Thomas Elliot application
PLAYER
NAME: Hinge
JOURNAL: captainavarice
IM: CaptainAvarice
E-MAIL: glassgetsbroke @ hotmail.com
[CHARACTER INFO]
CHARACTER NAME: Thomas Roger Elliot, Hush
FANDOM: DC Comic Universe
CHRONOLOGY: Current Canon
BACKGROUND:
A man’s past can tell a lot about him. Thomas Elliot is no exception.
“Hey, look at that. We’ve both got two first names for our first and last name.”
Born into an incredibly wealthy family in Gotham City, Tommy was a child of privilege. He went was given the best of everything, including an education from the most elite private school in Gotham. Tommy was a very sociable, even pugnacious little kid. Most of his baby teeth were lost before their time from his rambunctious behavior. So it was nothing for him to approach the seemingly unapproachable Bruce Wayne. Tommy went up to the “Son of the City”, who also happened to be his locker neighbor, and broke the ice like a smooth politician. The rest was history.
“As long as you can’t think like me, you’ll never beat me. But I can always think like you.”
The two boys cultivated a friendship that would help shape both of their lives. Many evenings were spent by the fire, laid out on their stomachs around the Risk board. The players bonded over their shared interests, learning a lot about each other in the process. But it was also during this time when little Tommy began formulating his moves for something much bigger then a game.
“’My dad said’-‘My dad said’, is that how you’re going to live your whole life, Bruce?”
The Elliot’s were going on a date one night without their son. With the genuine pleading of a child, Tommy convinced the family’s driver, Clarence stay home that night with him. Mr. Elliot agreed, figuring he could drive in order to allow his son the babysitter he preferred. After all, they were leaving him home on a very rainy night; no doubt the boy was anxious. But in fact, the boy’s hands weren’t in his pockets because he was sulking. Rather he was hiding the remains of the hydraulic fluid from the break line he had cut earlier that day.
“It’s like I’m always telling you, Bruce. You gotta be able to think like your opponent.”
None other then Dr. Thomas Wayne was there to treat the injured Elliot’s. The boys rode together to the hospital, Bruce ever confident in his father’s abilities. Tommy was just anxious to hear the outcome of the surgeries, but not for the reason anyone thought. Like a miniature Oscar-award winning actor, Tommy was hysterical when Dr. Wayne brought him the news of his father’s death. In fact, he was only upset that his mother had survived. From a very early age, Tommy’s genius put him in the awkward position of being smarter than his parent’s. He began to resent them and the control they undeservingly held over him. In addition, he believed that as the rightful heir of his family’s fortune, he felt he shouldn’t have to wait for his inheritance while his parent’s wasted it away with every passing day. So, at the tender age of eight, Thomas Elliot committed patricide.
“My mom gave it to me, Bruce. It’s a circle. It means life goes on, or something like that.”
Thomas stayed friends with Bruce, even though his father had foiled his plan of orphaning himself. Everyday was just a reminder of how much he hated the doctor and what he had done to him. Half as a cover to his guilt, have to show the doc up, Tommy pledged to become the best surgeon in the world. He even went on a trip with Bruce and his father to Metropolis for a medical convention. While the boys were stuck in their hotel room as punishment for sneaking off to catch a glimpse of Green Lantern, Thomas took the opportunity to learn as much as he could from the gathering of doctors and medical professionals.
“Stick a needle, Bruce. Hurry!..”
After that outing, things got worse at home. Marla Elliot the invalid would never let Thomas out of her site for any reason. It took hours of pleading an convincing from Thomas, Bruce, and Martha Wayne to convince the widow to allow her only son to spend to weeks with Bruce and camp Hi-Hill. That vacation was short lived, however, as not even a full day into camp, Marla showed up with their driver Clarence to take Tommy home. While Mrs. Elliot gushed over her son, the other campers started to laugh at Tommy’s expense. The red headed boy lost it when one of his peers called him a “mommy’s boy”. He took the oar he had just been using on the lake in his canoe with Bruce and blind-sided the kid, causing him a trip to the hospital. For that, Tommy was immediately sent to a home for disturbed youth.
“…KILL YOU!”
He was diagnosed with “rage issues”, but Tommy knew he had been manipulated into beating that kid over the head with an oar. It must’ve been all Bruce’s idea, Oh and how he was no doubt laughing as Tommy was dragged away in a straight jacket at the lake-side. He would have his revenge, but first Thomas had to convince his supervisor, an intern named Crane, that he was sane. He did, just by proving to be an intelligent kid and an interesting patient, and was told that Crane, “look forward to seeing where life takes you.”
