Valentine

Valentine Falschung
"I just haff all zese feelinks, like maybe ve shouldn't ENSLAFE PEOPLE."

Catalyst:  Grimm Foundation:  The Union of Artificers Concept : Mad Meteorologist / Judgement Virtue : Fortitude Vice:  Envy Age : 26 Favored Axioms:  Katastrofi, Prostasia, Epikrato Aesthetic:  Trash Praxis trying to be Universal

Physical Description: Valentine stands at a lanky 6'1", weighing in at an unimposing 143 lbs. The dorky, patchy stubble, unkempt across his face, grows in stark contrast to the meticulously trim silhouette of his blonde hair. When he smiles, his blue eyes sparkle and his thin lips part to reveal slightly (but noticeably) over-sized teeth. Valentine tends to wear a stained, white tank-top and equally stained blue jeans, over which he favors an old lab coat and rubber gloves. In his off-time (from both mad science and custodial duties), the Grimm likes big, ugly sweaters and argyle socks. Actually, he's usually wearing knee-high argyle socks no matter the rest of his outfit.

Personality: Valentine is excitable and easily distracted, but is a man of strong conviction and quick action. If he sets his mind to any task, it will be completed... but if he hasn't, good luck getting him started. He is easily the first to act when he feels the situation calls for it, even (especially) when nobody else feels the same. It's not that Valentine is careless, just impatient. You can very easily relay all the necessary information while climbing the stairs to the death ray instead of making him wait in the lobby.

Valentine's excitability more often than not leads to a lot of stress for the young scientist, and he's known to take a night off every so often to go "cut loose" at a club. You wouldn't guess it from his frame, but he loves to dance.

Although usually the friendly, jovial sort, certain things cut his fuse short. The most prominent of these triggers is anyone who uses their authority to abuse those below them - everyone from corrupt cops to abusive bosses to geniuses who use their own automata (or worse, their beholden) as abusable slaves will draw the ire (read: Jovian fury) of the good doctor.

Wonders: Valentine's wonders are based primarily on solar energy, either by harnessing the local solar electrons to reverse-engineer the sun's energy, or by passing solar rays through the catalyst of hydroxylgoldamine in various compositions. His main area of interest is weather manipulation, both locally and on a global scale. While he feels it will take time to truly perfect his Climatological Transfiguration Array - his magnum opus - he takes the Artificer approach of building a large variety of more niche weather-manipulation devices.

"Windy-Thing" Wind Pattern Manipulator:  A heavy device resembling a hair-blower attached to a toolbox by jumper cables (because that's what it is), Valentine's "Vindy-sink" allows a sort of telekinesis by exerting massive wind pressure on an object from opposing directions. It's not a particularly precise machine, and often picks up anything nearby of what Valentine was intending, as well. ( Axioms:  Epikrato ,  Katastrofi  *)

Lightning Targeting Array:  A simple device resembling a lightning rod attached to an ipod (because, again, that's what it is) can cause and direct a stroke of lightning from any nearby cloud capable of producing one, down to any target selected by the user. (Axioms: Katastrofi *)

Local Wind Pattern Manipulator MkII AKA "Mathilde":  Although only in the design stages for the time being, the upgraded version of the "Windy-Thing" device features a back-mounted solar replicator (the body of an old vacuum cleaner and a cheap camping lantern) and an aiming apparatus (vacuum tube and old arm brace) strapped to the forearm rather than hand-held, allowing for free manipulation even while in use. The solar replicator allows for greater power (but not greater precision) than the MkI variant, as well as adjustable settings for wind direction and speed. The MkII even allows for wind patterns to be directed around the wearer, granting a sort of "shield" to protect the wearer and a method of buoying the wearer upwards for short times. ( Axioms: Epikrato, Katastrofi *, Integrated Shield requires Prostasia *+, Integrated boost/slow fall requires Skafoi *)

Artificial Funnel Exciter:  Another one on the books but not in the lab, the AFE is a fairly complex series of hydroxylgoldamine expulsers arranged around a miniature solar generator, from which extends the primary targeting array and HGM launcher, all of which are meticulously calibrated to the local weather conditions to excite wind currents to their most destructive cyclonic state. In short, it's a gun that shoots tornadoes. (Axioms: Katastrofi *+, explosive, lingering, railgun, charge time, reload time, limited use)

