Alex Cross
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Contents
- 1 Appearance:
- 2 Powers:
- 3 Personality:
- 4 Origin:
- 5 The Council:
- 6 Downward Spiral:
- 7 Maelstrom:
- 8 Death:
- 9 Phoenix Rising:
- 10 Finding/Losing Love:
- 11 Downward Spiral II:
- 12 Forming a Team:
- 13 Finding a Purpose:
- 14 The Prophecy:
- 15 The Adoption:
- 16 Heart of a Hero:
- 17 Seperation Anxiety:
- 18 The Wedding:
- 19 Faithless Angel:
- 20 Personal Questionaire:
Appearance:
Costume: His outfit is made from a chemically altered cloth that provides the same protection as Kevlar without any of the weight and is completely flame retardant. His R&D section has crafted him personalized battle armor for enhanced protection that works in conjunction with his powers, and a synthetic battle suit with muscle enhancers. His near unlimited resources has allowed him to have a variety of suits at the ready. Build: Athlete Skin: Tan, smooth, and fine from a privileged lifestyle. He has tattoos on his arms and shoulders to include Kanji and a Koi Fish.
Powers:
Has the ability to manipulate and create fire, as well as manipulate small amounts of energy. He can move at superhuman speeds. His superhuman speed has developed to the point that when he pushes himself he can move so fast he is virtually everywhere at once creating a temporal rip at his location. He can use his speed to vibrate at super speed and pass through objects as energy. However, his super speed has resulted in an altered perception of time. He constantly views the world around him at a crawl. Feeling out of place, disconnected and alone from the world around him but almost obligated to protect it.
Personality:
Humorous and kind hearted, Alex Cross has become very competitive and outspoken as a result of his structured upbringing and his controlling fathers desire for him to excel. He is always willing to crack a smile and try and find the light in any dark. He also possesses the skills of an effective and professional shrewd businessman. His personality often makes him appear hot headed and brash, but if one takes into account his view of the world taking days to re-act means he has calculated his every move for years.
Origin:
Second generation rich kid Alex Cross was having a cup of coffee at his favorite spot in the park when his life changed forever. An assault on Millennium City by Dr. Destroyer's minions to field test new weaponry left him charred to a crisp by an experimental blaster when he shielded a young girl caught in the crossfire between Destroyer and the Champions. Having witnessed his act Dr. Silverback took him under his care. Waking up months later, the blast and medical treatment resulted in his abilities to move at super-speed and manipulate fire and small amounts of energy.
The only son of wealthy industrialist Adrian Cross, Alex, was raised to be the best. His life was privileged but utterly controlled which often resulted in his rebellions against his fathers will. Their relationship was strained at best. However, Adrian succeeded and his heir has managed to turn Cross Industries Incorporated into a massive business empire. His father passed away when Alex was 17 from a heart attack and Alex took over the company.
He has been a long time friend and rival of James Harmon IV they even attended school together. Now they are constantly trying to out due each other in business and in the public eye but always with an air of friendly competition. James Harmon recently was declared Time Magazine's Most Eligible Bachelor with Alex Cross coming in at 2nd. This, however, did not go over well with Witchcraft since she voted for Alex since they're already enough women jealous of her relationship with Defender.
The Council:
Shortly after awakening from a 6 month coma after the accident that gave him his powers Alex was recruited by the government sponsored super-group, The Council. His wealth, resources, government ties, and his abilities made him an ideal Agent for the organization. Alex helped The Council face down many threats including a growing threat presented by VIPER. It was Alex Cross that first introduced The Council to the Maniacal Mercenary, The Patronizer. It was also Cross that referred his recently hired head of R&D Dr. Valerie Fox to them to act as the groups head of medical personnel.
Downward Spiral:
Alex began to suffer from a growing depression. His super speed causing him to view the world at much slower rate then everyone else because he was moving faster then the world around him. Seconds became like minutes, days became months and weeks became years. Alex couldn't stop his perception. His mind was always moving at this rate even if his body wasn't. He became sad, depressed, and felt alone. No one seemed to comprehend just how sad he truly was and he continued to smile and put on a brave front as the charismatic life of the party. It wasn't until he encountered the devil Maelstrom that his life truly began to change. This single meeting causing a whirlwind of events and a chain reaction that still affects Alex to this day.
Maelstrom:
During a party at Club Caprice one of Alex's teammates on The Council, Natasha/aka Blood Angel, began to ...change. Her skin became an ash gray, her hair white, eyes red, horns sprouted from her head and her angelic wings became almost like that of a bat or dragon. Alex asked if she was all right and she responded by saying "Die Mortal" and attacking him. He was barely able to knock her out and she almost killed him in the fight that took place on the dance floor. He carried her unconscious form to Dr. Silverback's nearby with the help of fellow teammate Covert Ops. He notified all members of The Council currently on their comms and filed a field report on the incident.
