Individual
Character's full name: Kenneth Adam Beyer
Alias/ Nickname/ Code name: Nickname - “Kent”, Code name - “Rook”
Gender: Male
Age: 30 years old
Date of Birth: 07/11/1989
Birthplace/ Home/ Place of origin: Alexandria, VA
Nationality: American
Ethnicity/ Cultural Heritage: Caucasian (German, Scottish, English)
Appearance
Hair color and style: Dark brown, and kept neat for his job. His hair is naturally wavy, but is usually kept slick when on the job, and more tousled and relaxed during his down time/on weekends.
Skin Tone: Kent has a fair complexion, and is prone to sunburn. He used artificial tanner once in high school, to awkward results.
Eye Color: Light brown.
Height: 6’2”
Build: Kent is tall and has an athletic build, with broad shoulders and a narrow waist. His physique is toned (but not overly muscled) from routine training, primarily running and swimming.
Visible mutation: When his power levels are at their highest capacity, his muscles will be more visible and vascular, with his skin paling and veins partially visible in a dark blue.
Scars/ Tattoos/ Piercings: One tattoo on his left shoulder of a hydrogen atom, but with a five-pointed star at the nucleus. He has a scar over his right knee from an ACL surgery.
Other features: None
Everyday clothing style: When at work, Kent typically wears tailored suits (black, navy, or dark gray) with solid-colored ties. He has a favorite tie-bar that looks like a black and silver turret. During his off-time, he dresses primarily in Levi 513s in various colors, and solid colored tees and sweaters. He prefers not to wear collared shirts in his spare time. He has a brown leather jacket that he wears when he’s really feeling himself.
Uniform: In day-to-day tasks for his work with SUPER, Kent’s uniform is the tailored suits mentioned above, or a black dri-fit polo with the faction logo and khaki pants. His active mission/engagement gear features a black and dark-blue/gray bodysuit with flexible armor components to accommodate his muscular changes when fully-powered. He has an identifying patch on each shoulder, one with the SUPER logo and the other the same logo as his tattoo. He has a full-coverage helmet/mask with an open mouthpiece, and fingerless gloves. ((OOC: the uniform is basically the midpoint between the Captain America stealth suit and the Night Monkey costume))
Sleepwear: Kent wears cotton sleep shorts and a tank top for sleep.
Miscellaneous clothing: Kent does not like to wear hats, as he doesn’t like what they do to his hair.
Character
Personality: Kent is charming, friendly, and has a magnetic personality. He always seems to know just what to say, largely because he has rehearsed just what he should say for most situations. Like Prince Charming in “Into the Woods”, he was raised to be charming, not sincere. That said, there’s no sinister undertone or ulterior motive (most of the time) to him getting you to like him, that’s just what he likes best. He is genuine in his love for his job as a Recruiter, liaison, and field agent at SUPER, as he fully believes in their mission (as he views it) to support and guide the mutant population. It was once joked that Kent’s secondary mutation was “earnestness”, because he speaks with authentic passion and belief in the good that SUPER is doing for mutants and, more importantly, America.
He’s quick to shake your hand, pat you on the back, or give you a high five, not only because he’s gaining a little extra “boost” each time it happens, but because it relaxes you and puts you a little more at-ease. He likely won’t be the one to turn heads when he walks into a crowded room, but by the end of the night he’ll be the one with the largest crowd and the biggest smiles.
Kent is very good at being engaged and attentive in conversation, and is a consummate diplomat. This makes him very effective in his job, an excellent LinkedIn connection, and a spectacular first- and second-date. While “shallow” might be too harsh of a descriptor, “predictable” might suit nicely. Many of his activities and behaviors are driven by duty/responsibility vs. personal interest, and the only time that he has ever really been at a loss for words was when a girlfriend once tried to get a firm understanding of what he was really interested in (outside of work). His sense of identity is almost completely tied to his relationships (as an agent, and as the son of Major General and Mrs. Adam Gerhard Beyer).
