Shockwave
Contents
Holden's Story
To most, James 'Rocci' Holden is a bit of an enigma. As he tells it, he's just a fairly average young man - mechanic by day, clubber by night who's dabbled in half a dozen fields without finding his niche. While not a shining paragon of moral goodness, he's certainly not a supervillain; Holden just exists in that comfortable middleground. Most might even consider him unremarkable! However, what separates him from many others include his quick tongue, telekinetic powers, mental aptitude, phenomenal endurance... and capability to screw everything up by running his mouth.
Holden talks himself into and out of trouble like it's second nature to him. Recently, according to him, he has developed telekinetic powers and super-level endurance - which he seems to use, generally speaking, to drink more than he ever thought possible. He's a show-off.
Even so, few people really know what Jim Holden is like. They might just know him and his bombastic personality from the web 'journalism' that he does as a side job. Beneath his exterior, an incredibly precise and quick-witted mind works, processing at a blinding speed. Still, whatever the truth is, Holden doesn't seem to be telling - after all, if one is so good at telling tales, why mess it all up with the truth? If knowledge truly is power, then why reveal your whole hand?
Regardless, no one would ever guess that James Holden is hopping through dimensions, trying to escape an unspeakable, thought-destroying horror... This is his twelfth universe, his twelfth life, and Holden - despite his analytical, logical mind - doesn't want to jump to number thirteen.
Recent Events
Recently, Holden was taken into the UNTIL HQ and subjected to thirty-six hours of testing to determine the extent of his meta-human abilities. UNTIL was focused on determining the exact nature of his remarkable intuition and intelligence. Holden has also been growing close to Dawn, an operative from UNTIL's DE:LTA agency. Holden has also been engaged in a long-running feud with Kevin Poe, leader of the New Purple Gang, although it has since subsided and both have moved past it given Holden's recent recruitment into DE:LTA. In general, Holden seems to be taking his first small steps towards thinking of himself as an actual superhero - there have been rumors inside law enforcement agencies that Holden captured a clone of himself recently, but actual hard evidence is hard to find.
In Brief
Jim Holden appears to possess a wide-ranging social network, although he seems to lack any close relationships (with one or two notable exceptions). Analysis indicates that Holden may possess sociopathic or anti-social tendencies but senior analysts call the description 'incomplete'. Rumors persist that Jim Holden is a dimensional traveller and not native to this universe. This may be true, but the whereabouts of the so-called 'Prime' Holden are unknown. While a generally benign presence who is content to exist as he seemingly always has, Holden's subtle powerset, natural talents and pragmatic worldview make him someone to keep an eye on. Recruitment to work in a heroic role has not been ruled out but Holden's personality may make such a relationship 'fluid' at best. Along those lines, Holden does not appear to be motivated by morals or idealism and more the chance to flex his powers and utilise his intelligence, it appears that helping people is just a bonus. Typically, however, Holden works as a mechanic in Westside and opinions on him range from charming and charismatic to arrogant and condescending.
Powers
Telekinesis - Holden has demonstrated a remarkable telekinetic ability, able to effect small engine parts and other minuscule elements as easily as he can throw cars around. His abilities only seem to be increasing with time and only seem to be limited by his ability to practice and concentrate on them. However, pushing his limits too quickly causes headaches, migraines and haemorrhaging. Holden's level of control allows him to maintain a telekinetic field around himself at all times - in essence, a shield.
Intuitive Aptitude - For much of his life, Holden has always had the ability to easily understand how complex systems work - car engines, electronics, people. It is more than simple deductive prowess - Holden never appears to be consciously aware of how much knowledge he has, just that if he looks at something he can understand how it all fits together (and how it is supposed to fit together). The ability was initially thought of as a form of telepathy or technopathy, but Holden demonstrated no such ability during UNTIL testing. Of Holden's key abilities, this is perhaps the most startling - and the most troublesome for the young man and those around him. Even this ability doesn't seem to counteract Holden's magic blindness - given his logical, systems-based view of the world, this would make sense. Worryingly, Holden believes that with practice this ability would allow him to understand deterministic cause and effect. While initially this power could not be controlled, Holden has since seemed to become able to turn it off and on - or at least ignore the sheer amount of information is inundates him with.
Regeneration? - Holden is remarkably durable and appears to possess limited regenerative capacity.
Visions? - Holden claims to have seen visions in his dreams. He may be glimpsing the lives of other selves. None of the information gleaned has been useful. It may be the beginnings of telepathy.
Skills
Grease Monkey - Jim Holden is a capable mechanic, even before he expressed his powers. He is primarily used to working on automotive components but can also work on a manner of different technologies including robotics (which is something of an interest of his). As mentioned, he has a small machine shop in Westside.
Sharp Tongue - As someone once said, "For God's sake, don't let Holden open his mouth or we'll be up to our ears in trouble." Holden has this knack of being able to aggravate people in specific ways - or work his way into their good books.
Singing - Even the mighty Thundrax said he had a bit of a Michael Buble thing going on!
Attributes
Encyclopaedic Knowledge - Is there anything Jim Holden doesn't know or can't comment on? He's a hit at trivia nights. He is, however, less of a hit when the trivia he knows concerns you!
Eagle Eyed - There isn't much that escapes Holden's notice, even without his intuitive power.
Tolerant - Holden is difficult to annoy and finds it easy to interact with a wide-range of people.
Family/Significant Others
Jim Holden, while enjoying a broad social network, does not seem to have any family or particularly close relationships. He has a wide breadth of acquaintances but little actual depth. The exception to this is possibly Dawn, a fellow UNTIL DE:LTA operative whom he has been spotted with on several occasions. Holden has always declined to comment on the nature of their relationship - an oddity given his usually flippant tone and habit of speaking his mind - but it is likely that they are close indeed.
Friends/Allies
Jim Holden's wide ranging social network has given him a significant number of acquaintances (given Holden's personality, friend does not appear to be the correct terminology). The following is by no means an extensive list, but those who would be most likely to see him on a regular basis:
- D.A.W.N - see above
- Spiritbound - friend, fellow DELTA agent
- Cavalier - friend, fellow DELTA agent
- Vitality - friend, fellow DELTA agent
- Vex - friend, extraterrestrial robot
- Freddie Trigger - former business associate
