User:Tronco
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Contents
Youth
Born, Gabriel Troncowski, to Slavic immigrants in 1982, Tronco had a standard childhood with no obvious indications that he was a latent mutant. All indications were that the boy was simply a rambunctious child with favorable genetics. He grew slightly larger than most of his peers and displayed natural athletics. Though young Gabriel could run faster and grew stronger than the other kids, it was far from conspicuous.
When his father got a job in the Rogue Isles in the mid-90s, the Troncowski family moved there, taking Gabriel with them.
Rising Promise
The Rogue Isle High School had a well-known and competitive football dynasty. It wasn’t long before Gabriel tried out and immediately began to excel. The coach quickly put Troncowski in the center position, despite being one of the youngest linemen on the team. As his popularity grew, the long and difficult name on the back of his jersey was shortened to Tronco. Fans liked it because it sounded like a brand of train and the kid played like one.
In his senior year, Tronco would play offense and defense, anchoring the team to a winning state Championship, and becoming a local hero.
With a full football scholarship to any college he wanted, Tronco decided to stay close to home, as his mother’s health was deteriorating. Tronco enrolled in Rogue Island University, turning down many more prestigious offers.
The years went by and Tronco’s skill and physical attributes only grew, causing some speculation that he may, in fact, be meta-human. Although he wasn’t throwing cars, he was playing both sides in almost every game, without injury and could overwhelm any one man on the line, often two. Still, the rumors remained rumors, and the university protected him due to the attention, money, and success their team enjoyed.
Scouts knew his name well, and he was guaranteed a lucrative contract in the professional league when he graduated. Sports programs couldn’t wait to interview the kid. He was poised to be the hottest free agent of the year, possible in several years.
Tronco could see it all stretched out before him. Endorsement deals, championships, magazine covers, cereal boxes, fast cars, women, and the money to treat his mother’s ills. The future was bright and glamorous.
Paradise Lost
It was the start of his senior year in college. Tronco had recently turned 21. He’d gone out drinking with his friends and teammates. After losing his cell phone in the night’s bar crawl, Tronco decided it was smart to call it enough and make it back to his dorm room. He went to bed weighing 300 pounds and measuring 6’4”.
The next morning, Tronco awoke on the floor, his bed frame crushed beneath him and the mattress too small to fit on. Tronco’s latent mutation had finally manifested fully. At 8 feet tall he barely fit in his dorm room, and 800 pounds, the floor was making worrisome staining noises under his feet. Using the bed sheets he fashioned a loin cloth and left to find help. Instead of feeling blessed by super-human strength and durability, Tronco worried that it would not end well for him; he was right.
So much happened so fast for him after that.
Meta-humans were not allowed in organized sports. Tronco was removed from the team.
His college and high school records were redacted and he would not play professionally.
His scholarship was revoked and he could not continue his degree.
His friends and team-mates resented him, believing that he knew all along.
Parents of anyone injured during play with him over the years threatened to sue.
None of that would have mattered to Tronco in the end if he could have gone home and his parents said: “they didn’t care, they were still proud, and they still loved him.” In reality, Tronco’s mother had taken a turn for the worse that night he was out with his friends. Without his phone, his father couldn’t get in contact with him and she had died without him even knowing. Between the death of his wife, and mutation of his only son, Tronco’s father could not take life in the Rogue Isle anymore. He got in his car without saying much to Tronco and drove away, never to be seen or heard from by his son again.
Adopted by the Streets
For a time, Tronco knew only anger and betrayal. As Lord Recluse slowly transformed the Rogue Isle into his center of operations, crime started to rise and it started to pay. Tronco, conspicuous by his size was recruited by local mob bosses in the market for some meta-muscle. They paid for custom suits and clothes, gave him a place to live and a sense of belonging to something. Two years later, Tronco would have a healthy criminal record, a reputation among the hopeful heroes and villains but was not beyond redemption. He would later be grateful that they had never gotten him to kill anyone. Somewhere in the back of his mind, Tronco always knew he’d never forgive himself if his mother was watching from beyond.
It was only a matter of time though. Heroes were starting to target him, more powerful villains wanted to recruit him, and he’d very soon move from notable thug to full-blown super-villain. Tronco sensed the impending climax and ran, leaving the Rogue Isle behind as his father had years before.
