CREATOR'S NOTES

"Citadel" was originally Identity, who has existed as a character in Champions Online ever since the game went free-to-play and has seen through several different concepts and changes. The character was originally Harrison Anatolia -- a name that is now held by my other character, Empire -- who was a brilliant inventor hailing from an alternate Earth called Dustbowl which was a post-apocalyptic and entirely desert world. From there, the concept took off and varied depending on what I was inspired by. Keeping the name, I eventually changed the character into what was essentially a British "copy" of Tony Stark and Iron Man -- and I played around with this until I grew bored of the game within a month. I came back March of this past year (2013) and decided to institute a concept of my own that I had been working on for several years -- as a result, this page is what that amounted to. The inspiration from Iron Man is still in here, however.

The effort was to make a character that was only extraordinary by appearance, but otherwise normal in just about every other way. Physically, he's weak, but he's got a strong mind, and (hopefully) a likeable personality that still needs to be developed. Rather than going down the route of the stereotypical hero, Garret is played as more of a relaxed, selfless, and reserved type of character who seldom speaks up in open conversation, but is chattery over indirect communications. More on that down below

I'm very proud of the work I've put into this character's page, and I sincerely hope I'll make good use of it in-game for RP.

---

Garret Brennar began as a graduate student seeking out an opportunity to become something much larger -- and the day something big fell onto his lap was when he discovered what he truly could do. Gifted from birth with a rapidly-expanding intellect, he set out to join the meta-human ranks of international superheroes by putting his mind and imagination to the test, becoming one of Millennium City's newest power-suited superheroes. Once the suit was finished, he assumed the alternate identity of Citadel and set out to make whatever sort of difference he was capable of.

The following is the "non-origin" biography of the character. For Citadel's "true origins" please follow this link and read the provided section.

Garret Brennar is considered an interstellar orphan -- a Loxen-Shik half-breed subspecies (a combination of Earth's wolf and shark species) of the enigmatic Thoram civilization. Almost immediately after birth, his genetic parents had sent him away in a cryogenic escape pod to keep him out and away from their drawn-out war. As detailed here, his pod had traveled to Earth and landed in the suburbs of Detroit, Michigan, to be found and picked up by a normal American family. A camoflaging protocol built into the vessel changed his appearance to the native dominant species, allowing him to easily blend in -- however, due to being a recent newborn, he is wholly unaware of his true nature and origin. From birth, he was unusually intelligent with an affinity towards researching and developing technology and at the age of twelve a swimming accident triggered the camoflaging protocol to disable, turning him into his natural, developed appearance.

With his appearance revealed, Garret stands at an average height with a personality born and bred on Earth but with the extensive knowledge and intelligence of his race. He is highly athletic (but not in a superhuman way), though his talents are utilized more towards the development and tinkering of his signature powered exoskeletons.

"I may not have been born here, but I was raised here.
That makes this world more of a home to me than anywhere else in the galaxy."

In the beginning, Citadel had existed as nothing more than a nameless vigilante donning hockey pads, a motorcycle helmet, a diving wetsuit, and wielding a baseball bat that only swooped in during a small scuffle to tip the odds in the favor of whoever he thought were the "good guys." Then not long after he had made his first appearance, he disappeared without a single trace, gone for years and completely forgotten. Garret Brennar would not have had it any other way.

A student of the Detroit College for Creative Studies as the city was being rebuilt, Garret was essentially a social outcast with little to no friends to call his own. He kept himself shut in for most of his days while attending school and seldom left his small basement apartment. Although good-natured with a very easy-going personality, his colleagues saw him as nothing more than just a "notch above 'weird;'" Garret had been victim of slight profiling due to his appearance since he arrived in the city of Detroit during his high school years. It prevented him from really socializing, but as college began he would come to prefer this. His first degree was in Computer Science.

He enrolled in the Millennium City Institute of Technology and began to pursue another degree in Applied Robotics and Cybernetics as the city was nearing the end of its reconstruction knowing his love for technology would help him with a career upon earning the degree. To pay for this he had taken several decently-waged jobs and had to juggle schedules between school, and four different part-time jobs. Due to his aptitude for tech support, he also freelanced himself as a repair specialist for some of the more high-profile superheroes roaming the city that weren't able to do it on their own. Although his social anxiety didn't help him make contacts amongst these champions, the experiences he would learn from this job would prove beneficial for him in the future.

