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Basic
DOB/AGE: July 15, 1983; 29
SEX: Male
BIRTHPLACE: Evanston, IL
RESIDENCE: A loft apartment, the Loop, Chicago, IL
OCCUPATION: Comic book store clerk, freelance IT
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Relationships
PARENTS: Robert and Charlotte Norris
SIBLINGS: [open; two younger brothers]
EXTENDED FAMILY: [open; any and all]
ORIENTATION: Heterosexual; kinsey 1
RELATIONSHIP STATUS: single
CHILDREN: none
PAST LOVES: [open]
BEST FRIEND: [open]
FRIENDS: ~jennys (roommate) [open]
ENEMIES: [open]
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Education
IQ:128
EXCELLING SUBJECTS: Physics, Engineering Core, Mechanics, Robotics, Programming and Logic
LACKING SUBJECTS: Foreign language, Literature, Psychology, History
SCHOOL: Northwestern University
YEARS: 2002-2005, 2013-
DEGREE: N/A, seeking a BE in Mechanical Engineering
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History
Alex was born to Robert and Charlotte Norris on July 15, 1983, in the suburban town of Evanston, Illinois. The child of a bank teller and a high school math teacher, Alex was proof positive of the "it takes a village," motto. Never neglected, Alex nonetheless spent much of his first few years bouncing between babysitters in the neighborhood during the day only to be smothered with as much attention as his parents could manage in their evenings. An energetic child, he was largely considered a handful, although exposure to so many different homes left him an extremely respectful and outgoing boy as well.
This pleasant but hyperactive nature was only exacerbated with the arrival of Alex's younger brothers Chuck (at [age x]) and Matthew (at [age y]). The oldest brother, Alex became the Alvin to the boys' Chipmunks-- planning pranks, scheming schemes, and generally showing his younger entourage the ropes in their neighborhood. His well-known nature among the families and kids nearby left Alex's school days a constant stream of excitement; not always good, but never disastrous. He was a charming child, just the right balance of precocious and contrite to beg off of most trouble he brought down on himself and his brothers.
Thanks to his highly active nature, Alex was a middling student, with a heavy preference for subjects that he could touch and manipulate and play with instead of study. Gym was an early favorite, followed by art and finally science, his one true love. From animals in biology to explosions in physics and chemistry, Alex was fascinated with the machinations of the world around him and the chaos of it all.
He was an unrepentant nerd as soon as he knew what that meant, and never failed to try and drag his brothers into the fray with him. The superlebrity culture that he had grown up in was the perfect blend of fame and heroics that Alex could only hope to grow into. While some guys his age were looking at Playboy and girlie models, Alex was looking at Superoics and the growing internet resources on the powered individuals in their area. It sometimes was the topic of jokes-- didn't he know how geeky that all was? But that didn't mean he was completely antisocial; a guard on the basketball team and a generally known face, Alex was blessed with a decent high school experience. He was never going to win any popularity contests, but there was no outright bullying and he had relatively few feuds among his peers. Looking back, he realizes exactly how lucky he was to have such a peaceful time of high school, regardless of how boring it sometimes felt at the time.
Alex's powers manifested at the age of 19, at the beginning of his freshman year of college. It was the first real, measurable period of upheaval in his life, moving away from his family and the neighborhood he'd grown up in and into. It started small; action figures and clocks, small bits of machine clattering to life around him during the stress-filled nights cramming for tests and missing his family. At first, he thought it was a prank from his roommates (or, for one drunk and terrifying weekend, that he was being haunted). But the more he thought about it, the more he realized it was something he was doing, and that he could control. And it was some of the most bittersweet news of his life. He was one of them-- powered, more-than, as different and unique as he'd hoped! If only it was something more useful. Granted, that didn't mean Alex simply ignored the development; it was a neat party trick, an occasional blessing in his mechanics class when he just couldn't get that last gear into place the 'usual' way. Because of how innocuous he deemed the whole thing, Alex never saw the need to deny what he could do-- who was going to go after a guy with a legion of Batman figurines? Depending on the political climate, he may not shout his abilities from the rooftops, but most of his immediate social circle knew of his abilities-- and how little it affected what he wanted to do.