Falling into a Den of Serpents
Tronco would drift across the U.S. for the next year, finding odd jobs but little trust and comradery. Desperate to fit in or be a part of something, he was a young man without direction or ambition. This made him vulnerable to the keen scouts of VIPER. They picked up Tronco in California, as he was passing through the Mojave Desert towns. The promise of structure, a belief system, and stability brought in the young man, who was seeking the things he’d lost: a family and a team.
VIPER transferred Tronco out to Monster Island where they were using the system of caves to build secret bunkers away from prying eyes and scanners. Deep within the bunkers was a research facility codenamed Crota. There is no data on when or where VIPER discovered the suit that would become known as the Tronco Armor.
The Suit
VIPER knew the suit was special, but it had defied all attempts to crack its secrets and rejected any attempts to wear it. Part of the problem was sheer size. The suit was gigantic by normal human standards, but as fate would have it, just the right size for the new recruit, Tronco. Fulfilling the real purpose for his transfer to Crota, Tronco was asked to don the unknown suit of alien powered armor.
Much to the fascination and pleasure of VIPER’s scientists, the suit powered on and responded to Tronco instantly. It fitted to him perfectly and interfaced with his body so perfectly he couldn’t even feel its considerable weight. The suit allowed him to feel touch as if he were not wearing gloves, see as if he were not wearing a helmet, better in fact. In additional increasing his sense slightly, it amplified his powers greatly.
Tronco had been able to throw a car with a little effort, but in the armor, he could lift a train car off the tracks and throw it across a football field. His natural durability was augmented to the point of being invulnerable to all but the most powerful military grade weaponry. In addition, the suit seemed to react to environment and stimuli, shifting amorphic materials into new positions, changing mass, density, even color patterns.
The suit would not respond to anyone else and was given the same codename as its only user. The Tronco Armor.
Captive Study and Trials
Although VIPER was pleased with the progress in activating the suit, they were no closer to reverse-engineering its technology. One suit that could outclass their top end powered armor is good, but if they could upgrade their entire elite force with such armor, they would be unstoppable.
In a rare show of restraint and sound strategy, VIPER kept the Tronco Armor hidden away deep underground while they poked and prodded it. This meant that Tronco had to stay hidden away with it and run trials. Every day he wore the suit and was subjected to tests and measurements, every night he slept in a steel room, not unlike a cell.
VIPER tried to keep him placated with friendly faces, and secretly encouraged a love affair between Tronco and one of the lead engineers, Victoria. Still, Tronco suspected he was a prisoner in Crota, and not a part of the team. He didn’t know what VIPER intended for the armor but his concerns were growing about what might happen and what his mother would think of him.
In time VIPER required field data, and began to run covert ops, and precision strikes using Tronco. The goals were two-fold. They would blitzkrieg stores of technology and materials to helps build the lab and better study the suit, as well as record its capabilities and reaction to environments and situations.
They weren’t the only ones recording though. These operations were recorded several times by UNTIL spies, surveillance, and satellites. The recurring theme of targets and the presence of the massive new powered armor launched an investigation.
VIPER units and Intel were captured and project Tronco was no longer a secret. The potential for danger causes Defender to step in and lead the raid on Crota personally.
Surrender? or Salvation?
“Armor outside, a brick inside; Tronco is as tough as they come. The fact that he clearly had the ability to escalate crimes and terrorism to disaster levels but stayed so low-key gave me the gut feeling that he was no villain at heart. Going in, I hoped he could be talked down, but hope aside, I brought some heavy reinforcements. If he wasn’t in the mood to talk, we were in for a long fight.” – Defender, Champion of Millennium City
EXCERPT FROM THE CROTA MISSION DEBRIEFING WITH DEFENDER
Defender: We knew what to expect going in. Hardened defenses, security systems, defensive checkpoints, fighting positions, ambush points, you name it. VIPER is thorough at least, but fairly standardized. We came with overwhelming force for the sole purpose of overrunning these defensive checkpoints quickly. The idea was to go in at night, get in and get to this “Tronco Armor” before the pilot got it up and running so we wouldn’t have to take it on. We didn’t know its capabilities, but VIPER was making a big enough fuss about it that we assumed the very worst.
When we reached the door to the armory it was already torn off. This gave me a moment’s pause because why would VIPER need to destroy their own door? Had it been locked away from the pilot and when the alarms went off he went to the armor without stopping to find the key? If that’s the case, then the pilot was not human.
