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I can make anything happen. |
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— Himself |
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A product of tragedy, Daken struggles to define himself in a world constantly changing around him. The son of Logan, also known as Wolverine, Daken is an often unpredictable factor wherever he chooses to involve himself. He will ride the wave of chaos, if sometimes that means he will own it.
Personality
Daken is a classic charmer and always seems to know what to say. Whether it's to pique interest or to provoke fury, or whether it's to turn someone against what they think he wants...he knows how to do it, and he's happy to do it. He's often very easy to like when he wants to be. Most of the time, he comes off as flippant and nonchalant, even fatuous, but that only conceals the tumultuous emotions rumbling under the surface. Ultimately, he is heavily conflicted when it comes to caring about others or having any stake in their welfare. He cares overmuch about power and influence sometimes, and it can blind him to how his aversion to affection limits him.
Background
Logan Howlett's marriage to Itsu provided a bright spot in the terrible landscape of postwar Japan. The two were happy, for a time, and with the promise of a new addition to the family, it seemed things would continue to improve. A new life to shape, a new generation to teach, to inherit the world, gave hope to the two. Months passed into the final months of pregnancy, when tragedy struck: an assassin targeting Logan killed Itsu. Logan, naturally, assumed both wife and child were dead, but that would not prove to be true: his unborn son's healing factor saved him from death.
Through uncertain circumstances, the boy was delivered to the literal doorstep of a remarkably well-off Japanese couple, Akihira and Natsumi. He was regarded as a great blessing, since Natsumi believed she was infertile, and they decided to raise the strange baby as their own, naming him Akihiro. The young Akihiro idolized his adoptive father, but some of the servants and other local families took to calling the child Daken...a pejorative term such as "mongrel" to refer to his mixed heritage.
Akihiro was treated especially poorly by his peers, but he received little kindness from anyone but Akihira and, accordingly, grew cold towards most everyone else. When Natsumi confided in her husband that she thought she had finally conceived a child, and additionally that she never had grown to love their adoptive son, it pushed Daken over the edge and he began plotting. A series of tragedies followed, as Natsumi confronted and disowned him, but he had already rejected his given name. Now, he claimed the name Daken, which had been used so long to disparage him. When she attacked him, his claws manifested, killing her. Akihira could not bring himself to harm Daken and committed suicide, leaving Daken alone yet again.
Daken simply vanished from the only place he had known as home for so long. Wandering aimlessly for a time, he encountered the mysterious Romulus and trained with him. The two eventually parted ways, though not before Romulus attempted to manipulate Daken in an elaborate plan...which Daken, unexpectedly, had learned to anticipate. The two met in a sort of contest of wills, though any victory that could be claimed was one with significant cost: both barely managed to survive the encounter, and they suitably went their separate ways afterwards.
Daken would continue to act primarily for his own benefit, even running afoul of SHIELD a time or two. He continued his training to keep himself at peak condition, and he additionally continued, almost casually, to manipulate others for his own idle amusement, honing this skill to a steadily greater extent. Little held his attention for long, though with the nervous rumors spread about him, that was often regarded as the best case. He dipped his toes into the crime world and even worked, for a time, as a mercenary for hire, but grew rapidly bored with that.
Eventually, his aims returned to resolving matters with his father, now that he knew who it was. And beyond that...who knows? The world could be at Daken's feet. That's where he likes it.
SKILLS
COMBAT - Expert: Daken is a superb hand-to-hand combatant, easily world-class and comparable to someone such as Wolverine or Deadpool. He has achieved a level of mastery in numerous forms of fighting and blends them seamlessly into his personal fighting style. With this approach, he is able to answer even greater raw power with finesse that may gain him victory or, at the very least, a discrete opportunity to remove himself from the situation. He is also proficient with a wide array of weapons, though his preferred weapon tends to be the blade. His preference is for unarmed combat, which he excels in doing.
SUBTERFUGE - Expert: Daken is well-versed in the ways of manipulation. Whether it's to seduce another to his side, to manipulate someone into doing what he wants them to do, or to undermine someone absolutely, he excels at dealing with others. His pheromones naturally help with this, but even without them, Daken is a keen judge of character. He finds it a simple feat to analyze a person and ascertain what they want, what they desire or fear, and he has little in the way of scruples to stop him from applying that knowledge.
POWERS
CLAWS - Basic: Daken has two ostensibly bone claws, which extend from between his knuckles. The substance of their makeup is apparently denser and more resilient than would reasonably be expected, however, and they may slice through flesh and bone with ease. They are also able to cut into dense metals such as steel and iron, though not without significant force consistently applied, and not exceptionally thick or reinforced structures; they may similarly withstand at least incidental assault by materials as resilient as adamantium without being remarkably damaged. They are able to be broken or even shattered, but they also tend to regrow fairly quickly.