Hobbies/ Interests: Work is a major focus in Kent’s life, not only because the job is demanding but because he loves the opportunity that it affords him to “make a difference”. In his off hours, he has a rotating exercise schedule that involves long distance swimming, running, and various martial arts training. He has a secret love of high-fantasy (books, movies, and renaissance faires), but does not share this publicly. He has always wanted to ride a horse and own a broadsword, but would never say that out loud.
Job or part time job and description: Prior to joining SUPER, Kent worked as part of Federal Protective Services under the Department of Homeland Security, joining after he finished his undergraduate studies. He worked as a full-time field specialist for three years before being tapped for Recruitment duties, which pulled him into “intermittent-field” status while he traveled to recruit talent for future DHS opportunities.
Fears/ phobias/ concerns: Kent’s concerns are largely tied to failure and disappointing people that he thinks are counting on him (fellow agents, his superiors, his parents, etc.). He is troubled by the state of mutant-human relations, and doesn’t understand why there isn’t universal buy-in to government oversight of “mutant-rights-issues”, as groups like the X-Men and (even moreso) the Syndicate are actively contributing to an unnecessary “us vs. them” culture between mutants and humans.
He is also incredibly afraid of snakes, as they are unpredictable and move too fast for something that doesn’t have legs.
Special talents: Kent knows all the words to Ludacris’ 2001 album “Word of Mouf”. His mother smashed the CD with a hammer when she found it in his room, he was grounded for two weeks, and it was never mentioned again.
Morality
Good/ bad/ neutral/ other: Lawful good, through a pro-government lens. Kent believes that the rules are there for a reason, and that reason is so that everyone is taken care of. He believes in a uniform application of the law, and that leaders should be held to an even higher standard. He is optimistic and often gives people in authority the benefit of the doubt, and is thought to lack the political savvy and cunning to grow to a senior leadership role within any government function.
Mutations
Mutation description:
Energy absorption that only works on living things and requires physical contact to initiate. Absorbs life-force/energy, vitality and health into their own body while removing it from the source. Drain causes decreased energy/vitality, endurance, stamina, health, and regeneration proportionate to extent of drain. Draining powered individuals could result in them being unable to use their powers due to depleted energy. Extended drain may result in extended or permanent effects, or even death
Absorbed life force augments his physical capabilities, enhancing his energy, endurance, health, regeneration, durability, and stamina.
The “drain” can only be initiated via physical touch (skin-to-skin contact), and can only be maintained within a 10-ft radius when contact is removed. The strength/speed of the drain is driven by physical proximity (physical contact providing the purest connection, with farther reach resulting in less-and-less efficiency until the connection breaks at 10 ft). If the afflicted steps outside of the 10 ft radius the connection is broken. Stepping back into the radius does not bring the connection back; it can only be re-initiated through physical touch.
At this point, Kent can consciously control when he initiates a drain, but it requires light-to-moderate concentration. His body's natural tendency is to absorb-on-contact, so the more he is distracted/engaged elsewhere, the more his body will automatically continue to absorb energy.
Strengths:
Absorption:
Physical touch:
-15 seconds to render unconscious
-30 seconds to render comatose
-60 seconds to kill
5-foot radius:
-120 seconds to render unconscious
-300 seconds to render comatose
-600 seconds to kill
9.9-foot radius:
-300 seconds to render unconscious
-600 seconds to render comatose
-1200 seconds to kill
Utilization:
Fully-charged*:
-Sedentary: Up to 12 hours of peak energy
-Moderately active: Up to 3 hours of peak energy
-Strenuous activity: Up to 1 hour of peak energy
*All time stipulations augmented by ability to drain during activity. If fighting someone and able to make skin contact during the fight, he can maintain/recharge continuously.
When fully-charged, he can:
-Lift up to a half-ton
-Run at speeds up to 35 miles per hour
-Heightened durability against blades/projectiles
Weaknesses and Limitations:
Kent can only drain from up to 4 base non-powered humans/beings before being fully-charged. He can continue to drain from more sources beyond that, but it results in irritability, discomfort, insomnia, and mania until he expends enough energy. He has to be disciplined in stopping absorption and burning energy to “normalize”, or he can end up harming himself.
