(no subject)
[PLAYER INFO]
NAME: noodles
AGE: 20
JOURNAL: thanoodles
IM: -
E-MAIL: -
RETURNING: reasontoexist, danneggiare
[CHARACTER INFO]
CHARACTER NAME: Tommy Shepherd, aka Speed.
FANDOM: Marvel, Young Avengers.
CHRONOLOGY: Right before CHILDREN'S CRUSADE!
CLASS: Hero. In his own special way.
SUPERHERO NAME: Speed
ALTER EGO: TOMMY SHEPHERD, HE DOES SHIT
BACKGROUND:
Most of Tommy's life hasn't been properly discussed or developed. All that is known is that he was supposedly born and raised in Springfield New Jersey, son of Frank and Mary Shepherd (who are divorced). Because he isn't seen attempting to contact either of them (or even making an actual mention of their name) and because he was placed in juvie due to a freak accident, it may be safe to assume that they no longer have anything to do with him.
Later in his life - months before the beginning of the story - Tommy is placed in juvenile hall for having used his abilities to cause his entire school to vaporize (which he claims to have been an accident). The facilities he was imprisoned in, however, were equipped to handle youngsters with powers, using both offensive and defensive technology to keep Tommy under control (such as power dampening containment cells) and - supposedly - performing experiments on him while submitting him to a training regiment that would turn him into a perfect, living weapon.
When Young Avengers' member Teddy (aka Hulkling) is kidnapped, the team resorts to the program Vision has that contains the information and location of people with ties to the Avengers (the same one Iron Lad used to find most of the members in the team at the time), which pinpoints to Tommy's location. They proceed to break into the juvenile hall and free the teenager from his cell, noticing immediately the physical resemblances between him and Billy Kaplan (Wiccan).
There isn't a lot of time for introductions before the intruders are attacked. It is at this point that Tommy probably makes full use of his abilities for the first time in months, taking revenge on the scientists trying to escape from his attacks. The Young Avenger members put his rampage to a stop before it can cause any more damage, though - claiming that the Young Avengers do not kill. They try to convince him to join their team and help them rescue Teddy.
He doesn't immediately accept to become a member, though he does agree to assist them in their friend's rescue. At some point, the story of Scarlet Witch's twin sons (whom she created out of Mephisto's soul, due to her overwhelming wish to have children of her own) is mentioned - and Billy is convinced it's referring to himself and Tommy. The speedster refuses to accept this, but eventually comes to terms with it.
After freeing Teddy and preventing a war, Tommy decides to join the team with the codename 'Speed' (which is immediately criticized by some team members for being too simple and obvious).
During the Civil War, Tommy helps his team locate and make contact with another group of young teenagers (the Runaways). The first member they encounter is Molly Hayes, a very youg girl who possesses super-strength. They're forced to knock her out, which enrages her friends and brings them to engage in combat. They finally come to an understanding, however, and Tommy starts a friendly relationship with Molly, eventually taking her in a piggy-back ride in superspeed, which separates them from the remaining youngsters for moments.
During those moments (unknown to either Tommy of Molly), the teams are attacked and some members are kidnapped. When the teenager and the young girl return, the ones the remain assemble to get their friends back successfully.
At a later point, when Tommy's skepticism about Scarlet Witch being his and Billy's real mother seems to have dimmed down, the two decide to embark on a search for her whereabouts, hoping to meet her and clear up any questions they have. Their search brings them to an abandoned Genosha and Wundagore Mountain - but neither Tommy nor Billy can seem to see or sense her presence, even with the use of their powers. The last place they decide to check is her old residence in New Jersey.
Rushing to the door and reaching for the doorknob, Tommy is transported to a dimension that resembles our notion of Hell, due to a spell casted by Master Pandemonium to protect the house. Upon recognizing their powers, Pandemonium frees Tommy and ceases his attacks, choosing instead to elaborate on their mother's and their own story, then advising them to appreciate who they are in the present instead of reaching for the darkness and chaos of their past.
Tommy pulls through the Skull invasion with relative ease. During Norman Osborn's 'Dark Reign', he fights alongside the Young Avengers against another group of teenagers with superhuman abilities who want to take their team name for themselves. Between a series of confrontations and misunderstandings, Tommy reattaches his not-that-friendly-relationship with another former juvie: Coat of Arms. She so just happens to be the person who brought the 'dark' Young Avengers together. Just when the two teams finally seem to be reaching an understanding, Tommy and the others find out that they've been betrayed and find themselves fighting against some of Norman Osborn's Avengers. Tommy gets to punch somebody. They save the day. The end.
