Dark Horse
From Champions MUSH
| Dark Horse |
|---|
|
| Alignment |
| Heroes |
| Secret Identity |
| Albert 'Al' Steed |
| Affiliation |
| Black Sheep Samaritans |
Dark Horse, AKA Albert 'Al' Steed. He's the currently a member of the Black Sheep Samaritans, but realistically, he's more of a loner, like most of that loose confederation of heroes. He's a former corporate spy, so his methods tend to be on the shady side, for the most part, but his heart is apparently in the right place.
Contents |
Description
As Dark Horse: This man stands just about five and a half feet tall, but his posture seems to indicate that his stature is a bit larger than his mere size. His costume is a deep green, with a matching top and pants. The shirt fits a little loosely, as do the pants, which are also covered in several pockets, like BDU pants. The costume itself seems to be made of a thick material...perhaps it's made out of some kind of kevlar-like material. His boots and gloves are a solid black...matching the insignia on his chest, which is a black horse rampant, covering from about his collarbone to where you think his navel might be. Attached to his belt is a metal stick, about 6 inches long. It seems to be attached to a coil of small cable which is also attached to his belt. His face is covered is a green mask which has two eye holes, but no other openings...but it does leave his hair uncovered, which is a dark brown. He does appear to have a half-headset attached to the mask, though...there is a single earphone, with a wired microphone which swings down along the right side of his face, and then in front of his mouth.
As Albert 'Al' Steed:
This man is fairly unimposing, at about five and a half feet tall. He's actually quite handsome looking, but dresses relatively conservatively, with a navy button down shirt, tan slacks, and black dress shoes. He has a metallic tan tie as well, matching his slacks, and a silver-looking watch. He wears metal rimmed glasses, and his brown hair looks slightly disheveled in a stylish kind of way. Apparently he's going for the 'GQ' kind of look, but doesn't quite have the height to pull it off. But, it's a good attempt, all the same.
Origin
Albert Steed grew up in Las Vegas, where his family owned a restaurant. His life was pretty normal, at least up until the age of 12. His older sister was into magic as a teenager, the sort that actually involves rituals, and the idea of 'white' and 'black' magic. Al honestly didn't believe that his sister would be capable of actually casting a spell...but there he was, the subject of a spell she cast, like he was a guinea pig for her to practice spells on. This particular one involved something about making a deal with nature spirits...or the fae...or something like that. Al never really completely understood precisely what she had cast...and she kept it close to her vest, so to speak. But...there were three lasting effects of the spells that were cast on him during that time period. The first was that he became much more nimble than he normally would be able to be. The second was the level of extreme luck that his life has been infused with ever since. Lastly, as if it were nature's way of putting a penalty on him for this bargain that was struck...magic affected him much more easily now.
Needless to say, as Al noticed that his was extraordinarily lucky, it started to go to his head a bit. He took more chances...trying out several 'extreme' sports, to various levels of success. Breaking a bone or two never was enough of a deterrent to keep him from trying again. Finally, as he was getting ready to graduate from high school...he struck upon the idea of using his talents to become a 'superhero'. Well, ok...perhaps not a 'hero', per se, but basically use his talents to make money in a more overt way, not unlike a 'hero for hire'...but instead, he'd be a mercenary/spy. While in college, studying mathematics, he started to take Kung Fu with a local teacher. The teacher quickly realized that his soul was not in balance, and did everything in his power to try to influence his path in life. He tried to teach Al the way to enlightenment, with a moderate degree of success. Al can recite the words...recite the histories...but doesn't really believe that he can achieve a 'higher level of existence'. Mainly, he's just trying to make a living at this point. He had worked as a statistician for a while, as well as a professional gambler.
After a friend of his was killed for failing to pay back a loan to the Cangelosi family, that's the point at which he created his 'meta' persona of Dark Horse. He tried to make the mob family's life difficult by striking at their holdings wherever he could. Eventually, the heat on him was a little too much...and despite a relatively lucrative life in the Vegas area doing spying, gambling, and more mundane work...he's moved to Colonial Bay to try to disappear for a short time. Perhaps longer if he likes it here.
Powers
He'll never admit it publicly, but he does actually have a power, or perhaps two, depending on your definition of 'power'. His agility and reaction times are greatly increased, making him an incredibly nimble opponent. Additionally, he's supernaturally lucky.
Personality
Due to his supernatural luck which he has grown up with, he's quite overconfident in his abilities. He believes there's always a solution to a problem...it only needs to be found, and of course, he's the person to find it. He also has picked up the nasty habit of gambling incessantly, in both identities. The gambling takes a different form, of course. You wouldn't catch him in costume at a casino table, but you'd see him making wagers with people. Aside from those two aspects, he's a fairly likeable guy, aside from being a bit of a know-it-all. That seems to come from his statistician background.The exception to this is when he deals with members of organized crime families. The darker side of himself tends to come out, then...due to past events.
Al has three main psychological quirks. This first is that he's a compulsive gambler. This is due to his extreme luck, at least partially. It's the thrill of the wager...the rush that he gets...that's what he likes. Going hand in hand with this is his extreme overconfidence. He's so lucky, that he'll constantly put himself in positions and situations that a prudent person wouldn't...relying on his skill (and luck) to get him out of it. The last quirk is his hatred of organized crime in general..which is spurred by the death of his friend. He's transferred the hatred of the Cangelosi family to all organized crime, in his head.
Relations
Before moving to Colonial Bay:
Since arriving in Colonial Bay:
