"Patience is useless when you have speed."
Name: Henry Jake Humble
Nickname: Hal, the name which most people know him by.
Age: 18
Sexuality: Heterosexual
Clique: Secondary. He hopes to be a future Elite.
Likes
| Sports and physical activities | Competition | Quick-pacedness | Rock music | Aviator sunglasses | Skateboarding | Video games | The summer | Weekends | Comedy, action and some sci-fi flicks | Frisbees | Baseball caps | Photobombing | Humor | Sarcasm | Parties | Rap music | Energy drinks (although they are dangerous for him, in moderation, they make him go even faster) | Friends | Exploring others with unique powers |
Dislikes
| Math, as well as studying in general | Theater | Anime | Those who make their own pathetic egos | Writing | Containment | Stupidity | Injuries | The cold weather | Flirtatious women | Fantasy movies | Liars (ESPECIALLY bad ones ) | Trivia | Dancing | Sappy, dreamy and emotional people | Repetition | Exams | Quiet places (it's not that he can't stand them, they just make him uncomfortable) | Talking on the phone |
Fears
| To some extent, the future | Not being able to protect loved ones | Tight spaces | Being trapped in space | Experiencing the side-effects of his powers | Death | Drowning | Jumping from high places (not to be confused with fear of heights) |
Hobbies
|Football (he plays as wide reciever) | Gaming | Playing bass guitar | Taking runs around his neighborhood | Kickboxing |
Powers
Enhanced speed is exactly what it sounds like; the user is able to travel and do things with abnormally fast agility. Usually the power is associated with running, but there's a lot more to it than that. Wielders of enhanced speed also have accelerated metabolism, stamina, and reflexes. Hal is able to travel so quickly, that he is faster than light. He can also catch a bullet in mid-air because of his enhanced speed. This makes him a much harder target to hit when it comes to using tactical weapons.
Also, enhanced speed has allowed Hal to be able to speak extremely quick without taking a breath, while also being able to think slightly faster than usual. (Of course, his thinking isn't much of a game changer in terms of a fight, but Hal's IQ has gone up considerably higher after obtaining his powers) With precision and focus, Hal can cause miniature cyclones by continuously running in a circle for a good five seconds. He can also increase his momentum as he runs, allowing him to catapult himself in order to reach high places, or just jump greater distances. Although enhanced speed mostly sounds like fun and games, there are many dangerous consequences that come with using the power incautiously...
Weakness
- Due to an extremely heavy metabolism, Hal has an abnormally large appetite. He needs to eat a large diet, or he will not be able to sustain energy.
- Hal must limit how fast he runs at all times. If he runs too fast for a long period of time, he can accidentally accelerate his aging.
- Just because he has good speed doesn't mean he has the greatest maneuverability. Tight corners and inertia/friction are always problems for Hal.
- He must keep fit, and regularly exercise. If he's not in good health, he won't be able to run as fast.
- If Hal overuses his energy, he can experience fatigue. This would occur if he ever attempted to outrun the sound barrier.
Strengths
- He shows proficiency in music. Hal can fluently play bass guitar, as well as rap with ease and clarity due to his enhanced speed.
- Even without his powers, sports, as well as physical activities are Hal's strong suits. He is particularly good at football, as well as kickboxing and of course, running. He's also not too bad at baseball, either.
- Many people are impressed with Hal's video game accomplishments, despite the fact that he barely has the time to play them anymore.
- A funny guy by nature, the eighteen-year-old has been known to have a fast-paced and witty sense of humor.
- A movie fanatic, Hal knows various tidbits of trivia from comedies, as well as some action and sci-fi films. There are a few comedies that he's watched so many times, he can actually quote the dialogue from memory. When asked about this, he'll usually beg you to 'give him a scene'.
Flaws
- Hal has something that his brother likes to call 'chronic hero disorder'. Hal takes pride in saving the day, and when someone or something is in danger, he'll drop whatever he's doing and will try to solve the problem. Unfortunately, this hurts him more than helps him, as he tends to make blunt decisions and doesn't know when to draw back.
- He has a sharp tongue, and can be unaware of the capability his words have on others
- Being very rash, he can sometimes leap into danger and challenges without thinking the situation through first.
- Hal is extremely impatient, and can annoy people by his very quick-paced nature. He also doesn't seem to do well in quiet places. NEVER TAKE HIM TO A LIBRARY.
Personality
Anyone who knows Hal is sure about the fact that his mouth runs faster than him. Snarky, witty, sarcastic, and a master at the art of the comeback, he's always been one of the more humorous kids at the school. Even in the heat of danger, Hal has no problem cracking a joke or two. His words can make him seem cocky and arrogant, and he tends to get on many people's nerves if they are quick to anger. However, deep down, Henry Humble never speaks with ill intentions. At heart, he's a great guy, but his cohorts make others inspect otherwise.
Hal has always been a brash and instinctive sort of person. Although he has quite a bit of intelligence to him, most of his knowledge comes from common sense and experience. Stating this, he does tend to take loads of risks, and acts on chance quite often. This makes some people think that he is a wild lunatic, but most of the time, he knows what he's doing. In other words, he can be crazy, but he's not stupid. In fact, it surprises some people to see how intelligent he really is. Hal, when truly known, can be protective of his friends, as well as the innocent. Get to know him really well, and he may just open up his sensitive and caring side to you. Although, he's not the greatest at being a 'therapist'. He'll listen to your problems, but he most likely won't have the knowledge to fix them.
