Stanley W. May (![[info]](https://www.insanejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} __mayday) wrote,@ 2009-07-05 17:49:00 |
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Name: Stanley Wallace May
Age: 23
Superhero/Supervillain/Undecided/Mundane:
Alias: None at the moment.
Theme: "Savior" by Rise Against
Powers/Abilities: The ability to move at superhuman speed. It is unknown how fast exactly he can move, but he has been known to break the sound barrier without too much effort and to cross the continental United States in a matter of moments. It is theorized he might be able to travel up to the speed of light, though it is unknown if he can exceed that to FTL (faster than light) and possibly time travel...but it's highly doubtful. He is able to run fast enough as to not break the surface tension of bodies of water and overcome gravity by running completely horizontal or upside down at top speed. He is also able to create wind vortices by moving in circular motions fast enough (either running or just moving his arms or legs) and lend velocity to thrown objects, able to make mundane items deadly in flight. A side-effect was also speeding up of his mental processes, including his reflexes and allowing him to absorb and analyze information at an astounding rate--a necessary thing when moving at such speeds. He is also experimenting with the speeding up of his molecules' motion, resulting in extreme vibrations of himself and other materials around him. He is also protected by an 'aura' when he uses his powers, which is only present during moments of super speed and keeps him from dying from air friction or high-speed impact with objects. Without it, well..he'd be roadkill.
Weaknesses: Vibrational Discharge. Not as fun as it sounds, ladies. If he runs too fast (near the speed of light) or uses the esoteric methods of his power (such as creating wind vortices or lending velocity to objects), he builds up resonance in his molecular structure. With concentration he can purge himself of it (which he can tell by headaches and blurry vision), but if he allows it to build up..it becomes truly dangerous. The largest 'incident' happened right after the accident in Axis City, when he found himself in the Sahara and the resonance expunged itself from him in an explosion with the concussive force of a tomahawk missile. More general and usual side-effects are splitting headaches, blurry vision, and minor cramps which can last for five minutes or less--lengthening in time as more resonance builds. Electricity also acts as a damper to his powers, slowing him down and interfering with his ability to use the advanced methods, enough rendering him inert for minutes at a time.
History: Born to John and Cindy May, Stanley was raised in southern Maryland for most of his life in a small town where his father worked at the only big company (Quinlan Aeronautics) as a metallurgist and designer. His mother stayed at home most days, though she worked part time as a wedding planner in-town and enjoyed being able to spend time with young Stanley. Stanley was tutored early by his mother, helping him with math and reading so that by the time he entered school he was an accelerated student. He was always doted on by teachers and praised for his intelligence by the faculty, his father always giving a gracious smile and his mother doing her best to make him feel like he deserved everything. He lived this idyllic existence until he reached the seventh grade, when his mother was killed in train accident as she returned from visiting her parents.
That was the first time they moved, in four years they moved ten times and finally settled in the mid-west where John could be close to the main Quinlan Aeronautics factory. Stanley noticed that his father didn't smile anymore, becoming rougher in appearance and colder in demeanor as the years passed. He continued to give kind words to Stan, but they sounded hollow and distant..which was rare to hear since he buried himself in his work at QA. Stanley did well enough in the last school, making All-State in the baseball team and achieving Summa Cum Laude of his class as a senior. He applied to three or four schools, receiving a full-ride from each of them before deciding to move out of his father's house and start fresh in Axis City. He moved to the city and kept his academics as well as his sports performance at a notable level, though he was noted among his peers as quite reserved (though they tended to call him stuck-up or antisocial).
After two mentionable articles in the paper, one about helping lead the university's baseball team to a state title and a close national runner-up, then about becoming one of the youngest people to win the university's Earth Day Science Fair (with an advanced solar/ethanol engine that was able to start a fully-loaded military vehicle--in his sophmore year). He was invited to join the newly formed Moretti Labs, working as an intern with a possibility to earn a highly paid lead position in the pharmaceuticals projects. It was here that he met Megan, her read hair reminding him of his mother and the two hit it off...though not immediately (Stan likes to think that Meg thought he was too young)..but the tenacious college student eventually won her over. He found what he had apparently been missing since his father's transformation, someone he could trust with everything and he found himself soon falling in love with her. He proposed to her in record time and was overjoyed when she said 'yes', to which he alerted his father (not particularly happy with his response).
