Galacta Boi
From Unofficial Handbook of the Virtue Universe
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| Galacta Boi | |
| Player: @Ursas Minor | |
| Origin: | Natural |
|---|---|
| Archetype: | Peacebringer |
| Security Level: | 31 |
| Personal Data | |
| Real Name: | Adrian “Ryan” Berkeley |
| Known Aliases: | Ryan Hope |
| Species: | Human/Kheldian |
| Age: | actually 17, legally 19 |
| Height: | 5’9” |
| Weight: | 165 lbs. |
| Eye Color: | Blue |
| Hair Color: | Brown |
| Biographical Data | |
| Nationality: | United States citizen no criminal record, currently listed as a missing person |
| Occupation: | Former student, now registered nurse and professional superhero |
| Place of Birth: | Paragon City |
| Base of Operations: | Paragon City |
| Marital Status: | Single |
| Known Relatives: | Reginald Berkeley (father), Stephanie Berkeley (mother, deceased) |
| Known Powers | |
| Peacebringer power of shape-shifting, Flight, Personal Force Field, Light-based Energy Blasts, Ability to channel Kheldian light energy through his body to deliver enhanced physical attacks | |
| Known Abilities | |
| Fluent in English, excellent swimmer, advanced knowledge of astronomy and healing from his Kheldian symbiote | |
| Equipment | |
| Confidential | |
| No additional information available. | |
Contents |
[edit] Author’s Notes
Galacta Boi was originally created on the Victory Server, but never got the chance to be role-played or build up in level. I recreated him on Virtue to help a friend out with some early missions, and even though that friend stopped playing their toon, I left Galacta Boi on the Virtue Server.
Later on, when I was writing the plotline Emerald Vengeance for my character Esmereta, I needed a hero that would be in space and could potentially be a member of the Golden Men. The only one I had was Galacta Boi, so I reworked his history into something a lot more mature and compelling and thrust him into her story as a means of returning the bracers given to her by Hurricane McShane.
Again, however, he then saw no play time; what group could he be a part of? When the United Sentinels of America coalitioned with the Paragonian Knights, I knew that Galacta Boi could find a place among the Grae Academy.
So I went back and fleshed out the character, and this is what I got.
[edit] Biography
[edit] Dawn’s Hope, the Prequel
The Kheldian energy being known in its previous host as the heroine Dawn’s Hope was active as a superheroine during the 1950’s and early 1960’s on Earth and even later, as an older woman, fought during the initial Rikti invasion. Never revealing herself as a human joined with a Kheldian energy being, it was assumed that Dawn’s Hope was simply another heroine who wielded light energy-based powers. She was known to have worked with Galaxy Girl at some point on various cases, but it is not known if Galaxy Girl knew Dawn’s Hope’s true nature.
In her personal life, Laura Berns, the human host, was a nurse who lived in Galaxy City, and the Kheldian energy being sought her out as a worthy host due to her concern for helping her fellow man.
The Kheldian itself was ancient, having been around since the creation of the universe, and it had been inducted long ago into the small group of galactic champions known as the Golden Men. Thus after the Rikti invasion, Dawn’s Hope spent little time on Earth, trying to help other civilizations on other worlds who had felt the backlash of the war between the Kheldians and the Nictus.
The Kheldian had devoted its life to helping others and had studied many forms of medicine from countless worlds, always passing its knowledge along to its hosts, mostly female, almost always selecting hosts who showed interest in medicine and healing.
But it was not long after Dawn’s Hope left Earth that Laura started to finally give way to old age. Returning to Earth to enjoy her final days, Laura thanked the Kheldian for her time as Dawn’s Hope, that she felt no remorse for her years spent joined, and as she died and the two separated, the Kheldian left missing a dear partner, but knowing that its mission of healing was not over.
But Earth and its people needed healing, too, and so the Kheldian sought a new host by which it could bring the people of Earth together. But it had fought long and hard for eons, and it was becoming almost jaded to the plights that many faced.
[edit] Adrian Berkeley
Adrian Berkeley, or “Ryan,” as he preferred to be called, was the only child of Reginald Berkeley, the District Attorney in Paragon City, and Stephanie Berkeley who died when Ryan was five.
The Berkeley home was one that most people would dream of – the Berkeley’s had a large mansion in Founders’ Falls, and they were exceptionally wealthy. The Berkeley’s were truly a picture-book family on the outside even after Stephanie’s untimely death due to cancer.
