Post by Shadow on Jun 20, 2011 13:59:43 GMT -5
Name: Benjamin (Ben) Cross
Mutant/Code Name: Crucible
Age: 14
Gender: Male
Species: Mutant
Ranking/Position: Interrogator
Loyalties: Rebellion
Description:
Crucible is a small, lanky boy that in stature is about as frightening as a toddler. He has thin shoulders and delicate hands, and a baby face that would be charming if it weren’t centered by his eyes. Ben’s eyes are thin and serpent-like, with almost no pupils most of the time (in the dark they appear as specs, but you can’t really see them anyway). His eyes are the same color as his hair, a faint sepia blonde that looked like it had a little bit of the color drained from it. Ben almost always wears a long-sleeved stripped dark shirt that’s a bit too big on him, loosely fitting black slacks, and white boots tied up with black laces. He sometimes wears golden necklaces that amplify his powers. Although his shaggy hair usually covers his forehead, if one looks closely one can see that he has no eyebrows. Ben is 5’4” and weighs roughly 100 pounds. He wears a size 6 shoe.
Abilities/Talents:
Crucible is generally considered one of the scariest mutants alive. He has the ability to inflict whatever feelings he wishes upon another. Ben can ease someone’s pain, whether it is emotional or physical. Or he could torture someone until they beg to be killed. His torture is both physical and emotional, and he controls every aspect of its strength. In this way, Crucible can bend other’s wills to his own and glean information from them. This is why he was placed as an Interrogator, although most people would rather he not use his powers at all.
Personality:
Ben’s personality is hard to describe, since he apparently doesn’t have one. He is always completely expressionless, and people tend to wonder if he can feel anything at all. It is rumored that in order for him to inflict pain or joy or peace on others, he can possess none himself. This is false, however. Ben has feelings, though he has trained himself not to show them. He is, in truth, a very fragile boy. But he has been desensitized enough to the point where he inflicts pain on others to reflect the pain he feels. The truth behind his power is that he can only do to someone what has been done to him. His torture is only potent because he understands what it is like to be tortured. His joy is only sufficient because he experienced it once. But he tries to hide this fact, so that others will stay away. He does not like to trust, and hides himself away from his fellows so as not to suffer the pain of betrayal again.
History:
Ben was born to two mutants who could hide rather easily in human society, and chose to do so. His father was a Telepath, and his mother had the ability to Heal. They were very loving towards Ben and his twin brother, Carter. When Ben and Carter were three, their mother gave birth to a girl that she named Kay. Kay and Ben became very close as they grew together. Carter was more distant, especially when he found his power at the age of seven. Carter learned that he could control people using his mind. He began to manipulate others to do small things for him. His parents tried to teach him to use his powers responsibly, but Carter wouldn’t listen to them. He had formed a friendship with a fellow mutant in hiding, whose father was a Rouge. His friend’s father told Carter that not using his power to his advantage would be wasting it, and Carter believed him. When the boys turned nine, Kay discovered her power. She could cause things to grow, like plants and baby animals and even babies sometimes, although she did not try that power very often after its first occurrence. Her parents were very proud of her, and Ben was too. Her power was very special and brought only happiness to those around her. But Carter grew jealous of the attention she was getting within their family. His feelings boiled over until he decided to act. Ben was sitting at home with his sister, who had fallen down and scraped her knee. He was kissing it for her, and she stopped crying, smiling and asking Ben how he always made her feel better. Their mother came and smiled, saying that it was Ben’s own little power. She kissed her son’s head and then looked up and smiled at her husband as he entered the kitchen. He wrapped his arm around her and smiled, and Ben felt suddenly so very happy. But then the back door flew open. Carter was standing there, surrounded by Hunters. “Those are the mutants!” He said, “The little girl and the two adults.” The Hunters rushed forward without another word. Ben’s mom ran forward to protect them, taking Kay in her arms and turning to run. One of the Hunters lifted his weapon and shot her in the neck. She fell instantly, right at Ben’s feet. His mind went numb as he watched the Hunters surround his father. His dad tried to fend them off, but there were too many. They shot him, too, and then rounded on Kay. Ben moved then. He felt as if he were no longer in control of his body as he lunged forward and pulled Kay along with him. The Hunters chased him towards the front door of the house. They were almost free when Carter jumped in front of the door, blocking their only way out. “Get out of the way, Carter!” Ben demanded. “No. You will let her go and you won’t do a thing while they kill her.” He said, and Ben flinched when he felt his hand move on its own accord, bowing beneath his brother’s power. “Ben!” Kay screamed as the Hunters came and grabbed her wrist, dragging her with them. He ran after her, nearly shrieking her name, and he saw the moment that the Hunters tossed her dead body next to their parents’. Ben’s emotions seemed to surge within him, and he screamed at the Hunters wordlessly, feeling all of the pain and agony of a thousand lifetimes. The Hunters began to writhe in pain suddenly. They all seemed to be feeling what Ben was experiencing. He watched in surprise, realizing that he was making them feel this way. And he wanted them to suffer. Then he turned and saw Carter’s shocked face. Ben smiled sadistically, “I guess you missed one.” He said, and Carter yelled in pain as Ben began shoving his emotions off onto his brother, making him feel all of the emotions that were coursing through him. Finally the Hunters and his brother lay too weak to follow. Ben ran away, barely able to breathe as tears streamed down his face. His powers had awakened fully, and he found it difficult to control them. He hid himself away in fields and barns, trying to master his power on animals. By the time he was thirteen, he had full control of his powers. He rarely expressed much emotion himself, since the images of his family lying dead seemed to arise any time he really felt anything. He was discovered by a Scout trying to help a dying cat on the roadside to feel comforted in its last moments. The Scout wasn’t sure what was happening as the boy stroked the cat’s blood-streaked fur, but she was unnerved by the emptiness in the child’s eyes. “It’s okay now,” he murmured, “It will be okay.” The cat meowed softly, as if in thanks, looking at him with its big eyes before it closed them and breathed its last. The boy sat there, his hands covered in blood, his clothes torn and dirty, his eyes empty. “What did you do to it?” The Scout asked. “I took away its pain.” The boy replied, looking up at the Scout. This particular mutant had eyes the color of flames, and with one glance Ben understood. “You’re a mutant, too.” He said. The Scout was surprised by his calm assessment, but she said that yes, she was, and she was hoping to take him back to the mutant’s Hideout. Ben agreed, and has been living within the Order for almost a year. No one likes to be anywhere near him, though, and if they know who he is they won’t likely have anything good to say about him. But Ben likes it that way. He doesn’t like to trust after the betrayal of his brother. He likes being left alone.
