Antibody
| F Gd 10 |
A Gd 10 |
S Ty 6 |
E Ex 20 |
R Ex 20 |
I Gd 10 |
P Ex 20 |
Res Gd 10 |
Pop Fe +2 |
| Health: Karma: |
46 50 |
Origin:
Randy O'Brien, the so-called Antibody, was originally a normal human who desired to become a doctor. He was in his third year of residency at Marquette University when the White Event occurred, forever gifting - or cursing - him with his unique paranormal power. Randy was later changed as a result of exposure to so-called Pitt-juice, which trapped him within one of his own antibodies.
Known Powers:
Energy Doubles: his primary paranormal power, Randy developed the ability to generate negative-image doubles of himself as a result of the White Event. These doubles, composed of imaginary matter the Clinic dubbed psychoplasm, can manifest with Monstrous (75) ability. At first Randy could only create one, but he later developed the ability to manifest up to five simultaneously.
At least, until this ability was altered after exposure to Pitt-juice. This changed Randy's power considerably. In addition to trapping him within one of his full-sized antibodies (as he calls them), Randy developed the ability to generate up to nine of them at once - though at a highly diminutive size. They now possess Typical (6) ranked, always-on shrinking, making them stand approximately one foot in height, with a size factor of -3.
Both before and after this occurred, Randy's antibodies had the ability to fly with respectable speed (around 90 miles per hour), doing so at Typical (6) rank. They could also render themselves intangible at will, doing so with power rank ability, and possessed the sensory projection ability, allowing them to share whatever they have sensed or observed with anyone they touch (it's limited to contact only).
Similarly, Randy's energy doubles all have heightened perception, in that they could view things that no others could see. This spectral sense allows an antibody to see astral bodies, disembodied intelligences and other entities that exist only in higher dimensions - such as Nelson Kohler, the Witness. Mind you, antibodies can't actually talk, so any communication involved is sort of a one-way street...!
Randy's energy doubles possess ability scores matching his own. They can remain outside of his body up to 78 hours before discorporating. While each seems to develop quirky personalities based upon a portion of his own mind, and retains them upon their creation, Randy's antibodies can be killed. This terminates the antibody's personality forever, though Randy himself doesn't seem to suffer ill effects when his happens.
One power stunt Randy developed before his Pitt-juice changes was the power to 'wear' one of his antibodies, thus giving him access to their special abilities. He learned this trick after observing young Evan Huebner doing this with his 'renegade' antibody, a skill the Army tried to put to use before Randy went AWOL Mind you, this was what led him to being trapped within one to begin with.
Damage Reduction: one of the benefits of being trapped within one of his original, human-sized Antibodies is that Randy now possesses a minor degree of protection from injury. While he can still feel sensation just fine, and can quite easily be hurt by most things, Randy's antibody 'covering' seems to provide him minor (1 CS) damage reduction against attacks of a physical nature (punches, bullets, and so on).
Flight: after being trapped within one of his own antibodies thanks to the mutagenic Pitt-juice, Randy has acquired all of their abilities save for the power to become intangible. Thus he now has the power of flight as well, and can flit about at their normal speeds, which is approximately 90 miles per hour. Functioning at Typical (6) rank, he can carry up to two hundred pounds of weight with him while in flight.
Resistance to Psionic Attacks: whenever he's housing any of his antibodies (they're not all always active), or later, upon being trapped inside one, Randy's mind is incredibly hard to control - a fact that bothered the Clinic's goons to no end. While not immune to psionic powers, he seems beyond even Voigt's ability to influence, thus granting him this ability at Unearthly (100) rank overall.
Sensory Projection: as is the case with his flight power, Randy developed this power as a result of being physically trapped within one of his antibodies. Though this power is limited to physical contact, it allows Randy to share any sensory data he has received, whether involving something he has seen, heard, smelt, or whatever. He may perform this feat with Monstrous (75) ability.
Spectral Sense: presumably, since Randy now wields all the other powers his antibodies possess, he has access to this curious ability as well. Wielding this heightened awareness, Randy can spot astral forms, higher dimensional entities, and even disembodied intellects that are resident in his current area. He may wield this potent, if rarely applicable sensory power with Monstrous (75) ability.