The eighteen-year-old is very much determined in whatever it is he is trying to pursue; whether it be trying to get the football team to the championships, or battling his way to the Elites. However, his determination can lead to him being a showoff whenever he succeeds at something. Hal can be stubborn, as well as impatient. (a common trait for those with enhanced speed.) Again, he lets his mouth run whenever he feels like it, and this can get him into trouble at times. He is a notorious flirter. He doesn't flirt to get the attention of the opposite sex, but rather he does it to annoy the girl he's talking to. Many gullible women think otherwise, and then end up annoying him instead. Hal actually hates it when girls flirt. He finds it pointless and awfully stupid. Hal, although sporty, is a little bit of a geek. He's a movie junkie, as well as a video game addict. He also has a thing for music, and is able to play the electric guitar, as well as rap extremely fast due to his enhanced speed.
|| Quick-witted || Energetic || Instinctive || Impatient || Fast || Prideful ||
History
Hal's story is slightly different that other super-powered students of his age. Hal has lived in Benjamin for all his life. Because of this, he's had a generally good knowledge of the town, as well as its people. His family is composed of his mother, a doctor, his firefighter father, and his older brother, Stephen. Hal always seemed to be in the shadow of his brother's achievements. Stephen had always been the smart one, and he'd never fail to bring back lots of trophies from academically challenging competitions he had participated in. Although it was clear that Stephen was favored more than him, Hal never hated his brother, and only used Stephen's abilities as motivation to make a name for himself.
Hal participated in a variety of sports and physical activities as he grew up. He had always been good at sports, and practicing them seemed to be second-nature to him. Eventually, his brother went off to college, leaving him alone in his own house. The tables then turned. Instead of Stephen getting all the attention, it was Hal that was now getting recognized by his parents. As he hit adolescence, he grew his talents in football, started to improve his grades, and met his best friend, Paige Johnson, over the internet.
A while later, Stephen, now a full-fledged adult, invited Hal to spend one month of the summer with him over in San Francisco. The younger brother agreed. He packed his bags, and took a plane to California, where he met his sibling. Stephen had become a highly-regarded chemist, and promised to show Hal around the laboratory where he worked. He did so, and while he introduced him to an experiment that the company was working on, something happened in another room. It was an emergency, and so Stephen and the other chemists had to leave immediately. The older brother told the younger to stay put. Getting bored, Hal started to fiddle around with the beakers and tubes. He accidentally shattered one test tube filled with a crimson-colored liquid, and the noxious fumes made him pass out onto the hard floor.
When he woke up, Hal found himself sitting on a hospital bed. In his recovery from the accident, he discovered that his metabolism had gone up, as well as his appetite. Taking various tests on him, the doctor speculated that the spilled liquid might have given him enhanced speed, a power deemed as being utterly impossible. Stephen came in and revealed that the red liquid was an incomplete serum that was going to be used to rapidly heal paralysis. With that in mind, it was clear that Hal's acclaimed powers were more than likely in effect.
Although Hal wanted to tell his friends and family about his new abilities, Stephen urged him to be quiet about the subject. Upon returning home, the younger brother managed to keep his powers a secret from his parents for a little while. Mr. and Mrs. Humble discovered their son's abilities when Mr. Humble was crossing the street to retrieve something. He would have been hit by a car if not for Hal's attempt to save his father's life using his super speed. Upon finding out that their son was special, the two parents promised to keep the secret safe. The now sixteen-year-old started training in kickboxing, something he always wanted to get into. He figured that if he was going to have superpowers, he might as well have offensive abilities to match. He became quite good at combat, and was able to throw punches that were faster than light.
It wasn't long until Hal discovered that many of the other students at his school had superpowers as well. He felt lucky. Many of the teenagers in the high school had certain powers as part of their heritage. Special abilities had never been a part of the Humbles' family tree. Hal was the only one who had obtained them. Soon enough, after the arrest of her mother, as well as being influenced by Hal himself, Paige Johnson moved to the small town of Benjamin. The teenage boy was nervous to show his abilities to her, as he thought she would view him as a freak. After getting to know her better and attaining more of her trust, he started to think otherwise. On his seventeenth birthday, Hal showed her his enhanced speed. Much to his surprise, Paige had a superpower of her own: technokinesis.
Ecstatic over finding out Paige's abilities, he trained her in kickboxing, and showed her offensive ways to use her powers. Although she didn't quite care about it, with Hal's help she was able to get into the Secondaries on the school's social hierarchy. Humble still sees Johnson's prowess in her powers, and feels that if she put her mind to it, she could become an elite herself. However, Hal wants to worry about himself first. Before he can get Paige to the elites, he must get himself there first. That's just his nature.
Other
- Because enhanced speed does not run in Hal's family, it is likely that he is the fastest man on earth. It is also possible that he can be the only person in history with the power.
- Much to his mother's disapproval, Henry Humble likes to frequently take runs around Benjamin. With the many things he sees, he's hoping that someday, he won't have to hide his powers. A secret dream of his is to become a vigilante for the town, as if he were a superhero.
- When he's not doing anything, Hal can usually be found at Paige's house. He's always curious about what she's up to, and likes to play pranks on her in the early morning. (Alarm clocks are useless for Paige because she can turn them off with her mind, so sometimes he'll find a way to sneak up to her window and wake her up in the morning.)