Dr. Thomas Wade
Two of a Kind: Mutant and Human Equality (Co-founder)
(former) Parapsychological Studies Institute (Silent contributor at time of creation; Never involved with any criminal activities)
Contents
Biography
On the morning of August 17, 1955 Charles and Hilary Wade were blessed with the birth of their only two children. A set of twins that they named Thomas and Tania. The couple were late to being parents and did everything to give their children an ideal childhood. Both of the twins showed high intelligence at an early age. Even though their parents didn't make much money, they managed to scrape together just enough money so that they could send both their children to private school.
Everything was a dream till the children hit the pre-teen years. At this point both of them started to devolve their mutations. Both the twins had telepathy. It seemed to be a burden on both of them. They could hear everything everyone around them was thinking. It was a headache and both of them knew how troubled and afraid their parents were. The fact that they were mutants became a deep dark family secret and cause both the twins to withdraw a little from their normal lives.
However, in time they began to be able to control their telepathy. Both of them started to developed other abilities as well. Tania has empathy and could calm. While Thomas had mind control and hypnotism. When he was young he didn't always use his powers appropriately and his parents were worried. What could they do to keep their son from becoming a monster? They couldn't put him into therapy because they were afraid of the family secret slipping out.
The lucked out and Thomas' 'bad streak' was just a teenage phase. He began to learn how to use his powers more maturely and appropriately as he grew older. He made sure to keep his abilities sharp in case he needed them, but he rarely used them on people.
The twins went their separate ways for college. Thomas ended up moving to New York City and going to Columbia University on scholarship. It was in college that he started to developed his lady killer charm. He met his first wife Pamala in his early years of college. They only dated for a short time before they got married. It wasn't long before they realized that it was a bad idea and got an amicable divorce. They were much better as friends.
It was also in his college years that he first ran into Sebastian Poe. They became acquaintances on an intellectual level. While they weren't fast friends, they did enjoy speaking with each other about various subjects. It felt good to have someone he could connect with. They started up a friendship via the mail.
Thomas graduated with honors with a degree in pre-med and psychology. However, when he picked up his graduate studies he quickly realized that he didn't really want to be a medical doctor. He switched his line of study to the evolving field of genetics. Not many people picked that line of study, but he was thrilled to pursue it.
He was at a conference in Boston when he met the woman that would become his second wife. Rebecca was a nurse that lived in the Boston area. He happened to meet her at a coffee shop. For awhile they would take turns traveling back and forth to see each other. Finally she moved to New York to be closer to them. Not long after that he proposed. This marriage lasted longer then the last one, but he was absorbed into his studies and over time Rebecca started to feel neglected. After three years of marriage she asked for a divorce and he reluctantly gave her one. Newly Divorced again and near completion of his doctorate he put even more effort into his work. He was hired on at Columbia as a professor.
In the mid-80's Dr. Poe approached him about an idea he had for a Parapsychological research center. It was an exciting prospect, but Thomas didn't know how much time or money he would have to donate to the project. He told his friend and colleague that he would think about it. After a few months of debate he agreed to be a silent partner in the founding of the Parapsychological Studies Institute. He traded notes with his friend and everything looked like it was getting off to a good start.
Meanwhile, Dr. Wade was gaining recognition for his own contributions to science and the area of genetics. His main focus was on researching was on mutations. After what he suffered as a pre-teen he wanted to make the subject of someone being a mutant to be more approach able. The mystery surrounding the subject made it frighting. Simple minded people are always afraid of what they don't understand.
In 1986 he met Valerie Monroe at a benefit dinner. She was intelligent. She was beautiful. She made herself unattainable. He had to have her. It took time for him to convince her to even go on a date with him. She was a promising new lawyer and six years younger than he was. However, once he managed to get her to go on one date, he worked on getting her to go on a second. Though she 'played hard to get' she accepted more quickly each time. In 1988 they were married.
