Ordnance

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A gifted and youthful new face to the world of vigilantism, Stephen Hartley has lived a life of hardship; forging him into young man of determination. Outwardly a charming and intelligent young man if somewhat deceptively naive, Stephen Hartley harbours a past that is an ever present weight on his shoulders. His father coming from a line of expert archers, Hartley idolized his father’s skill and his former role as a vigilante. However, he was born with extremely basic but dangerous pyrokinetic abilities. Stephen renounced his use of them after an accident in his childhood town on the outskirts of Toronto left his sister in a near comatose state. Terrified of what he had done the eight year old fled across the country to the coast with help of a sympathetic cousin where he stowed away on a freight headed for parts unknown…

Now of 19 years of age, Hartley has returned from 11 years of relative seclusion to the world armed only a compound bow, a craving to honour his families’ legacy and a burning desire to right the wrongs he has convinced himself he is the cause of and prove to himself that he doesn’t need his abilities to do good- the abilities that he has near suppressed to a point of non-exsistance.

History

Hartley’s origin to the role of Ordnance does not revolve around the loss of parents, though they still play a significant part in where he is today. He was born to an average middle class family in the outskirts of Toronto, not well off but not particularly rich. His father and father before him descend from a long line of master archers, regarded as some of the best marksmen in the world. The actions of his father as a former vigilante in the nearby city became Hartley’s lifeblood, his own personal Hero. Just as his father did, Hartley demonstrated a natural talent for the skill, so much that it eclipsed even his father’s expectations as he began to train with the weapon from a young age.

But this skill was not the only weapon in his arsenal. From the age of 8 he began to display signs of metahuman ability triggered by a dormant gene finally triggered by his body’s aging. Able to manipulate fire and even generate small amounts of it, his new found powers became a source of great pride for him; but also soon to be his downfall. His older 14 year old sister heavily bullied at school for being bi-curious, the acts of violence escalated until a point where our young hero couldn’t help but to step in. Reckless and unknowning of the true extent of his abilities, he struck out against her attackers. The result was the burning down of their entire school as well as the near death of both his sisters and their attackers. Horrified at actions and now on the run, he was helped across and out of the country by a relative, smuggled onto a ship bound for China; a new life.

This new life however turned out to be rather a different matter from what he was expecting. The ship sank in the South China Sea, becoming marooned on a remote island with a large group of the sailors he’d been sailing with. This little community survived independently for six years, though racked by in fighting and death. The harsh years forged Hartley into a brutal fighter and reinforced his mastery marksmanship- becoming a good shot with nearly any and everything he could get his hands on. His island was eventually stumbled upon by a small fishing vessel with took the now teen to China.

The youthful teen eagerly caught up with the new world he had been landed in after so many years of seclusion and looking over his shoulder constantly. Somewhat of a drifter, he began a steady path across Asia- seeking teaching from any Guru or trainer that he could to appease his growing skills and intellectual capacity. Kind and ever charming if somewhat socially reclusive, he would always move before anyone could consider him too much of a friend, before anything could truly root him place. It was around this time when the vigilante named Ordnance began a string of crime stopping acts across Asia and Europe, carving a line of initially unsuccessful but later refined and practiced justice. Finally coming to an end of his global journey, Ordnance has decided to venture home to North America, believing himself nearly worthy enough to return home and become Stephen Hartley again.

Characteristics

Appearance

Ordnance is a 19 year old man, not quite a full adult yet though he possesses the physique of one. His figure is slim but well-toned and muscled from intense and frequent training. He has lighter chestnut hair leaning slightly towards blond, deep green eyes and unkempt stubble. Fairly handsome and attractive features, but nothing to drool over. When dressed as Ordnance, his costume is of a fairly minimalist design. He wears only a simple mask to conceal his identity, not as worried as other heroes might be over concealing his identity due to his previous tendency to suddenly leave without warning. His costume follows a practice design, tight fitting combat gear, a mixture of cloth and leather with interwoven Kevlar armour.

Personality

Ordnance is a young man who is very hard not to like. In his day to day persona of Stephen Hartley he is charming, friendly and someone guided by a strict moral compass, always the one to stand up for the little guy. He’s good at making small talk, and with or without the mask is often the type to crack a sarcastic comment or joke to try and lighten the mood. He can handle himself in the game of flirting too, though rarely does he attempt to go anywhere with such comments. He gives off a deceptively carefree nature, making him always just a little late or barely on time. He also often gives off a naïve, youthful impression, though from his travels he is very hardened to the harsh reality of the world.

