Flameburst

Flameburst
Player: @Denji
Basic Data
Class Focus:	Ranged DPS (The Inferno)
R & D:	Science
Level:	16
Occupation:	bank teller
Personal Data
Real Name:	Taylor Dylan Lambert
Known Aliases:	Tay
Identity:	Secret
Species:	human mutant
Age:	23
Height:	6'2
Weight:	183 lbs
Eye Color:	Brandeis Blue
Hair Color:	blond
Blood Type:	undeterminable
Biographical Data
Birthplace:	Little Rock, Arkansas
Birthdate:	February 26, 1989
Nationality:	American
Current Residence:	Westside, Millennium City, MI
Religion/Faith:	Baptist
Sexual Orientation:	bisexual
Marital Status:	single
Known Languages
English
Known Relatives
Timothy Ray Lambert (father), Amanda Jane Lambert (mother), Lawrence Roy Lambert (older brother), Jocelyn Rose Lambert (older sister), Frederick John Lambert (younger brother), Barbara Jean Lambert (younger sister)
Known Powers
pyrokinesis with radiation emissions
Training / Abilities
flight
Equipment
none
Footnotes
secret identity exists

Flameburst (born Taylor Dylan Lambert, 26 February 1989) is an American intermediate hero and mutant. He arrived in Millennium City, Michigan on approximately 8 September 2012 on blind faith that he would get help with his powers. He currently lives by himself in a studio apartment in the Westside neighborhood and works for the a Millennium City bank as a customer teller.

Early Life

Flameburst was born as Taylor Dylan Lambert on 26 February 1989. He is the third of five children to mother Amanda Jane Lambert (neé Richardson), a homemaker and cosmetologist, and to father Timothy Ray Lambert, a career counselor for the University of Arkasas at Little Rock. He has four siblings, two of which are older than himself: Larry Roy (25) and Josie Rose (23); and two of which are younger than himself: Frederick John (18), and Barbara Jean (16).

Taylor graduated Little Rock Central High School in June 2007. While having no plans to actually attend college, Taylor decided to stay living at home while saving money so he can one day move out and live on his own. He became a horse caretaker for a private ranch owner to the southeast near the small town of Sweet Home. This is where he gets his experience with taking care and riding horses. Of course, he was nothing more than a server and bus boy at Pizza D'action, a pizza place, back at home.

Mutation

On the night of 6 July 2012, Taylor came home late one night from work from a party that was thrown at the pizza place. Upon arriving home, he found himself suddenly not feeling well so he immediately went to his room to rest. After not being able to sleep, he went back downstairs to get something to drink. Unfortunately, he wouldn't make it all the way to the kitchen. He would be in serious pain and would find himself collapsing on the floor. His younger brother, Frederick John, would hear the commotion and come downstairs to see what was going on. Immediately he called his parents and dialed 911. Frederick John would be too late, however.

Taylor's body was set on fire. It wasn't just any ordinary fire, however. The flames he was emitting were green in color. His father tried putting out the flames with a fire extinguisher but they would not dissipate. Taylor then pulsated in flames and it engulfed his house in flames. The family would get out of the flaming house safely but his father, older brother Larry Roy, and younger brother Fred John wanted to keep an eye on Taylor. Eventually, the fire would be extinguished and all family members would escape the flames. This event would gain local and, in part, regional media attention.

All seven members of the family (mother, father, all 5 kids) would be taken to Arkansas State Hospital. Due to the nature of their condition, however, they would then be transferred to St. Francis Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee. Their neighbors would somehow be affected by these flames as well and would be checked in at Arkansas State Hospital but they would only suffer minor injuries.

Long Recovery

Recovery from this incident was something that Taylor would not take very well. In actuality, these green flames have been happening for well over a year. He had just done a very good job of hiding it and never thought it would ever get this bad. Because he had hidden all of this from his family, he felt absolutely guilty and took all responsibility for putting his entire family and his neighbors in this situation in the first place. He came clean to his family that all of this was his fault their third day in the hospital in Memphis. Surprisingly, none of the family would ever truly blame him for causing it. This was a gesture that he was absolutely surprised with.

Miraculously, the entire family would have a very speedy recovery and would be released from the St. Francis in as little as a week. While the family attempted to put this behind them, they could not return to their home in Little Rock for another four weeks to get it restored. When it was finally rebuilt, the Lamberts were finally able to go home.

The next few weeks would be fairly difficult for the family, but difficult to Taylor most of all. He was still in Memphis after 7 weeks. The doctors could not figure out why Taylor had been set on fire, and why the flames were green to begin with. On 26 August 2012, he received a visit from a doctor that he hadn't seen before in his room and asked him about his condition and how long it had been going on. Little did he know, this would be a little more than just a visit.

