John Smith "The Grey Man"

Real Name: John Smith
Renegade Name: The Grey Man
Title:
Alignment: Neutral Good
Age: Unknown
Gender: Male
Race: Native American/White
Hair: Black
Eyes: Brown
Height: 6'1"
Weight: 220lbs
Blood type: AB-

He is not one for fashion. On a normal day, he is wearing blue jeans and a white t-shirt with a matte black fitted baseball hat on his head. His shoes are just as nondescript, being simple white, matching the clothes he wears. Despite his clothes being nondescript, he has multiple piercings with his septume being pierced and his ears being gauged out to 0's. Alone his body, from the base of his feet, up his legs to his waist and torso, down his arms to his hands and up his neck, ceasing at his chin, is a large tattoo of swirling black tendrils that if stared at long enough seem to move.



Very quiet and soft spoken, keeps to himself but has a steep sense of loyalty and duty.

His story is lost to even him. All he remembers was being trained to be stealthy, utilizing the grey man training to blend in with any crowd anywhere. He speaks many languages, but doesn't know it until he is introduced to them. At some point in his history, he was targeted for removal and was shot in the head. This is when his powers manifested, whisking him away and to safety, putting into a torpor until his body could function, minus his memories of most of his life.


1. Agility
2. Endurance
3. Reaction
4. Strength


Umbrakinesis - He has the ability to 'absorb' shadows into himself, blocking his body from view and being able to "Blur" himself from camera's and recording devices. He can also use the shadows to create tentacles that he can use in combat, or to help move him. The shadows can be hardened to mitigate incoming damage. He can also manipulate the shadows around him subtly to change the features of his face enough to look different. He also has developed perfect night vision that activates on it's own when he is in the dark. Two interesting side effects that have developed recently that he has learned of. One he can control a little and the other one he cannot. He has developed an ability he calls the "Shadow Step" which is a short distance teleportation restricted to line of sight and has to be a place of shadow large enough to hide his body. What he cannot control is the "Shadow Healing", wherein if he is injured, he can 'knit' his injuries with shadow, needing to enter a meditative state to do so.

Having had amnesia, he doesn't know who he is, what real skills he possesses or who his family and friends are. With the amnesia comes the training he doesn't quite remember, having been trained until it was second nature to be a grey man. Once his powers manifested, the training combined with his ability to lightly affect the minds of those he comes in contact with; People he meet forget him. This is directly corelated to how powerful his shadow abilities get. He worries that the more he learns about his abilities, that people will not remember him. It makes it very difficult to develop relationships with people. The more powerful he becomes with his shadow powers, he becomes more connected to the "Dark Place" he believes he gets his power from. This means that the more powerful he gets, the less he can stand bright lights, fearing he will eventually fade into a creature of darkness, incapable of stepping into the suns light. As his night vision is almost non controllable, he has the ability to be severely blinded by bright lights, if caught by surprise using it in the darkness.

He carries nothing with him. Being able to manipulate the shadows as he wishes, he can use them to almost complete efficacy in most circumstances. Lockpicks? Shadow tendril in and bust the lock open. No need for a knife, or sword, or chain. The only downfall is that light negates his abilities.

None.

His "Lair" is an old basement in an abandonded building. He's done his best to keep it in the best condition he can. He shares the apartment with two ferrets, Podo and Kodo, and a stray dog, Whoof. None of which seem to not be phased by his weakness.

*Night fell, and as he unfolded himself from the one corner of his basement that the light did not touch, he opened his eyes to see a semi smiling stray black and white mutt staring at him. He reached a hand out and scratched the dogs ear lightly, and the dog responded by lovingly pressing his head into John's hand. John slid his legs off the bed and got his bearings, looking around and watching as the darkness lit up, eyes adjusting to the darkness of his living space. He made a kissing sound and suddenly the sound of loud and boisterous "Dook dook dook" came to his ears and he smiled. The ferrets came onto his bed and nipped at his fingers playfully before he picked them both up and gave them kisses on the tops of their heads. He set them down and stood up, moving to his table and slipping his pants on over his legs, then sliding his shirt on over his torso. He stopped for a moment and looked around, clucking his tongue and nodding to himself. He finished dressing, getting a large grey hoodie on and heading towards the door to the street. He stopped and turned and looked at his animals and smiled* I will return. I will bring treats. *Whoof heard this and his head turned and he made a low, happy grumbling sound. The ferrets started their war dance again. He headed out, looking around and hitting the street. He headed up a fire escape and to the rooftops before heading to the edge and looking around. He closed his eyes, listening, filtering sounds out until he heard a woman scream. He turned and headed that direction. At the ledge of each building, a shadow tendril reached out and grabbed the edge of the next building. When he jumped, he was half pulled onto the other. Once above the alley, he looked down, seeing a woman running down being chased by a few men. Once he guaged the situation, he reached his arms out, pulling the shadows over him, becoming cloaked in a large black mass of shadows and shadow tendrils. He stepped off the ledge, the tendrils pulling him down and towards the alley, body completely hidden from view. The woman fell, the men closed in and he set foot on the ground. The woman stared at the men, but the men saw a large maw of shadow open and he stepped out. Hood up, face obscured from view, he took a few steps closer to the men who raised their guns to him. He pushed his hands forward, and shadow tendrils shot out at blinding speed, wrapping around each wrist and flinging the gunmen against the wall of the near by building hard enough to knock them out. He unclenched his fists and the shadows receded. The woman looked at him, eyes wide in fear. He pulled the hood off to show her he was a normal person, and as he reached a hand out to help her up, she screamed. He sighed deeply and stood completely up and shook his head.* It doesn't matter, you won't remember. *He took a step back and the shadows swallowed him up, removing him from her view. She screamed again, then slowly stopped and looked around and blinked, as if trying to figure out what had happened. She stood up and looked at the two unconscious men and ran out of the alley for safety. Once she was gone, he pulled the burner from his pocket and called 911, reporting the incident in the alley, and hanging up. He ascended the building and went back to the rooftops to patrol his little end of the city.* It is never over.