Alex Mercer

Name: Alex Mercer

Villain Name: The Prototype

Alias(es): The Virus

Villain Mastermind: Yes

Age: 29 (Effectively Immortal)

Gender: Male

Height: 5’10” (Varies)

Weight: 190 lbs. (Varies)

Hair Color(s): Brown (Varies)

Eye Color(s): Blue (Varies)

Power: Alex Mercer was rewarded instead of punished when he became infected with the BLACKLIGHT Virus. His physical being can be altered into seven different forms, which include the BLADE, CLAW, HAMMERFIST, SHIELD, ARMOR, WHIPFIST, and MUSCLEMASS. This allows for a variety of killing methods. First, the BLADE is merely altering his right-hand into an indestructible blade that can cut through almost anything except for the thickest of building walls and so forth. The CLAW is the alteration of both his left and right-hands into indestructible claws. The claws consist of four small blades which protrude from his hand like fingers.

Next, the HAMMERFIST turns his hands into indestructible rocks which can cause devastating damage if hit by these massive damage-dealers. The SHIELD is just the creation of an almost indestructible shield over his left arm, which can last for about two posts and then must recharge for three posts. The ARMOR is the molecular altercation of his skin into a rock-hard material that is indestructible and looks like armor of a knight. Although indestructible, Alex can feel the pain that comes with the physical contact made by enemies’ attacks. Next, the WHIPFIST changes his arm into an indestructible whip like weapon which can reach up to fifteen yards. Last, the MUSCLEMASS enhances his strength by adding artificial protein created by the virus and building up his muscles in his arms only.

All of these powers are created by the BLACKLIGHT Virus that uses Alex’s body as a host. The creation of these malicious weapons is very artistic because they look like ink floating in water as they are being created. The thing that makes him the most unique aren’t the powers, but it is that he can absorb people’s memories and their physical appearances, which make him the slyest of the criminals and the most deadly. He has a limit of keeping only one physical appearance at once, but the memories he gains don’t deteriorate. His strength is abnormal and superhuman, comparing to that of half of Superman’s strength, his speed is as half as fast as a cheetah, and his ability to walk on walls is uncanny due to the Virus. The Virus is unable to cross water, so whenever he comes in contact with water, he will become a bit weaker because the molecules interfere a bit with his shape-shifting. Antidotes for the virus also make him weaker, specifically BLOODTOX which is the antivirus to the BLACKLIGHT Virus. His body is near indestructibility and seems to never age no matter what happens and how much time passes.

Techniques:

Name: GROUNDSPIKE

Effect: Alex Mercer shifts his mass by slamming his claws into the ground, creating deadly spikes that erupt beneath his enemies. The range is fifteen to twenty yards and his spikes will only extend from beneath the ground as long as he keeps his claws jammed into the ground, making him a bit vulnerable for attacks. He may only use this attack while in his CLAW transformation.

Duration and Cool-Down: The GROUNDSPIKE lasts only as long as Alex keeps his claws jammed into the ground. After he is done using it, the GROUNDSPIKE technique has a cool-down of five posts before he can use it again.

Name: STREET SWEEPER

Effect: Alex launches his WHIPFIST to its full extent and then spins around in a circle, dismembering almost anything in its path. The length of WHIPFIST is fifteen to twenty yards.

Duration and Cool-Down: This ability can only be used while in his WHIPFIST transformation. The cool-down for this ability is five posts before it can be used again.

Name: GROUNDSHATTER

Effect: Alex will pound the ground with his bare fists, allowing him to clear the area of enemies with a small, instant tremor by launching them into the air. The range of the blast is five to ten yards.

Duration and Cool-Down: This is an instant move and it has a cool-down of five posts.

Name: GROUNSPIKE GRAVEYARD DEVASTATOR

Effect: This is an enhanced version of the GROUNDSPIKE in that it hits fifteen to twenty yards around Alex. It’s an area of effect attack that launches GROUNDPIKES all around him, dealing massive damage. They rise up to ten yards into the air also hitting aerial enemies.

Duration and Cool-Down: This move will only last as long as he holds his claws into the ground. This means he is vulnerable if you can jump over all of the GROUNDSPIKES and attack him from above. The cool-down for this ability is ten posts.

Name: KNUCKLE SHOCKWAVE

Effect: Alex pounds his fists together to blast his opponents away from him. It’s not damaging, but they do fly a small distance, giving him some time to figure something out. The range of the blast is five to ten yards.

Duration and Cool-Down: The attack is instant and the cool-down is five posts.


Other Noticeable Feature(s): He always wears the same clothes because they seemed to be attached to him, much like his skin. They only change when he changes physical appearances with someone he absorbs.

