Forceriding).

Crimson has a potent but narrow mutant power of a sort that is generally referred to as "tactile telekinesis". Most tactile telekinetic have practically no range on their powers at all, needing to physically touch something to exert their TK upon it, but Crimson is far more powerful than that and is able to manipulate things with his TK at a range of up to approximately 50 feet. Crimson has indicated that he visualizes his powers as being equivalent to using an infinite collection of mental arms complete with hands. While this conceptualization has facilitated the development and use of his powers to highly impressive results, it is still a mental crutch that he has taken to an extreme, and it hampers him in some ways. In addition to his "Force Limbs" manifestation, Crimson also exhibits extremely comprehensive Telekinetic force fields that protect him and anything he carries from a broad array of threats and dangers. Furthermore, Crimson has demonstrated an ability to become more resistant to particular sorts of dangers after being exposed to them. He specializes in grappling; he grabs his opponent with his extra arms and begins pummeling them or slams them to the ground for stomping by manifesting multiple legs. Because the various limbs are telekinetic, they're immaterial and he can reach through objects and into hazardous spaces with them. Due to the extremely strong nature of his Force Limbs few opponents would be able to effectively fight Crimson in hand to hand combat, but to make things even more futile Crimson has also learned to fight in a simple but very effective fashion to make the best use of his unique powers. Though he's had little formal training, he's able to combine a rudimentary knowledge of combat with his mutant ability to create a unique type of freestyle combat. He combines his raw strength and his ability to create multiple telekinetic limbs to provide devastating effects.

Once he is able to sink a grab onto someone (Grab), Crimson can employ as many force limbs as needed to completely deprive the grabbed person of all leverage (Perfect Leverage). Further his ability to launch himself in a linear fashion at high speeds, gaining full velocity immediately, coupled with his extreme resilience allows Crimson to make brutal battering ram attacks (Move Through). Crimson is able to use his force limbs to slide himself around at high speeds by pushing and pulling his body. Usually he crosses his arms across his chest and skims along the ground in straight lines, but he is also able to move up or down buildings and other vertical surfaces, and can slide between rooftops if they are within the length of his range. However he cannot gain altitude without something vertical to anchor himself to, and must end each Phases movement anchored to something. Crimsons movement is in straight lines, but he can take a half move reposition himself to move again in the new direction, or move laterally while maintaining his original facing so long as the two Half-moves are in straight lines without turns. Also, Crimson can use his Clinging and Stretching to move around in an interesting fashion in enclosed or semi-enclosed areas, including urban areas and is very capable of surprising opponents by taking advantage of this fact.

Origin
Jesse was born into an Irish mafia family, the eldest of two sons. His mother died delivering Jesse's younger brother Joseph when Jesse was nine and thus the raising of the two boys was left to Rory and a succession of nannies. His mother's death affected Jesse profoundly; suffering intense emotional distress and it was this event which first triggered his mutant psionic powers, though due to their nature it would not be discovered for some years later after his augmentation. The only thing observably different about him was that somehow, no matter what sort of rough scrape he got in, he always came through unscathed. Rory was a man of influence in the Irish mob and over the years as he watched his boys grow up he saw in Jesse much of himself and had decided early on that when Jesse was old enough he would begin to groom the lad to follow in his footsteps, but Joseph would be kept in the dark about the family business. Then events which would have taken their natural course came to an abrupt head when Jesse was 13 years old and Rory was out on business. Jesse and Joseph were home alone and the boys found one of their dad's guns while playing hide and seek. Being boys they started playing with it and Joseph accidentally fired the gun while it was pointed at Jesse. Tragedy was averted however as Jesse's aforementioned unrevealed powers prevented him from taking any damage at all. The bullet it seemed merely flattened against the surface of a crimson force field that protected Jesse. They were good boys and not prone to hiding things from their father and thus they immediately told their dad as soon as he returned from his "business trip' (read: "hit") what had happened. Though he didn't believe the boys at first, the fact of the matter was easily proved. Once he got over the shock Rory was just as surprised as the boys were. Not knowing exactly how this was possible and not really caring Rory made the boys swear to never ever tell another soul about Jesse's newfound power. However as the years passed he worked with Jesse to discover everything he could do with this new found ability and to push its limits.

