Runner

F Ex 20

A Un 100

S Gd 10

E Un 100

R Ex 20

I Mn 75

P Am 50

Res Fe 2

Pop Sh 0

Health: Karma:

230 145

Origin:

As are his fellow Elders of the Universe, the Runner is a being so obsessed with his chosen field of expertise, avoiding responsibility, that his overwhelming devotion to it has actually extended his lifespan indefinitely. His sheer age also grants him the Power Primordial!

Known Powers:

Immortality: thanks to his driving passion to avoid any obligation whatsoever, the Runner has effectively become immortal. He can be killed by being brought to zero (0) Health and Shift 0 Endurance, but he will eventually recover from any injury or demise.

Until the recent past, this was the case for as long as the Runner could retain his passion for personal freedom. However, the machinations of the Grandmaster have barred the Elders from Death's realm, so even if overcome with ennui, the Runner will persist indefinitely.

Power Primordial: as do the other Elders, the Runner has access to the Power Primordial, the energies loosed by the Big Bang itself. Though able to produce virtually any effects with it, the Runner has 'only' demonstrated the following powers thus far:

* Emotion Control: the Runner's natural attractiveness generates feelings of trust and joy inside folks within one area of him. Would-be victims of this effect may attempt an Intuition FEAT against this power's Monstrous (75) intensity to resist.

* Energy Blasts: the Runner can also emit blasts of Shift X (150) intensity energy. The nature of this energy is a mystery, but the Runner was able to defeat the Silver Surfer with them, all by himself, which makes them potent, indeed.

* Energy Cohesion: allowing him to run through the cosmos, the Runner can solidify his energy blasts before him, thus constructing a road anywhere he wants or needs to run. He may do this with Unearthly (100) ability, building bridges that last as long as he maintains them.

* Energy Sense: the Runner can perceive disturbances in the fabric of space left by people and superhuman powers. The Runner may use this ability to sense such things to track others with Unearthly (100) ability, an ability almost impossible to evade.

* Environmental Independence: tapping the Power Primordial to handle the sundry requirements of a physical existence, the Runner has done away with such base needs. Possessing this power at Class 5000 rank, he no longer needs to breathe, eat, or drink to sustain his life.

* Invulnerability: the Power Primordial has granted the Runner protection from a very wide array of threats. He effectively possesses complete immunity to Disease, Energy, Pressure Variance, and Poison assaults of any stripe.

* Super Speed: inexplicably fast, the Runner can run with Class 5000 ability. He is so powerful a runner that he can seemingly exceed the speed of light itself, assuming he can generate a track, however transient, for himself to run upon.

* Telepathy: the Runner has not done great things with this ability, mostly wielding it to communicate with others who are in the void or, as is usually the case, no longer speak his dead language. He possesses this power at Feeble (2) rank, at least.

Limitations / Enhancements:

(none)

Equipment:

the Space Gem: for a time, the Runner had possession of the Space Gem, which amplified his already impressive speed to an infinite degree. It is unknown if it left any lingering trace of its power upon him, however. The Space Gem is described with the other Infinity Gems.

Quirks:

Mania / Monomania 3: his love for escaping the past is so great that the Runner pursued it to the exclusion of all else in life - and it shows whenever you try to talk to him. He is at his Psyche -6 CS to resist talking about anything related to this pastime.

Natural Talent / Tumbling: the Runner's staggering velocity allows him to react to falls with astounding speed. He may attempt to catch himself whenever hurtling through the air, whether accidentally or when thrown, at a +1 CS to the Agility score listed above.

Talents:

Astronaut: his billions of years dedicated to traveling the cosmos itself, the Runner knows his way around - he's been to places we can't even imagine! He should make attempts at any FEAT rolls dedicated to navigating the trackless depths of space with a +1 CS bonus.

Martial Arts type E: despite being incalculably quick thanks to his super running power, the Runner works at being even faster on the draw than his powers allow for. As such, he may add a +1 bonus to his initiative when engaging in unarmed combat.

Contacts:

The Runner is an Elder of the Universe, a collection of extremely old beings that are all the last member of their respective species - and immortal due to their obsessive pursuit of their greatest passion. He can often rely upon his fellows for aid should he ask it of them.