Civilian Clothing Picture(s):



Costume Picture(s): He can disguise as anyone that he absorbed before, which makes him almost impossible to track, except for Viral Detectors and other forms of virus detecting systems.

Vehicle Picture(s): Alex doesn’t ride any vehicles because of his ability to run at fast speeds and his ability to walk on walls.

Profession(s): Former Head of GENTEC Research Project: BLACKLIGHT

Personality: The Prototype is a quiet, intense, oddly imposing figure. He’s easily overlooked in the crowd, but when he makes himself known, he’s hard to miss. The look of superiority in his eyes often betrays his true nature. He’s not fearful of alarms and would send the average man running; heights, gunfire, and explosions don’t even faze him. He moves economically, and seems preternaturally in control of his body. He projects a quiet sort of confidence through his actions, rather than words. When he does speak, it is profound, shocking, or displays a wry, biting sense of humor. It’s not unusual for people to mistake his silence for not paying attention, a “skill” he often exploits. He’s mistrustful of most people, and views the world through the eyes of a predator.

He’s a creature motivated by revenge against the world. After finding out his history and life, he decided to end the BLACKLIGHT Virus and go into hiding in the streets of New York City. Some memories are still fuzzy, so he feeds on his past. It’s his lifeblood. But such “food” is often overwhelming- strong memories cause him to enter a state where the real-world fades out, momentarily replaced by only memories. In this state, he is eminently vulnerable. To the world at large, the Prototype’s Powered Form is terrifying. Despite his incredible strength and near indestructibility, the Prototype is not a brute: he’s capable of exceptional feats of intellect. This intellect grows as he Consumes people, memories, and skills. The Prototype’s body is a weapon. In fact, it’s an arsenal of weapons. The Prototype is seen as a threat, and pursued by any number of forces, from local authorities all the way up to the American military

History: Alex Mercer was the identity of the Prototype before his transformation. The Prototype understands the basics of his past- that his name was Alex Mercer, that he was a scientist- but recalls nothing more. Before his infection, Alex Mercer PhD was the head of a biotech project at GENTEC knew their work was classified. It involves cataloging government biological samples recovered from far-flung war zones, looking for weaponized viruses.

Ales worked in special projects on the other end of the spectrum: Project BLACKLIGHT- engineering weaponized viruses from odd samples received from the government. These samples did amazing things, like mimic and store genetic information from infected organisms and more. With Alex’s help, they were soon infecting and duplicating copies of their host’s genetic structure. Alex’s insight and ability to manipulate these viruses made him a unique asset; his work was years ahead of his nearest competitor.

Alex was an impatient, dark, tortured person, subjected to a brutal childhood spent in abject poverty. He spent his first nine years in foster care, and was returned to his mother after her release from prison when he was 10. For Alex, foster care was better. His propensity for science was his way out, and when he left, he left everything behind. The past was dead and his future was his payback, what he deserved for all the time spent suffering. He trusted no one, had no friends, cared less and less what others thought of him and found solace only in his work. By the time he came to GENTEC, Alex was teetering on the border of sociopathy. He knew this, and didn’t care.

His past made Alex morally ambiguous enough to get the job done. When work called for ethically questionable behavior, he never hesitated. He got the job done, but often managed to burn bridges along the way. Recently, questions began to be asked in closed sessions on Capitol Hill. BLACKWATCH decided to cover it all up. Alex, forever paranoid, drew his sister into the mix- using her journalistic skills to track what his bosses were up to. After weeks of investigation, it was clear to Alex that some sort of purge was coming. Alex took out insurance- he smuggled a vial of BLACKLIGHT Virus, and mailed a laptop with classified documents to his sister. But BLACKWATCH was too quick for him. While attempting to escape the city by train, Alex was caught in Penn Station. After Alex purposefully released the virus, he was shot and collapsed on the vial sample, becoming infected as he died.

After he awoke from within a morgue, he escaped and started his journey to regain all of his memories. After countless days of infection spreading and so forth, he was able to recover most of his memories and recollect his past life. He fought the BLACKWATCH and annihilated the organization before stopping the infection by destroying it at its source. GENTEC, the BLACKLIGHT Virus, and the BLACKWATCH were all covered up by the government, saying that it was nothing more than a drill in case of a large-scale epidemic. He fled from the scene and the city was condemned until it was reopened a few years later after cleansing efforts were successful. He hasn’t been active since.

Crush(es): Alex Mercer hasn’t given much thought into females since his body is technically the Virus with the memories of countless people but mainly Alex Mercer’s memories.

RP Sample: Don’t have to since I’m a Guardian.