Protius
Art by Egor Grositskiy
As Wayne Manderville died, he was probably torn between the emotions of utter terror and anger at what he saw as bad luck. Protius made a genuine effort to save him, just like anyone would have done under the circumstances, but the panic that his rescuee experienced when being approached by a creature of animate water proved fatal. Sad, really, but life is full of unfortunate events, and it made no sense to cry over them, even if he did have water to spare. And the fellow was no longer using his identity, so why not put it to good use? So he claimed to be the late Wayne Manderville and no one, for his whole second life, ever questioned the narrative.
The truth: Protius was born Noah Gibson in 1942 on an island in the North Atlantic. When he was older and had left the island behind with his mother, she told him that she had been rescued from a shipwreck by his father, the wizard who called himself Thaumas. While they initially lived a happy life, Thaumas was apparently angered that his firstborn child showed no signs of having inherited any of his magical powers. In fact, he was angered enough to suspect that Noah was not actually his child; how that was supposed to have worked was not clear to Noah.
Their second child, Nora, was apparently more satisfactory. Nevertheless, the relationship between the two adults had apparently deteriorated enough that by the time Noah was seven, his mother worked a magic that took herself, her son and several of the most valuable texts in the library on a voyage through darkness that deposited them in Freeport, Texas. She hoped that would be far enough away from the island to allow them to hide, that being left with the child her ex-husband favored would keep him busy, and that she could find a buyer for the books. The lattermost hope failed her.
Five years later, having seen his mother pass away, Noah found himself alone in the world, with his only assets the five books he had managed to hold onto and a certain low cunning. He managed to eke out a meager existence for two years before his worldview was disrupted by the Atlantean attacks of 1961. Self-centered in the extreme, Noah developed the belief that the entire affair had been directed by Thaumas, hunting for him. That being the case, he had to do something to obtain the sort of power that would allow him to fight back.
He found what he was looking for in the Book of the Great Scorpion, specifically a ritual that could allow someone to transform a collection of four people into immortal, elemental warriors under the command of the one who performed it. The problems were twofold -- it required the caster to risk their life as part of the casting, and would consume the other four books that Noah still retained. Well, only the first part made him hesitate, really, and when he made up his mind, he unflinchingly burned the only known copies of the Book of Good Farming, the Book of Heaven's Bull, the Book of Sacred Twins, and the Book of the Deep One, then walked into the Gulf of Mexico.
There, in the same moment that Aeolia, Antaeus, and Phoenix were transformed into beings of air, earth, and fire, he was transformed into a being of water. After trying and failing to save Manderville, Protius returned to land to gather up the Book of the Great Scorpion and await the arrival of his soldiers. But that was when things started to go wrong, for he found that someone had stolen the Book! Without the words of power contained within it, he would be unable to exert control over the other three elementals; worse, he was by no means certain that he had performed the finishing touches of the ritual, which would make him and them able to resurrect themselves through connection to their elements.
Thus, when Antaeus sought him out, Protius chose to go along with the notion of being a "superhero", in order to keep these beings on his side. That said, he came to find this life enjoyable and much more exciting than his existence beforehand, so there were compensations for every misfortune. He was also surprised to find that his younger sister, whom he barely remembered, had also escaped from the island -- or so he interpreted her story, at least -- and befriended the Selkie without ever revealing the truth about her. (After all, none of this had been her fault, but that of the old man, and getting her on his side would be another victory over him.)
When Protius died for the second time, he did so with frantic uncertainty about whether or not he would awaken again. When he finally did, thanks to a "nudge" from Mentor, he was excited enough to forget himself and speak of this aloud, alerting his teammates to the fact that he knew more than he was supposed to know. He ultimately did tell them the whole story, and finds the fact that they still distrust him despite that to be horribly frustrating. He has risked his life for theirs so many times, what do a few minor untruths matter? It almost makes him want to go find that darn book, after all this time ...
Protius is also interested in building a relationship with his nephew, Nereus, but recognizes that this will be difficult. Still, the boy should be interested in opposing his damned grandfather, even if the old bastard seems to have completely disappeared at some point.
Protius -- PL 11
Abilities:
STR 4 |
STA 4 |
AGL 4 |
DEX 3 |
FGT 6 |
INT 3 |
AWE 4 |
PRE 3
Powers:
Resurrection: Immortality 10 (one hour), Source (deep water) - 10 points
Transformed Form: Visual Concealment 4, Limited, Only in liquid; Elongation 8; Immunity 12 (life support, water effects); Permanent Insubstantial 1; Movement 2 (Slithering, Sure-footed); Protection 8; Regeneration 10, Source (Water); Senses 3 (extended 2 ranged touch); Flight 8 (500 MPH), Aquatic - 68 points
Water Control: Array (25 points)
- Drowning: Progressive Affliction 12 (Resisted and Overcome by Fortitude; Dazed, Stunned, Incapacitated), Grab-based - 1 point
- Hard Water Objects: Create 12 - 1 point
- Water Blast: Ranged Damage 12, Indirect - 25 points
- Water Snare: Ranged Affliction 12 (Resisted by Dodge; Hindered and Vulnerable, Immobile and Defenseless), Extra Condition, Limited to Two Degrees, Reversible - 1 point
Advantages:
Close Attack 3, Daze (Deception), Favored Environment (water), Improved Hold, Improved Initiative, Move-by Action, Power Attack, Ritualist, Seize Initiative, Taunt.
Skills:
Close Combat: Unarmed 4 (+10), Deception 8 (+11), Expertise: Magic 6 (+9), Expertise: Streetwise 6 (+9), Insight 4 (+8), Perception 4 (+10), Ranged Combat: Water Control 6 (+9), Stealth 6 (+8).
Offense:
Initiative +8
Unarmed +13 (Close Damage 4)
Water Blast +9 (Ranged Damage 12)
Grab +9 (Strength or Dodge 12 plus Fortitude 12)
Defense:
Dodge 8, Parry 10, Fortitude 9, Toughness 12, Will 8.
Totals:
Abilities 62 + Powers 104 + Advantages 12 + Skills 22 + Defenses 17 = 217 points
Offensive PL: 11
Defensive PL: 11
Resistance PL: 9
Skill PL: 4
Complications:
Thrills--Motivation. Inhuman Appearance. Out of Time. Trickster. Vulnerability (anything that boils water also damages him, freezing attacks also Hinder, Immobilize and Paralyze him.)
"I told you that story, so I could tell you this one."