splendorocity

[puzzley.livejournal.com]

Player Information:
Name: CAPS!
Journal: puzzley
Method of Contact: MA YO NAI SU (aim.)
Previous characters: N/A


Character Information:
Full Name: Bart Allen a.k.a Impulse
Series: DC Comics
Canon point: Young Justice #45
Age: Chronologically 3, looks and acts 15.
Species: Metahuman
Appearance/PB: Generally, Bart Allen is a short, scrawny guy with just a bit of toned muscle on him. His most notable features include his golden eyes, the HUGE stock of brown hair on his head, and his enormous feet. He will usually be seen in baggy, comfortable clothing -- but he does wear ridiculous things at times. As Impulse, he wears this costume.
Appearance upon arrival: Upon arriving, Bart will not be in his regular costume but a Kid Flash one instead. He is in this costume because in Impulse #85, Bedlam trapped him in a magic forcefield designed to keep 'Impulse' in. To work around this forcefield, Bart sent a scout to bring him a Kid Flash costume that was lying around and donned it. The forcefield was not programmed to contain 'Kid Flash', so he was able to exit easily. When he arrives, he will be tired and very roughed up from both fighting and producing numerous scouts.


History:
Previous RP memories:N/A
Bringing someone along?:N/A
Character History:

Bart Allen is chronologically 3 years old. What's that? You think I'm joking? Yeah, I know he looks 15, but hear me out, okay? Bart just isn't your normal 9th-grader! (Though considering the world he lives in, where grown men fight crime in animal costumes and nobody bats an eye when they see a man flying around with his underwear on the outside, perhaps he's relatively normal.)

Born in the 30th century, Bart is the latest addition to the Flash family; A group of superheroes capable of running at speeds far greater than the speed of sound. He inherited his connection to the mythical Speed Force directly from his grandfather Barry Allen, the Silver-Age Flash, who had traveled to the future to be reunitied with his wife. It's a really long story, so I'll cut it short. Generally, this power turned out to be more of a curse than a gift.

You see, though high-speed sounds like a pretty good deal, there are times when it is just not what it's cut out to be. With speed comes hypermetabolism, with hypermetabolism comes a hyperaccelerated growth rate, and with hyperaccelerated growth comes premature death. This is a possibility with all speedsters who tap into the Speed Force, but somehow Bart -- whose connection to it was described as extremely 'pure' -- was the only one with this problem. Experienced speedsters would probably know how to deal with it; Bart was only an infant at that time. At a chronological and mental age of 2, he looked physically 12; And his family could only watch him solemnly with the knowledge that his boy was going to die of old-age before even graduating.

A few years after his birth, Bart was taken by the Earthgov President, Thaddeus Thawne, who sought to observe his powers and perhaps destroy the Allen lineage by crafting Bart's mindset and personality in his favor. Because Bart was growing at an incredibly fast rate, he could not survive in the real world. He was not getting mental stimulation at the pace he needed, and would most likely go insane. As such, Earthgov scientists planted him in a Virtual Reality chamber, feeding him life experiences and skills at a pace that synchronized with his growth rate. It became increasingly clear to Bart's grandmother Iris West, however, that these scientists had no intention of actually saving his life. Their job was to observe, and only observe. Her grandson was still going to die, only now an unfortunate lab experiment.

So, yeah, that's how Bart ended up in the 20th century. Iris broke him out of that chamber and brought him a millennium into the past; right to her nephew Wally, the current Flash, in hope that he could solve his problem. Wally, a speedster with years of field experience in his arsenal, forced Bart into an extreme burst of speed that shocked his system, rewiring it to age at a normal pace. There was another issue, though. Bart had nowhere to go. Legally speaking, he did not exist. He had no home, no friends and could not return to the 30th century because this chronological toddler was already very high on the 'Wanted' list. To assimilate him into the 20th century, Wally West used his many connections to set up identity papers. He sought out the help of Max Mercury, the Zen Master of Speed, to take Bart under his wing and care for him. Now, Bart lives in the quiet and, in Bart's opinion, exceedingly boring town of Manchester, Alabama and protects it under the (very precise) superhero mantle 'Impulse'.

More info at:
001. DC Wikia
002. Hyperborea
003. Comic Book Database

Personality:

Imagine a world where every single mistake you make can be rectified by the simple flip of a switch. That's right: Accidentally get eaten by raptors in silly hats? No problem, just use your second life. Got your house burned down by a giant matchstick rebellion? It's all right, let's pretend it never happened. Lose an arm to fire-breathing centipede aliens? Just restart the game already.

Now imagine growing up in that world, then being thrown in the real world where the word 'consequence' actually means something. How would you turn out? There's no need to imagine, actually. Just take a look at Bart Allen - that's how you would turn out.

Raised in a Virtual Reality chamber, Bart's not exactly an expert in distinguishing the imaginary from the genuine; particularly when it comes to life-threatening peril. He demonstrates - or rather, suffers from - a behavioural pattern Wally West likes to call the Single Synapse Disorder: Thought to deed in one nanosecond of a leap, possible consequences never crossing his mind. The moment he thinks, he does; whether it's running off before even knowing where he's supposed to go, employing the most unconventional methods to defeat his enemies or saying the darndest things that might nullify his struggling efforts to keep a secret identity. Sometimes it works out for him, sometimes it doesn't. And when you're a superhero, there's simply no room for such mistakes.

An inability to register 'danger' is not the only way his inherited power has shaped him. Bart is impatient; very, very impatient. He has to be repeatedly reminded to do things at a normal pace, otherwise he would be finished in less than a second with time for video games (And that wouldn't really help the secret identity thing, now would it?). His impatience is further evident in his inability to walk with normal people without complaining, or figure out just why fast food is 'fast'. This impatience, though not his best trait, is not unjustified, however. Bart, like many other speedsters, simply has a different perception of time. For example: To many of us, the ceiling lamp turns on at the flip of a switch. To Bart, however, it can take minutes or maybe hours if he's particularly in-tune with the Speed Force.

Bart is the poster-boy for ADHD. If you asked him what the word 'torture' meant to him, his immediate answer would be 'Keeping still and quiet'. When not under the pressure to keep his identity secret, Bart can be seen everywhere, trying out everything. Quite literally, too - if you don't have the eyes of a speedster. Concentrating on something is just something extremely hard for him. There are two possible reasons for this: One, being the fact that he may not take the task that seriously because it does not sink it as 'real' to him, and two, being the fact that his accelerated perception of time simply makes it slow and boring. Luckily for him, a dynamic job like crime-fighting does not need that much of an attention span. Now, if only high school could be the same. . .

At first glance, Bart looks like any normal teenager. He has a small stature, unruly brown hair, and big, innocent-looking golden eyes. He's quite a nice and easy-going guy - not one to hate someone or throw a tantrum over petty things. The way he speaks is very straightforward, honest and simple. The way he dresses reflects this as well, though he isn't above putting on the occasional disco outfit or dress if the situation calls for it. Despite being the most popular guy in his high school (a reputation he earned from being the most reckless, of course), he's not exactly a social butterfly. Unlike most teenagers, Bart does not actively seek a social life - he never had to in the VR chamber, after all. 'Making friends' was actually a task assigned to him by Max -- and one that, despite the lack of effort on his part, he eventually accomplished anyway. Even though he had to be asked to make friends, he truly does care about the ones he made - even the acquaintances. When Bart, as Impulse, learned that his friend Preston was being abused, he was ready to give up his secret identity and report the issue. He also kept his friend Rolly out of danger on multiple occasions.

Bart's mindset can be compared to that of a child. He cannot quite grasp the deeper meaning of things yet, and may sometimes assume that he is being asked to do something for the sake of it. When the Principal called Bart in and told him to stay close to Preston (to look out for signs of abuse), Bart's immediate assumption was it was a trick, and that the Principal was asking him to make friends just like Max had. At times, Bart also does things to avoid punishment - not understanding the principle or reason behind them. The only reason Bart keeps his superhero alter ego secret is to avoid a punishment from Max. He does not realise that letting his secret out would put everyone he knows in jeopardy - not yet, anyway.