Slowly but surely he proceeded along to earn his Bachelor's Degree in Applied Robotics and Cybernetics, having earned it within two years due to having completed most of the required courses in his first degree program. Then he decided he wanted to pursue a Master's degree in the program, having earned more than enough money in all of his jobs to not even have to worry about financial aid. He began the three-year graduate program at the age of twenty-four.

He lived comfortably at his small apartment since he began college, but he felt that something was amiss -- he was correct. Underneath the wooden floorboards he had found a hole that led deep underground, and discovered what he would soon learn was a top-secret research bunker. It had been abandoned since quite a few years before his tenement was built, and the hole itself was cleverly covered by a thin layer of dirt on top of similarly thin wooden boarding. It was a small coicidence that he had only noticed it after investigating a creak in his own floorboards.

Within this bunker were several experimental technologies that were, for all intents and purposes, inoperable and never saw the light of day, but there were blueprints in particular that caught Garret's eye. From the designs laid out in the blueprints, it seemed that they were in the middle of developing a functional suit of powered armor but were, unfortunately, never able to find a suitable power source and had an inefficient flight system. With his experience in tech support, most especially with heroes who wore powered armor, he took the blueprints and made a few adjustments to them with his own imaginations and designs.

His focus was on school, though, and it was only months away before he had intended to graduate with his Masters in Applied Robotics and Cybernetics. He stowed the plans somewhere safe in his apartment until he was ready to return to them. He would go back every now and then to make a few adjustments, and during this time he had called in a few favors to recover some crucial pieces to make it functional.

Finally, he had graduated with his Master's and having nothing to worry about in ways of student loans (a miracle, in this day and age) he went right to work on making the blueprints of the power suit come to life.

It was a months-long effort, and he needed help from a lot of different contacts he knew, but upon the moment the first iteration of the TITAN was assembled he had taken immediately to the streets.

Spoiler Warning
The following details are about a player-created storyline, or is information currently unrevealed about a character.
Please do not use this information ICly unless given permission to do so.

Personality

• Always Up for a Good First Impression -- He tries not to make too much of a blunder of himself when first meeting a new person. A lot of people throughout his college life had appreciated this quality of him.
  

• Confident -- He's brash, he's flirty -- basically, just overly confident. Of course, this may be a fault of his as he can easily be distracted by the simpler things that he feels he's good at.

• Outgoing -- Garret has been making strides since graduating from his Master's program to be a little more proactive in social activity, frequenting clubs and bars around Millennium City in hopes to achieve such. However, despite his confidence, he is still somewhat shy and nervous around very large crowds, and the other sex.
  

• Determined -- When his mind is set, he follows it. Despite the TITAN being put-off from completion for the last few months of his graduate program, he was still able to complete it. Despite his dream to work on the TITAN, he was still able to acquire his Master's Degree.
  

• Expansive Intelligence -- Garret has been, from birth, a brilliant individual with not only an active mind, but the resolve to see his designs come to fruition. He graduated from High School at the age of fourteen and began college only at fifteen years of age, having gone through two full degree programs as well as a Master's program for Applied Robotics and Cybernetics.
  Taking his true origins into account, Garret's impressive level of intelligence was an inheritance from his alien parents -- though, without proof of said origins, he firmly believes that it is a result of his supposed mutation.
  

• Inhuman Athleticism -- Not many would be able to see it on their first meeting with Garret, but he is able to run faster and jump higher/farther than normal human beings (though not enough to be considered "superhuman"). Many speculate that it is a result of his mutation.

• Small Frame -- The suit amplifies his strength, but when he's not wearing it Garret has a much weaker body frame, and therefore is not able to take part in physical combat without the aid of the TITAN -- and if he does, he risks the possibility of near-certain death.
  

• "Not the gills!" -- A downside to being a shark-anthro is having the physical qualities of a shark, and that includes its weaknesses. As such, Garret is easily stunned when punched in his gills. Thankfully for him, his armor covers and protects his entire neck. It would take an EXTREMELY PRECISE attack to hit against his neck with enough force that it slams against the gills through the armor.
  