Limitations / Enhancements:
(none)
Equipment:
(none)
Quirks:
Abnormal Attribute: while the advent of his parability didn't leave him visibly changed as it did his friend Mastodon, Randy nonetheless found himself marked as inherently 'freakish' thanks to a dunking in Pitt-juice. After this happened, he was trapped within one of his original, man-sized antibodies, and thus took on their appearance completely. As such, Randy cannot pass for 'normal' any longer.
Bigotry: while he's not a torch and pitchfork wielding yokel - far from it - Randy nonetheless has a few issues thanks to his 'old fashioned' upbringing. Though not racist per se, Randy doesn't believe in interracial dating at all, and (despite being attracted to women such as Friction) cannot get past this hang-up. In order to even entertain such a thought, Randy must first pass a Psyche FEAT roll at a -2 CS.
Talents:
Medicine: a graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Randy can be considered well-versed in medical knowledge (even if not a legal doctor). He should benefit from a +1 CS to his Reason for the purposes of medical knowledge, and has the ability to not only halt the loss of Endurance in a target, but can resuscitate those who have slipped below Shift 0 Endurance within twenty turns of that occurrence.
Military / United States: never originally military minded, Randy was instead Drafted by the Army after he was captured by such in the Pitt area. While he received little combat training outside minor work with his antibodies, Randy nonetheless has had military doctrine hammered into his obstinate head before he finally went AWOL, and can generally pose as a member of an armed force with little difficulty.
Sports: in addition to his medical knowledge, Randy developed an affinity for several different sports while in school. He's an accomplished player of racquetball and tennis, and is a competent skier. He should receive a +1 CS to FEAT rolls involving such games or sports, whether he's actively participating in such or simply recalling knowledge related to any of them in the course of play.
Contacts:
Randy can readily rely upon his fellow paranormals from therapy group C in the Clinic for Paranormal Research - even Scuzz, who originally left them on hostile terms. Over time others have joined their little band, including Captain Manhattan, Chrome, Metallurge, Mutator, and Sponge. Randy also has less reliable contacts in the form of other paranormals he's worked with over the years.
Costume:
Randy hasn't relied on costumes, per se, despite occasionally using his abilities to help others. He most often wore ordinary street clothing for the most part, though this has changed on occasion. For a short period of time, he made use of a white sweat suit, complete with an obscuring hood, to protect his identity. Later, he adopted a brown jump suit during the group's expedition into the Pitt area.
Upon being Drafted, Randy wore conventional military fatigues, though after going AWOL to save David, he was physically trapped within one of his own antibodies upon being doused in Pitt-juice. As a result, he now resembles one of them entirely, and no longer bothers with clothing to speak of - the antibody itself preserves Randy's modesty while he interacts with the world these days.
Personality:
Randy is a highly responsible team player, and tends to assume a leadership position amongst his friends thanks to his general level-headedness. He tries to do the right thing and help others when possible, though he's had instances of letting his own selfishness get in the way of this tendency. He seems to have accepted his new life as a clearly obvious paranormal, despite several bumps on the road along the way.
Real Name: Randall 'Randy' Lawrence O'Brien
Occupation: courier, former military medic in the Paranormal Platoon, former medical intern
Legal Status: citizen of the United States with a considerable criminal record
Marital Status: single
Alias(es), if any: various throwaway fake names
Group Affiliation: DP 7 (therapy group C), former member of Paranormal Platoon Able
Height: 5' 11"
Hair: brown
Eyes: blue
Weight: 175 lbs.
Other Distinguishing Characteristics: thanks to his being trapped within one of his antibodies as a result to exposure to Pitt-juice, Randy now looks like one of them at all times. Thus, he appears like a negative-image of himself, a sort of bluish-black humanoid entity with few discernible features on a casual glance. It is unknown if he will ever be free of this condition, as it has persisted for quite some time.
Story:
Randall 'Randy' O'Brien originally intended to live a perfectly normal life. He was going to become a doctor, and was attending school to achieve just that. A graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, he was in the third year of his medical residency at Marquette University, when things got a little bit weird for Randy. He'd been having strange dreams for one thing, and his body was taken over for a short time - by a ghost!