Despite this nature, he is very rare and hesitant to make friends- his travelling nature meaning he prefers to have no strings tying him down to one place. Be it love or deep friendship, Ordnance will avoid trying to have any of these, even if it means being extremely rude.

Skills

Weapons Skills:

Ordnance’s main focus above all else is his skills with ranged weaponry. He is a master with such weaponry, told to be able to make a perfect hit with most weapons at any range. Master of Bows- His main focus, Ordnance is undisputedly a master with Bows. Having trained his entire life to use the weapon including tutoring from his own father and a whole host of different tutors globally. His recurve bow is the only possession he has kept with him for his entire 11 year global journey. His mastery of bows also extends to other forms of Bows such as longbows, compound bows and crossbows.

Proficient with sidearms- While not his prime focus, Ordnance has had a lot of hands on training with more standard guns, even receiving military grade training during his stays in Germany and Spain. He is capable with pistols, assault rifles and sniper rifles. While he does not frequently make use of them, he will not hesitate to if need be.

Martial Arts:

Ordnance picked up an advanced understanding of a variety of martial arts during his travels across Asia in his initial years after his marooning on the island. He never perused mastery in any of these however, instead focusing on mastering his chosen form of weaponry. His younger age also means whole he trained in these forms and has created a hybridized mesh- he is hardly a master combatant up close.

Proficient in Eskrima- In the Philippines Ordnance trained in Eskrima, an art forms emphasising weapons based fighting. Ordnance uses his training in it to help him utilize his knives, bow as an improvised staff and other improvised weaponry more efficiently

Capable in Muay Thai– Ordnance is skilled in Muay Thai, able to incorporate all of his body and limbs into various free-flowing combat techniques which compliments his often acrobatic form of close quarters combat- using his whole body and its movements as a weapon.

Proficient of Ninjutsu– Ordnance trained in Ninjutsu from one of the natives on the island, the stealth training helping him escape many violent confrontations on the Island as a much younger and weaker child. The accompanying shuriken training also went a ways to improve his preference for ranged weaponry, and while very proficient in stealth as a general he prefers to be further away from the action as much as possible.

Trained in German ju-jutsu– Ordnance took a brief tutoring in Ju-jutsu in an attempt to improve his general unarmed fighting after a string of close encounters during his brief pause in German on his travels. Training under a German police officer he learnt a variant of the technique taught to German Police officers, which also helped him during a brief undercover stint in the forces.

Academics:

While never having gone through any full education process due to his marooning on the island and ever moving nature, Ordnance is far from being an uneducated fool

Languages- Due to his constant travels, Ordnance is an expert linguist and is passable for native in many different countries.

Craftsmanship- After his years on the island and training, Ordnance is an expert craftsman. He makes the vast majority of his gear, and is excellent at improvising with what little he has around him.

Electronics and Metallurgy- Stemming from his crafting skills, Ordnance is well versed in the materials of his trade, especially for crafting his trick or standard arrows.

Metahuman:

While deeply suppressed to the point of near abandonment, Ordnance’s innate power cannot be ignored.

Pyrokinesis- Ordnance has a basic yet powerful ability to control fire and even generate it, usually needing physical movements to guide the path of the flame or generate it from his limbs. While Ordnance no longer uses this ability, and rather resents his connection to such metahuman powers, it’s effects are somewhat residual.

Weaknesses

Youthful- While Ordnance is by no means ignorant and Naïve, his youth can sometimes lead him to be a little reckless in the heat of the moment, which can put him at risk

Low Esteem- Despite his successes, Ordnance still regards himself in a negative light, stemming from the original incident that trigged his adventures. He is unsure in his capabilities and even his own body.

Biologically unstable- While his attempts to contain his metahuman abilities are successful, little does he know that the more he suppresses them, the more unstable they become. He cannot hide from them forever.

Allies and Friends

Codename: Hephaestus

Hephaestus is Ordnance's technology broker. He came into contact with Stephen Hartley during his travels across Asia. Ordnance doesn't know the identity of Hephaestus, he was simply contacted by the entity just before leaving China. They are a veritable technological genius, manufacturing many of Ordnance’s gadgets and other technology, or the supplies Ordnance needs to craft his own tools and gear. He does not know why the entity helps him, but neither does he turn down the assistance that allows him access to funds and tech that the not exactly well off Ordnance couldn't possibly hope to obtain on his own.