| Introduction
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xxxxxRichard's the sort of guy that had everything all planned out ahead of time. Go to college, get into the corporate game through his family's connections, and then go into politics. He had money, he was good with people, he wanted - deserved - power, this was obviously the way to go.
xxxxxThen he manifested mutant abilities. Well, that threw a wrench into his plans. It's just not fair. What do you do when your entire life's carefully laid plans have been thrown into chaos?
xxxxxHe'll just have to figure that out.
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| History
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xxxxxThe first-born son of a Boston lawyer and a socialite, Richard never wanted for anything growing up. He wasn't foisted off on nannies for the most part, but that might have been an improvement, since the lessons he learned from his family were ones of ruthlessness. He had to look out for number one, because everyone else would be too. His siblings were encouraged to compete for their parents' affection and attention - and money.
xxxxxHis early school years were spent with private tutors, although he went away to boarding school for his high school years so as to make connections with other well-to-do young men and women. He was a popular young man, swiftly gathering a clique of like-minded individuals around him and coasting easily through the savage seas of the adolescent social world.
xxxxxHe long ago knew his path in life. He was going to go to business school, get a job working for one of a handful of corporations he already had contacts with through the parents of his boarding school friends, and proceed from there into politics. Maybe eventually make a run for Congress or a governorship. He was a born leader of men, in his mind, and he'd damn well lead them.
xxxxxThat was his plan. After a single year of Columbia Business School, that plan lay in ruins, as his mutant ability manifested - changing him, and his life, forever. He was fortunate that nobody else actually saw the initial event, when - after a fight with his then-girlfriend - he slammed his fist into the hood of his car and cut straight through it and the engine like it was made of butter, lines and angles gleaming upon his hand and arm as if to mock him with his new identity.
xxxxxThere was no way, he knew, that he could go into politics now. Nobody would vote for a /mutant/, not the way the wind was blowing in the world. His parents would disown him when they found out. He'd be cut off from his money, from high society, from the whole world he was born into.
xxxxxIt was so god-damned unfair.
xxxxxHe stopped going to college. His parents still think he's attending Columbia, not realizing that he's actually just taking the money and spending it on himself in a self-destructive spiral. Sooner or later, he'll either hit bottom, or he'll find new purpose in his life.
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| Powers
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xxxxxRichards mutation is the ability to control molecular cohesion. While this is a rather exotic sounding ability, the manifestation of it is actually quite simple in most cases.
xxxxxThe primary use of his ability is to break down the molecular cohesion of materials that he touches. This allows him to tear through metal like it was tissue paper, dig through concrete as if it were wet clay, and generally break down and rip apart any inanimate material that he can get his hands on. To the untrained eye, it might appear as if hes simply extremely strong during many of these strange feats. This power does come at a cost; while destroying a paper cup or even a reinforced door is easy enough, breaking down the cohesion of particularly strong materials is damaging to him. It is not, however, tiring -- if he was trying to dig a tunnel through solid stone, or tearing through a junkyard in a destructive tantrum, he might not even notice anything was wrong until he started bleeding from the nose. As time passes, his resilience against this effect will increase, and at first he has no idea that he even has a limit like this.
xxxxxThe secondary but in some ways more interesting use of his power is the ability to reinforce molecular cohesion. This allows him to strengthen materials that hes in contact with, and even stick them to other objects, although when he releases the item the reinforcement fades entirely within a minute. Still, it can serve to reinforce and seal a door long enough to buy some time. One frequent use of his ability is to reinforce his clothes so that they're resistant to bullets and edged weapons - although its still just cloth, so doesnt do much against a punch. While this use of his power doesnt have the destructive consequences that his primary use, its still tiring, akin to tensing a muscle and holding it there. The harder the substance is to begin with, and the stronger he makes it, the more physically exhausting it can be.
xxxxxWhen using his ability, a honeycomb effect of glowing golden lines etches along his skin near the point of what hes affecting, tracing out the molecular structures of whatever material he's currently in contact with.
xxxxxA notable limitation of his power is that he cant use it on living materials - no tearing people apart, or destroying living trees. What he doesnt know is that his power /can/ be used on living materials, but he has a strong mental block against doing so. Nothing short of severe trauma or psychic interference is likely to be able to break him through this block.
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| Connections
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Friends
Foes
And everything in between
- Marrow - Freaky looking girl. Not too bright. Probably gonna get herself killed.
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| Gallery
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[[Image:|x150px]]
[[Image:|x150px]]
[[Image:|x150px]]
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| Richard James "RJ" Lawton
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| Codename
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None
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| Birthdate
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November 8th, 1991
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| Species
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Mutant
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| Affiliation
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None
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| Alignment
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Questionable
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| Powers
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Manipulation of Molecular Cohesion
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| Occupation
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College Dropout / Idle Rich Kid
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| RP Hooks
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| Born with a Silver Spoon - Richard's from a wealthy family with powerful connections; anyone with similar circumstances might at least know of the Boston Lawtons, if not personally know one or two of them. Meeting at some sort of affair - past or present - is always possible.
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| Columbia Dropout - Did you attend Columbia University? Or teach there? He's technically still on the books as a student - he just doesn't show up to class anymore.
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| Self-Destructive! - What does any rich kid do when his plans for life are utterly destroyed? Get all emo about it. He's blowing his money out partying, getting drunk, doing dangerous things for the hell of it. He could run into all sorts of people while he's out destroying what's left of his life.
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