I told the rest of the strike force to wait outside for the moment and I entered alone. At the other end of the hangar, a small mountain of glistening metal was putting on his helmet. As he turned to face me, his footfalls echoed off the walls like heavy construction machinery, but he moved effortlessly, almost gracefully for his size.
He lowered his head like a rhino about to charge and I realized to him I’m just an invader. My gut told me to talk to him and so I did.
Interviewer: What did you say?
Defender: I just blurted out, “Do you like football?” He wavered for a moment like he had tensed his muscles to fight and was confused head to toe now. After a moment, his stance softened and I heard his voice come back, clear and deep through the helmet’s metallic filters.
Tronco: “Huh?”
Defender: “You named the suit Tronco right? I’m guessing you’re a fan of college ball. The only time I’ve ever heard the name Tronco was 3 or 4 years ago when Troncowski was setting the world on fire with the Rogue Isle U.”
Tronco: “I didn’t name the suit Tronco.” Then he pulled the helmet off and I couldn’t believe my eyes. He WAS Tronco. “The suit was named after me.”
We talked for a minute about what happened and where he’d been. I understood pretty quickly and told him that I couldn’t offer him complete amnesty. He’d have to stand trial for the crimes he had committed, but if he comes with us and tells us everything he knew about VIPER we’d work out a deal and I’d personally plead for leniency on his behalf.
I like to think we walked out of the smoldering wreckage of Crota as friends.
END OF EXCERPT FROM THE CROTA MISSION DEBRIEFING WITH DEFENDER
Tronco would be sentenced to community service with UNTIL and Defender’s supervision, at the request of Defender and his testimony.
Dr. Silverback studied the armor for some time but had no better luck than VIPER. The Tronco armor remained a mystery. It was placed in Tronco’s custody on the condition that he use it only in accordance with UNTIL policy.
Tronco’s Intel from his time inside VIPER led to Project Snakecharmer
Gatewatch
“Although I advised against the continued use of the Tronco Armor due to the inscrutable and unknown nature of its technology, I cannot argue with the results. He’s made a formidable ally. I only hope we do pay a price for our recklessness.” – Dr. Silverback
At present time, Tronco has been assigned to Gatewatch. After proving himself a capable initiate with experience combat and a willingness to follow orders and structure, he has been promoted to Guardian.
Powers and Abilities
Without Armor (mutant physiology) Super Strength – 30 ton rating Superhuman Leaping – a byproduct of the strength, subject can leap great distances Durability – Tronco’s body possess a high degree of resistance to physical injury Stamina – Tronco seems almost inexhaustible, producing very little fatigue toxins Health – Tronco seems almost immune to disease
With Armor (all listed above with the following addition/adjustments) Incredible Strength – augmented to 90 to rating, possibly higher Flight – Rocket boots for lack of a better term Invulnerability – augmented to be nearly invincible Reactive Adaptability – The suit reacts to changes in the environment, sealing against elements, gasses, or the vacuum of space, adapting camouflage, combatting energy types, and improving movement through water, terrain, etc. Enhanced Senses – the suit improves Tronco’s sight and hearing as well as allowing night vision and filtering out noise.
Recorded Armor Variants
Metropolitan - The Standard Tronco Armor that he is best known for. This suit is presumed to be a default configuration for city combat, with balanced capabilities.
Snowblind – White armor adapted to extreme cold. Environmentally sealed and more aerodynamic. It is capable of operating in space.
Wastelander – Heat sinking, sand resistant armor. Color and affectations are adapted to mimic and confuse rogue robots of Snake Gulch.
Jawbreaker – Spiked, forest green armor, suited to the jungles of Monster Island. This armor is the most reinforced and features jagged deterrents for large creatures wanting to eat the subject.
Leviathan – Aquatic variant for easy of movement in the ocean. It is the lightest armor variant but has multidirectional stabilizers that allow it to anchor anywhere in the water.
Shadow – Minimal moving parts and a very dark finish make this most tactical variant. Night vision and reduced voice modulation assist in lowering its profile.
Guardian – Gatewatch specific heavy hitter variant with focus on armored pylons reinforcing the fists. Designed to bring down hard targets and identify the user as one of the good guys.
Balor – C L A S S I F I E D