• Distracted -- Garret admits to being distracted almost all of the time. This doesn't bode well, most of all, in a combat-heavy setting where his distractions can often cause him to lose focus of the issue at-hand, and get he or his teammates hurt.
  

• "I Only have a Master's Degree!" -- Garret considers himself brilliant and highly intelligent, so when there is a question that he does not know the answer to, he blames the fact that he only finished school with a Master's Degree instead of a Doctorate for his lack of knowledge.

The utility suit is exactly as it sounds -- it is worn when Garret chooses not to wear the TITAN exoskeleton. It provides bare-minimum protection, but is flexible enough to allow Garret total mobility. It essentially is a lightweight kevlar bodysuit with armored padding underneath the upper layer. It has no other functionality, but is normally outfitted with numerous pouches along chest and hip harnesses.

The inception of the utility suit came from the need of having something that was functional, but lightweight and quiet. It basically serves no purpose other than being, well, a utility suit.

When he is in this outfit, Garret normally wears his signature jacket over it.

Status: DECOMMISSIONED
Critical Battle Damage
The former top-secret project conducted by a contracted R&D corporation never saw the light of day beyond its design phase until Garret took a peek at the blueprints and plans for the TITAN Power Suit years later. Its initial design, while somewhat functional and practical, was missing a few key components -- as Garret took notice of -- that should have prevented the project from moving beyond even its initial concept phase. Though it was an ambitious and reasonable project, it was not only missing a suitable power source but its flight stabilizers and hydraulics systems were severely outdated or just not possible to reproduce in a suitable way. With the help of some connections through some of the larger international tech corporations, Garret had managed to put together a more reliable system and was also able to build a power source for the suit.

His design consisted of a form-fitting bodysuit made of a flame-resistant carbon polymer similar to kevlar with lightly-armored padding in numerous different panels along the suit, itself. The bodysuit was made with three layers, with the top-most layer providing the most protection. In between the first and the second layers is a complex system of magnetic rails (Explained in a later section). The second layer of the bodysuit is composed of an adaptive gel composition that conforms to the body of its wearer, and maintains body and physical temperature on a situational basis. In between the gel and the third layer are tubes fed from the Palladium reactor situated in the center of the whole system, either in the chest piece or the armored cowl wrapped around his neck. The third layer is a thinner fabric that simply provides comfort for its wearer. The armor, itself, is made of a lightweight titanium plating that is aerodynamic and comfortable for sustained flight, and only covers the chest, forearms to the hands, and the shins to the feet.

The helmet functions in different "modes" depending on Garret's combat status, though he is able to switch to and from different modes at full will. Pieces of the helmet are stored both in Garret's faceplate as well as a metal cowl wrapped around the base of his neck -- and when combat erupts, a simple thought allows the helmet to fully assemble around his head.

The Heads-up-Display installed in the helmet relays combat information and links to the PRIMUS Database for communicative purposes, allowing Garret to communicate with other heroes without having to use a short-wave radio. He had recovered tech to put in a "Faster-Than-Light" All-Frequency relay, which is installed in the headpiece itself. Not only does it allow him to communicate to beings beyond the atmospheric scope of Earth, but with it linked up to the PRIMUS database it gives him real-time information on every hero that uses any communications channel.

Although not armed in the traditional sense, the suit converts much of its power to the repulsors installed on the TITAN's gauntlets and boots, allowing the user to either stabilize himself in flight or fire powerful focused rays at any opponent, with the potential of knocking said opponent quite a few feet away in a controlled burst. Garret has also modified the energy output to be able to unleash a massive wave of force to knock a surrounding group of enemies away in a single, concentrated blast. The jets installed in his boots also have the same functionality.

The suit is capable of subsonic, low-atmospheric flight.

Further modifications might enable deep-space travel, but he's well without the range of that type of technology.