Meanwhile, things weren't going so well for the Parapsychological Studies Institute. The government had dropped their funding and Dr. Poe was desperate to continue his research. His mistress, Madeline, had convinced him to do some not so savory things in pursuit of funding. As soon as Thomas found out he warned his friend. They argued over it and Dr. Wade ended up pulling his support. However, it didn't end their friendship right away.
June of 1990 Thomas and Valerie had their first and only child. A daughter that they named Abigail Marie Wade. Both of them loved their daughter, but their careers kept them busy enough that they never really had time for her. They left her to Valerie's parents to watch.
In 1994, Parapsychological Studies Institute was exposed for it's criminal activites and Dr. Poe was sent to prison. Dr. Wade felt bad for his friend. From his point-of-view he got lured into a bad situation by, what he assumed, must have been really great sex. It was sad that such a brilliant man had fallen so far. Dr. Wade continued to send his friend letters, but they began to become far and few between till finally he just stopped.
However, when Abby was five she started to show early signs of telepathy. Thomas jumped at the chance to spend more time with his daughter. He could kill two birds with one stone. He could get to be a proper father and continue his research at the same time. At first he just tested the limits of her normal mutation. This didn't remain the case. He started to test a serum on her. It was a formula from the notes that Dr. Poe had shared with him. Dr. Wade had taken the notes and adjusted it to be mutant specific. He wanted to create something that would trigger secondary mutations.
It took time, but after three years of testing Abby's mother finally realized that something was wrong. Enraged at what her husband had done she scooped up their daughter, moved out, and filed for divorce. Thomas was heart broken and begged to be able to see his daughter. However, Valerie would not budge on the matter. She used all her legal savvy to keep him far away from their child. Once the divorce went through she took Abby and moved to Michigan.
For the first time he found himself unable to concentrate on his work. He realized the mistakes he'd made, but he really wasn't trying to do any harm to his daughter. Despite the appearances he did love her. With the help of some of his closer friends and more then a few trips to local bars he started to feel more of himself again. However, he felt like something was now missing out of his life.
He met Marie Anne less then a year after Valerie had left him. He rebounded to her hard. She was an artist at one of the local galleries. They dated for less then a month before they came up with the crazy idea to just go ahead and get married. The marriage lasted for about a year before she grew bored of waiting for him to come home from work and started an affair or five. Dr. Wade began to grow suspicious of her and against his better judgement read her mind. Finding out your wife is sleeping around on you is one thing. Seeing it in vivid detail is even worse. For the first time in all of his marriages he was the one to file for divorce.
Feeling jaded and cheated he went for awhile without having any other major relationships other than the one he hard with his work. He had friendships. He had flings. He didn't have romances.
In 2002 he met Joice Parker and they hit it off. They were married in 2003, but again his long hours at work wore on his marriage. While she still loved him, Joice was lonely. She started to drink and become reckless. One night he came home to her crying. She told him she'd been going out to bars and waking up in strange places. That she'd had sex with people she didn't even know and she was afraid. While he was upset he understood that she was asking for help. He hung in as long as he could. They got counseling, but her wild behavior continued. Despite the fact that he still had feelings for her he knew he couldn't help her. They agreed that it would be best to divorce in 2007.
About that time Social Pariah was starting to pick up speed. At first Dr. Wade didn't realize who Devika Jones was, but something about her seemed familiar. Then it clicked for him; It was Abby, his daughter. When the band held their release party in New York in the Summer of 2008, he worked his way in and cornered her. He begged Abby to have dinner with him. It was clear that she was reluctant. She told him maybe when they came back through the city on their tour. It hurt to see, but he understood why. He wasn't expecting her to go through with the plans. However, she did contact him and he took her out to dinner. They talked, but he could tell how awkward she felt. He did everything he could to make her feel at ease, but at the end of the night wound up feeling like a failure. To remind himself never to get married again he had a number fire tattooed onto his left ring finger.