When Jesse turned 16 Rory began taking him along on jobs and Rory soon saw in Jesse a potential to rise in the ranks of the mafia, live a better life, and give Joseph the chance to go to college and really make something of his life. Jesse was also quickly accepted and fondly regarded by many of his father's associates. Early on the other made men and friends of the family called Jesse the "Kid", as his boyish appearance and inexperience were evident; even as he gained more experience the name stayed with him though it eventually got dropped as he continued to prove himself. As predicted by his father Jesse Sullivan quickly skyrocketed through the rank and file of the mob and became an elite "trouble-shooter" and all around go-to guy for inflicting violence. Of course his abilities couldn't be kept a secret forever and soon it was known among the underworld of New York that Sullivan was invulnerable and unstoppable; few heavy hitters were as feared as he was. Jesse and Rory both were content with this; as Jesse's rep grew both their lots improved. Jesse was respected by his peers and the upper echelons of the extended New York mafia families, and feared by rivals and enemies. As his fame grew, so did his misfortune. It turned out that his father Rory had a bit of a gambling problem and had bet on one too many sure things that didnt win. He was in deep for over $100,000 to Alphonse Big Al Driagano, a rival Mafioso for the Fischetti mob. An accord was struck between the two men and Driagano told Rory that the only way he could clear his debt was to put Jesse in the Arena a super powered pit fighting circuit started by a nameless backer. Rory agreed and broke the news to Jesse. Wanting to help his father any way that he could Jesse agreed and the fight was set. His fight was against a low powered thug that worked for Big Al named Vincent Tolintine, who was calling himself Fracas. He boasted loudly that Jesse wasnt the only powered enforcer hanging around and he meant to show the Kid who was boss. After several rounds Jesse wound up brutalizing Tolintine, leaving him for dead as he escorted his father out of the building his debt to Driagano paid in full. That wasnt enough for Driagano; he wanted the Sullivans to pay deeply for making him look like a fool. Life could not have been better for the Sullivans. Joseph had just been accepted into Harvard Law School and Jesse had decided to throw a celebration for his college boy brother. Vincent Tolintine decided that this party was the perfect place to catch Jesse unawares and settle up for good. Vinnie and a few of his "friends" hit the party fast and hard, and in the ensuing blood bath Rory and Joseph were both fatally shot along with several other close friends and relatives. Fighting off the attack singlehandedly, Jesse took stock and realized his family had been slain. Pushed beyond his ability to deal with such a tragedy Jesse snapped and entered into a murderous rage. He hunted down Vincent and those that had assisted him. Leaving a trail of broken bodies behind him he worked his way through the Driagano organization until he discovered that Vinnie and Alphonse Driagano had holed up in an abandoned warehouse with as many gunmen as they could call in. Jesse went directly there and broke every person in the building until he reached Tolintine and Driagano. In what the press would later coin The Driagano Downfall it was revealed that over forty gunmen had been assaulted with three quarters of the men needing extensive reconstructive surgery in order to survive. Tolintine and Driagano were never found. Jesse wasn't satisfied however. He wanted to destroy all those even vaguely associated with the Driagano family, and wipe the entire organization out. Jesse was soon approached by his Don and told him that an accord had been made with the other families and he was no longer welcome in the family or the neighborhood. Out of respect for the Sullivans years of loyalty to the family (and the fact that they couldn't really do much to Jesse without calling in some powered help), the Don indicated that Jesse would be allowed to live and go in peace, and could stay until after the funeral services for his family.