Entering high school, Ryan’s father enrolled him in an exclusive military academy reserved for those sons of the “elite,” and Ryan would surely one day be a very powerful person in Paragon City, possibly even a Senator or President of the United States.
But Ryan was a very reserved teenager and chose mostly to keep to himself. Although his father wanted him to become a leader among his peers, Ryan wanted nothing to do with anyone. Ryan was in the closet, had never come to terms with being gay, and the strain to be the perfect son weighed so heavily on him that he couldn’t stand interacting with other people.
Mr. Brian MacAlister was Ryan’s English teacher and also the coach for the swim team. Mr. MacAlister watched Ryan as a freshman – the way he looked at things, his quiet charm, and also his never wanting to engage in the constant gossip of the other boys and their “conquests” – and saw something very familiar in Ryan. Although Mr. MacAlister was himself gay, he never said a word to Ryan, not wanting to hurt his feelings or make him feel uncomfortable. Instead, when Ryan was just becoming a sophomore, Mr. MacAlister invited Ryan to try out for the swim team.
Ryan turned out to be an excellent swimmer, graceful and powerful at the same time, devoting much of his free time to practice (thus allowing him to avoid a lot of social functions), and his father took great pride in his son’s ability, cheering him loudly from the stands (and expressing disappointment at home for failure). Ryan was his top prize, and he had told Ryan many times that Ryan would always have to live in such a way as to make the Berkeley family proud. And Ryan had done so, rising to the level of co-captain of the swim team by his junior year.
Ryan loved his father dearly, despite the constant pressure his father put him under. In Ryan’s mind, his father was successful in every way he could see – people loved him, he was excellent at his profession, he was incredibly intelligent, and he never gave up. All of these were traits Ryan wished he had, but his lack of confidence always told him he could never be anything like his father.
Reginald Berkeley was, in his own mind, a good father – he cared for his son greatly and wanted only the best for him for everything. He loved his son, and it hurt him when anything happened he thought could jeopardize his son’s future. Yes he criticized and even sometimes berated Ryan, but it was because he knew his son was capable of so much and wanted to see it realized. He hated that his son was so sheepish when he knew his son had the potential to be very successful at anything he ever wanted. Reginald Berkeley was the epitome of a proud father watching his son, in his own mind, throw his life away before him because of Ryan’s seeming inability to interact with anyone without evidencing how awkward he felt.
Ryan continued in school, earning top marks and developing excellent physical coordination, everything progressing for him as it should, except that he constantly felt what he perceived as his father’s disappointment, and it showed on Ryan’s face most of the time with a strained and sad look.
Finally, when senior year came, Ryan stayed co-captain of the swim team, not wanting the responsibility of captain, much to Mr. MacAlister’s shock (and his father’s very vocal, at home, disapproval). But Ryan didn’t want the social strains of being the captain; he just wanted to be himself, which was something he never felt he could be at home or at school.
As Ryan prepared for his first swim meet of his senior year, Reginald Berkeley had already been obsessing about the perfect college, the perfect career, and the perfect wife for Ryan. Ryan, on the other hand, became sullen and sulking, devoting all of his time to training, not wanting to hear his father’s expectations of him.
Richard MacAlister watched the boy, seeing the tension in him and deducing what might be the cause. Keeping his distance, he watched as Ryan spent every available moment training, pushing himself harder and harder.
And then he found Ryan one day after watching Ryan practice, huddled in the shower, crying. He had finally broke. Ryan was too upset to even try to straighten himself up when he heard the coach come in. But the coach didn’t yell at him or try to tell him anything; he just bent down by the boy, took him in his arms and held him while he sobbed.
When the sobbing stopped, Richard MacAlister told him it would be okay; he knew about Ryan, and it was okay, because he was gay too. For Ryan, that was the worst thing that he could hear; he didn’t want to have to deal with being gay or anyone knowing about it.
Ryan ran out of the shower, grabbed his clothing, and ran out of the school.
That was the last time that Ryan Berkeley was seen.
Twenty-four hours later, his father had placed a missing person’s report for his son, Richard MacAlister had been detained, questioned, and finally released, and Reginald Berkeley began using every resource at his disposal to find his son, even going so far as to personally post a million dollar reward for any information that lead to finding Ryan.
[edit] Galacta Boi Comes Into Existence
For the next two weeks, Ryan lived on the streets, a startling and life-changing event; he went from having everything to having nothing. And he felt he could never go back to school or face his father. And as the days wore on, the problem only became worse, forcing him to stay on the streets.