A few days later Natasha who had seemingly recovered from the event went off comms randomly and suddenly. The Council launched a search and rescue under the guide of Team Leader Kazriel. The team consisted of Hot Streak, Gideon Sky, Trey Styles, Kidlamity Jane, and Jag. They found Natasha in Canada and in the monstrous form she had changed to before. The being identified itself as the Devil, Maelstrom. It was using Natasha's nephilim heritage and untapped powers as a vessel to allow it to enter our world. All attempts to talk or learn more about the entity and what it was after only resulted in flirtations with Alex and threats to the rest of the team. A VIPER assault squad scouting from a nearby base appeared and attacked the team. Maelstrom used the distraction to escape. Gideon Sky exercised his mystic and mental skills to link minds with the Devil and try and negotiate while the rest of the team protected him from several waves of VIPER troops that obviously felt on edge with their presence so close to one of their bases. Gideon and the Devil entered into a bargain. The devil would agree to leave if he could beat her in a duel. If he lost however, Natasha would become her vessel. Gideon knew he was no match for the creature and Kazriel went disguised as Gideon and barely managed to defeat her. Maelstrom was sealed for a time.
Maelstrom and Natasha were separated completely becoming two separate entities through the involvement of Gideon Sky. Maelstrom emerged again and attacked Kazriel in vengeance at Club Caprice leaving him near death. Luckily Dr. Fox happened to be there and was able to render medical aid, but not before Maelstrom threatened both her and her boss Alex Cross. Alex feeling threatened and outmatched by the seemingly more powerful version of Maelstrom donned an experimental suit of armor. This suit was not designed to function with his meta-human powers and the neural interface could not handle the speed of his sped up thought process. The interface began to malfunction and cause the synapses in his brain to misfire. His growing depression and pain became amplified and he became dependent on the suit unable to take it off.
Death:
Maelstrom took advantage of the pain Alex was now in. She whispered in his mind of how much she understood his pain and his loneliness. Being as old as she was she knew the pains of eternity. Alex's friends reached out to him but none could pull him back and he soon fell to Maelstrom's manipulations and her promises to end his pain. They consummated in a way that transcended sex. Alex transformed in pure energy and wrapped himself around her and she did the same joining with him. This 'merging' shared with each of them all that the other was, knowing every in and out and every pain and desire. He was now her lover, her protector, her puppet.
Maelstrom managed to convince Alex that the only way he would never truly be alone was if he 'burned the world'. This mass eruption of fire all across the globe would allow him to absorb everyone into himself as they perished in the flames. He would never be alone again. Only he and Maelstrom would remain on a broken and burned world, a romantic and unsettling thought.
Alex began super speeding around the globe creating temporal rips that all lead back to one place, the Monster Island Volcano. Excessive heat and thermal energy poured out of these rips, fueled by the earth's very core. The earth suffered an unprecedented global 'Hot Streak'. In the end it was Alex's friends and allies in The Council that managed to stop this end of days. Xevion and The Patronizer engaged Maelstrom keeping her occupied and from further manipulating Alex as everyone else tracked him to the Volcano.
In the end it was the combined efforts of Gideon Sky, Smokin'Mirrors, and Prisoner that managed to reach what remained of the true Alex Cross. Prisoner used his empathic powers to take all of Alex's pain and frustration and depression into himself. It was too much for him to handle. He leapt into the volcano ending his life even as Alex managed to realize what he had done. Alex erupted in a smoldering blast of energy incinerating the metal prison that had been the catalyst for his transgressions.
It was too late. The chain reaction had begun. Thermal energy and heat surged out all over the globe through the rips Alex had created. In a final valiant effort Alex knew what he had to do. He leapt into the volcano not just to save the man that saved him, but to save everyone else. He began to absorb all the energy and heat he could buying The Council the time it needed to seal the temporal tears. It proved too much and with the last words "Tell Dr. Fox I'm sorry," Alex's mortal body exploded in a ball of energy and light. The world would spend 2 months believing Alex Cross on vacation and the Hero known as Hot Streak was rumored to be dead. Everyone moved on save one... Fathom.
Phoenix Rising:
Alex's last valiant act was not enough to redeem himself for what he had done. He found himself in Hell. How ironic that is was the very creature that helped put him there that would seek to pull him out. Maelstrom had fallen in love.
