An accomplished physicist employed in the pharmaceutical industry, Dr. Adrian Benson caught the industry's attention when his research on the use of sonic fields for rehabilitating patients with terminal illnesses was published in one of the world's most prestigious medical journals. While many seemed to ridicule his findings, he was nonetheless approached by benefactors willing to offer their funding for continued work on the subject-- including one Richard Jackman, who even offered to commission an apparatus that operated on Adrian's principles. While he had his doubts about the man, the promise of his career taking an incredible upswing was too good to ignore.
Jackman followed through on his word and more, but trusting the unscrupulous man would lead to one of the biggest mistakes in Dr. Benson's career. His benefactor was, in fact, in the employ of a VIPER cell interested in obtaining the mechanism for a more nefarious purpose-- and they came to collect as the two were testing their final prototype, intent on stealing the device and leaving behind no witnesses. A wayward gunshot struck the gadget in the ensuing crossfire, causing it to self-destruct with a pulse of pure sonic force. While Jackman and several agents were disintegrated by the blast, Adrian was instead innervated with the released energies and granted superhuman powers.
Even with his invention destroyed and his traitorous colleague dead, the damage to his professional prospects was the least of his worries now that he had to deal with the onset of changes to his body-- with every fiber of his being now vibrating uncontrollably without sufficient concentration or an outlet to release his consistently built-up energy.
Afflicted with a cancerous tumor that wouldn't respond to conventional treatments, blue-collared breadwinner Todd Meyer was a desperate man searching for a way to keep himself alive in fear of the livelihood of his family. Roused to seek out Adrian Benson after reading the publication featuring his work on the sonic generator, Todd was eventually able to confront the Doctor, begging him to use the device on him to heal him. Adrian could do naught but turn Todd away as there was no apparatus for him to use: it had completely malfunctioned in an incident just a week prior.
Something about Todd's determination to live on struck an emotional chord with Dr. Benson, who soon made efforts to reconnect with the man who had visited him. At their second meeting, Adrian revealed the truth behind the fate of his invention, and confided that he was empowered by the very same forces he sought to harness. Todd pressed the Doctor once again to find a way to rid him of his cancer-- Adrian reluctantly agreed to use his newfound gifts to attempt the procedure under his own power.