Ryan had made a makeshift living area in Perez Park, despite the Skulls’ and Hellions’ presence, and it was in his cave one night that a strange alien appeared to him.
Ryan had heard of Kheldians, but he had never seen one, and the alien startled him.
From the Kheldian’s perspective, the boy had called out to him, and he had come. The boy possessed something that the alien had begun to lose – wonder at the universe around him. And the Kheldian knew that it possessed something that the boy needed – confidence in himself, and the true freedom that could only be had by someone who knows that he or she has real power to affect not only his or her own life, but the lives of others.
And so it was that the Kheldian offered to the boy the prospect of joining with it, of knowing true power. Together they would never be alone. Ryan would give the Kheldian new insight and hope, and the Kheldian would help Ryan by sharing his life, giving him the courage and the confidence he needed.
Ryan willingly accepted, and the two of them joined. They would not be Dawn’s Hope – that was another person; together they would be Galacta Boi.
Almost immediately, sensing he could fly, Ryan and his symbiote travelled into space. It was an experience for both of them – Ryan seeing sights he could never have imagined, and the Kheldian seeing sights he had already seen thousands of times but through new, fresh, young eyes.
It was during this time that Ryan encountered the first other superhero he had met. Receiving a summons as a Golden Man, Galacta Boi responded to a call for help from the heroine Esmereta on Alpha Centauri Prime. Arriving on the planet, the heroine bade him return the gauntlets that all Golden Men wear to the one who had passed them to her – Hurricane McShane.
Ryan was confused – he wanted to help, but Esmereta told him to leave immediately. Taking direction as he always had, he flew away from the planet only to see in the distance what looked like a supernova. He knew there was no way that the heroine he had met could have survived, so with the shame of having not helped a galactic champion he returned to Earth to fulfill her final request.
Although the Kheldian kept telling him that he could have done nothing to prevent what was happening, Ryan still felt guilty and ashamed.
Finally finding Hurricane McShane, Ryan delivered the gauntlets and then abruptly left after telling McShane that he had witnessed the supernova and thought no one could have survived.
Ryan felt deeply hurt at his not having helped Esmereta, and he blamed himself for months for her death, the pain eating away inside of him, along with the pain he felt for abandoning his father and for being what he thought would be a disgrace to his father.
[edit] Galacta Boi Looks for Belonging
After his meeting with Hurricane McShane, Ryan took the advice of his Kheldian symbiote and mentor and tried to find a way to continue his life, eventually enrolling in the Paragonian Knights – Grae Academy, his only request that his whereabouts not be made known.
The new kid at school, Ryan remained the quiet, aloof sort, and he didn’t spend time getting to know classmates. In other words he acted exactly as he did when he was in school.
The Kheldian, knowing that Ryan must someday face his new life by coming to peace with his old life, convinced Ryan that although he must finish school, he must also stop acting in the same way as he had his whole life; he would have to face both Mr. MacAlister and explain why he ran out in such a state, leaving the man to answer questions that he couldn’t possibly, and also face his father and explain to him that he is his own person.
It was because of this the Kheldian, despite Ryan’s fear and self-loathing over his abandonment of Esmereta, convinced Ryan to apply for membership with The United Sentinels of America.
Ryan was terrified, and he didn’t know if the Sentinels would report him to the authorities. So in submitting his application he did not list his real name (not unusual), but asked that the ones who might recruit him would meet him in Pocket D and to look for a man in a red t-shirt and sunglasses.
The first Sentinel to show up was Lady Bombardier, and she saw Ryan sitting at a table in the red shirt, sunglasses, and wearing a wristband that showed he was too young for alcohol. She was quickly joined by Erudin, and the two of them tried to talk to Ryan, although he was so uncomfortable around them that Erudin left, leaving Lady Bombardier – Heather – to try to discern why he was so upset.
Being charming herself and having suffered loss, Heather was able to get Ryan to finally spill his secret and pain to her, and she told him the best news he had ever heard – Esmereta had survived her encounter on Alpha Centauri Prime and was a leader of the Sentinels. This was the best and worst news that he had ever heard, and he collapsed onto Heather crying; Ryan was elated that Esmereta had lived, but was even more ashamed now that everyone would know what a failure he was. She also told him that it being a hero had nothing to do with his sexuality, and that he owed it to his father to give him a chance to reconnect with his son.
Heather spent a lot of time talking with Ryan, assuring him that even if he thought he had no friends, no matter what, he now had one, and she would try to put in a good word for him with the Sentinels, and their talk led to him having the confidence to stay the course for his interview. Having to leave, Heather told Ryan to stay put and that other Sentinels would be coming to conduct his interview.
