Benjamin Everhart
NICKNAMES | Ben, Benji, Stitches
SEXUALITY | gay
AGE | 26
HEIGHT | 5'10"
WEIGHT | 146 lbs.
EYES | brown
HAIR | brown
BODY | slender
COMPLEXION | pale
SCARS, MARKS, TATTOOS | several marks along his arms and neck from the numerous experiments performed on him.
Ben stands just under six feet tall and almost 150 pounds of lean, almost sinewy muscle. Built more like a runner, Ben is not the most imposing person you'll meet. His eyes are a rusty, light shade of brown and his hair is a dark brown almost indistinguishable from solid black. Ben is not much for fashion and can usually be found in whatever is comfortable like t-shirts or loose fitting hoodies and well worn jeans.
"DON'T DEPEND TOO MUCH ON ANYONE IN THIS WORLD BECAUSE EVEN YOUR OWN SHADOW LEAVES YOU WHEN YOU ARE IN DARKNESS."
While most are under the impression that this gregarious act is the real Ben, those who know him, know that itās still just that. An act. Just behind his mask, mostly kept out of sight, Ben is a complete mess. Never really sleeping, barely eating, and actively seeking out self-destructive activities are not Benās real joys, they are just symptom of what he buried long ago. His excessive drinking and smoking are not for fun but actually a means for keeping himself in a general state of sedation. More often than now, Ben canāt get to sleep without a few drinks in him. Ben is also somewhat paranoid and very suspicious of virtually everyone except for his group. However, even they are kept at a distance.
Despite his many problems, none of which are that out of the ordinary for people like him, Ben is a dedicated friend, something of a bleeding heart with a knack for martyrdom, and a simple desire to live free of captivity. Ben may have a list of vices a mile long, but it makes him no less dutiful and no less hateful of those who turned his life into a nightmare.
As a rule of thumb, Ben simply does not trust nor rely on much of anyone. As the child of a neglectful, opium addict and an abusive alcoholic, Ben has never really allowed himself to be too reliant on anyone. While he isnāt dumb enough to think he can handle everything that comes his way alone, Ben will almost always attempt to deal with his own problems, himself, usually without ever sharing it with anyone. Therefore, Ben holds most everyone at a distance, but while he may never feel comfortable completely trusting his companions, he wonāt deny their usefulness and is thus always willing to accept them as allies against a common enemy.
Alcohol, Cigarettes, & Drugs. Sex and Sexy Men. Old Music from the 40s & 50s.
FLAWS
Emotionally Closed Off. Suspicious. Paranoid. Addict (Pretty Much Everything). Anger Issues and Power Control Difficulty.
"YOU CAN'T WAKE UP, THIS IS NOT A DREAM."
To be more specific, Ben is capable of manipulating living, human cells. This does not allow him to accelerate the speed of cellular regeneration or even manipulate the structure of the cells, themselves. Instead, Ben is able to simply direct the cells to perform certain activities. While able to manipulate any type of human cell, dermal and sub-dermal cells are the easiest and he is becoming increasingly effective at manipulating muscle cells, as well. Bone cells, however, remain difficult for him.
So long as he maintains direct skin-to-skin contact with someone, he is able to direct, to an extent, their cells' activity. However, his abilities have their limits. As described by him, upon touching someone, "he feels what they feel". Their pain, their pleasure, their adrenaline spikes, their very body as a whole almost becomes an extended limb for Ben. It is believed by the scientists who did most of the studies on his powers that this is the key to how his powers actually work. Once physical contact is established, Ben's nervous system apparently "links", somehow, with the other human. It is through this connection that he is able to manipulate their body. He essentially forces impulses into the other's body, enabling him to make it act as he wishes.
Despite how invasive his powers appear and how invasive they could potentially become, much like learning how to use a hand you've just recently discovered you have, Ben has found it incredibly difficult to manipulate another person's body beyond forcing a muscle tear or pull, splitting skin, or, on just two occasions, stopping a heart. The bigger the action, the easier it is to perform. But forcing someone to pick something up, write something down, or even just walk, is fairly difficult and virtually impossible for Ben, at the moment.
"SOME MAKE PEACE AND SOME GET EVEN."
Benās life improved slightly as he reached his teen years and at the age of 15, he managed to snag a job that allowed him to pay for his own things. Despite their upbringing, Ben and his siblings all grew up to be fairly responsible teenagers, albeit a little rambunctious. While they all held steady jobs throughout high school, they all blew most of their money on alcohol, cigarettes, and any other fun they could get their hands on to distract themselves from their family life.
By the end of the entire ordeal and after his medical bills were added, Ben and his family essentially found themselves in a hole that they didnāt see any way out of. From then on, they all sought out new ways to get more money, quicker. Nearly all of his family found themselves in some illegal activity and nearly all of them had some criminal record by the time Ben was 18. As the family moved further into ruin, Ben took an opportunity to get some extra cash as a test subject for a local business. While it appeared to be legitimate and their advertisement claimed to only be testing vitamin supplements, Ben soon found out the real purpose behind the ābusinessā was far more nefarious.
As one of only a handful of patients that the organization ever subjected to the N-R165 mutagen, instead of naturally surfacing through a trigger, Benās unique gifts were āforcedā by a compound that has left him permanently marked. Once forced, Ben eventually found out that he was able to manipulate the human body upon direct skin to skin contact. Unfortunately, upon this discovery, Benās powers would be put to grotesque work.
Ben broke free of the facility at the age of 24, one year ago, with the one person in this world he allowed himself to truly get close to. Theyād spent months planning their escape and in the middle of the night, when most people were asleep or gone, the two used their powers to their advantage finally and freed themselves. Since then, the two are almost inseparable and travel together, everywhere they find themselves.