This 'ghost' was, in fact, the disembodied consciousness of Nelson Kohler: the Witness! Dying immediately after the so-called White Event, an astronomical phenomenon that changed two out of every million people on earth, one of which was Nelson! Kohler experienced no physical sensation save for the 'feeling' that a paranormal's powers are about to manifest, so he was drawn to Randy when his emerged.
As it turned out, Randy had the power to generate a shadowy double of himself. This 'double' had been wandering around of its own accord while Randy worked on his residency, and the Witness was astounded to discover it could perceive him - a feat no one else he'd spied upon thus far could duplicate! This led to a tussle with Randy's double, one which Kohler won - and prompted him to try walking off with Randy's physical body!
This almost worked, for when the Witness entered Randy's body, he could actually control it. Of course, Randy's double reappeared shortly after this, and the Witness realized that he didn't have the right to steal another person's body. Reluctantly leaving it, Nelson allowed Randy's double to return 'home', and Randy then awoke to find he'd had an even stranger dream, about ghosts and flying, all remnant memories of his double.
In time, David Landers was brought to the hospital, after a drug overdose. This mountain of a man was larger than anybody Randy had ever seen, and in talking to him Randy realized that he seemed to have 'special' powers. As did himself; in time, Randy eventually determined that all of his recent problems were stemming from the antics of his double, which he dubbed his antibody, whom he couldn't actually control.
The two eventually made their way to the Clinic for Paranormal Research, and stayed there for a time. However, Randy eventually uncovered evidence that the Clinic was up to no good, and that it had sinister aims on him, David, and the other five paranormals in their therapy group, dubbed therapy group c by their controllers. Informing the others of this, Randy prompted them to escape the Clinic alongside him and David.
The seven displaced paranormals fled the Clinic and its minions for months, though they were all eventually captured - even Randy. However, Randy's antibody was outside his body when it was captured, and thus left without a host. It found one in the form of Evan Huebner for a time, an orphan who discovered it as it tried to find Randy. Evan took it to the Clinic, but not before it died from being apart from Randy for too long.
Of course, Randy wasn't conscious of this at the time. After his capture, Randy was subjected to brainwashing by the Clinic's paranormal staff, a process which was interrupted by David. His mind having been rendered immune to mental influence while he was an outcast in Wisconsin, David was able to shrug off the Clinic's brainwashers and revive his friend, though Randy's time under their 'care' had left his muscles atrophied.
Thus it was bad timing that the duo ultimately had to face down the Clinic's head, Philip Nolan Voigt, at this time. This man, who called himself the Overshadow, had the ability to duplicate the powers of any paranormal - and wield them in a much more powerful manner! He battled against David and Randy, though the two ultimately won when Randy managed to generate five new antibodies - all at once!
With Voigt gone, seemingly disintegrated by the dissolution of his own, larger antibody, Randy and David were left to their own devices. Though they initially wanted to leave, they felt a responsibility towards their friends in therapy group c, and thus stayed to help 'iron out' the problems with the Clinic. This included a subsequent battle with Voigt's chief minion, Mr. Charne - who died in the fight, by Randy's antibody's hands.
This left Randy with a dilemma, for he didn't want to aid his 'murderous' antibody. Eventually learning hypnotic techniques from the Clinic's staff to help him in that regard, Randy ultimately drove off his 'evil' shade, though it found a home in Evan Huebner, who'd been kept at the Clinic in the event that he were a paranormal; he seemed to wield some influence over psychoplasm (which Randy's antibodies are comprised of).
During this time, Randy was the target of the affections of Charlotte Beck, one of his fellow displaced paranormals who'd become quite smitten with him. Of course, Randy had an issue with interracial dating, because of his self-described 'mid-western values', which created a considerable wedge between the two, and ultimately caused her to stop talking to the man altogether if she could at all help it.
Soon after this, the city of Pittsburgh was destroyed utterly, and Randy's friend Jeff went running to it immediately, hoping to rescue his family. Wanting to help, Randy convinced the rest of his group (save for the comatose Stephanie) to load up into David's Winnebago ™ and follow. This led to the group being captured by the government, with him, David and Jeffrey being Drafted into the Army soon after.
