Jack the Hedgie

[Yolanda Riona]

Name: Jack the Hedgie

Age: 18

Sex: Male

Species: Hedgehog

Allignment: Hero

Appearance – Jack seems a little bland in appearance. Average height and weight. Brown fur with a tan muzzle and stomach and green eyes. His spines have an upward curl and he has long bangs that hang over his eyes, tips dyed green. Normally, his outfit consists of a long, open jacket, dark brown in color and black jeans, both designed to stretch. He keeps a pair of aviator goggles on his head to keep wind out of his eyes, and a pair of black gloves.

Personality – Quiet and stoic at first glance, Jack doesn’t seem like the type to really get excited over anything. Those who get to know him, however, can see that he’s far more emotive then he shows. Those who get him to open up may find he’s a funny, if a little sarcastic, young man. An introvert, Jack has a tendency to keep what he’s thinking inside unless specifically asked to elaborate. Those who manage this may see a slightly insecure side of him, sometimes unsure if what he’s doing is right. Still, he does his best to not let it bother him when he can. One of his pet peeves are people who spend too much time whining and angsting about the past, conflicting with his belief that life is worth living in the present, not worrying about what’s already happened.

Family - Jacks mother, dead before any more information could be found out.

Transport: His ability to float is the closest he has currently

Weapons - n/a

Biography - Jack, or Experiment 9, as he was called at the time, was born to a mother who died shortly after birth. He came into this world behind the door of a testing lab unknown to the general public. He never knew his parents, and much of his life was spent in stasis, being experimented on, his cells messed with, his mind being reprogrammed. 9, along with several other children, were part of an attempt to create powerful super soldiers, able to destroy entire armies alone.

None came to this goal. Most of the children died during this stage. When 9 wasn't floating in a glass tube, he was in a zombie-like mindset, his brain a blank slate. Through this, the scientists taught him how to fight and kill. His whole childhood was spent having these near-mindless killing instincts programed into him via physical training by day, and electronic programming at night.

All these tests cause strange genetic reactions in the hedgehogs body, as the scientists soon found out. They noticed the way his cells had rearranged, giving his flesh a strange elasticity, giving him similar properties to a puffer fish.

Deemed a failure, he was to be flown to a remote area and put down.

9 sat strapped to a chair as the plane flew over one of the countries many cities. The northern wastes were his destination, far from civilization. It was then he had his first real thought.

He had to survive.

Expanding his body to the point the straps broke from him, Experiment 9 proceeded to fight his captors. The pilot lost control during this struggle and crashed into the forest outside the city.*

The next three years were spent recovering in a hospital inside the city. According to the doctors around him, 9 was the only survivor of the crash. Through what few messages he could give, it was concluded he knew nothing up to his awakening in this strange new place. 9 didn't remember the lab, the crash, or even what he was called. He was renamed Jack by the faculty, which the hedgehog took to memory quickly.

When they put him all back together after the first few months, the rest of his time was spent (re)learning to walk, speak, and act. To the staffs surprise, Jack took to them all quickly, gaining a full vocabulary in the remaining two year span. When the strange features of his body came to be known, they were met with curiosity, but the cause was never found. His previously empty mind absorbed everything around him, and when it was all over, one would never be able to tell he was ever in such a near-comatose state.

One of the memories that would forever stay with him was the summers night when one of the staff, a beautiful young woman, came in to check on him. As she left, Jack caught her attention with a sudden question.

"Why do you help me?" He couldn't speak too well, yet. His language was broken and strange sounding

The young woman, which Jack recognized as Dr. Sandra Miller took a seat beside the bedridden hedgehog The room was dark. The full moon outside was all that illuminated the room. Jack could barely see her face as she spoke

"Because we want to"

Jack was confused "But... What make people want to help others without expect something back?"

Dr. Miller set a hand on his. The staff and her all had a feeling that such a question would come up someday. He was like a child, new to the world. Always questioning, forever curious to the world around him. However, morality was something he had only recently taken an interest in.

