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. Trevor could have finished the job, but even after Dr. Atelis turned him into a monster, Trevor was still more human than him. Trevor left the doctor and his lackeys mauled and bloody in the 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 awaited him before he took those heavy steps back into the place he had lived his entire life. 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.

Year One: Not Shy

Monster Island: A Snake Among Manimals

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.

Powers and Abilities

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.

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.

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 voluntarily through his own volition or involuntarily through prolonged exposure to high levels of 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.

Weak Psyche: While Trevor possesses no psychic defenses beyond his own willpower, the cognitive degeneration he experiences during his transformations make him even more susceptible to mind control and other psychic attacks. As Trevor is already at the edge of losing further control when at stages 1 and 2, they are easier to telepathically control and subdue than Trevor's fully human mind. The aggressive pure animal instinct of the third stage, however, may prove too unwieldy and foreign to telepaths without the power and skill to wrest it under the power of their own will. Assuming the telepath is capable enough, however, it too is easily manipulated or broken.

Hunted - VIPER: The villainous organization has Reptile on their hit list, albeit not as a top priority. Dr. Atelis, on the other hand, has sworn to rectify his error by exterminating the "escaped lab rat." He seeks vengeance for the permanent disfiguration Trevor inflicted upon him during his rampage at the Project Draysha 2.0 facility.

Vendetta - 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.

Enemies

Threat Level Metric
The following section shows the threat classes assigned to each villain by the Department of Defense's Superhuman Survey.
ALPHA: Villains within this class may pose a real threat on a small scale, such as individuals and businesses.
BETA: Villains capable of posing a threat to large groups of people, such as metropolitan areas.
DELTA: These villains are extremely dangerous and pose a credible threat to the national security of the United States.
OMEGA: Substantial threats to the security, safety, and/or existence of the entire world.

Doctor Atelis

Real Name: Adam Atelis
Status: Active
Affiliations: VIPER
Powers/Abilities: Super-Genius Intelligence, Expert Geneticist and Biochemist, Peak Human Condition
Threat Level: DELTA (based on affiliation with VIPER)

Aside from Teleios, no one, including Reptile, is aware that Dr. Atelis is a rogue Teleioclone. This particular clone's growth was somehow tampered with, resulting in significant alterations to his genome. The clone awoke in a test tube, a fully grown Teleioclone whose face was like a hack artist's portrait of Teleios, and smashed his way out. Before Teleios could capture him, the clone escaped into the outside world.

With a will of his own and an intellect with some degree of Teleios's brilliance, the clone forged his own identity and put his talents to work. As Dr. Adam Atelis, the flawed clone sought to become as accomplished a super-scientist as his creator. While his true motivation was an unquenchable scientific curiosity and seemingly compulsive emulation of his "role model", Dr. Atelis worked with clients who could afford the reasonably large payments for his services and provide him with access to the technology necessary to hone his skills in genetic engineering. When VIPER finally agreed to contract him, not entirely sure that he would succeed but willing to fund additional Draysha research, Dr. Atelis jumped at the opportunity. This project to produce an improved Draysha program resulted in the creation of Reptile.

After his near-death experience at the hands, or rather claws, of Reptile, Dr. Atelis has focused his efforts on capturing and killing the test subject-turned-superhero. After the mild success of the first round of experiments, Atelis refined the procedure based on Trevor's results. This allowed him to screen for subjects and identify those who are genetically compatible with his variation on the Draysha treatment. So far, he has found just a few individuals who are as compatible with the treatment as Trevor and only one who was an even better match. In the year after Reptile's emergence, Atelis produced several Draysha-powered superhumans, enough to form his own criminal group.

While he could have become a solo act, Dr. Atelis chose to continue his association with VIPER in order to maintain access to their considerable resources. VIPER has agreed to continue facilitating Atelis's research, on the condition that he provide all information and work for them on missions and other projects when they call upon him. To keep him in check, VIPER has assigned another one of their mad scientists to be his research assistant-cum-handler.

Miscellaneous

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

• Comic book 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.