He didn't think he'd ever hear form her again. Forcing himself back into his work he tried to forget about his pretty daughter and her rockstar life. It was a shock to him when she called him that December in tears and asking for his help. She moved in with him. They set rules and made agreements. He helped her with her powers and adjust to her new life of blindness. Though he hated the circumstance he loved that he was getting a second chance. Their relationship started again fresh and new.
After a year of living with him, training, and learning new skills, she moved back to Michigan, but has kept in touch with him. Whenever she has a problem she calls him. He hates Dante, but still attended the wedding. He doesn't really like that his daughter his putting herself at risk for her husband's lifestyle, but has agreed to keep his lips sealed.
All in all he has it pretty good right now. He's still a successful ancientest and making steps in genetics. Plus he has the relationship with his daughter that he always wanted. In 2010 he co-founded Two of Kind: Mutant and Human Equality With his friend and assoiate Dr. Paul Hammel.
Powers
Telepathy - Dr. Wade is a skilled Telepath. When the ability first formed in him it was hard to control and caused him some social issues. However, he has worked hard to master his gift. He can turn it off and off at will. That is he doesn't have to hear the noise in other people's heads unless he really wants to know what is on there minds. As part of this he has also developed and strong psychic barrier to keep all but the strongest telepaths out of his mind.
Mental Manipulation/Mind Control - It is exactly what it sounds like. He can pretty much take control of other beings' minds and control their actions. He can control more than one individual at a time, but the more spread out he gets the harder it is for him to keep focus and control.
Hypnosis - This is pretty much what it sounds like as well. He can put people into a trance and leave hypnotic suggestions. He can install trigger phrases for people to respond to.
Genius Level Intellect - Since he was young his IQ has been off the charts. Learning and problem solving have always come easily to him. He can look at problems and almost just see them solving themselves. It has lead him to a life of science where he really wants to create a way to a better future.
Weaknesses
Workaholic - Due to his want to solve problems and improve the future he often spends more time in the lab and at work than he should. It has lead to time slipping away from him and before he knows it it is past midnight and he still hasn't left. In the past this has caused him relationship problems. It turns out that wives and girlfriends don't like it when you come home at 1am with the excuse of staying late at the office (even if it happens to be the truth). This also plays in to what he did to Abby when she was a little girl. She became more than just his daughter, she became work. His failure to be able to see where that was wrong at the time cost him more than he would have otherwise been willing to risk.
Romantic Failure - Due to late nights at the office and sometimes snappy moods he hasn't really been able to keep any romantic relationships. In some ways it troubles him, but not enough to fall into 'the marriage trap' again. While he feels he is too old to pursue any kind of romance, he still will have the occasional fling and hasn't given up on sex.
Abby/Rhapsody - Even with five failed marriages and numerous other relationships, he only ended up with one daughter. Abby is his only child and he does want to make up the past to her. Having lost her once before he knows how painful it is to have her ripped away from him. He worries about her safety and happiness. Out of everyone he knows he loves her the most. He may be married to his work, but he will set it aside for her when Abby comes to visit.
Friends, Farmily and Acquaintances
Books
1986
1992
1997
2002
2010
In The News
New York Times - Tuesday March 19, 2013
Millennium City News in association with New York Times - Tuesday March 19, 2013
Soundtrack
1. "Weird Science" - Oingo Boingo
3. "Mind Controller" - Ayah Marar
5. "Daughter" - Loudan Wainwright
6. "Whatever It Takes" - Lifehouse
7. "Fire and Rain" - James Taylor
9. "Do You Realize?" - Flaming Lips
10. "Father and Daughter" - Paul Simon
12. "The Scientist" - Coldplay
13. "It's Called Genetics" - Bill Nye the Science Guy
Tropes
Appearance
Lab coat of Science and Medicine - He doesn't wear his lab coat all the time, but he does where it while at work. There have been times when he has forgotten to take it off once he got home.
