Simon Spectre
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History
Simon David Jones was a small-time con man and drug chemist in Cardiff. He had been indicted on many occasions but through luck, skill or contacts, never convicted. Simon came to the realization that he was far too popular with the local constabularies so he moved to Millennium City. The turmoil of the Destroyer attack had left the city completely vulnerable to men such as himself and in no time, Simon had become a member of the Black Aces in Westside.
Relegated to the role of Jack of Fists, Simon was uncomfortable with his position. Back in Cardiff, he ran his scams when he wanted to and he kept all of the money. His discomfort grew as he saw the many superhumans flying around the city. The destruction of Detroit and the loss of so many heroes had only served to attract more to the cause of restoring order and rebuilding. Simon wanted that power so he began studying sorcery.
While he was never good enough to become a battlemage, his talent showed in ritual. He quickly became an expert in arcana and used the black market to purchase a few black magical rites. One of those rites was particularly heinous. It allowed the caster to consume the soul of his victim and steal his power. It was a horrific spell but Simon's avarice had taken hold and he chose his victim, an up-and-coming mutant druglord named Ebon. Ebon wanted in on the Westside and had been using his powers of darkness to carve out his own turf.
Over the course of a year, Simon convinced a group of Aces to join him in taking down Ebon. By the time the ambush was over, 5 Aces were dead and the rest were too exhausted to notice that Simon had taken the unconscious Ebon elsewhere. When the rite was complete, Ebon was dead and Simon felt the darkness crawling around inside him, like a living thing. He knew deep down that he had performed a terrible act and it would be just the beginning.
Little did he realize that the darkness was alive. Ebon was a mutant and so his body was designed to channel it but Simon was not. It was magic that kept open the channel and the darkness fed off the magic, becoming aware and alive. It wrapped itself around his heart and whispered in his ears. By the end of the following year, Simon had become known as the Darkfist, a villain even more depraved than the one he had replaced.
It didn't take long before the Champions became aware of Darkfist's activities. They had been watching the gang politics, judging its boldness and stability. The chaos caused by Ebon and Darkfist was like a beacon. Kinetik and Witchcraft went to investigate. They walked through Darkfist's defenses easily and when they reached him, they didn't hold back. Darkfist was covered head to toe in a black film that seemed impervious to Kinetik's attacks so Witchcraft attempted a more subtle approach. She examined his aura to find a weakness. She found his dark heart and struck it with pure light, debilitating him instantly.
Simon was sent to prison but Witchcraft wasn't satisfied. Something she saw bothered her so she spent the next few weeks visiting Simon in prison. She found the man who had become a victim to his demons and she also found a man who was as naturally gifted in sorcery as herself. She called a friend, Dr. Emile Goldbard, to study Simon and determine if rehabilitation was possible. In time, under the doctor's treatment, Simon was remanded to his custody.
Each day, Simon struggles with the darkness that tries to reclaim him as well as with his own actions that led him to this fate. He is also learning white magic, a mixture of arcane and radiant sorcery, to build a spiritual stronghold within himself. Simon David Jones died the night Ebon died and Darkfist is in the past. As Simon Spectre, he is a new man, bound to serve out his sentence by protecting innocents and fighting those who were once his own peers.
Powers
Simon has a combination of powers. His offensive powers come from use of the living darkness he stole from Ebon. It's a dangerous tool that feeds on life. However, with proper training and discipline, Simon has learned to focus it so that it consumes mental energy instead of physical. The end result is that it acts as a powerful sedative, draining its target's ability to stay conscious. He can also use the energy to drain the strength from incoming attacks as well as the strange ability to teleport but through non-existence. He literally ceases to exist in one place but wills the darkness to pop him back into existence a short distance away.
As an apprentice to Dr. Goldbard, Simon is learning white magic. He can heal others as well as himself and he has mastered two circles, Arcane Sigils and Arcane Power.
Equipment
As part of his magical curriculum, Simon is learning enchantment. He has thus far produced two bracelets, which through the blessing of the cherubs, warn him of the presence of evil and falsehood. The bracelets are not as yet specific but they will alert him when a person of malevolent intent is present or when a lie has been spoken nearby.
Current Status
Simon is still being watched very closely by UNTIL, PRIMUS and Dr. Goldbard. It has been determined that by encasing itself around Simon's heart, the living darkness disassociated him from his metaphorical heart, his emotions. In essence, it put him in a state of temporary sociopathy. In this state, Simon would have no access to his own moral compass. Without this critical function, Simon would murder without remorse, perverting him even further and in turn strengthening the nascent sentience of the darkness within him.
Through his sorcerous training, Simon keeps a hard barrier of radiant energy around his emotions, allowing him to feel them in their full range, including guilt and remorse for his actions as the Darkfist. Despite his memories, Simon continues to live and work in Westside. He has purchased a warehouse, converting the upper floor into a sanctum for himself and the lower floor into a fine restaurant, called The Sanctuary. He uses his skills to imbue the restaurant with a sense of peace, calm and warmth, feelings in short supply in Westside.
OOC Footnotes
Simon began as an idea blatantly stolen and reworked in MSH. Essentially, he had Darkforce Control and a monstrous Force Field. My PnP group was playing Shadowrun at the time so I didn't play Darkfist until I joined a new group and got to remake him in Marvel SAGA. It was a darker campaign so the idea of a repentant hero fit well.
Later, I remade Darkfist, first as a Kinetics/Dark defender then as a Dark/Dark scrapper in CoH:Pinnacle but never really enjoyed him as much. CoH was too rigid for Simon. I later remade him again in CoV:Victory as a Thugs/Dark mastermind named Simon Spectre... I think the name Darkfist was taken on Victory and I couldn't justify Darkfist for a guy with hoodlums and guns. He went to 50, a much more enjoyable character, surprisingly so since I prefer melee characters.
He's kind of cliche (the repentant hero) but Dexter made sociopathy cool and RPing him in SAGA (and later in a MnM RPoL game) gave him a voice.
