Difference between revisions of "Reptile (@Ulyssestorms)"

Biography

Secret Origin: Twice Bitten

While Draysha proved to be more successful than their previous attempts at creating serpentine super-soldiers, the limitations that allowed for Draysha's results were naturally something that VIPER sought to eliminate. The Draysha program required subjects to ingest king cobra venom to trigger their temporary transformations and came with the unwanted side-effect of significantly reducing their lifespans. VIPER enlisted the expertise of Dr. Adam Atelis, a mysterious geneticist who claimed he could create Draysha 2.0, granting subjects even more power than the current Draysha program without any of the drawbacks. While Dr. Timothy Blank and VIPER's other mad scientists were busy at work on Project Stein, VIPER's attempt to capture and/or recreate the powerful mutate Grond, Dr. Atelis conducted Project Draysha 2.0 at a secret subterranean facility in Michigan, miles away from Millennium City. The city's chaotic, crime-ridden Westside area was rife with test subjects who could be abducted without stirring up much trouble. It was Westside, after all. One of the unfortunate individuals abducted by this VIPER subcontractor was young Trevor Wilson.

One fateful night, Trevor lost track of time while reading at Kountry Komics after leaving his part-time job. On his way back home, even later in the night than usual, Trevor was shot with a tranquilizer dart, dragged into a van and taken to Dr. Atelis's laboratory. He woke up to the mad scientist's sinister grin and multiple needles stuck all over his body. He was firmly strapped against an operating table and could only scream as the syringes injected some kind of green fluid into him. Trevor spent weeks at the facility undergoing the experimental Draysha 2.0 procedure. Due to the drugs that kept him unable to resist, his memories of the experience are muddled, but he clearly remembers other test subjects screaming in agony and dying, one by one, as they were overwhelmed by the invasive treatment. After weeks of experiments, Trevor was the only survivor. While not the complete success Dr. Atelis had hoped to create, the madman saw Trevor as a step in the right direction.

A new batch of test subjects was needed for further experiments so that the doctor could perfect Draysha 2.0. That meant the old batch, including Trevor, would need to be disposed of. When the time came for him to be put down, Trevor's metabolism overcame the tranquilizer and he metamorphosed into a rampaging beast. He easily overpowered the VIPER goons who were about to execute him and nearly killed Dr. Atelis. But after becoming the monster VIPER made him, Trevor was still more human than they were. He left the criminals mauled in their bloody laboratory and fled the facility. Over the next few days, Trevor made his way back to his home in Millennium City.

His memory of this trek back home are as blurry as those of his time as a lab rat, but Trevor recalls hunting wild animals and running through the sewer system. In this bestial form, all that guided Trevor was the instinct every animal had when they fled predators. Eventually, Trevor regained consciousness in a Westside alleyway, having reverted to his human form, not far from his destination. After the comfortingly familiar walk through the streets, dressed in some of the tattered old clothes of a deceased homeless man he found in a cardboard shelter, Trevor was met with a door nearly broken off its hinges. He already knew what had happened before he took those heavy steps back into the place he had grown up. There they were. The stiff, cold bodies of his parents welcomed Trevor back home.

After this ordeal, Trevor swore to use the power Dr. Atelis and VIPER cursed him with to oppose them. Far from the superpowered lackey they tried to create, Trevor fought to protect the innocent and take down the criminals who perpetrated such evil. And one day he would make those snakes pay. They had taken the life of Trevor Wilson, the kid from Westside. But VIPER would be no match for Reptile.