It was during his satisfying work at Moretti Labs, that he found some interesting data in the closed files and some unregulated use of lab equipment. Over a few weeks, he slowly began to uncover some old experiments with performance enhancing drugs and the untimely demise of the people who developed it--which began to lead him to the more recent experiments with advanced cloning. When he ran into a dead end, he decided to do some on-site investigation (after taking a prototype version of the drugs he had found, for safety purposes) and snuck into the labs where the experiments were going on. It was then that he found out the ugly truth about what was going on, but it was also when one of the actual technicians arrived and alarmed security to an intruder. After decking the man (really, wouldn't you?) with a right hook, he jammed the lock to the door and rigged the equipment to create an explosion. He exited via the service access, but was pinned in the underground tunnels by the private security forces and was fired upon after receiving the go ahead from the head of security. Then all hell broke loose.
All he remembered was the gunshots and then immediately after was the explosion, when he came too..he was running across something blue...then green and then yellow. He could barely see and his brain was throbbing, his stomach felt like he was being turned inside out as he finally came to a halt. All he heard was the thunderous boom and felt the air around him thin, felt the sand rain down upon him afterwards. After a few minutes to orient himself, he decided to try and run to find a highway..and found himself in South Africa. Weeks of experimentation allowed him to find out he had been gifted with speed beyond anything he could imagine. The first year of his death was spent working as a teacher in South Africa, under a false identity, while he researched into his condition and was unable to come up with anything--which led him to suspect that it was some type of radiation reaction to the performance enhancer he had taken. The second year, he abandoned his life in South Africa and began to travel searching for answers or researching other cases of similar transformations.
France. China. Egypt. Brazil. Australia. Japan. Russia. Iran. He could go anywhere and do anything, so he began to use his powers to figure out his life and like to think of himself as a modern day rogue. But his strong moral compass kept getting in the way as he tended to help the weak and avert disasters while keeping himself moving so fast as not to be seen, which he decided was for the best. Three monthes ago, he came back to the States and began to work his way back to Axis City. He stopped for a month to spend time with his father and let him know the whole story, which is where he found the man neck-deep in whiskey and memories. He did his best to bring him out of his depression, but eventually had to leave the man with many questions about how long he'd last and how much he could have stopped it if he'd have stayed close to his father. Now, he's come back home and is ready to face the future on his own terms..though he likes to keep his powers a secret.
Other Notes/Information: Before his transformation in the Moretti Labs incident, Stan was already a highly intelligent chemist and nearing his completion in the Advanced Science Applications program as a stand-out. He is also a skilled welder and metallurgist, due to the time he spent as an apprentice to his father, though he maintains welding as just a hobby now. He also spent a lot of time boxing at a gym owned by a friend of his father's, while no world champion, he aware of how to fight and move better than the average person. He played second base.
Possible storylines in Game: [Sins of the Father] Rebecca Quinlan (possible PC), threatens to fire John May for his behavior as of late. So, John breaks down and tells the woman of his son and how useful someone who can travel at speeds beyond fighter aircraft could be to study. Does she come seeking a peaceful experiment or wanting to capture a lab rat?
[Greater and Lesser Evil] Upon returning to Axis City, seeks Alexander Moretti to alert him to fact that there are illegal projects going on in his science division. But Megan wants to use the information to help bankrupt him and expose him for what he is. How will Moretti use the knowledge that someone has stumbled upon some dirty secrets and how will Megan handle Stanley's desire to help his boss. And what will it mean to Stanley when he inevitably has to choose?
[Ghosts from the Past] A great many people were affected by the explosion Stanley caused and maybe he wasn't the only one to gain powers from the unfortunate incident. And not everyone would be happy with the life-changing event and most people aren't happy with losing someone in the explosion. Someone (or some group) is causing havoc around Stan May, wrecking his life at every turn. Who is it and what do they want?