The underlayer of the TITAN armor is lightweight and compact enough to be worn underneath loose clothing, with the major armor pieces being assembled out of the armored cowl usually wrapped around Garret's neck, which contains all of the major pieces of the armor, itself. Magnetic rails underneath the first layer of the bodysuit would direct specific parts to where they needed to be assembled. There are small ports along the bodysuit through which the energy is fed into the various components of the armor after they had been locked in place.

The bodysuit allows for flexibility and mobility as Garret wears the armor.

• Garret's mask serves two different purposes. First, and foremost, it is equipped with a modulation unit that alters his outward speaking voice. Its more obvious function is to allow regular breathing when in flight, or when underwater.

• The suit automatically stores air within the turbines on the chestpiece, which allows Garret to breathe normally when under stressful situations such as sub-sonic flight and underwater diving.

Status: ACTIVE

To counter the replicating abilities of his newly-supposed nemesis, the construct calling itself LAIR, Garret had endeavored to develop an entirely new variant. With his experience in the design of the previous versions, he drew up the plans for the new suit and dubbed it, simply, CITADEL. The purpose of the new suit design was to provide substantial defense while maintaining a heightened allowance of atheletic ability.

Following his first face-to-face encounter with LAIR, the bodysuit of the Mark I variant was completely shredded and the actual armor was demolished beyond repair. After getting back to the drawing board, he analyzed all of the weaknesses with the minimalistic plating and had striven to improve the suit on every aspect, starting with how it was functioned in terms of mobile assembly.

He replaced the kevlar-like composition of the original bodysuit with an experimental nanite polymer that, by way of Sequential Twitch Recognition (S.T.R.) -- a feature specific to the TITAN Mark II that allows Garret to simply twitch his fingers in a set sequence in order to assemble the suit while on the move -- forms completely around his body, giving him what is, essentially, a flexible armored shell underneath the armor, itself. The bodysuit is designed to provide just as much protection as the titanium plating while remaining lightweight enough for intense acrobatic feats, coupled with the fact that the suit not only amplifies physical strength as an Exoskeleton, but it amplifies acrobatic ability just as well.

The assembly process is streamlined and simple, adopted from the previous model's mobility functions. Activated either by S.T.R. or by manual release, the first body-forming layer of the nanosuit forms underneath Garret's clothing in a quick and painless process. The rest of the process requires his clothing to be off, however, but this is done through a vacuum built into the reassembly module that stores his clothing and memorizes how it was worn -- a feature that Garret toiled over for a long time even before he began to restore the TITAN suit. Once the clothing is off, the next two layers form with the tubing required for powering the whole system seeping in between the second and third layer. Once the nano-polymer bodysuit was completed, assembly can go one or two ways. The first, and most-used, method is the storage of the armored plating in the metal cowl equipped around Garret's neck and torso, which assembles in different modules as the system is activated in the same manner as the first iteration of the TITAN armor -- lightweight magnetic rail strips placed underneath the first layer of the armor brings the plating to where they need to be fully assembled.

The whole process can be done in as quickly as five seconds, necessary for the emergency response feature Garret installed into it for whenever he is in immediate danger.

• Higher Physical Durability -- The Mark II was designed specifically to provide for extreme protection against any form or method of attack, through both the armored plating and the nano-woven fibers that makes up the bodysuit. The Mark I only had the chestpiece and the kevlar-equivalent bodysuit to protect him. This does not mean that he is fully invulnerable, but any damage he takes is easily mitigated short of concentrated kinetic energy.
  
• Updated Targetting System -- The upgrades made to the helmet of the Mark II improves the performance of real-time battlefield information, and allows him to indirectly target hostiles -- a feature that is useful for the updated weapons systems.
  
• Updated Weapons Systems -- As alluded to previously, the Mark II allows the suit to be armed with ballistic weapons, with power fed through the suit's reactor -- a feature that, because of the lack of space on the Mark I, was not feasible. The only drawback to this updated system is the finite amount of ammunition required for each weapon module, which he has very little room for all of his ballistic weapons.
  
• Higher Energy Output -- With a much more powerful suit, Garret had to increase the output of his Palladium reactor to compensate, resulting in it being much more reliable for intense situations. As a result, the suit fires focused beams with more kick, and flight speed has been substantially increased. The energy fed into the suit could power it for two months straight without needing to be recharged, but a straight burn-out of his energy would require at least seventy-two hours to recharge the reactor.
  