Attributes

Metamorphosis

Mutated Physiology: Trevor's genome was drastically altered as a result of Dr. Atelis's experiments. His genome is now a fusion of reptilian and human genetic material. VIPER's experimental genetic engineering process was designed to produce super-soldiers who could transform between their human and Draysha forms at will, seamlessly, while retaining their intelligence and self-control. While nowhere near as powerful as Ripper or the Grond-derived monsters Dr. Blank sought to create, this new breed of Draysha agents were meant to be more versatile and covert. Dr. Atelis sought to accomplish this by modifying the genomes of subjects to be both unstable and mutable. The reptilian genes would lie dormant as junk DNA until they were activated by a focused mental command, overwriting the human DNA to allow their influence over gene expression to rapidly increase, manifesting almost instantly. In their human form, the subject would not exhibit morphological differences, concealing their status as a mutate. While the effects of the reptilian genes could not be entirely suppressed, their influence over the subject's biology would only become apparent upon close examination. Dr. Atelis had promised that the agents produced by the Draysha 2.0 program would complement Project Stein's heavyweight agents by providing VIPER with a highly efficient covert superhuman asset. The imperfected program, however, leaves Trevor unable to maintain control over himself past the initial stage of his metamorphosis. He can shift between human and stage 1 without any problems, but when the transformation is pushed further Trevor's cognitive faculties deteriorate to a primitive level and his animal instincts come to the fore. Despite this drawback, Trevor's power increases proportionally, highlighting the trade-off inherent to his metamorphosis. The stages of his metamorphosis are:

• Stage 1 - Reptile maintains full control of himself, despite slightly reduced intelligence. While it is the weakest, this stage is highly efficient due to Trevor's nearly unhindered control over it. His morphology changes to take on a reptilian, although still recognizably human, appearance and his strength, speed and endurance are augmented to superhuman levels.
• Stage 2 - Starting at this stage, Trevor loses conscious control as his animal instincts overtake his intellect. His strength and speed are significantly enhanced, while he loses the ability to think and communicate clearly. His body becomes even more reptilian, with his skull taking on a serpentine shape and his claws growing sharper and longer.
• Stage 3 - The final stage of Trevor's metamorphosis, where he grows to a size of over 8 feet with extremely dense muscle mass. At this point, Reptile is a rampaging beast, driven solely by the primitive instinct of self-preservation.

Once past the initial stage of his metamorphosis, Trevor loses the ability to autonomously revert to his human form. Instead, he requires external intervention, either through complete exhaustion of his stamina or subdual, to induce reversal of the metamorphic process.

Regenerative Healing Factor: Reptile possesses a remarkable regenerative healing factor that allows him to rapidly recover from injuries sustained in both his human and Draysha forms. This ability allows Trevor to heal damaged tissues at an accelerated rate, far surpassing that of an ordinary human. Even severe injuries that would incapacitate or prove fatal to others can be swiftly healed by his extraordinary regenerative abilities. Due to this healing factor, Reptile also possesses greater than normal endurance and increased immunity to most diseases and venomous substances.

Augmented Physical Prowess: As Reptile enters the initial stage of his metamorphosis, his strength, agility, and endurance are significantly augmented, surpassing the capabilities of ordinary humans. At stage 1, he can lift several tons and achieve running speeds exceeding 90 mph. As the metamorphosis progresses through its stages, these abilities are further enhanced. At stage 3, his thickened scaly hide provides as much protection as Type III body armor and his claws can tear through high quality steel with ease. His strength gradually increases with each stage, reaching an estimated maximum lift of approximately 50 tons at stage 2 and possibly as much as 200 tons at stage 3. As a result of the increased strength of his muscles, Reptile's movement speed also increases with each stage, maxing out at just over 200 mph. His leaping power and speed are similarly enhanced.

Augmented Senses: Reptile possesses enhanced senses enabling detection of subtle stimuli in his vicinity. During his transformation, Reptile develops a Jacobson's organ that allows him to detect chemical traces lingering in the air. This is accomplished by sampling the air with flicks of his tongue, which transfers scent particles to the vomeronasal organ. He also develops pit organs between his eyes and nostrils that are sensitive to infrared radiation and nerve endings in parts of his skeleton that allow for detection of subtle vibrations in the ground and in water when he's submerged in it. His vision is also slightly enhanced and especially sensitive to movement. These augmented sensory capabilities, combined with his reptilian reflexes, allow Reptile to react swiftly to any immediate danger.