"Jack" she began "We don't expect anything back, because helping you is its own reward. We live in a world full of hate, where people are more prepared to kill a man then to save him. We're here to help others because no one else wants to. I don't know where you came from, Jack. To be honest, I don't think it matters. All I know is that you're a good person. When we see you walk through these doors and into the world, that will be all I need to see. We want to see another good person able to stand up and face the evils of this world. Who knows. Maybe you'll be one of the people who can make this world a better place to live."

A silence filled the room

"I will..." Jack eventually stated "I will make this world better. For you, and everyone else"

At last, Jack was released, a new hedgehog. The memories of the lab still eluded him, but the effects of the testing remained. The ability to fight was burned in his memory, the origin of which still a mystery. Jack didn't care, though. All he wanted now was to find his place in the world and, hopefully, make it better.

Moves:

Jacks powers have changed greatly. Rather then just being a balloon with a split personality, he instead has several “forms” which are all accidental side effects of Jacks testing as a child gone wrong. His Savage Form notwithstanding, Jack can go into any of these at will. However, they also have a “trigger” which can force him into that form against his will.

Normal:
While nothing special at first glance, Jacks elastic body allows him to stretch up to two times his normal length. While he’s only as strong as a normal person, he can use this skill in combat to attack or grab something just out of his reach, giving him range where strength fails.

Inflated:
Jacks trademark move has gone largely unchanged. He can use his before mentioned mutation to float by inhaling a large amount of air, inflating himself like a balloon. His body, due to its strange makeup, converts this to a gas that's lighter then air. Jack can double in size in this fashion easily, triple with a good bit of will and pain resistance and at the cost of nearly all his mobility. Any further then this results in serious injury. At full size, Jack can carry both himself and another person equal to his weight. Movement is more difficult like this, however, and he is easily moved by others, or a strong wind. A strong surprise or impact can set this off as well, essentially making him a living airbag (this, for the sake of fairness, does not happen in the event of an attack and he’ll take damage like normal if struck in his normal state unless the intent of the attack is stated to be to make Jack blow up.)

Fat:
Jack gains weight rapidly. This typically results in him ending up three times his normal weight, becoming a humorously rotund version of his normal self. However, he can stop himself at any size up to his maximum if self inflicted. He grows strong enough to support himself like this (although at his larger sizes, there is considerable difficulty). Obviously, he becomes much slower and heavier in this form. However, the added weight can be used to his advantage, throwing his weight around as a form of attack or jumping on someone in an attempt to smash them. He will start to go into this state when put into temperatures below 10 degrees Fahrenheit, apparently a sort of temperature control that was botched.

Savage:
Jacks last ditch effort, and the closest his captors ever came to creating the monster they intended. When put into this form, Jacks spines grow longer, his teeth extend into fangs, he gains muscle mass, and claws burst from his hands. Jack also shifts in shape to accommodate a more feral stance, capable of moving on two legs, or all fours. He’s stronger and faster like this, much like a wild animal. However, he is entirely feral like this, and cannot control himself. While in his savage form, he only knows how to attack and destroy. He has just enough control to keep from attacking people Jack trusts, so long as there’s another target which has incurred his wrath more. This effect lasts only three posts, after which Jack returns to normal and spends another two posts crippled by terrible headaches and horrifying flashbacks to his days as an experiment. This form cannot be triggered at will. The only way to make him change is by putting him in a situation where he fells he, or someone important to him is going to die.

Skills: Jack's near silver tongue, a surprising end result of his re-education in speaking, makes him a skilled mediator, as well as an advisory figure

Jack also has a good singing voice.

Strengths: In combat, Jack fights in a way similar to a caged animal. These crazed instincts are a far cry from his normal, collected personality, and switching between these mindsets are simple, taking only a few seconds of being in a fight, or outside of one

His forms above all carry varying strengths.

Weaknesses: Only an average speed, which in a universe such as this, is likely to be a hindrance.

All of his forms carry a weakness that keeps them from being abused.

They also each have a trigger to make him lapse into them against his will.