Doctor Clearwater
History
Dr. Kuro Mashimitsu, the product of a secret ARGENT experiment. He is raised by his adoptive parents in Hokkaido and develops a keen interest in nature and ecology. His conditioning by ARGENT induces him to be an exceptional athlete and student growing up. Aside from participating in sports like tennis and track, he also learns several martial arts such as Jujitsu and Karate. He is exceptionally intelligent and attends Princeton University in the United States, where he graduates at the top of his class with majors in chemistry and environmental engineering and unofficial minors in physics and music. His passion is in ecology and he pursues his Masters and Doctorate degrees studying ways of dealing with decontamination of polluted water and soil. He theorizes that a universal decontaminating compound is possible using as yet unidentified elements. Based on his doctoral thesis, he is offered a unique research position with the Goodman Institute. The Institute entices him by revealing that they have access to a variety of extremely rare elements and isotopes not generally available for research. Kuro accepts the position and is brought to the Goodman Institute's underwater laboratory in the north Pacific that had originally been a secret base for the Cryptonauts. Here the institute housed all of their ecological, meteorological and hydro-mechanical projects. While there, he makes much progress on an anti-pollution agent to be used in clean up efforts, eventually developing a liquid compound that can cause a chain reaction in many types of contaminants, including radiation, which renders them harmless to humans but it requires small amounts of the extremely rare elements Serpentium and Kelvorite. He names this compound Clearwater.
At the same time, one of his new friends in the atmospheric monitoring section mentions to him that new data they have compiled seems to indicate that in some areas of the world there are significant increases in pollution despite regulation, sometimes far in excess of what even the worst industry should be producing. Some areas were completely anomalous, not harboring any recognizable pollution producing activities. Almost as if it were being done on purpose. One of those places was on the nearby island of Midway. Dr. Mashimitsu and several other scientists decide to mount an impromptu expedition to the island to see what is going on. There they are greeted by the few caretakers on the island and given a tour which does not indicate anything out of the ordinary. One of the scientists, using an experimental scanner she invented, reveals that the caretakers are in fact aliens known as the Gadroon in disguise. The group tries not to reveal the discovery to their hosts and quickly return to their lab to report their findings but just after arriving, the base is attacked by a squad of the amphibious aliens. Kuro is trapped in his lab and directly exposed to his Clearwater compound as it's container is damaged. Shortly after this the entire lab is flooded and all hands drown inside, including Dr. Mashimitsu.
An indeterminate amount of time later, Kuro awakens underwater. Instinctively trying to hold his breath, he manages to free himself from the debris that seemed much heavier only moments ago. Still it takes several minutes for him to locate a rebreather and it dawns on him that despite his high degree of fitness, he shouldn't have been able to hold his breath that long. After checking to be sure everyone else is dead, Kuro makes his way to an escape sub and heads for Monster Island where he is rescued by members of Bureau 17. After being rescued, he is retrieved by the Goodman Institute but when he tries to make a full report to his superiors about the Gadroon attack, they seem to regard him as if he were crazy. They in turn explain that the whole tragedy was ruled an industrial accident and that he should move on and try to put it behind him. The whole situation strikes him as very strange. Later that night, he returns to the offices of the director and discovers that he and several of the others are in fact Gadroon in disguise. Not knowing who to trust, Kuro decides to begin his own investigation into who is human and who isn't and just how many Gadroon terraforming groups had made it out of Canada.
He knew he was being watched and so made it appear he was making plans to return to Japan before he carefully disappeared. His overhearing of the Gadroon conversation told him that they had written off the underwater lab and as far as the rest of the Institute would know, it was gone. Kuro knew that it was in fact salvageable, and that it would be the last place they would look for him. As he made his preparations to return, he took a moment to think about himself and his survival. He knew something was different. He felt stronger, faster, even smarter and had suffered no ill effects from his (as he believes) near drowning. He couldn't explain it. He made his way back to the underwater lab and repaired the superstructure. After draining the water, he took care of the remains of his friends, the aliens had just left them. Then he set about restoring systems, most of it had been designed to be waterproof for just such an eventuality. He then went over all the data that indicated where he might find the Gadroon, besides Canada, everyone already knew about that. It was the secret incursions that needed to be revealed and destroyed. Then he set about arming himself.
There was no question about killing in his mind, he wouldn't do it. So he set out to design and build non-lethal weapons based on several secret projects that had been going on there. He was able to create his signature 'portable water knife' device as well as his gas pellets and ice grenades. He also resumed his martial training. It was becoming clear just how much he had changed when he did things like doing handstands on his finger tips and running a mile in 3.5 minutes. All the better to defeat his enemies with he thought to himself. Finally, he did not want a repeat of the last attack and so salvaged some camouflage tech and adapted it into a 'speed suit' so that ideally, he could strike at his enemies and be gone without them ever seeing him. Bizarrely, the lab coat that he had been wearing when he was soaked by the Clearwater compound now appears to be completely indestructible. It can't be burnt, cut, abraded or stretched, though it still remains supple. It is bullet proof, but provides no resistance and would simply join the bullet as it passed through Kuro's body. So, useful certainly but not as great as one might think. Kuro has no explanation as to how this occurred.
Now that he felt ready, his first order of business was to expose the Gadroon at the Goodman Institute. He leaked evidence on the internet implicating those he knew about and signed it "Dr. Clearwater." The aliens agents fled the Institute before they could be captured. He had planned on hitting Midway next, then thought better of it. If he did that they might deduce where he was hiding. Instead, he worked on detecting and decoding their communications in which he was only partially successful. It was enough though to start him on their trail around the world. Not long after this he made contact with representatives of Bureau 17 on the nearby Monster Island and agreed to join their ranks to help deal with the Qular incursions there. He was not sure why he did so, having previously felt secrecy to be his greatest ally. Then subsequently, he agreed to be a liaison between Bureau 17 and a new Super Team known as [[Strike Team Zulu]. Again, his reasons for agreeing to such a thing seemed odd to himself in retrospect.
Powers and Equipment
Unknown to himself, Kuro is the result of a secret ARGENT experiment. The same one that created Daedalus and Theta. After being drenched, the Clearwater compound has bonded with his cells and causes a bizarre reaction. Kuro did in fact die in the underwater base. The compound revived him but his cells regenerated favoring his unspecified foreign DNA. Every time Kuro dies he revives and is a little more inhuman each time. Unless someone witnesses his death and revival and informs him, Kuro will assume he has merely been unconscious. He is not immortal, nor does he heal especially quickly. Dismemberment or incineration will kill him for good. He is obviously aware that he is changing but for now is choosing not to look a gift horse in the mouth.
His crowning technological achievement so far, is creating a portable water knife . This feat is so miraculous, many would say it can't be possible, that it defies the laws of physics. Only Kuro knows how it is accomplished. With the same technology he is able to produce a number of offensive effects with his water gun such as a hydro-shock blast which stuns, a stinging spray, and of course a cutting stream strong enough to cut steel at close range, effective range on flesh is 25 feet. The gun is also capable of dispensing the Clearwater compound in liquid form and aerosol in a variety of pressures and ranges. Dr. Clearwater only has about 1 liter of the compound which is enough to decontaminate a considerable area or volume but it is all he has. He has exhausted his supply if kelvorite and only has a small amount of serpentium. His primary weapon uses considerable amounts of water which of course is left behind when he strikes, it has become the calling card of Dr. Clearwater.