Discovery

This doctor gave Taylor a lot more information than he had bargained for. More than half of their discussion, Taylor was just nodding his head, most of the terminology the doctor was using was something way beyond Taylor's league. But once the doctor explained it to him in its simplest terms, he said his cells have changed. His anatomy on a cellular level has changed. Mutated, in other words. However this change had occurred, it allowed him to not only create flames, but how they were green in nature. His flames also had fairly high levels of radiation. In any case, Taylor was made aware that no one in the southern region of the US had the expertise on these kinds of cases and could not tell Taylor how to better handle himself with this discovery.

Fortunately, this doctor had done a lot of research on where Taylor could possibly get help with these powers and help him overcome it. He advised him of several doctors in a place called Millennium City in Michigan that would be able to give him direction. Basically, the doctor told Taylor that he has superpowers. Taylor had only heard of the place on TV and never really paid any attention to the news in the first place, though he knew what happened with Detroit and its destruction back in 1992. But knowing the nature of the city, he knew that the place was full of strange people. He knew it was full of people who were different from the rest of the world. (At least, most of the world.) And after doing a little bit of reading about it, he was convinced that this city might just help him with his little (or big) problem.

After Taylor's condition had been stabilized, he was discharged on the morning of 2 September 2012. Taylor was glad to be back home. But because he was so afraid of having a repeat of what happened two months ago, he knew he couldn't stay long. He shared with his family what one of his doctors had shared with him. About Millennium City, that is. As much as it pained his family (and his mother in particular), he knew he needed to go. Taylor decided it would best if he left Little Rock to go to Millennium City to get help. He did not want to put his family in danger like that anymore. And by sticking around, he knew he would be a risk. After a difficult goodbye to his family, he headed northeast on 8 September 2012.

In Millennium City

Getting to Millenium City went without a hitch. But when he got here, Taylor was completely and utterly lost and was left in awe at the same time. Here he was getting off a bus coming from Little Rock and he could see people (in costume, obviously) freely flying, talking to a group of people, saving others from certain danger, it was definitely like a completely different country to Taylor. Needless to say, Taylor would go through a bit of a culture shock.

To no one's surprise, Taylor was completely dumbfounded and lost. He had no idea who to go for help or what to do for that matter. Much to Taylor's surprise, a fellow hero (whose name he didn't catch) referred him to an organization called PRIMUS and there, he got in touch with some scientists who could help him with his ordeal. Keeping in constant contact with Taylor regarding his powers would prove beneficial in order to better acclimate and control them in his own will.

However, the scientists suggested that Taylor have some sort of outlet for his powers. They are of the belief that Taylor's mutation is not over and they would only continue to grow. After studying his genetic structure, the scientists suggested that Taylor become a hero for the city. Taylor was completely dumbfounded by the idea. A hero? Him? Why would he do such a thing? He was urged to think about it.

Made Hero

Fortunately, it didn't take Taylor long to think about. While Taylor was out and about trying to find a (normal) job, he witnessed a robbery take place. There seemed to be a hero (whose name he didn't catch) who was trying to save the day but seemed like this was too much for them. His first instinct was, of course, to help. Something triggered inside of him. Before he knew it, he was gaining elevation and flew up on one of the windows that supposedly had trapped civilians. Taylor had helped the hero subdue to robber and helped bring him to the police.

Some sort of an epiphany came over him after all of this. He realized that if he could do good with his powers, he would do it. If he could do something good with something that he felt he was cursed with, then why not do it. On 12 September 2012, he ordered himself some spandex and a mask and went by the name "Flameburst". He is still getting used to the ins and outs of being a hero of the city but he seems to be doing well.

A Few Notes

Some things to keep in mind.

• If it didn't come to your mind by now, Taylor does speak with a southern accent. Particularly with the Hillbilly tone. This is the same tone that's heard in areas in the northern portions of the south like Arkansas, Tennessee, and eastern Kentucky. Not all southern accents sound the same but most people tend not to care. This is marginally different from a Dixie accent which is usually heard in Mississippi, Alabama, and Georgia.

• Taylor is somehow very good at card games. Mainly at poker, crazy eights, and bridge.

• He is usually seen wearing some sort of cowboy hat. However, his favorite (and one he usually wears) is the brown hat that he got from a small shop in northern Arkansas when he was 20.

• In any television media, Taylor would be played by actor Thad Luckinbill.

• Taylor has only ever been to three states in his life. The other two are Tennessee and now Michigan.

Tropes

Trope stuff for this southern dude! Spoilers ahead. Highlight them to reveal.