For a time, Randy was told he'd serve as a medic to the Paranormal Platoon, since he had the training... and his powers seemed to be on the fritz again. Of course Randy was fibbing about this, and when his 'evil' antibody returned some time later, seeking aid for a wounded Evan, Randy was forced to reveal his antibodies still existed... this as he managed to personally defeat the so-called Famileech being kept on the base.
Having 'outed' himself, Randy was forced to begin combat training at Fort Benning along with all the other paranormals there, though this didn't last long. When one of Randy's antibodies told him that David was being 'disposed' of in the Pitt, Randy used a trick that his 'evil' antibody taught him: he rode in one of his antibodies and had it fly him up to the Pitt crater, to rescue his friend.
While searching for David, Randy was hit by a gusher of Pitt-juice, which paralyzed him and left him at the mercy of rapidly approaching lava. Managing to generate a 'wall' of antibodies, which were also paralyzed upon touching him, Randy staved off the molten rock, at least until David could find him. Hauled out of the Pitt by David, Randy slowly regained the ability to move, but found he was trapped within his antibody!
Now an obvious paranormal, Randy was forced to head to New York City alongside David, as that was where the paranormals seemed to be settling once the 'normals' started to evacuate as a result of Pitt fallout. Of course, the duo were also wanting to confront Voigt, who they saw in a random newspaper was actually running for President of the United States! Knowing him to be insane, they intended to stop the man at all costs.
This effort failed utterly when Voigt turned their friends from their former therapy group against Randy and David. Though they had been working for the CIA (much as Randy and David had been Drafted), Stephanie Harrington, Charlotte Beck, Jennifer Swensen and Merriam Sorensen were brainwashed by Voigt into serving him, and beat the duo to within an inch of their lives, only stopping at Voigt's command.
He then told the two that he'd order the ladies to kill themselves if either of them tried to oppose him further, or to 'out' him at all. Despondent, Randy and David simply dealt with the situation out of fear for their friends' lives, until they met Jacob Burnsley: the Star Brand! Telling him about their predicament, they managed to turn him against the President, and in the ensuing fight Voigt lost his superhuman powers!
Liberated at last, the paranormals tried to live life as best as they could, finally free from the various threats hanging over their heads. Randy failed to reconcile with Charlotte however, as she was turned off by his freakish appearance - an ironic twist based on the reasons he had spurned her in the past. Randy even debated ridding himself of his powers when the Cure came calling, but ultimately chose to keep them.
He couldn't bring himself to kill his 'children', after all.
After this, Randy, David and company were able to live their lives peacefully for several years, only interrupted by the arrival of Quasar, an extradimensional hero, in their timeline. One of Randy's antibodies hitched a ride with Quasar when he returned home, and was trapped in Quasar's universe for a while, finding itself corrupted when it tried to rely upon the villainous Quagmire (from yet another timeline) for sustenance.
This caused it to swell to immense heights, and when attacked by Quasar and the Shock Troop, pieces of the antibody broke off into 'normal' sized antibodies, which only compounded the problem - at least until the alien Glom consumed most of the darkforce that had corrupted the antibodies so. Dr. Druid then used his magical powers to send the antibody's 'essence' back from whence it came.
Likely giving Randy one heck of a weird set of memories to reconcile.
It is unknown what, if any, changes were wrought on Randy's life subsequent to this when his world was drawn from its own timeline into that of the 'main line' Marvel universe, timeline 616. This happened as a result of the diabolical Skeletron's meddling during a quest for the Star Brand's power, though the earth itself was sealed off by a mighty entity known as the Living Tribunal.
While it was left in the orbit of a strange world, the earth itself wasn't torn asunder - possibly due to the Tribunal's influence. Of course, it seems that, as of 2006, the world has been placed back in its rightful timeline (as evidenced by the Untold Tale of the New Universe featuring Randy and his friends), so it's quite possible that this whole episode made little, if any difference to Randy's daily life.
Extra Goodies:
The Antibody entry written with Ty R. States!
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