Unable to resist the siren song of his mistress, Science, Alex eventually gave up what was starting to feel like an unsatisfactory future in mechanical engineering to pursue a position in the infamous Guild of Associated Scientific Innovators; it was the crossroads between his natural proclivity for compelling science, creative problem solving, and uncanny knowledge of the powered community and their needs. Years of developing rays and mechanized suits and other goodies for whoever would take a look at his designs, Alex finally submitted his application project (something decidedly similar to a Mars rover, only far smaller and capable of much more precise surveillance and environmental manipulation) to G.A.S.I. All he can hope for is the opportunity to stand on the shoulders of his personal giants, and help make a difference in his community.
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Appearance
HEIGHT: 6'4" (193 cm)
WEIGHT: 145 lbs
HAIR: black
EYES: brown
IDENTIFYING MARKS: burn mark, right wrist: 2" line
STYLE IN FIVE WORDS: casual, occasionally classy, geek chic
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Personality
PERSONALITY TYPE: ENFP (Relationship style of the ENFP)
"Enthusiastic, idealistic, and creative. Able to do almost anything that interests them. Great people skills. Need to live life in accordance with their inner values. Excited by new ideas, but bored with details. Open-minded and flexible, with a broad range of interests and abilities."
TURN ONS: Confidence, kindness, intelligence, humor, independent personalities
TURN OFFS: Indifference, high expectations, clingy personalities
There are certain permeating truths about Alex, no matter what his mood or motivation of the day may be: is energetic, personable, and passionate. Alex makes his best attempts to be focused and goal-oriented, but often falls short of both his expectations and the expectations of others. Things aren't all bad, however; due to his childhood and practice dealing with his brothers and the attention that came with his father's small-time fame, he can appear kind, and even charming regardless of how he really feels. He does, however, suffer the same social anxieties as anyone with his particular set of skills and interests: shy tendencies in one-on-one situations, especially with people whose approval he seeks, is very common. Alex can seem overbearing or flighty, a compensating reflex directed at those that don't know him. But given time he can prove his worth. If motivated.
Overall, Alex is a very open book in most instances-- even with the occasional bout of anxiety, he's always quick to offer a joke and a reassuring smile. Charm is the shortest distance between strangers, after all. |
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Ability
Animation: Ability to bring inorganic objects and matter temporarily to life and control their actions. Alex is unaware what the exact mechanics behind his power are-- how the energy or the decisions move from him to the objects, or if the motion is actual sentience (it isn't, simply his own less-than-conscious manipulation at times). He isn't even exactly sure the scope of how large an item, or how many, he can control at one time. Without a need to test the limits, Alex never bothered. But with the prospect of joing G.A.S.I. looming over his head, and the constant influx of powered individuals to Chicago, he may find a reason to yet.
His ability to connect to an object is based on a number of factors:
(1) The simpler an object, the easier it is for Alex to understand and manipulate. Toys, simple lights, and watches/radios/older tech are the easiest. Larger things like cars, or more complex objects like smartphones and computers, require more effort and/or use of his gained knowledge.
(2) Familiarity with a specific object is important. Things that he owns, has built, or is around frequently (computers at his school/lab/work) are easier to connect to and manipulate than completely foreign objects.
(3) Limitations; software Alex is not a technopath. He can rebuild a motherboard with his eyes closed and one hand behind his back, but ask him to program a computer, and you're SOL. His knowledge of Computer Science isn't as hopeless as an average human, but he won't be hacking mainframes or rerouting bandwidth any time soon. (Electric) Power While Alex is able to power/propel mechanical items by himself, he is essentially becoming the 'battery' for those objects. Objects he can more easily connect to (see 1) are likewise easiest to power. Larger objects, foreign objects, or ones that require a proportionality skewed amount of energy (phones, computers, etc) are harder to power himself, and are only leaned on in extreme situations.
(4) Motion Alex is only able to effectively manipulate objects with moving parts. His power is not telekinetic in nature, per se; things like pencils or knives, with no gears, joints, or motors, are pointless for him to control as they will not react to his commands.
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