HEALING FACTOR - Supreme: Daken possesses accelerated healing that can regenerate damaged or destroyed body tissues quickly, even recovering from grave or mortal wounds. Minor injuries heal within seconds, and insignificant ones such as paper cuts disappear instantaneously. He can also reconstitute his body when it has been literally blown apart, and he can regrow lost limbs over a significant time. An added bonus is that he is resistant to disease and aging, and it also contributes to his vast stamina. Since his muscles do not accumulate toxins as a regular human would, he furthermore tends to operate at a slightly enhanced level of functional strength and can operate at maximum efficiency for an indefinite period as long as his healing persists, requiring no significant amount of food or rest.
PHEROMONE CONTROL - Enhanced: Daken can naturally produce and manipulate pheromones from his body. He typically employs these in order to toy with the perceptions of others and their emotions, in everything from combat to social interactions; they may make it much more difficult to track him or even to see him moving, which can make it appear as if he possesses some sort of super-speed. Daken's use of pheromones can cause others to become emotionally unstable without realizing it, allowing him to manipulate those reactions by applying his extended experience.
Daken's pheromones are ambient around him and can proliferate as he wills them. It is not an ability he can turn off, so most people find him inexplicably interesting and often charming. To the keener of senses, he may smell especially good, somehow, though they may assume it is a scent such as cologne he is wearing. Some time is required for his pheromones to reach a point of saturation in the air around him, and the more open an area is, the less concentrated his pheromones tend to be, making them less strongly effective. Pheromones must be breathed in to take effect, and even a simple filter may be proof against them. Naturally, this is an ability where consent is an important aspect and, aside from the more superficial applications of the power, will never attempt to force undesired play.
SENSES - Enhanced: Daken's senses are far greater than a regular human's: he is able to see farther and more clearly, and in less favorable conditions, he can hear noises beyond the threshold of hearing for most, and he is also able to track people by scent alone. These enhanced senses work well with his incredible reflexes, which are beyond the capability of even the best human athletes, giving Daken advance warning of danger and allowing him to anticipate things that others would never expect. His capabilities are not able to examine something to a microscopic level with the naked eye, but he is able to notice and understand finer detail than any regular human.
WILL - Enhanced: Daken has a monstrous, inhuman will that drives him beyond the bounds of most. It certainly doesn't hurt that he also seems to have an almost masochistic draw to pain, which tends to throw off his opponents. His ability to remain collected and cool in the face of massive trauma is simply not a trait that most will ever have, no matter what their superhuman abilities may be.
ADVANTAGES
CONTACTS Daken knows some people who know some people, and even though they probably don't trust one another, he can sometimes call in a favor or two and get things done...or use his pheromones and get things done, either way. He has had experiences during his time as a mercenary and from his various dalliances with authority in the underworld, ranging from "grey area" legality to outright villains, with a tiny smattering of those among them who might be called heroic.
MENTAL BLOCKS Daken has, over the years and his extensive training, developed precautions against telepathic intrusion. It is dangerous to attempt reading his mind and prying too far. Not that most would try, given Daken's tumultuous history and tempestuous emotions, though much of that lies far enough beneath the surface that it would not likely be perceived without obvious risk. There are traps in his mind that prove a potent dissuasive to most mentalists, though a top-level psi may be able to advance past them.
WEAKNESSES
CAPRICIOUS Daken goes with his whims. He might decide to toy with a teammate's feelings for him at one moment and become interested in something else the next. Most people are regarded as playthings, and this can't entirely be hidden or brushed under the rug after the fact.
CARBONADIUM This substance, when introduced to his body, suppresses his healing factor, though not entirely. It slows his healing factor to essentially a crawl until it is removed, digested, or processed. Carbonadium is a fairly rare metal, and it is also radioactive; the primary source of carbonadium was destroyed, but some quantity of the metal still exists around the world. It is more malleable than adamantium, so it can be shaped much more easily, but it is also extremely difficult to destroy.
DISTINCTIVE There's no missing a beautiful guy with a mohawk and a large tattoo. It takes more effort for Daken to make himself blend in or disappear, and people don't tend to forget him easily.
TRUST ISSUES It's difficult for Daken to maintain any level of trust with anyone, especially after they learn about his ability to manipulate emotions. It's true that most would never find him trustworthy because of this, but it also can make it difficult for him to get things done if trust is a large issue. It's not insurmountable, especially if he applies his charm subtly, but it can complicate matters and burn bridges that he may miss later.
UNPREDICTABLE EFFECTS Although his pheromonal control can generally satisfy his expectations, some people respond unpredictably and may cause problems. Certain abilities can interfere with the anticipated reaction, and sufficient willpower or awareness may resist their effects or alter them. This can lead to anything from simply a muted or absent appreciable effect to causing a completely different, exceptionally stronger emotional response.
