Sal Foster
Agent "Frosty" Saliard Foster, perhaps better known as Soldier Celsius, is a crimefighter and UNTIL field operative working in Millennium City and the surrounding area.
Sal was discovered half-frozen in a glacier in the Australian territory of Antarctica in late 2012 by a visiting Canadian survivalist. Interested in the phenomena due to the "Shadow in the Ice" incident during the mid-00's, the survivalist, one Elliot Hall, swiftly freed Sal from the glacier. Sal, having no memories prior to the glacier, and thus no knowledge of how to talk and only a cursory understanding of walking, was rather hasty in stumbling off with Hall's survival pack. About a week later, Hall found his pack, roughed up a bit but the contents themselves untouched, right about the same time as a ship headed left port headed for the US with a stowaway ice-creature on it.
For two months, Sal wandered across the US before making his way to Millennium City, if not by sheer chance, as by this point, Sal had still yet to even learn English. It's likely that Sal's powers awakened, at least at a subconscious level, at this point, as the greatly increased temperature required him to have some way of preventing melting. Then, one cold morning in December, out behind a Westside gas station, Sal was discovered by a local policeman, Officer Daniel Foster. Daniel took the icy trespasser in, gave him a name, clothes on his back (which, in retrospect, did not do very much for the melting problem) and a place to stay. Daniel even paid a tutor to teach Sal English. Much later, Sal would ask Daniel exactly why he went to such lengths for someone who had yet to even speak a word to him. Daniel's reply to such a question would end up being the foundation for what drove Sal to become a hero.
"Because I wanted to."
After making a visit to a local inventor, Steelworker (not to be confused with the villainous Ironworker), and procuring a device, the HC-V Speaker System, allowing him to finally communicate with humans proper. Sal had constantly obsessed over becoming a police officer, following in Daniel's footsteps. However, the discovery of Sal's latent ice powers lead Daniel to suggest that Sal aim higher, and look for where he could use his powers to the fullest. With this, Sal finally made the decision to take the plunge and join UNTIL.
UNTIL Interview Document 811-031 Excerpt 3A - Name of interviewer has been concealed for security purposes
UNTIL Interview room - Interviewer █████ ████████ waits at the table. Interviewee FOSTER, SALIARD enters shortly. Interviewee quickly seats himself, and the interview begins.
█████ ████████: Please state your name. Last name, then first.
INTERVIEWEE: Foster, Saliard.
█████ ████████: Mister Foster, you're here seeking permanent employment with UNTIL, correct?
INTERVIEWEE: Correct.
█████ ████████: Now, before anything else, there are a few issues with the form you filled out previously.
INTERVIEWEE: Like what?
█████ ████████: Well, first of all, "I dunno" is not a suitable answer for the species field. Additionally, we did a background check, and it is extremely unlikely you are related to comedian and actor Jackie Vernon. Physically impossible, even.
INTERVIEWEE: Well, that second one was a mistake on my part, but, as for the first one, I really didn't know what to put down. The trail's gone kind of cold on that one.
█████ ████████: ...
INTERVIEWEE: Of course, of course. Sorry. It's just that I really just could not answer the question. I don't know what I am.
█████ ████████: You don't know what you are.
INTERVIEWEE: Correct.
End Excerpt 3A.
Operation Bearhunter was an UNTIL-PRIMUS joint anti-superterrorist operation that took place in September of 2013. The Bearcave, a terrorist organization led by the villainous Beast-Tooth, had raided a Canadian government warehouse, stole a though-dormant experimental weapon, and hopped the Yukon-Alaska border. Their final destination? Anchorage. Bearcave planned to use the weapon as a bargaining chip with which to negotiate the release of several dangerous criminals, including villains Sal would later find himself face-to-face with, such as Crumplezone.
Sal was part of a team made up of superpowered UNTIL and PRIMUS operatives charged with acting as one of the main fighting forces against Bearcave forces. When they eventually clashed outside of the Wrangell - Saint Elias Wilderness reserve, it was in a day-long skirmish that left thirty-two UNTIL and PRIMUS operatives dead, and countless more Bearcave soldiers. The fighting only ceased when Sal managed to cause an avalanche than ended up wiping out the majority of the Bearcave's forces, finally necessitating a retreat.
UNTIL higher-ups initially planned, due to Sal's role in Operation Bearhunter, to have him stationed at a permanent outpost near the initial site of OB. Sal had recently received a promotion, and the new callsign of Soldier Celsius to go along with it. He was perfectly content with a permanent position in Alaska, or at least he would've been, had he not received a visit from a mysterious individual. To this day, Sal has yet to find the identity of the stranger, but what is more important is what he actually said to Sal.
"Go to Millennium City. There, you'll find the truth."
This reminded Sal of the harsh reality. Sitting in Alaska, merely just doing whatever UNTIL needed him to, wouldn't get him any closer to the truth. Being recently promoted, he took advantage of the situation and put in for a transfer to a permanent position in Millennium.
Within the month, Sal's transfer had been approved and he had arrived in Millennium, where he found himself in a wholly different environment, and, with a new environment came new adversaries. It was during this time that Sal gained most of his current nemeses. Discounting Bearcave, he had also come toe-to-toe with the likes of dangerous criminals such as the red-hot Flairgun, the sky-high Tank-Killer, and the downright insane Dr. Devoger. It was also around this time that Sal started using his callsign as more of a superhero identity, donning the Soldier Celsius costume for the first time. Deep underneath Westside, in the depths of the Kelvin Kave, a new hero had been born.