Rory and Joseph's funerals were held soon after; while Jesse stood there watching the caskets be lowered into the ground and listening to the priest's benediction Jesse questioned why God would take his brother and leave him to live. Jesse never believed he or his old man were going to go heaven, but his baby brother was a different story all together; if ever there was someone who should have lived a long and happy life it was Joseph. Jesse needed answers to these questions and so after the funeral he confronted the priest with them. The priest did his best to console Jesse and tried to explain the will of God. He talked of how the wages of sin must be paid before one can leave the mortal coil and that perhaps God had need of Jesse and his gift. He soon arrived in Emerald City to begin a new life. Unsure of what to do next he looked up a friend of his fathers named MacDuff (Mac to his friends) Carson. Jesse took to the gruff but wise old man right away, and soon had a plan laid out for Jesse. He aided him in finding a job at a garage where Jesse could fix up some cars while he tried pulling himself out of the hole he was sliding into. Late one night he was surprised to find that the owner of the shop, Ricky Valdez, was talking with a well-dressed Anglo man in earnest. When the men saw Jesse, he was motioned over. Jesse approached the two men with a bit of apprehension, and rightly so after the way his life was turning out. He was asked by the well-groomed man if he would like to be rich and what he would be willing to do in order to be so. Jesse shrugged and the man smiled. He was handed a card and told to be at the address at midnight and the world would be his. Deciding he had nothing to lose at this point Jesse made his way to the abandoned warehouse that the address on the card pointed him to and his fate was sealed. Inside the warehouse there was a scurrying of technicians, doctors, and the well-groomed man talking to several important looking people. Besides himself there were a handful of other men and woman, all of which held a business card like Jesse had in his hands. The man broke away from his assemblage and approached Jesse and his group. Ladies and gentlemen, I am the Power Broker and I welcome you to the Power House! With that introduction the lights dimmed then exploded in a cacophony of multicolored strobes, nearly blinding Jesse. The rest was a blur. He was escorted into a chamber, strapped down and injected with several different drugs, then bombarded with some ray. Soon after, he was released. He was a foot taller and heavier than his previous self. He could feel the power reside within him and he was giddy with excitement. That excitement soon faded as he was approached by a beautiful Chinese woman, then his world faded to black. Jesse became a participant in the so-called "Great Game," a competition in which various wealthy individuals placed bets on the outcomes of battles between superhumanly powerful individuals. Like many players in the game, he was sponsored by a corporate head, in his case, Chu Chi Huan of ChiHuan Associates. Chi-Huan financed Jesse's travel expenses in return for a portion of his winnings. The players in the game fought other sponsored players as well as designated superhuman beings, many of whom were unaware of the game's existence, with the end goal of winning the "ultimate prize" promised by the game's supposed architect, the Power Broker. During the game, he encountered and battled a variety of super-humans. Eventually, the Great Game was ended by its sponsors after being infiltrated by a superhero who vowed to bring down the organization. All of this occurred and the participants had no idea what was happening, nor do they possess any memory of it taking place.

For Jesse it seemed like a moment, but in actuality two years had passed. When the Game shut down he was sold to Teleios to recoup the monies that were spent on his upkeep. The mad genetics genius tweaked a few of the Power House Augmentation problems, spliced in some of his Moreau genes (rhino DNA seemed to work best) and sold Jesse (now dubbed Rhino) to the highest bidder as super powered muscle for hire. After several bosses he wound up in Alcatraz, serving time for his involvements in several of their (masterminds) crimes. With his mental facilities being hampered by the DNA, Jesse couldnt form coherent thoughts and soon his old life became muddled with what was occurring to him right now. After being purged by Epoch while in confinement in prison, he is slowly coming to realize everything that had happened to him and his latent mutant powers of force field control are gradually returning. Jesse is following his instincts and trying to find ways to earn his salvation. He protects those who can't protect themselves, helps out those in danger whenever, however, and wherever he can. He started off with simple things like freeing some people trapped in a wrecked car, rescuing a handful of people from a burning apartment, and scaring off loitering drug dealers and thugs from the neighborhood, and doing other good deeds as the need arose. Jesse didn't consider these to be acts of heroism, just what anyone would do in his place if they were able. The other people in his neighborhood saw it differently and soon Jesse noticed he was getting a different kind of respect from the grateful citizens that recognized him. He soon found himself spending his free time patrolling the neighborhood looking for trouble, stopping a number of break-ins, breaking up a prostitution ring, and making it unsafe for street criminals to play their trade in his area. Jesse knew he couldn't stop all crime or clean up the city completely but he saw it as his duty to do what he could. And thus it wasn't long before his neighborhood patrolling led him to become involved in stopping super crime, eventual membership as one of the first members of the super group known as the New Protectors. In addition to fighting such dangerous and well known supervillains as EVIL, Inc., Jesse has also been on several "missionary" trips to Africa and South America where he has in truth gone out to assist fellow mutants being interred in IHA (Institute for Human Advancement) run mutant camps in third world countries. He has thus far kept the true nature of these trips a secret from his fellow Protectors, seeing it as a personal crusade, but perhaps one day he will call on the bonds of friendship and team loyalty he has earned with his contributions to his fellow teammates to assist him in his war on the genocidal mutant hating organization.