[edit] Galacta Boi Interviews for and Joins the Sentinels
Shortly thereafter Commander Prime and Vanessa Williams (aka Liberty Vanguard) arrived in Pocket D and found Ryan sipping a soft drink. Approaching the boy, they identified themselves as Sentinels who were present to conduct his interview.
Ryan, still nervous, immediately began apologizing for what happened with Esmereta which led to a brief confusion on Commander Prime’s part, to be followed by embarrassment and additional shame on Ryan’s part after Prime informed him that Esmerata was Prime’s wife.
Prime left Liberty Vanguard (who had transformed from Vanessa Williams in front of Ryan) to conduct the necessary testing, it was evident that Ryan was hiding something. Taking Ryan to Croatoa to stop Salamanca from slipping into the spirit world, the two fought side by side, Ryan taking note that Liberty Vanguard was much more self-assured than Vanessa Williams.
After successfully preventing the ceremony, the returned to HOME, the Sentinels orbiting base, where Liberty Vanguard asked point-blank why Ryan had run away from home and was in hiding from his father. After much discussion, Ryan finally admitted to her he was gay. Liberty Vanguard, being the embodiment of the fight for freedom for all, could not understand what Ryan’s sexuality had to do with anything – he loved his father, his father loved him, and he was a hero – that was all that mattered.
Ryan couldn’t understand Liberty Vanguard’s view, telling her over and over that no matter what, his sexuality would come to the fore at some point, and that if he returned to his father and told him the truth, it would not only cause his father to be disappointed in him, something he couldn’t live with, and probably ruin his father’s Congressional run.
At that point Liberty Vanguard told him the interview was over and that he was not fit to be a Sentinel, not knowing or acknowledging his true potential as a hero, and she promptly marched off to the Sentinels meeting that was about to occur without letting Ryan make his say.
Ryan, being a member of a the Grae Academy, was welcome to stay for the meeting, and he took a seat in the back, intending on addressing Liberty Vanguard as soon as the meeting was over.
During the meeting Sharpshooter Naga, one of the leaders of another super team that was allied with the Sentinels, made the comment that many of the men in her super team may as well have been women, soliciting Ryan to loudly clear his throat.
After the meeting, Liberty Vanguard went to make her report to American-Marvel and Sol Imperium about Ryan’s application. Lady Bombardier was also there, and before Liberty Vanguard could say anything, the anger in Ryan had reached a boiling point.
Standing straight in front of her (and everyone else), Ryan confidently and passionately stated that he was a hero, he always would be a hero, and he was a hero because he helped people. He felt that heroes helped people or at least did their best when they could, and that despite her earlier comments, he had indeed been judged unfairly due to the fact that his own insecurity about his sexuality was the only criteria by which he was being rejected. With that said, he stated that if the Sentinels were looking for people that only fit into their cookie-cutter mentality, then he had chosen the wrong group to apply to, and he would withdraw his application immediately.
With silent cheers from Lady Bombardier etched on her face, Ryan suddenly realized he had said everything in front of all of the leaders of the Sentinels. Surprisingly enough, Liberty Vanguard then endorsed his membership to the Sentinels, stating she had needed to see that he was a hero who knew what being a hero meant.
Explaining to the other members why he could not be found at present, but also stating that he knew he would have to confront his father, Ryan asked that his whereabouts again be kept secret. American-Marvel volunteered to construct a viable cover-story that would keep his father from being worried, and Liberty Vanguard went so far as to volunteer to let Ryan stay in her apartment in Steel Canyon. Ryan took her up on the offer with the condition that he “earn his keep” by helping her with what she described as the “clutter” that filled her apartment.
[edit] Ryan Berkeley Dies, Enter Ryan Hope
After joining the Sentinels, Ryan continued to work on investigations and trying to stay current with his studies and physical training.
Finally meeting with Hurricane McShane, aka Hank, Ryan asked a question that had bothered him – had the Golden Men made a mistake with his choice. Hank explained that as far as he knew, there was never a mistake made for choice – sometime, somewhere, in some dimension, Ryan would be needed to act as a Galactic champion. Since the bands had not rejected him, he had a destined role to play.
Ryan finally explained to Hank why he was so unsure about the choice given his embarrassing orientation, and his worry about what to do about his father. Hank told him that whatever happened, his father couldn’t know about his activities, and that things were what they were – that men and women dealt in truth, just like Ryan was taught, and his homosexuality, if he was sure about it, was a truth he would have to come to terms with.
