Difference between revisions of "Tom Harriman"

Tom always had a fascination with the military; and though his father was always guarded about his work, that only made Tom's curiosity grew. Having joined the RAF as enlisted Aircrew however, his father was insistant that Tom take the time to earn a proper education, so that he stood a much better chance of becoming an officer. After gaining a degree in Physics with Astrophysics from the University of Wales, Tom attended Sandhurst, and joined the British Army as an Officer.

Tom specialised as one of the Army's elite Paratroopers, and was deployed during numerous conflicts. During a tour in Afganistan his convoy was attacked, and his mutant ability manifested for the first time, resulting in him telekinetically hurling a damaged tank towards his attackers. Captain Harriman was subjected to a battery of tests before ultimately being quietly offered an honourable discharge on medical grounds.

The lack of action in his life began to wear on Tom, however. At first he joined various martial arts clubs - something he had done in his youth, and expanded upon in the military - and even an amateur ice hockey league, but it wasn't enough. Eventually he came to the decision to join the numerous masked crime fighters in New York as a vigilante, styling himself as a ninja under the name "Captain Untouchable".

All was well for quite some time, until Captain Untouchable attempted to stop a pyrokinetic mutant from robbing a jewelry store. Tom suffered severe burns as well as two gunshot wounds, and though an unidentified mutant later broke into the hospital and healed most of his injuries, the damage was done. Though Tom's identity was never released, his story did leak to the press and his employers were smart enough to put the pieces together. Ultimately he was asked to leave, to prevent the university from incurring any negative publicity.

When California passed the Mutant Registration Act in June 2009, Tom decided to register as a mutant to send a message to any of the students at the school who might have been hiding mutations of his own. Unfortunately, his past came back to haunt him: though he wasn't charged with any violent crimes for his vigilante activities, he did recieve a few minor entries on his criminal record, including one for carrying an unlicensed weapon - his katana - in public. That was enough to increase his threat rating in the mutant registry, and the school board felt that having a Level Three mutant on the staff could present "a health and safety risk to the student body". Only a temporary employee, the school elected not to renew Tom's contract.

Having been burned - metaphorically - yet again, Tom ultimately chose to return to his vigilante activities, this time adopting a more serious approach, and a less juvenile persona. As the bow-wielding "Orion", Tom used his abilities to accelerate arrows and projectiles for increased range and accuracy, and patrolled LA's streets disrupting petty crimes and attacks against the city's citizens. Over time, he began to apply his understanding of science and technology to make his simple bow and arrows even more effective and versatile.

Archery - Though not a genuine power, Tom relies extensively on archery while fighting crime as Orion. Orginally he used standard arrows: this proved restrictive, as he could not use the arrows directly against an opponent without risking serious physical harm. He has since developed "rubber-tipped" arrows - similar to the rubber bullets used in crowd control - to deal non-lethal damage, and is working on other ways to make his archery more versatile. He primarily uses a compound bow, though has been known to carry a pistol crossbow as well.

Martial Arts - Tom is a skilled martial artist, with experience in a variety of forms: both armed and unarmed. Typically he favours a style reminiscent of eastern martial arts like kung fu and jujutsu, but has demonstrated familiarity with boxing, kickboxing, and capoeira; as well as an assortment of weapons-based forms such as kendo, ninjutsu, and fencing.