THEN SIEGE HAPPENS BUT THERE ISN'T MUCH RELEVANCE except Tommy carries around a briefcase and then has issues while he tries to dig up and save as many people has he can SO ANYWAY
The two boys then return to New York in a bus.
PERSONALITY:
Tommy is your typical bad-boy superhero. The first impression the Young Avengers got of him upon his release from juvie was that he was an angered, sadistic young boy, bent on taking revenge from the scientists that imprisoned and performed excruciating experiments on him. He later starts to show signs that he can tell right from wrong, though, and knows when it's wise to take orders from others.
Tommy is remarkably irresponsible, impatient, confident and - simply put - a smartass. He takes every opportunity he gets to remind other people of his superhuman speed, and while he can take situations seriously (and knows when he's out of his league), he definitely prefers it to be otherwise. His policy is to never let the enemy know they've got the upper hand, so he throws taunts and makes full use of his abilities to gain some advantage.
It's needless to say he's got a hard time figuring out the right times to shut up. He is the sort of person who leaps (or talks) before he thinks, which often ends up with him having to swallow his own words. He's also somewhat prone to getting himself into trouble due to his lack of patience when it comes to waiting or thinking a situation out and devise a proper, cautious plan.
Tommy is seen being skeptical; he has difficulty accepting facts before countering them with a number of questions and dismissals - even when he's proved wrong. An example of this would be when he and Billy are told the story of the twin boys Scarlet Witch created out of her desperate wish to have children, making his newly found (at the time only supposed) sibling believe that the story was about them.
He eventually comes to accept this, however, even referring to Scarlet Witch as his mother (his relationship with his adoptive parents has not been talked about, but it would be safe to assume that they have cut off any contact with him). Though he isn't exactly prone to getting in a bad mood, there are always some buttons other people can push. Tommy isn't easily angered into actual violence, though- instead he chooses to use sarcasm and throw comebacks.
Despite the confidence, irony and impatience, Tommy can have his 'uh-oh' moments. He isn't necessarily afraid of asking - or better yet, demanding - his teammates for help (namely his brother), though he prefers to count on himself to get the job done. He's also pretty good with children (as seen with Molly from Runaways) and is definitely not afraid to throw a little charm at one a girl or another (as far as a cocky teenager boy's charm goes, anyway). When Tommy tries his luck with Kate only to be rejected in favor of Eli, he isn't seen getting his exactly heart-broken by this - so, as in most aspects of his personality, one can just say that he doesn't take romance all that seriously, either.
Because he was pretty much the last person to join the Young Avengers (having had no prior contact with either one of them), Tommy isn't as integrated in the team (relationship-wise) as much as the remaining members. It's true that he doesn't exactly go out of his to create and develop strong bonds with them (which doesn't come to much of a surprise, taking his personality and past behavior into account), so he's become somewhat labeled as the guy who's 'the last to know' when it comes to sharing secret and personal informations with one another.
All in all, you can say that Tommy is your typically snarky teenage boy with a good heart. He does care about the people he trusts - he just has a very special way of showing it. You can also say that he's the last person to share whatever is happening inside his head, unless it's an extreme situation. He's very shut down in that sense and overcompensates with snark and inappropriate... everything.
POWER:
a. Simply put, his ability is super speed. This means moving fast, having a fast metabolism, faster healing, etc. It hasn't been measured how fast he can go, but he is just about capable of running from one place to another as quickly as Billy (his twin brother) is capable of teleporting himself to it.
b. Tommy can also control the speed of atomic structures with his mind - so if he shakes them up enough, they end up exploding. If he keeps them in check, he can use this ability to vibrate his body through solid mass.
[CHARACTER SAMPLES]
COMMUNITY POST (FIRST PERSON) SAMPLE: http://community.livejournal.com/capeandcowl/tag/%E2%80%A0%20tommy%20shepherd%20|%20speed
LOGS POST (THIRD PERSON) SAMPLE: http://community.livejournal.com/capeandcowllogs/tag/%E2%80%A0%20tommy%20shepherd%20|%20speed
FINAL NOTES ABOUT YOUR CHARACTER:
REBOOTIN'. He has no memories of his past experience in the game.