“I wasn’t scared…I was angry.”
Soon after, on the ride home from the institute, Thomas was informed that Bruce’s parents were shot and killed in a dark alley, and Tommy was full satisfied. His good buddy Bruce, whose father had destroyed his dream of wealth and independence, now had all Tommy had ever wanted and more. And Bruce was miserable. There began Thomas’ hate for Bruce Wayne and he would carry it for years to come, all the while proclaiming Bruce to be his one true friend. It went with him through high school, college, and even Harvard Medical school, where he graduated with a concentration in neuroscience.
“You got it, Doc.”
Tommy moved to Philadelphia, the “City of Brotherly Love”, ironically enough. Over time, the surgeon built up a reputation for himself. He has appeared in many journals and features, gaining him the reputation of one of the best brain surgeons in the country. Thomas was quite settled in his life. He was eons above where his parent’s had been financially, much to his satisfaction. He was even thinking about finding someone to settle down with. That is, until his mother became very ill, with brain cancer of all things. Thomas was really beginning to despise irony at this point. At least he could take some private solace in the fact that Bruce wasn’t even in Gotham when he flew back for his mother’s funeral. Thomas wasn’t exactly thrilled with the tardy gift, but his mourning was minimal and false at that.
“Actually, I’m offering to save your life.”
Feeling quite content to have severed the last ties to his past, Elliot flew back to Philly, eager to get back to work. He soon met with a new patient, one Arthur Wynne. Curse the irony; he had the same terminal cancer his mother had just died from. He gave the man the unfortunate news and sent him on his way. When Wynne returned for a follow-up, the tumor and all signs of the brain ravaging cancer had completely vanished. Understandably suspicious, Dr. Elliot confronted the man, finding out that others could hide just as much as he could. He had met Edward Nygma, The infamous Riddler of Gotham. The two soon learned a lot about each other, not unlike Bruce and Tommy had long ago, instead this time, it was over a much larger board with much bigger players.
“I’m not here to play games. And you and the others will quickly learn that the rules don’t apply to me.”
While the plan was golden, one key piece set off a horrible set of reaction that left Hush shot and thrown over a bridge. He was mutilated, scarred forever in his own eyes with no way to correct it. Ironically, the cosmetic surgeon could fix Two-Face, but not himself. When he returned to Gotham with his new appearance, someone had to pay; The Riddler. Plotting his destruction just as they had done for Batman together, Thomas succeeded in cornering the man and would have had his way with him…Had it not been for the interference of the Joker. The demonic clown had him beaten before stealing his bounty away from him. Elliot had earned himself yet another enemy.
“Ah, but we both know our play isn’t over, Bruce.”
Hush returned, though with added help, to try once again at exacting his revenge. Of course, yet another person had to stick their big cowl-covered nose into his business. Bruce stopped him just long enough to allow The Riddler and Joker to escape once again. Failure for a second time was sobering for Hush, so he placed his aims on hold for another, more deeply rooted goal. He would take care of Bruce Wayne first. Then return for his little hostile friends.
“And ultimately I will emerge as the hero of our bitter comedy.”
Tommy spent the next months performing agonizing facial surgery on himself. He sculpted his features into those of his one time best friend, Bruce Wayne. Now that Bruce has gone missing, Thomas has been more than happy to step into the vacated position of city hero.
PERSONALITY:
There is not a single one personality of Thomas Elliot. There is one that the media, patients, and public have seen, and a more natural, relaxed side he only shows around those close enough to him, to the people that call him “Tommy.”
The Tommy everyone saw was almost the ideal man. Thomas found it quite funny how many people chastised him for still being single. Seemingly always cool and collected, even with a person’s brain in his hands, Thomas was envied my many of his co-workers. Like most doctors, he also happily used his sense humor to lighten a room. It may have became a crutch at times tough, since it is always easy to hide behind a laugh. Thomas still remained very professional, putting his work above all else, which is probably why he hasn’t settled down yet. Or the reason could be that Thomas simply cherishes his independence far too much. But a little flirting never hurt anyone.
Dr. Elliot earned his title from years of hard work, showing just how motivated a person he is. He will let nothing stand in his way once he has a goal or target in sight. Of course, merely being motivated won’t earn a doctorate from the Ivy League. Thomas possesses a calculating mind, well suited for medicine as well as tactics and strategy. With this genius and skill comes confidence and pride, though this is no where near as demonizing as another sin of his.