Kent has to be even more mindful of draining powered individuals, as the type/extent of their powers can impact how their life force is ingested (e.g. energy-projectors would overload him before they were ever weakened by his absorption powers as they are already generating a surplus). He will learn over time how to modulate the drain to optimize his strength against differently-powered individuals.
Kent can only drain from a maximum of 5 people simultaneously, and the efficacy of each drain is diminished as each additional person is added. He can always drain one person more quickly and efficiently than two, and so on. If he does not drain energy from other living beings, he will exhibit the same symptoms that his “victims” display, but over a longer period of time. He can supplement energy through traditional means (food, rest, etc.), but will only get back to normalcy/peak condition by draining from humans/mutants.
Conversely, if he continues to draw in energy beyond his limit and does not “burn” off the excess, he grows incredibly physically uncomfortable (fidgety, agitated) and cannot “shut off”. He’ll have insomnia, he’ll be ill-tempered/manic, prone to poor decision-making and brash behavior. He can also over-exert himself and be susceptible to self-induced injury (muscle tears, stress-fractures, organ failure, etc.)
Powers are weak against armored individuals (human, mutant, otherwise); anyone that he can’t make some kind of skin-to-flesh contact with. Also weaker against speedsters, teleporters, anyone that can easily bounce out of his sphere of influence.
Physical Abilities
General Physical Capabilities: At baseline, Kent is an athletic, active individual, with strength and endurance reflective of a trained law enforcement professional. His powers allow him a proportionate amount of increased strength and stamina as he depletes it from his foes, but usually doesn’t reflect a substantial increase to his own abilities unless he is explicitly draining others without simultaneously exerting himself.
Fighting Style: Having been trained in law enforcement since the age of 18, Kent is experienced with striking and grappling in several adaptive disciplines, combining elements of BJJ, krav maga, boxing, and aikido. He is proficient with light firearms.
Fighting Style Pros/Cons: Kent very rarely loses a one-on-one fight. Or any kind of one-on-one physical contest. When his mutation manifested, his coaches described him as “wearing down” his opponents, as he would typically overpower his opponents over time through their growing weary vs. substantial overpowering with strength or skill. Because of the nature of his powers, Kent is most vulnerable at the start of a fight more than any other time, so a strong attack could incapacitate him almost immediately. The likelihood of defeating Kent goes down proportionately with time, but he is never invulnerable.
History Of Your Character
Kenneth Adam Beyer (“Kent” from birth), was born in Alexandria, VA; the first and only son of Janet Beyer (née Montgomery) and (at the time) Captain Adam Gerhard (“Howitzer”) Beyer. Kent would describe his childhood as “strict, but loving”, as he grew up in/around Washington, with his father steadily rising through the ranks at the Pentagon intermixed with sporadic tours in the Middle East. Kent’s parents were both from established families in DC, and deftly navigated their professional and social lives with grace and ease, and an unspoken understanding that deviation was not on the table. As such, Kent grew up in an environment that was organized, well-appointed, and well-documented in family photos on mantles. He played basketball like his dad (but a solid player, not a star), he was an Eagle Scout like his dad (but with fewer badges), and he wrestled like his dad (more on that soon). Most people would describe “Howie’s boy” as sweet, handsome, and very respectful, and his friends (largely generated from his parents’ existing social circle) would call him funny and a little naive. In the Beyer household, there was always somewhere to be (a practice, a dinner, a game, an event), which left little time for discussion and relationship-building. The Beyer's were proud of their boy, because he was what he needed to be: someone to carry the legacy without surpassing it. And they were all comfortable with that.
In November 2006, the unexpected happened, and the unexpected was usually unacceptable in the Beyer household. Kent, midway through his junior year of high school and first season as a varsity middleweight wrestler, was in over his head. Though effective in JV, his height and weight placed him with opponents that were stronger and more skilled on a routine basis, and it was the first time in his athletic history when he was obviously out of his depth. During his first varsity match, Kent spent the first two periods easily overpowered and dominated on the mat. Without even looking, Kent could feel the heat of his father’s eyes on his neck as he prepared to shake hands with his opponent for the final period, and he could feel his sweat run cold, knowing it had very little to do with what he was exerting during the match. As he tapped palms with his opponent, he felt the knot in his stomach loosen, and felt the onset of a second wind. And when he was grabbed and pushed into a submission hold, he felt himself easily pivot and pin his opponent to the mat. And then he did it again. And within the next 60 seconds, his opponent was unconscious, the match was forfeited, and Kent felt like he could conquer the world. And his father smiled from the bleachers through narrowed eyes.