Shortly after taking up full-time hero duty, Sal decided that his talents would be best put to use in a superteam, more specifically, Eternals, Inc. After applying and being accepted into the organization, Sal managed to integrate quite nicely at first. For a time, Sal worked diligently with the organization and Heroes, Inc. as a whole, fighting against villains such as Crossword and King Quantus. Whilst in the organization, he met a variety of fellow heroes, including the likes of the British warlock known as Leonard Castellar and the jungle rogue, Jangala. After a period of inactivity following the defeat of King Quantus, Sal ended up resigning from Eternals, looking to take his ever-continuing search for not only justice, but the truth behind exactly what he is into his own hands.
Sal is classified, in lieu of a proper name, as a "Stage 3 Ice Mass" by UNTIL, PRIMUS, and all other related organizations. Fitting the name, Sal is composed entirely of solid ice. Normally, his surface is one smooth face, with no cracks or ridges. On the surface is also an extremely thin layer of vapor, which is the outer layer of Sal continually melting and being refrozen. Sal's ice, while substantially more durable than average ice, is only marginally more resistant to heat. Due to the lack of bones, internal organs, or musculature, focused heat (as in, melting holes into Sal) does not do much. Sal's real weakness lies in radiated heat, or a generally heated area. In short, a miniature heater is more likely to be effective than a plasma beam.
The origin of Sal's species is completely unknown as of yet. UNTIL has cross-referenced various physical details of Sal with all existing data of any extraterrestrial and/or extradimensional beings, to no avail. This is certainly not helped by the fact that, being made of solid ice, Sal has no DNA or other identifiers of the sort. However, in spite of this, Sal has exhibited several qualities described as "curiously human," such as a limited sense of touch powered by Sal's own semi-vapor nature.
Ice & Vapor Manipulation - The most obvious of Sal's powers. The name is self-explanatory. What should be noted is that, in order to be truly effective, Sal requires a nearby source of readily-freezable water, whether it be in liquid or vaporous form. In the even that there's none nearby, he's forced to use either the paltry amount stored in his gauntlets or even his own body.
Thermal Absorption - Although he is clearly made of ice, Sal is almost more accurately described as a thermal energy being, able to manipulate it with the same ease as he does ice. By venting excess thermal energy from himself, Sal can reach much lower temperatures than normally possible, and by absorbing thermal energy, he is able to lower the temperature of the air around him at the cost of heating himself.
Solid Ice - Just being made of solid ice itself has its benefits as well. Sal is extremely resistant to cutting weapons, such as blades, or piercing weapons, such as firearms. In turn, he is vulnerable to any sort of smashing or blunt weaponry, such as hammers. It also goes without saying that Sal is immune to ice and cold-based powers.
NAME: Jude Holman
THREAT:
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POWERS/SKILLS: Super Strength/Speed/Durability, Heightened Senses, Heightened Mental Capacity
M/O: Anti-Government Terrorism
STATUS: AT LARGE
Jude Holman, better known as Beast-Tooth, is the enigmatic and elusive leader of The Bearcave, an anti-government terrorist cell composed of former death-row inmates turned reptilian monsters via a shadowy Canadian government program.
The experiments, although bestowing him with physical capabilities far beyond that of a human, was much more significant in that it greatly increased Jude's mental capacity in the process. A man of once average intellect was turned into a cunningly cruel and cruelly cunning mind. Beast-Tooth's altered brain physiology allows him to think in strategies and manners that seem foreign to humans, resulting in him being the strategic core of The Bearcave. Most of the cell's early success, and truthfully most of their success in general can be traced to Beast-Tooth's leadership.
NAME: Bryant Morris
THREAT:
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POWERS/SKILLS: Flame Manipulation, Heat Immunity
M/O: Assorted Theatrical Villainy (Robberies, Hostages, etc.)
STATUS: AT LARGE
Bryant grew up used to being the center of attention. As a child, adults and the other children alike took an interest in him due to his charismatic personality, even in his earlier years. As Bryant matured, so did his personality, and with that, did his popularity. He was always the focus of every group or social gathering he took part in, and he loved every single second of it. So, shortly after graduating from high school, when his fire-based metahuman powers awakened, Bryant couldn't wait to put on the tights. Flairgun debuted in late 2011, fighting alongside a number of other heroes in thwarting a bank robbery. After the fact, Flairgun was surprised, dumbfounded even, when the news crews didn't flock to him. In fact, they completely disregarded him, same as the heroes he fought alongside. The truth finally began to dawn on Bryant. He was a second-stringer.
This began the downward spiral. Bryant's hero career continued for a number of months, and the outcome never changed. Flairgun's efforts in a group were overlooked in favor of other heroes, and his solo work was ignored entirely. Months of constant failure to achieve fame, coupled with the stress of hero work itself, caused Bryant to do something that really should've happened sooner, and that is snap. Flairgun reinvented himself, this time, as a villain, and proceeded to carry out the same crimes he had previously worked to stop, and, for the first time, Bryant was actually getting some attention. News outlets reported on his crimes, heroes responded to them, and citizens feared them. He couldn't be happier.