Two of Thomas’ largest faults are greed and envy. The former leads the man to be quite possessive of things he owns and even more ruthless to get those he wants. This mind-set, coupled with the strong-self motivation Thomas is capable of makes Tommy quite the intimidating fellow to those he isn’t found of. Luckily, there’re few of those people in Thomas’ life. The latter deadly sin, envy, has been a very strong motivator in his life, for better or worse only Tommy can say.
But there is still one more side to Thomas Elliot one that reflects and amplifies his not-so-favorable traits through its facets. This personality, the one that is characterized by the name ‘Hush’, is even more driven and powerful, unrestrained by law or reputation. Hush is determined, brutal, and violent, a terrifying combination in its own right made even horrifying by the added presence of his cool and calculating mind and perseverance.
CLASS: Villain, posing as a hero for now.
SUPERHERO NAME: Hush
ALTER EGO: Dr. Thomas Elliot, Neurosurgeon
POWER: > Thomas doesn’t have superpowers to thank for his success. His accomplishments were all thanks to himself. His own genius intellect made him the master surgeon he is today. He specializes in neurology but is also proficient in cosmetic surgery as well. His persistence and hard work gained him his skills as a marksman. His specialty in hand to hand combat came from years of study and practice as well. Finally, Thomas has an aptitude for strategy and planning that usually comes from his ability to know his enemy just well enough to defeat them without sympathizing with them. Currently Thomas looks remarkably similar to Bruce Wayne. Only select few, those who know of Bruce's identity as Batman, can tell he is not the genuine article.
COMMUNITY POST SAMPLE: It's utterly ridiculous how cliched my life has become. It's like I'm in a horribly writen movie-adaptation novel.
I though "arch-enemies" were purely of fiction. I thought sidekicks were a joke comic book writers played on each other. But no. I'm disappointed and disgusted to find that my assumptions were wrong. There's no happy endings, but apparently there are tacky plot twists in life.
Take Edward for example. He goes from dying patient, to my partner, to an enemy in a relatively short period of time. Come on now. That stuff is only supposed to happen in pre-teen serials, right?
So if life's a story, and I'm drowning in irony and farce...the story should be a comedy correct?
So why aren't I laughing?
THIRD PERSON: Arthur’s reaction was…unexpected. Elliot fought to keep his confusion hidden, not wanting his patient to feel judged at a time like this. But still, his reaction was so…odd. Other patients hearing the same news had broken down, broken chairs, tried to kill themselves, tried to kill -him-. But Arthur…Arthur seemed to be on the verge of smiling? And the fact that Arthur was not too consumed with himself to think of Tommy was quite interesting. His thoughts should have remained with himself. He had just been told he was dying, after all. The man was an enigma.
Perhaps Wynne was simply in the beginning stages of denial. Many patients choose to receive psychological treatment as well as physical in order to more fully appreciate their last times here. Thomas made a mental note to mention it to the receptionist, perhaps ask her to recommend some names to the man. Even with this contemplation going on in the doctor’s head, his face was smiling stoically and his voice even when he spoke.
“I assure you Mr. Wynne; I am here for -you-. You don’t need to worry about me.” But at the same time he sighed slightly internally. Now was the part of the process where he had to explain years of medical schooling to a lay person in as simplest terms as possible. This time wouldn’t be as bad as most considering the patient himself and the particular ailment he suffered from, but Tommy would much rather be doing something else with his time.
“I do,” Relate to your patient, he had learned in the class on bedside manner. Bedside manner would not make him the best surgeon in the country. A waste of a class in his opinion, but at least it was helping out now. “I have a few patients undergoing treatment right now. And my mother actually has a case strikingly similar to yours.”
He put on the mask that he always did when speaking of his -dearest- mother. He would’ve looked like any other person loosing a parent to brain cancer, but that was where the similarities ended. An heir was supposed to rise up and take up their parent’s place in the world, not mourn their death. The now elderly woman was draining his inheritance for treatments with every passing day. He would never get that money back. Why didn’t she just die with his pathetic excuse for a father? No one would’ve expected a child of his age then to even be capable of patricide or matricide, which was just the reason why he had acted so soon. Every passing day would’ve made him more and more likely as a suspect.
Until finally time had started in on the job that he had failed so many years ago. But as his favorite philosopher had so aptly put it, The gods too are fond of a joke. Of course she should fall victim to one of the specific diseases he was specialized in treating. He was forced to prolong his mother’s death for months on end now, rather then risk suspicion from those close to him. The irony was killing him faster then the cancer was killing her. Hopefully fate would take some form of mercy on him and allow him to treat Wynne without being reminded of that selfish hag.
He smiled pleasantly at Arthur and waited for his next inquiry.