Kent went from being a varsity wannabe to the engine pushing the Jefferson High wrestling team to the State Championship. (Then) Colonel and Mrs. Beyer would politely accept the praise that was awarded to them and their son, while his father watched this sudden blossoming with suspicion and concern. He knew the kind of athlete that his boy was, and something about this sudden shift just didn’t seem...natural. And while having a star-athlete in the family was never a bad thing, the scandal associated with steroid use certainly was. Running a confidential blood test through some back-channels at work was easy enough (not uncommon for a drug/paternity test to be run with the results off-the-books and no-questions-asked), but the results paled the stoic face of the hardened soldier. His son was a mutant, and THAT was going to require a decisive strategy to effectively maneuver.
The following weeks were a whirlwind of consultation, action, fallout, and mitigation. Old friends now in Congress saw an opportunity for legitimacy, and his parents saw a chance to spin a private shame into a public stance. Kent publicly confessed his mutation, renounced his winning record out of professed “sportsmanship”, and became the public face for a Washington-based youth initiative for mutant-human relations, “The Patriot Nucleus” or “TPN”. Kent’s all-American image, charm, and family connections in positions of power afforded him a position of privilege largely shielded from overt discrimination (even if people talked behind their hands and certain families quietly stopped associating). His self-starred/-narrated PSA on the importance of voluntary registration in the Fall of 2007 kickstarted his notoriety as “one of the good ones” in the eyes of the human population, and guaranteed his admission to William & Mary the following year (even if his registration did guarantee he could not follow in his father’s military footsteps). Throughout his final year of high school, Kent trained extensively with mutant “experts” in DC, and quickly gained a meaningful understanding and control of his powers, preventing any consideration of being placed in the camps.
Though TPN officially dissolved with the overturning of the registration act in 2008, Kent’s Pentagon-based co-op experience during his undergraduate career involved basic law-enforcement training alongside other pro-government mutants, in the hopes of assimilating mutant operatives into various parts of the FBI, CIA, DHS, and other law enforcement agencies. These trainings were similar to being in the National Guard (one weekend a month, two weeks a year), and otherwise didn’t impact his typical college experience. He and his counterparts grew very close during this time, including his instructors and contacts within the DHS (in particular), and his small band of mutant peers got matching shoulder tattoos of the TPN logo (a hydrogen atom with a five-pointed star at the nucleus) following one of their last training weekends. There’s an annual meet-up to this day.
Kent graduated with a job in-hand with the DHS, and was well-known for his likability, professionalism, and (likely more than anything else) his pedigree in Washington. Though very successful during his tenure in physical security, his talents as an engaging and charming orator, as well as his ability to “wear down” potential talent/leaders for the community made him an obvious choice for a recruiting position. Though barely remembered as a public figure, he still makes no attempt to hide his mutation, using his position as a point of pride in the ability for mutants to assimilate peacefully. In his eyes, his story illustrates clearly the potential for harmony and mutual advancement between mutants and humans, and a “safe” alternative for mutants that want to live openly and safely. While his earnestness often doesn’t earn him many enemies (largely because his recruiting efforts are above-board and legitimate), he’s more than once been called “Uncle Tom” by uninterested mutants.
Recently, Kent’s become increasingly aware that his opportunities for growth and the reach of his influence are limited within this function, and has escalated to his superiors that he’d be open to trying something new. Ideally, he’s hoping to advance into a full-fledged Agent capacity within one of the bigger name organizations, while forging new pathways for mutants to gain legitimacy in federal law enforcement. Word has gotten around that he’s on the market, and some of his father’s network connections are interested in discussing his future within their organization, including a potential Agent opportunity in the NY office of SUPER...