Nerds are Sexy - He does tend to get excited and talk about subjects that are above most other peoples realm of understanding. His research being rather complicated at times leads most people to nod and smile when he speaks to them. Even so, he very rarely has trouble at speaking to females. He uses his intelligence in his benefit and tends to exudes a kind of swagger. If he really wants to get with a woman he makes her feel sexy and smart. Even though he is aging he proves that nerds and intelligence can be quite sexy.
Personality
The Casanova - As it says above he really has had very little problem with the ladies. Part of it is that he knows how to 'work' them. He finds out what will make them feel special and he tries to make it seem effortless to give it to them. While it isn't hard for him to get a girl, he has proven inadequate at keeping them. It usually doesn't get him down. As the saying goes, there are plenty of fish in the sea.
Magnificent Bastard - If anyone deserves to be called a magnificent bastard it is probably him. He can be genuine with his emotions and has other that he really does care about, but the person he has often put first is himself. His own happiness, intellectual growth and other priorities have usually always come first to him. He fits on the criteria for being a Magnificent bastard. He is brilliant and uses his intelligence to get him who and what he wants. He is smooth. He has goals and has sometimes foolishly put even though he cares about in the way to obtain them. He is charismatic. And he is usually smart enough to fall into any traps that lay in front of him. However, his bastard-ness has gotten him in trouble before and cost him a relationship with his daughter for almost a decade.
Morality and Philosophy
True Neutral - Dr. Wade lands himself in the moral area of being true neutral. He doesn't want to live in a chaotic society, but he doesn't really care much for laws either unless they are helpful or overly harmful to him. Otherwise he is more then happy to bend the rules a little. He has done things (like experiment on his own child) that are too dark to allow him to be considered 'good', but he really does want a better future. He isn't willing to kill or steal in order to get what he wants. So while he's done some not so good things, he really hasn't done anything warranting him being considered 'evil' either.
Brainwashing for the Greater good - If he thinks it is for the persons good he will wipe an event from their memory or alter their behavior with his hypnosis. For example he knows that his daughter is prone to get depressed every once and awhile due to being blind. This lead him to put a block on her so that she can't harm herself. On the other hand, he also has installed a catch phrase on her so that she will have to tell him the truth if he believes she is lying to him.
Dirty Business - He knows that his hands will not always be clean. The pursuit of science requires him to get involved in some controversial subjects. It is a dirty business...but all for the greater good in the end...
Animal Testing, Guinea Pig Family - While he may not always like it he does test on animals in his research. Some species are better than others for what he is trying to do. He will test on human's, too. Most are voluntary. However, he did use his own daughter as an unwilling test subject.
Black and Gray Morality - While he's seen there is really evil in the world, he doesn't believe that there is true good. Even those who claim to be 'good' have some kind of vice. At very least they are in it too 'look' good. No act is completely selfless.
Combat and Skills
A Mind is a Terrible Thing to Read - This used to be way worse for him in his youth. When his telepathy first developed he couldn't turn it off. He knows that some of the kindest people have the most filthy thoughts. It has made him a little suspicious of others true intentions. He has control of things now, but has let his doubts in others get the best of him at times. He found out one of his wives was having an affair by reading her mind. They are images he wishes he could forget. There are also images that he wishes he could scrub out of his mind after reading Abby's mind.
Awesome by Analysis,
Badass Bookworm - Often he can solve most problems to his benefit just by using his intelligence in impressive ways. Being able to analyze and calculate lends him a certain level of badass that others don't seem to be able to decode.
Smart People Play Chess - Yes, he does...and he is rather good at it. He taught his daughter as well, but she isn't nearly as talented.
Quirks
Enraged by Idiocy - A certain level of ignorance is fine as long as the person is willing to grow. However, when someone is a complete bull headed moron, sometimes they just deserved to get slapped. These kinds of people (and he feels like he runs into them way too often) grade on his temper and put him into a very bad mood. Sometimes he has to get vocal or mental with them, but he never resorts to violence.