Reptilian Reflexes: Reptile's enhanced sensory perception allows him to maintain an acute awareness of his surroundings. Combined with his sharpened instincts, Reptile's body can reflexively react to danger before he even becomes aware of it himself.

Slippery as a Snake: Reptile's body is very flexible, enabling him to perform feats of acrobatics and smoothly maneuver through tight spaces. His skin secretes a clear, oily fluid that makes him even more slippery. If Trevor was caught in the grasp of someone like Grond, he could quickly squirm his way out, assuming he isn't crushed right away. Past stage 1, his flexibility is greatly reduced as his cell tissues become denser and thicker.

Venom Gland: Upon reaching stage 2 of his metamorphosis, Reptile develops a venomous gland with ducts to his fangs. He can shoot the venom from his fangs as a corrosive acidic spray or bite opponents to deliver the venom to their nervous system, causing paralysis.

Camouflage and Thermal Vision: At stage 2, Reptile gains the ability to change the hue of his scaly skin to blend into his environment, making him undetectable to the unobservant human eye. His eyes also develop thermal vision, allowing him to track targets in darkness and obscured conditions.

Complications

Cognitive Degeneration: While the modifications to his genome have surprisingly had no discernible effect on Trevor's cognition in his human form, each stage of his Draysha 2.0 transformation gradually degenerates his intellect. Dr. Atelis's goal was to perfect Draysha 2.0 such that subjects could maintain control over themselves throughout all stages of the transformation. However, due to imperfected state of the Draysha 2.0 program Trevor was treated with, each stage afflicts Trevor with further degeneration of his cognitive faculties. As such, Trevor's metamorphosis only progresses past stage 1 as the result of prolonged exposure to extreme stress.

• While the decline in Trevor's intelligence at stage 1 is not major, he finds abstract reasoning and other mental tasks more challenging. He can still think and communicate effectively enough and maintains self-control.
• At stage 2, Reptile's intellect declines to a primitive level and he becomes more beastly in his behavior, although there's still some semblance of humanity guiding his actions. He can, for example, speak, or rather hiss, in one-word sentences. This was the stage Trevor was in when he escaped Dr. Atelis's lab.
• The final stage of his metamorphosis sees Trevor devolve completely into a wild animal, driven entirely by base instincts and devoid of human intelligence. While in this form, Reptile will hunt for sustenance, seek out shelter (most often the sewers) and follow his fight or flight response when in the proximity of others. He is just as likely to attack allies and civilians as he is more threatening individuals, making him a highly dangerous rogue actor. Trevor has stated that, if it ever came down to allowing him to kill innocents or putting him down, he would want anyone presented with the choice to choose the latter.

Hunted - VIPER: The villainous organization has Reptile on their hit list, albeit not as a top priority. Dr. Atelis, who is more of an associate than a full member of VIPER, has sworn to rectify his mistake of allowing Trevor to live by exterminating the "escaped lab rat." He also seeks vengeance for the permanent disfiguration Trevor inflicted upon him during his rampage at the Project Draysha 2.0 facility.

Feud - VIPER: Reptile harbors an extreme hatred towards VIPER, and Dr. Atelis in particular. It was their actions that took the lives of Trevor's parents and made him a "monster" that could potentially end up killing innocents. Putting a stop to their criminal activities by permanently dismantling the organization has practically become Trevor's raison d'etre.

Secret Identity: Only a handful of people are aware of Trevor's alter ego as the superhero Reptile. Trevor prefers to keep this a secret so as not to disrupt his civilian life as a student at MCU.

Miscellaneous

• Reptile & Powerline: A Reversal in Polarity - short fiction depicting Reptile's first encounter with Powerline.

• Inspirations for Reptile include Spider-Man, the Lizard, the Hulk and Killer Croc. His appearance and powers are reminiscent of the character Reptile from the Mortal Kombat fighting game franchise.