Roleplay
What’s your OOC alias?: TheFunisher
Where did you learn about this site?: Actually, my wife (and fellow RPer I.AM.OMEGA) found the site. We had both been active on the Uncanny X-Men RPG years ago, and have been wanting to get back into RPing.
Do you have any other characters on MRO, if so who: None.
Sample RP:
Breakfast isn’t in the cards on a day like this. Lunch probably wouldn’t be either, even though the organizers always made sure that there was time carved out either before things got started, or midway through. No, trying to eat anything before or during, for Kent at least, was not only unnecessary, it was an occupational hazard. After all, what kind of impression does it make if you’re blowing burps into someone’s face every other sentence?
That’s a bad call. Super unprofessional. Doesn’t matter how good your pitch is, if you blow half-digested cafeteria chicken parm (and why is it always chicken parm?) into a prospective candidates’ face, they’re going to notice. Skip breakfast, gum or mint 5 minutes before showtime, and you let the relationships you build sustain you. Or you occasionally let a handshake linger a second or two longer on an overwhelmed intern candidate and watch them relax while you get a little boost. Everyone wins, no one gets garlic-bombed.
Kent straightened his tie, smoothed down his part, and did a final sweep of his hotel room before shouldering his messenger bag and heading to the lobby, roller-bag in tow. He smiled and wished a good morning to the cleaning crew he passed in the hallway, and gave a quick wave and a wink to the front desk clerk as he walked out of the lobby and into the parking lot. The rhythm of the day was a familiar one, and trips like these were most of his year for the past 5 years; attending career fairs, conventions, networking events. Identifying leads, making connections, and facilitating introductions of some of the best and brightest people (human and mutant alike) to their next role as a defender of the US Government. Long hours, lots of travel, and all interspersed with periodic active duty operations in the field.
Kind of a dream gig.
The path of this day was even more familiar, not just because it was the final stop before he made it back to Alexandria after two solid weeks of mixed career events and field office visits through Virginia and the Carolinas, but because he was back at his own alma mater of William & Mary. He’d attended career week as a co-op representative, as a prospective job seeker, and this would be the fifth time he attended as a recruiter (and distinguished guest). As always, it promised to be a meaningful experience, a chance to connect with fellow alumni, and an opportunity to potentially identify young mutants with tremendous potential to serve. If he could make it in an environment like this, surely they could. Even without his powers, the prospect was enough to get him fired up.
The drive from the hotel to the campus in Williamsburg was quick and uneventful, and he kept his music loud enough to cover the rumbling in his stomach. A quick check in: no, he brought his own name tag (magnetic, no safety pins); yes, a water bottle would be great; thanks, he can find his own table. Good table placement in the middle of the main drag, far enough from big tech and retail and his set-up already pre-built.
The next 45 minutes pass by quickly and excitedly as other companies and reps trickle in, and each handshake accompanies the same litany:
“Hey, good to see you! Kent Beyer, DHS. Yeah, thanks! You? Oh, right, yeah, that’s awesome. Chicken parm, right? No, no, I’m good. So glad to meet you, and good luck today!”
Or sometimes:
“Hey, there s/he is! Been too long! You hitting the gym? Almost didn’t recognize you. Looking fit! What? Oh, chicken parm? No, no, not if I’m going to keep up with you! Ha ha! Yeah, right, right, well, good luck today! But not too much, am I right? Ha HA!”
And one time:
“Hey, Laura, so great to see you! Yeah, too long, totally. Yeah, you know, swimming, running, the usual. Tonight? I’d love to, but I’m heading back to DC. Yeah, definitely text me anytime. Oh yeah? Chicken parm? Well hey, thanks, and talk to you soon!”
Connecting with his peers was one thing, but hearing the click of the auditorium doors opening and the rolling murmur of candidates entering the venue was always a thrill. This was the main event, the chance to represent true opportunity for people to impact change, and the chance to do what he did best. Each conversation the most important, each candidate the most interesting, and each interaction the most meaningful. He believed it, he lived it, and so did most anyone he talked to.
He didn’t need breakfast, he didn’t need lunch; the job and these moments sustained him. And all he blew in people’s faces was his passion and joy. What could smell sweeter?