Costume:

The Runner wears almost no outfit at all. Generally, the sole garment he wears is a loincloth, made from a fabric designed to perfectly match his eye, hair, and skin tone; no shoes, no shirt, no service. He may don different garments under special conditions, however.

Personality:

As is the case with most of his fellow Elders, the Runner shares a passion for his art which may be described as monomaniacal - and he loves to talk about it. He is most happy when encountering new places, or exercising the freedom from responsibility that has animated him for so long.

Real Name: Gilpetperdon
Occupation: explorer, racer, hobo
Legal Status: citizen of an unknown, dead world
Marital Status: (very) single
Alias(es), if any: none
Group Affiliation: Elders of the Universe

Height: 7'
Hair: gold
Eyes: gold
Weight: 325
Other Distinguishing Characteristics: all of the Runner's features, from his skin to his hair to his eyes, are all of a reflective, golden hue.

Story:

Little is known about the origins of the Runner, particularly by the Runner himself. It is unknown whether his people resembled him in his current state, where he came from, or even how long he's been alive. He would know, save for the fact that he no longer wishes to.

Obsessed with avoiding authority, responsibility, or duty of any stripe, the Runner ran from such concerns as soon as he was physically able. Obsessed with being beholden to no one or nothing, the Runner ran, and ran, and ran, until all such concerns were moot.

Running until every other member of his species was gone, the Runner discovered that his devotion to absolute freedom helped him persist long after he should have been dust. He would've known earlier, but keeping track of time was never one of the Runner's strong suits.

Leaving his dead world behind, the Runner traveled to new worlds, met new people, and did everything in his power to avoid any obligation to them and theirs. This continued for billions of years, with entire civilizations rising and falling as he spent time within them.

One of the oldest beings in existence, the Runner has managed to access the Power Primordial, energy lingering from the creation of the universe itself. He uses this to allow himself to travel the universe, doing so under his own power, and freeing him from the need for equipment.

Eventually, the Runner was met by enigmatic strangers similar to himself, who called themselves the Elders of the Universe. They wanted his help for a harebrained scheme to destroy Galactus, thereby destroying the current universe and allowing him to be reborn in an all new one!

Liking the idea of shedding the very universe of his birth for an all-new one, the Runner agreed to aid his erstaz brethren. It was for his personal greater good, after all, and if successful he would only have a handful of people who could possibly call on him for favors.

Collecting the Infinity Gems as a part of this plot, the Elders came into conflict with their current bearers, as well as heroes they forced to acquire them in the first place - the Silver Surfer in particular. The Runner almost beat the Surfer to death during these efforts.

Assaulting Galactus with the Infinity Gems once they'd collected all six, the Runner and his fellow Elders ultimately failed to murder the Devourer of Worlds. Paying them back for their perfidy, Galactus then consumed the Runner and several other Elders, seemingly killing them!

However, the Runner was barred from Death's realm due to the machinations of the Grandmaster, another Elder, and thus clung to existence to give Galactus 'cosmic indigestion'. This persisted until the Runner's fellow Elders forced Galactus to regurgitate him.

Fleeing before Galactus could try again, the Runner made for parts unknown, doing so with the Space Gem. He used this beauty to traverse even more of the cosmos, somehow faster than ever before, until the gem was stolen from him by the mad Titan, Thanos.

Reduced to infancy with the Time Gem, the Runner was traded to the Collector for his own gem, at which point Thanos returned the Runner to normal. While the two Elders fought, Thanos made off with both their gems, and then upturned the cosmos with the collected Infinity Gauntlet.

Getting back to what was for him a seemingly normal life, the Runner traveled to earth, and held a race for various speedsters to determine who was the fastest runner in the cosmos. Though won by the Buried Alien, the contests' results were ultimately rendered void.

The Runner has attempted to avoid trouble since then, but has found himself embroiled in the Annihilation Wave and several other cosmic calamities. He even entered another contest with his fellow Elders, this time over more Power Primordial that the multiverse's recreation made.

His activities after this latest incident have yet to be detailed.

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