Mutant - He doesn't speak about it often. Most people don't know he is a mutant, but he isn't ashamed of it. He is mutant and proud...just not boastful or load about it. He does openly support human/mutant equality.
Background and Events
Ivy League For Everyone - He went to Columbia University. It was what originally brought him to New York City. He fell in love with the city. His major was Genetics. After graduating he also attended graduate school there and he now has a professorship there.
Genetic Engineering is the New Nuke - Maybe not the new nuke, but he does believe that Genetic Engineering can have a big impact on the future. He isn't afraid to push the limits in order to find the answers that will be the big breakthrough.
We Used to be Friends,Not Quite the Right Thing - He used to be friends with Dr. Sebastian Poe. They met on a professional level and got along swimmingly. He was even working with him at the founding of the Parapsychological Studies Institute. The two shared notes and work. However, Dr. Wade was never part in any criminal activities. At the time it seemed like good would come out of the situation. He in a way feels bad for Dr. Poe. Really, in his mind his friend got swayed against his reason by a manipulative woman...and sex. It is all a shame.
Character and Motivations
The Future Will Be Better - The hope that the work he is doing will help contribute to a better future gives him the feeling that all he does is justified. Though he sometimes acts questionably he does it for a 'good' reason. He wants things to be easier for future generations. He wants a better world for his daughter and any possible grandchildren he may one day have.
Profession
Reluctant Mad Scientist - It isn't like he means to come across as 'mad' sometimes. He just really gets into what he's doing. He has almost no shame after all most of the most brilliant discoveries where once thought to be mad.
Not That Kind of Doctor - He is a Doctor, but not a medical one. He has a doctorate. That isn't to say he wouldn't play doctor with a pretty woman if she really wanted...
Cool Teacher - He tends to be a cool and laid back professor. He understands that they have their own lives and sometimes shit happens. However, he does have his limits. After awhile he may lose his cool, but it takes a bit.
Relationships
Serial Spouse - He has been married 5 times. That is enough times to drive most people mad. To prevent any such failures in the future he's decided just to not have any more marriages, or really romances. It obviously isn't his thing to have a lasting relationship.
Teacher/Student Romance - He's had these kinds of flings in the past. He isn't involved in any currently, but that doesn't mean it isn't something he wouldn't engage in in the future. Only for him it would be more flirtatious and sexual than romantic, but she can believe what she wants. And who really knows, maybe one will surprise him...
Half Identical Twins - He has a sister that is very much like him. Only she is the chief of surgery at a hospital in Denver. They both have about the same personality. They look similar. They also have similar powers. Only hers are more empathic and not hypnotic.
Abby Wade/Rhapsody
Must Make Amends - He knows that he messed up with her when she was a child. It isn't something he will even deny. They have talked about it and he is doing everything he can to make it up to her. He wants the relationship with his daughter that he was robbed of for so long.
Open Minded Parent - Since he is trying to make things up to her, he can be rather liberal with his parenting. He doesn't really care what she does as long as she is careful with it. He is willing to listen to her without judging her and give her the best advice he can.
Pervert Dad - Yet, there is this problem. When Abby left she was a little girl. When she came back she was a rather attractive young woman. He is lacking the part of her life where she grew up. Sometimes it is hard to look at her and see the same little girl. He sometimes just can't help but to check her out a little. He's gotten pretty smooth and subtle about it, but it would be less awkward if Abby wasn't also a telepath that could tell when her father was checking out her butt.
Over Protective Dad - He may not be the most noble parent, but he is rather protective of Abby. He wouldn't hesitate to glare or have words with anyone who he felt was bad for her. Dante knows this first hand. Dr. Wade told him that if he ever hurt Abby again that he'd make Dante's life miserable.