• Equipped Bodysuit -- The armor has the kick and punch, but the bodysuit as a stand-alone platform is capable of utilizing the repulsor technology, though it is severely powered-down. Repulsor strength is maintained at a fifth of its capabilities to maintain the bodysuit for a longer period of time. Coupled with the extra layer of protection it provides, Garret is able to hold his own in physical combat without the armor for a short amount of time -- by his own estimates, the suit and the relatively-miniature reactor built into it could last for six hours if used in intense situations.

The "Grondbuster" (Formal designation, TITAN Mark II Heavy-Duty Exoskeleton) is a larger-framed suit designed to not only provide indomnitable protection but amplify Garret's strength to a maximum degree -- at the cost of greatly reduced speed and mobility. It is a modular add-on to the Mark II platform and retains much of its appearance with the exception of a larger chest piece to house a modified and expanded reactor on the back rather than in the front of the chest, itself. Unlike the Mark II, it is too large for mobile assembly and, therefore, must be done so at a designated assembly "plant."

It retains the same functionality as the standard armor with the obvious exception of its massive strength amplification. As the name suggests, the armor was built specifically for the purpose of enabling Garret the ability to hold his own in high-intensity physical combat with anyone having the physical equivalence of Grond, though the upper limitation of the suit's endurance is wholly unknown -- possibly far less than was originally intended.

03/25/13 -- Garret intercepted a call from a hero in need of assistance with a massive group of thugs of the Red Banner cult. He was joined by Wyvern and Diverboy Edge to assist what Garret thinks was an android named Mei Li. Though the massive horde of gangbangers was eventually dealt with by the team of four, it begs the question as to why such a massive group would attack a single woman -- an ancient artifact was taken, evidentally, and they were willing to go to any lengths to get it back.

03/27/13 -- While on patrol in Westside, Millennium City, Garret was shot down by an anti-air missile fired from a portable, hand-held launcher. He was knocked out of the sky and crashed into a nearby warehouse, where he was then pursued by VIPER agents that were in the area. It was a decently-sized group that was easy to knock around, but Garret was forced to leave when a group of powered armor footsoldiers joined the fray. It is possible that Garret had stumbled across a closely-guarded secret and was taken out (or close to it) because of it.

03/28/13 -- A particularly eventful day/evening for Garret as he not only stopped a VIPER assassination attempt on Mayor Biselle, but he took part in combat later on with supposed VIPER agents who brought along a creature very much resembling Diamondback. Alongside the assistance of Liberty's Shield, Iron, Hyena, Blackwing, and Muscle Wizard they had managed to rescue Panzer from the villains, though Panzer was rendered temporarily unconscious due to a fall from 50 feet. Though the reptilian managed to escape, the rest of its cohorts were incapacitated and subdued.

04/08/13 -- While expecting a package that held components necessary to complete Garret's newest suit variant, he had received a package he believed to be the one that was unmarked, but a good size. He set it down on the floor of his penthouse apartment and was preparing to get set to work until the package exploded, having been a make-shift bomb, and the reactive countermeasures of the TITAN armor began to quickly assemble the suit - but not before Garret was sent hurtling out of the apartment's windows in a ten-story freefall down onto the roof of the adjacent building. The suit abosrbed most of the impact but was severely damaged. Garret was knocked unonscious before being rescued by a group of heroes composed of Hyena, Atomac, Wyvern, Guidelight, with the later addition of Light Insignia to heal Garret's wounds caused by massive amounts of shrapnel. Wyvern stayed around to help him down into his "backup" apartment and the two struck up a casual conversation.

05/06/13 -- Citadel was called upon as one of several heroes by Protectors of the World leader Sparrowhawk to help in a battle over Brasilia, Brazil, against the mechanical menace of Black Snake and his fleet of robotic soldiers. Garret was responsible for relaying a "shut-down" code (provided to him by Sparrowhawk) to all of the robots and aided in subduing Black Snake by acting as a living wrecking ball. This would be his first operation as an honorary member of the Protectors.