The closest person he has to a father is Max, his tutor. They have quite an odd, maybe snarky relationship. Bart infuriates Max by being impulsive, impatient and incapable of heeding his advice. Max infuriates Bart by making him do everything at a normal pace. Despite their occasional banter, Bart really looks up to Max and wants to do him proud. For example: When Inertia, Thaddeus Thawne, impersonated Bart and surpassed him in many aspects, Bart took the praise Max had given Thad as an indication that his own performance was a disappointment, and was pretty down as a result. However, after Bart saved his life and Max gave him heartfelt praise of his own, Bart perked up and consciously tried to improve his performance to live up to it.

When Bart truly gets serious, he becomes able to overcome his many flaws and work toward his desired outcome. This is especially true when a loved one is in danger - his determination becomes so strong that he would sacrifice his own life if need be. Bart did just that to save the then frail and wasting Max. It could be said that the realisation that his tutor could actually die, that there was no 'second life' or 'restart' for him this time, finally sunk in - and for the first time, Bart focused. Without a care for his own life or a distraction in his mind, he braved the Speed Storms and brought Max to the Speed Force where his body would be renewed.

Extra:
Character Abilities:

✈Super Speed

Bart inherited an ability to tap into the Speed Force, and thus possesses an ability to move his limbs at superhuman speeds. This ability can be used in a variety of ways: Running, creating wind vortexes by moving in circles, creating air cushions by moving his legs, running on water and running up the sides of buildings.

✈Super Stamina

Bart's stamina recuperates at a superhuman speed, enabling him to run across countries at high speed without tiring.

✈Air Friction Reduction Aura

An aura surrounds him and protects him from the effects of friction when running at high speed. It can also protect him partially from weather conditions.

✈Molecular Control

Bart can control the vibration of his molecules, thus enabling him to vibrate himself and other things he's touching through solid objects. This ability can be used offensively to disintegrate organic material, but he has never used it that way.

✈Speed Scouts

After being hit by a hyper-ray, Bart is now able to produce copies of himself, or 'Speed Scouts') and send them through the timestream. They gather information or perform tasks for him, then fuse back into him and relay any experiences they had. These scouts have enough self-consciousness to converse with him. He probably won't use this power much (if at all) because it is very taxing on his body.

✈Resistance to Time Alteration

As Bart's existence is a paradox (Bart is living in a timeframe where his parents have not met), he is thus resistant to any changes in the timestream.

✈Others

Bart is also bilingual (Speaking both English and Interlac, the designated communication language of the 30th century.), can draw, pick locks, kick butt at any form of video game, speed-read and speed-write. He can pick up virtually any skill in seconds or lesser, but how good he is at whatever he learns is questionable. He has a photographic memory (that's THERE but not very explored at this point of canon) that enables him to take note of the tiniest details in his surroundings, but he most likely won't put it to much use.

Possessions: A Flash Ring that contains his Impulse costume.
Anything else: N/A


Samples:
Action/Communication thread/post sample:
Here.


Log/Prose sample:[ Writing from Impulse #64 ]

What is it like to realise your best friend never existed?

It hurts.

Bart sits, a hand curved around nothing. Just seconds ago, there had been a something there -- a someone. It was Dox, the only friend he knew from childhood, and Bart knows now that his friend had always been merely a script in a large Virtual Reality system. Raised by this system for almost the entirety of his childhood, Bart Allen grew up with an inability to distinguish what existed on the plane of reality, and what was just imaginary. Perhaps this was some Higher Power's way of drawing a defined line for him -- a very cruel way, at that. For the first time, Bart realised that reality was harsh; that someone he loved could not just return with another life at the click of a button. There was no 'returning', anyway. Dox had never existed, and his empty, grasping hand only confirmed this. For the first time, Bart Allen understood grief.

The worse part was that he had tried. He remembers the virtual world crumbling around him, pulling everything that was not 'real' into a bottomless pit where it - they - would disintegrate. He remembers grabbing his friend's hand; hopping through the falling rubble to reach Dox and pull him to safety. He remembers making a promise - both to Dox and himself - that they would not be separated again. He also remembers how all those efforts were futile. Bart was too naive; you cannot simply pull someone from the virtual world to the 'real' one. Superhero or not. He felt helpless, and it hurt.

But he knew he could not just sit there. He had already lost Dox, and there was another person he would lose if he wasted anymore time. The grief brought with it a clarity in Bart's mind, and all distractions or conflicting thoughts were overided with a determination. He was going to save Max, even if it cost him his life.