The next day, American-Marvel aka Mac summoned Ryan to HOME. There he told Ryan what the situation was – his father had had him pronounced legally dead since there were no ransoms and no one had seen him. Bursting into tears, finally confirming in his mind that he was nothing more than a disappointment to his father, Mac comforted him by telling him that he personally had spoken to Mr. Berkeley and explained that Ryan was now a superhero and a well-respected one in the community. He told Ryan something he had never heard – that his dad said he was very proud of his son.
Knowing he wouldn’t be able to be around his father any more, Ryan asked if he could see his father one last time… to tell him the truth about everything. He loved his father, and his father loved him, and his father deserved to know the truth. Mac agreed and even stated he would go with Ryan to talk to his father.
Given that Ryan was now legally dead, he needed a cover alias. At that Mac handed him a folder containing all his information on his new identity. Keeping “Ryan” as his first name, and using the name of the previous host, he would be “Ryan Hope,” a talented nineteen-year-old registered nurse working at Chiron Medical Center (given his medical knowledge), working with Hector Halliwell aka Dr. Mystik, an acquaintance of Mac’s. This would free Ryan up to be able to go out in public once again, establish credit and get his own place.
[edit] Current Activities
Ryan has continued to study and physically train, knowing in his inner being that being a hero is who he is, and he must devote himself to keeping himself as physically and mentally able as possible. As he is starting work at Chiron Medical Center in Atlas Park, Ryan will be honing his natural care-giving abilities, as well. Currently he is still staying with Liberty Vanguard until he gets enough money to rent an apartment. He’s hoping he can rent Laura Berns’ old apartment.
[edit] Powers
Through his joining with Dawn’s Hope, Ryan has all the typical powers of a Peacebringer who has mastered the powers of shape-shifting, including transformation into both Bright Nova and White Dwarf forms.
In addition, in his human form, Ryan is capable of flight and firing beams of energy from his hands, as are most Peacebringers, surrounding himself in a force field of energy, focusing the Kheldian energy inside him to deliver incredible physical attacks, and also has access to knowledge of healing powers that go beyond most other Peacebringers.
[edit] Abilities
Ryan is an exceptionally coordinated individual, having honed his natural grace and strength with intensive training in competition swimming. Ryan also has access to extensive medical knowledge through his Kheldian Symbiote, and he is able to heal others, both immediately by tapping into the strong life energy that all Kheldian’s have to reinvigorate or even restore the life energies of others, or by more traditional means of medicine.
Having actually studied in school and receiving top marks, Ryan is very intelligent, subject wise, in areas of Earth history, mathematics, literature, etc., although he is not super intelligent or possessed of any extraordinary mental abilities.
Finally, due to his symbiote’s age, Ryan has access to extensive knowledge of astronomy gathered first hand over millennia.
[edit] Affiliations
As Galacta Boi, Ryan was a student at the Paragonian Knights – Grae Academy. He is also a member of the Golden Men, and he has met both Esmereta and Hurricane McShane briefly in the past. Ryan has recently joined the United Sentinels of America, and he considers (although she may not yet know it) Lady Bombardier to be his best friend. In addition, even though Ryan was angry at Liberty Vanguard, he now seems to understand what she was saying during their interview, and a part of him is especially grateful to her for bringing him to the point of speaking his mind clearly and succinctly.
[edit] Friends, Family, and Acquaintances
Presently Ryan’s best (and he thinks his only) friends are Lady Bombardier and Liberty Vanguard.. He has not seen his father or any of his past acquaintances since joining with Dawn’s Hope to become Galacta Boi over six months ago.
[edit] Personality
On the outside, Ryan can seem very nervous, especially around strangers. This is due to his feelings of inadequacy and his inferiority complex. Not too far below the surface, however, Ryan is the epitome of a “good kid.” Having seen the streets, even briefly, he never wants people to have to deal with the criminal element.
Despite his outside nature, Ryan is an incredibly determined individual dedicated to helping others and living up to what it means to be a Golden Man. He continues to maintain a tight, demanding physical regimen, and although not in school has taken it upon himself to try to keep up with his studies by continuing to study through his textbooks.
Ryan could best be described as someone who is a hero by nature but who lacks the confidence to always appear so.
[edit] Weaknesses and Limitations
As a Peacebringer, Ryan still has the same weaknesses as any human, although to a lesser extent. However, he does suffer, as all Kheldians do, incredible damage from Quantum Array weapons.