05/08/13 -- What was supposed to be a normal day quickly turned to chaos. The Blackwatch Tower was in the process of being rebuilt and as a result of this, many of the Blackwatch members freely available were called in to update their access codes and organizational profiles -- or so they thought. A replicating superbeing named Absorption not only took all of their precious information, but also drained the meta-human powers many of them exhibited, and left those who relied on personal technology devoid of their conveniences -- Garret notwithstanding. It was a struggle to bring the security protocols back online for the base, but the Blackwatch had to resort to chasing down the instigator, cornering her high in the sky on the roof of one of the Rennaissance Center's buildings. Having absorbed too much power from other heroes, the creature became unstable and eventually exploded.

• Wyvern/Jeanne -- "I met Jeanne when I answered a distress call in Westside. I only know so little about her, but she's a great gal who can kick a lot of ass. That's really all I need to know, and I know enough not to get on her bad-side."
  

LAIR

Threat Level:

██	██	██	██	██	██	██	██	██

A second-generation A.I. construct unveiled as to become a forbearer of cybernetic and android advancement, the F.R.E.E. (Free-Replicant Endoskeletal Extension) Android was supposedly based on self-replicating technology that allows the A.I. to copy itself onto multiple different platforms to allow for synchronization between the different systems. As the technology developed the platform, itself, was eventually rendered outdated as newer and more improved models were pushed out for production. As far as a self-replicating A.I. goes, the second-generation did not seem overly thrilled that it was being rendered obsolete. It went on a rampage and destroyed the future of the project, altogether, and adopted an extremely vengeful and cold personality towards human beings or those made of flesh. Extraterrestrials notwithstanding.

Through its prototype replication technology the construct is able to recreate itself in the image of the being it percieves at its greatest threat -- and the first individual it came across was Garret while he was on patrol. It is able to copy appearances near-exact, but it is not able to copy abilities, relying only on its strength and information feed to give itself tactical superiority over any given situation.

The first bout with LAIR rendered Garret's Mark I armor effectively demolished, forcing him to develop the Mark II Citadel variant of his powered armor. As a result of this encounter, the construct developed a cold and vengeful personality through the information it had gathered and endeavored to be a "professional villain," utilizing its replication technology to craft itself a sizable force of robots.

It models its own personality after villainous Masterminds such as Doctor Destroyer.

Has your character run across Garret/Citadel? Leave a comment on what they think of him here!

Comments

"I'd comment about myself, but that'd just be ridiculous. I already like me." -- Citadel | @Kurama0900 "He has some growth to show, but the potential's obviously there. He's bright, unrelenting and understands teamwork. I hope our paths cross in the future." -- Sparrowhawk | @pallas001

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Comments

I'd comment about myself, but that'd just be ridiculous. I already like me. -- @Kurama0900

Post a Comment CommentBox created by @Maekada

• Garret has done medium-wage tech-support for a wide variety of heroes, some even before they took up the vigilante call, around Millennium City. If yours is a tech character and has lived in Millennium for the past ten years, you might have hired Garret and you might recognize him if you choose to do so.
  
• He attended the Millennium City Institute of Technology for a total of six years. If your character has attended this college, it's very likely that they've come across Garret at least once or twice.

• Not very many people would know as this never circulated past its original source, but Garret entertained the idea of a modeling career -- told early on during college that his "exotic appearance" would be a welcome addition to the growing list of superheroes that have provided their likenesses in modeling shoots. One day after assuming the identity of Citadel, Garret took the offer up and provided a centerfold-style pin-up to the magazine Heroes Unmasked which became a very brief hit with the furry community at the time (but never made viral status, to which Garret has been thankful for).

Immediate Music - Surrender to Hope -- There's nothing quite like blasting away your enemies and punching their faces in while listening to probably one of the most moving and engaging epic pieces trailer music studios can provide.

Immediate Music - With an Iron Fist -- This is the music he pictures playing whenever he's called to fight against an insanely difficult enemy that so many other heroes have tried to fight, and is suiting up in his armor just for the ocassion.

Immediate Music - Def Con - The music that would be playing when Garret is fighting.

Charayana - Liberation - Garret's a big fan of Trance. Who knew?