• Southern Gentleman - Taylor's upbringing makes him a pretty good fit for this trope. While he does not gamble, he does like Coronas and he's somehow very good at gambling games to the point that he could go professional on them if he wanted. Though this mostly applies to card games, especially Poker and its other variants like Texas Hold'em. Otherwise, he's well-dressed, charming, and can be polite to members of either gender.

• Cowboy - While not technically a rancher, Taylor does have the gear to make himself look like he's a cowboy. (And he really is!) He's got a hat, the chaps, the cowboy boots with the spurs, and he knows how to ride horses really well. And he can even teach you how to properly ride one. Also, he was previously a horse caretaker before his mutation surfaced.

• Playing With Fire - It's clear that when Taylor's mutation fully manifested and surfaced, it was made of fire. It was successful in burning down their house and putting the entire family and their nearby neighbors in the hospital. Not only were the firefighters brought to the scene, but a hazmat team was also brought in to contain the flames. That is because of... (see next trope)

• I Love Nuclear Power - No, Taylor actually doesn't love nuclear power. Unfortunately, his flames also emit harmful nuclear radiation and this was how he put his entire family and neighbors in the hospital. This would be the beginning of a few events that would be the catalyst towards his arrival in Millennium City. Thankfully, the radiation did not kill his family nor the neighbords and they are still well and alive.

• Beware The Nice Ones - Befitting with the Southern Gentleman trope, Taylor is one man you do not want to cross. He is immensely loyal to the ones he considers close. He can burn you in two ways at once. If not due to the flames, then the radiation that they emit.

• Coming Out Story - The first time that his older sister Josie Rose took him to a club called Electric Cowboy when he was only 19, Taylor met a man whom he would develop an attraction for. He and this man would keep in constant contact and would later discover that he had romantic feelings towards this man. While he was still attracted to women, Taylor came out to his parents not too long after. While his father had a difficult time accepting this and eventually did, his mother was much more accepting. He is no longer in speaking terms with this man. Which leads to the next trope...

• Bi The Way - In connection to the previous trope, Taylor declared himself a bisexual man though he is not out to many people mainly because he is of the mentality that US southerners are not very open about that kind of thing. He is only out to his family and friends he considers close.

• Middle Child Syndrome - Taylor is the third child out of five. This trope is halfway subverted, but the other siblings always favored the older two siblings, Larry Roy and Josie Rose, if there is anything that involved all five of them. The Ozark Mountains camping trip is a prime example. The only exception to this is his youngest brother Frederick John. He was picked on by bullies in school and the only person he could really turn to was Taylor.

• Naïve Newcomer - Halfway averted. When Taylor arrived in Millennium City, he was completely lost. He knew nothing about the place, he was a bit overwhelmed by all the heroes, and basically just came here on blind faith that someone will help him with his powers. Keeping an open mind, he found some people and doctors to help him control his powers and is doing fairly well with keeping them under control. He was urged to have an outlet for his powers to better keep them in control and this is how he becomes a costumed hero.

Playlist

Taylor listens to a mixture of genres but mainly, stereotypically, listens to country music (at least, current country music). The following are songs that are currently on his heavy rotation.

• Luke Bryan - I Don't Want This Night To End
• Shania Twain - Ka-Ching!
• Kenny Chesney - Reality
• Lady Antebellum - We Owned The Night
• Foster The People - Pumped Up Kicks
• Blake Shelton feat. Trace Adkins - Hillbilly Bone
• Faith Hill - Breathe
• Rascal Flatts feat. Natasha Beddingfield - Easy
• Reba McEntire - Consider Me Gone
• Gavin DeGraw - Not Over You
• Shania Twain - Up!
• Kelly Clarkson - Breakaway
• Rascall Flatts - What Hurts The Most
• Shania Twain - That Don't Impress Me Much
• Lady Antebellum - Need You Now
• The Killers - Somebody Told Me
• Adele - Chasing Pavements
• Dia Frampton with Blake Shelton - I Will
• Kelly Clarkson - Behind These Hazel Eyes
• Alan Jackson - Small Town Southern Man
• The Band Perry - If I Die Young
• Neon Trees - Everybody Talks
• Owl City - Meteor Shower
• The Band Perry - If I Die Young
• Reba McEntire - The Heart Is A Lonely Hunter

Things They Say

If your character has met Taylor and/or Flameburst and has something to say about him, please do it here!

RP Hooks

• If anyone pays attention to national news, the event that took place on 6 July 2012 was briefly shown in CNN a few times and may have been in the newspapers albeit not on the front page of MC newspapers and periodicals. This can be considered somewhat public knowledge.
• Frequent club-goer. This includes Club Caprice.
• Openly dresses up in a brown stetson hat, boots with spurs, and leather-velvet chaps in the club.
• As a hero, Flameburst's costume consists of red and black and he covers himself in green flames to protect himself from harm. Color-clash much?

to be expanded at a later date