SOUTHPAW

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[break]PERSONA, akihiko sanada

[attr="class","appcat"]vigilante

[attr="class","appcat"]profile

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nicolas hernandez


niki, nico, "never down", southpaw


mutant


25


1st august


kingsport, new jersey


male


male

[attr="class","appcat"]dossier

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passionate, charismatic, determined, ambitious, resourceful, affectionate

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stubborn, emotional, hasty, reckless, brutal, petty



Niki didn't like bullies. His dad was in the military; died during the alien invasion of 2008. They were bullies. His ma was mugged by a gang operating out of Arkham. They were bullies. He once got caught in a hostage situation of one of the stupidly powerful - or powerfully stupid - villains, had to play pat-a-cake with a five year old to distract her from the horror of it. Bully.

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He wasn't having it anymore.

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Arkham born and bred, Nicolas didn't have a lot, but never found he needed it, between the love of his family and his unnatural determination. It was decided for him that he would attend boxing classes, the value of self-defence put above even education by his parents. As good as it may have been to have a well-educated son, that would have all been for naught if he was a well-educated and dead, or worse, kidnapped. With a lack of income to pay for family life on top of paying off the mafia, Niki took the decision to box to heart, even if passion was not the first intention. It was important enough to his parents for them to put money on it, so he decided he would pay them back. He would be the best they had ever seen.

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Although his father died before he could see him stood in the ring; lights dancing as the announcer shouts his name, blood dripping from both the grin around his gumshield and the swollen cut on his brow, he knows he would've been proud. Niki "Never Down" Hernandez made it his mission to live up to his name, and live up to it fairly. He came into his powers at 21, and didn't realise they had manifested for a solid day; he simply thought his training was paying off in an unexpectedly spontaneous fashion. When the situation dawned on him, he was devestated; with an amateur match for a good chunk of prize money lined up for the following week, he couldn't be banned for something out of his control, his ma was counting on him, his pops was looking down, watching, he could not stop.

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Whilst on a bar crawl to celebrate a friend's birthday, and silently drown his sorrows, he overheard a conversation between a drug dealer and a rough, haggard man, begging for 'hush', that 'he needed it to be quiet'. It was well-known that some powers could drive a person mad, impact their lives in a way that no Initiative help could hope to repair, and while there was no official help, you could always find it elsewhere, addictive or not.

He injects before every fight, in the changing rooms, spends his warm-up time throwing and catching, watching his reflexes slow to something normal; something fair. There is no point in boxing if you can dodge every punch without skill or thought, that would just make him another mutant.

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That point could be found in dodging bullets instead, bringing the southpaw style to the gangs who had exploited his neighbourhood for too long.

[attr="class","appcat"]powers

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Through extensive training, his reaction time was exceptional, but layered with his mutation, it has become superhuman. He is able to dodge bullets, vehicles, and any kind of projectile that is thrown his way, as well catch, react, and maneuver within an instant. He can't dodge amazingly fast things, however, with the speed of light being an example. When under the influence of the drug Hush, his reflexes lower to a level of above average human reflex.

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Training to become a boxer has had Nicolas partake in many courses of (international boxing federation approved) medical supplements and extensive training, meaning his endurance from both a stamina and durability standpoint are above that of the average human; as would be expected of anyone who makes a career out of being punched in the head. The intake of Hush, however, presents a nasty side effect that pushes his pain suppression to almost dangerous levels.



Having been enrolled in boxing classes since the age of 9, Nicolas is well-versed in close combat, knowing the best areas to hit.


Expanding on his fighting discipline knowledge to get the upper hand on other boxers, Nicolas applied himself to mixed martial arts training from the age of 15; meaning he certainly does not skip leg day, and would be happy to roundhouse crooks in the face, if only to show off.


In case things cannot be solved by pommelling alone, Nicolas has a high-voltage taser as a back-up plan.