Backstory:

Valentin Falschung was on his way to a Master’s degree when he became a lab assistant for Dr. Phaelus. The old man was notorious among mechanical and electrical engineering circles - eccentric, always raving about how his research would “change the world.” He was, as far as everyone was concerned, the very definition of a mad scientist. How little they realized. Valentin’s will was sucked away in the first week. Mania overcame his faculties, suppressing his creativity and thought. He became the perfect lab assistant - little more than the robots that he helped to build. Dr. Phaelus hadn’t done it on purpose, but he sure didn’t seem to mind; Valentin was quickly being made to work for long hours every day. He was told to skip classes. Dr. Phaelus soon began taking Valentin’s money to fund his own research, leaving the beholden malnourished and sickly. The mad doctor admitted to no one in particular that he was sorry for Valentin’s state, but that it was necessary for good of humanity as a whole. Valentin didn’t have much to say on the matter.

That is, until one night he was working late. Two in the morning and on his eighth Red Bull, Valentin was busy piecing together a “remote leash” for Dr. Phaelus’ latest GUTS- (General Urban Tri-System) model construction android. He was on page 92 of the procedure when, suddenly, he had an idea.

An idea. An idea. He hadn’t had one of those in months. Valentin snatched a dry erase marker and, trembling, ran to the whiteboard to scribble down his thoughts. He stepped back from the board, staring at the lone phrase he written:

“Leash -> Reprogram.”

He didn’t know how long he stood there, wide-eyed. His mouth silently formed the words of his first thought. A statue bathed in Halogen light, moving only in flickering window reflections. All stopped, as though the room - nay, the world - held bated breath in anticipation for what came next. The dead could not be more still.

Neurons set Valentin’s brain afire. They propelled his hand to the board and pulled it in every direction. Lines of green howled into existence a squeaking tempest of mathematical equations and theoretical physics. Erasers obliterated meaningless lines of text that seemed so important only a second ago.

The sun peeked over the wooded hills and cast its golden gaze across the wall of symbols. Valentin’s hand throbbed, soothed only by the warm wetness of the tears that ran down onto it. He lay, splayed out, in a swivel chair, casting swollen, terrified eyes across every letter of his work. Heavy breaths choked out of his mouth. Hesitantly, slowly, Valentin turned to the leash.

When Dr. Phaelus arrived at the lab that morning, he was greeted by seven of his own androids and a wild-eyed Valentin. The lab assistant made no bones about what was to happen next - Phaelus was to pay. In his hand, what was to be the leash was now an “Infrared Reprogrammer Ray.” As the androids advanced, Phaelus flung himself behind a lab counter, taking a lab computer down with him.

When next he emerged, the desktop tower in his hands fired off a beam a green light that connected with one of the androids, turning it around on Valentin. The assistant snarled in rage and raised his own ray.

The fight was nasty, brutish, and short. Androids and lab both were consumed by gouts of flame, scorched by bursts of electricity, and frozen in icy tombs. Metal scissors sliced clean through wiring and drywall. Robotic joints bent and snapped. Valentin barely escaped through a back door. Dr. Phaelus would not be so lucky. Phaelus’ reprogramming ray smashed, and without Valentin to pull the punches, Dr. Phaelus ended in an incinerating blast of charged particles from the last functioning robot.

But Dr. Phaelus’ mania did not die with him.

Now, Valentin’s not exactly living cozy. He’s a janitor, and has taken to dumpster-diving for equipment to construct his wonders. He knows there are more out there like Dr. Phaelus - the world is full of them. People willing to let horrible things happen, all in the name of a “greater good?” Oh, it makes his blood boil. It sets his brain on fire. Maybe, he thinks, maybe they’re the ones who deserve horrible things. Maybe he’ll be the one to administer.

But it hasn’t been easy. Valentin’s made a lot of mistakes and Dr. Phaelus’ death still weighs heavily on his conscience, no matter how much he feels it was justified. He worries, constantly, that he’s going to become what he hates. And worse, he feels like he’s going to have to answer for what he’s already done.

Valentin’s got some hard decisions ahead of him.