Maelstrom returned the volcano where her love had fallen. Things had changed. Maelstrom's master in hell, Asmodeus wanted her back. She had failed in her task. She was now in hiding seeking haven with the half arch-demon Xevion Vandrake. Her love for Alex made her risk exposing herself by using a tremendous amount of power to pull him out of hell and 're-make' him. Everyone had doubts about her motives. Iron Hawk and Gideon Sky arrived to find Hot Streak in the very place they watched him die. In the weeks to come he would regain their trust. It was Dr. Fox that now needed saving. (See Fathom)
Finding/Losing Love:
Over the next few weeks Alex Cross would go on to assist Xevion Vandrake after he was injected with a serum developed by Dr. Valerie Fox while culminating a relationship with Maelstrom. Cross had learned that she was now being hunted by her master for having failed him in kick starting the Apocalypse. Xevion had been acting as her guardian from her master Azmodeus until his accident. Alex took over and soon the pair fell in love. However, the power Maelstrom used to resurrect Alex Cross drew a lot of attention. Azmodeus now knew where she was as did the being Amentia Dei. Dei lured Maelstrom into his temple. His temple acts as focal point in the universe where he can bend and shape reality within its walls to his will. He offered her a chance to join him at his side and she declined. With that he forbid her to leave and started a rift opening to the realm of the Lord of Lust. Azmodeus was waiting.
In her final moments Maelstrom cried out to Alex with the mental bond they shared. He could sense the pain and urgency in her voice and was by her side in less then a second. Maelstrom tried to explain to Alex what was going on as the rift began to grow, wispy tendrils lashing out at its edges. Maelstrom was cut short as two rusty chains snapped out of the growing rift and skewered her through the abdomen. Alex tries to break them and tried to pull her away. She told him it was useless and kissed him goodbye. A sudden force of unseen power slammed Alex into the floor and he couldn't move. He was force to watch Mael get dragged into the rift on which the other side all one could see was a pair of glowing red eyes. With a last defiant surge of strength Maelstrom held herself at the gaping maw of the rift and spoke her last words.
"DEI! SOME HOW, SOME DAY YOU WILL FALL! WITH MY LORD AND MY LOVER AS MY WITNESS! ON THAT DAY MY SCREAMS OF TORMENT AT THAT HANDS OF MY MASTER WILL STOP FOR A MOMENT AND THE LAST THING YOU HEAR WILL BE THE SOUND OF ME LAUGHING! MY LOVE....*looking to Alex*....I'LL FIND YOU AGAIN."
Maelstrom was yanked into the pit, the portal closing behind her. Alex was able to move again, he desperately super sped back and forth over the point of the rift with the hope that he could make it open again. He cried out in frustration and in a massive surge of energy and pain incinerated all the followers in Dei's temple. Alex Cross had just made his first true nemesis.
Downward Spiral II:
Forming a Team:
Finding a Purpose:
The Prophecy:
The Adoption:
Heart of a Hero:
Seperation Anxiety:
The Wedding:
Faithless Angel:
Personal Questionaire:
Non-heroic abilities? Has Martial Arts training and can handle most ordinary humans with ease. Money. Massive business empire and government officials at his dissposal.
Public Occupation? CEO of CI and was a stand up comedian and personal trainer part time to quell his boredom before his accident.
What are 3 things you're best at? 1) Battles in the boardroom/law/politics 2) Using money to solve problems 3) Charging in head first at Mach speed.
What are 3 things you're worst at? 1) Asking for back up. 2) Unwilling to open up, Cross has a lot of friends but is afraid to have best friends. (An emotional stand off so to speak.) 3) Is strong and athletic and has had martial arts training but doesn't have the super-human strength or advanced level of skill needed to fight most adversaries in close quarters.
Likes? Money, massages, women, alcohol, playing hero.
Dislikes? Lowlifes and relying on alcohol perhaps to much. Women that want to get to know him before he beds them. Having to spend time running CI.
Favorite saying: Is it hot in here or is it just me? I have to go to a 'bored' meeting. My place or yours? I don't care if your a 'bad girl' as long as your my 'bad girl'.
Quirks/Habits? Drinking..... women...... massage parlors....
Pet Peeves? Ironically smoking. As well as close minded people, and when Defender/Harmon shows him up at something.
Fears/Phobias? Failing. He is utterly afraid to fail at anything do to his fathers rigorous regiment of tutors, lessons, classes, and activities that taught him to always win.
Hobbies/Interests/Pastimes/Sports? surfing, boxing, fencing, tv, pop culture, checking himself out in the tabloids, just plain checking himself out
Favorite TV Shows/Movies/Books? Profit/ Vanilla Sky / Fahrenheit 451
Pets? None atm
Drinker or Smoker? Heavy drinker.... he keeps getting dragged by the wagon everytime he tries to get on.
Current Home: Has multiple homes and apartments in major cities for his business travels. His primary residency is his family's mansion which is the largest privately owned residence inside Millenium City limits.
What would your character do if you found a wallet and it had 50$ in it? Return it, he doesn't need the money or wallet. Heck he might even stuff more bills in it before giving it back if he's in one of his giving moods.
Your best friend is suffering from a broken heart what do you do? Alex would feel awkward and has little experience dealing with such an outpouring of emotions but would still do his best.
A reporter threatens to expose your greatest secret. What do you do? Pay them off, or threaten to use my connections to have them manning a radio tower in the Artic Circle if they don't take the money.
Theme Song and video about a story arc that ended with his death: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ho43GBr6OvE
