Post by Matthew Bland on Jan 8, 2021 17:08:54 GMT -5
Subject Facts
Full Name: Matthew Bland
Codename: The Red Lion
Age: 40
Gender: Male
Archetype: Rogue
Aliases: Ja Zaki, Liberator of Buredunia, Conqueror of Rivers, The Unbowed, Defender of the Faith, President-for-Life of Buredunia
Marital Status: Single
Affiliation: Himself
Subject Attributes
Meta-Human Abilities:
N/A
Standard Abilities:
Peak Human Strength: Ja Zaki's strength is enhanced to the peak of human potential. His physical strength is noticeably superior to any Olympic-class weightlifter and far superior to normal humans, allowing him to engage in skirmishes with Deathstroke as well as Cyborg.
Peak Human Speed: The effects of his suit allow The Red Lion to run and move at speeds superior to any Olympic-class runner.
Peak Human Durability: Matthew can withstand blows from superhuman opponents like Deathstroke and Cyborg.
Peak Human Agility: Ja Zaki's equilibrium, balance, flexibility, dexterity, and bodily coordination are heightened to levels superior to any Olympic-level athlete that has ever competed.
Peak Human Endurance: Ja Zaki's endurance is about double that of an Olympic athlete thanks to his grueling self training.
Acrobatics: Ja Zaki is an excellent gymnast and acrobat. He is particularly accomplished at gymnastics, acrobatics, and brachiation (swinging from one branch to another using one's arms).
Firearms: Ja Zaki has a keen eye as a crackshot with many projectile and long distance weapons.
Leadership: Though he rules his country with an iron fist, Ja Zaki is still a charismatic ruler and he knows how to sway the opinions of others so that they will devote themselves to him and follow his supreme command.
Master Martial Artist: Red Lion has been groomed to be a warrior since birth. He is a master in practically all forms of armed and unarmed combat, having mastered various styles of martial arts from around the world.
Expert Tracker & Hunter: In his youth Matthew was raised to be a hunter, always taught to be prepared to sustain himself when food shortages came around. As he grew older his hunting evolvied into tracking prey that was not necessarily meant to be food but rebels to be silenced.
Highly Influential Connections: As President of Buredunia, Red Lion had a vast collection of connections, including some form of relationship with LexCorp. Even as an ousted dictator he has pull with a number of politicians and even Slade Wilson.
Multilingual: Ja Zaki can fluently speak his native language, English, and other various languages.
Tactical Analysis: Having manipulated and lead Deathstroke, a master tactician in his own right, into a number of traps Red Lion is a genius tactician, strategist, and leader who is practically peerless. He was taught tactics and strategies in his youth in Buredunia by various generals of the Buredunia army who encouraged him to always think two steps ahead of his enemies and three steps ahead of his allies.
Weaponry Proficient: Red Lion holds mastery of many weapons: firearms, knives, projectiles, spears, arrows, etc.
Paraphernalia:
Promethium Armor: Red Lion's suit is made out of a Promethium-mesh. Promethium is an extremely strong material(it is said not even Superman can break it) with several specifications that enhance Bland in battle.
- Claws: Red Lion's suit of Promethium Armor boasts retractable claws. These claws are also made out of Promethium and can therefore cut through extremely dense and tough materials. Red Lion was able to tear into Cyborg's Promethium casing using his claws.
- Energy Absorption: Red Lion's promethium armor can absorb most forms of energy. This energy is then used to enhance Bland, usually by making him stronger and faster then humanly possible.
- Promethium Microweave Mesh: The microweave keeps the Promethium flexible and also robs incoming objects of their kinetic energy; bullets do not ricochet off, but simply fall to the ground when they come in contact with the weave. Likewise, Ja Zaki cannot be stabbed; however, the costume can be cut if the attacker slashes along the uniform's grain.
- All Mighty Push: Promethium is also capable of channeling, amplifying and perpetuating near-limitless amounts of energy, thus Ja Zaki can use the stored kinetic energy in his suit to not only enhance his strikes and blows but also release it as an omnidirectional energy burst.
Subject Weaknesses:
Curiosity: Red Lion has often paused what he is doing (even fighting foes) to ask questions and gain some deeper understanding of his foes/allies and their motives.
President-For-Life of Buredunia: Ja Zaki is obsessed with reclaiming his title and it is primary focus always.
Subject History
Unbeknownst to most of the outside world there is a small country in Africa by the name of Buredunia, a country that has been steeped in civil war for generations. A country ruled by a man named Ja Zaki. Buredunia bred and brokered child soldiers and was in a constant state of civil unrest. In the recent years this had become a topic of interest to the United States and their particular brand of “altruism” inspiring such rousing activism as the #StopZaki movement.
As calls for America to intervene in Zaki’s slice of Africa increased the dictator turned to hiring Deathstroke to ensure that US Congressman Hasgrove won re-election. Hasgrove had been countering the proposal to American interference in Buredunia and was running successful prevention, Zaki wanted to make sure Hasgrove succeeded in that. In exchange for Deathstroke ensuring the re-election he would be allowed to complete his contract on Clock King who was hiding out in Buredunia. Slade succeeded, and as a result, the country became a no-fly zone.
However, Clock King captured Ja Zaki and revealed the whole truth; the contract to kill Clock King was secretly funded by Zaki to lure Deathstroke to his country so he could kill Clock King and rig Hasgrove's election. Slade then revealed that he had goaded Hasgrove into suicide and allocated all of the man’s campaign funds, a twist of his own design to not be outdone by the African warlord. Slade then changed into a modified version of his suit to defeat Clock King and free Zaki. This, however, also proved to be all a part of Ja Zaki’s plan as it was all an elaborate trap to get Slade to relinquish his Promethium armor.
Later, the no-fly zone Ja Zaki paid Slade to set up backfired when it emboldened the tribes he was trying to "cleanse" to stage a full-scale revolt. The rebellion escalated to the point where they managed to make it all the way to the presidential mansion. Ja Zaki managed to hole up inside as the rebels advanced, but before they could get inside, Deathstroke arrived to bail him out, feeling he owed him for the extra cash he managed to cheat him out of.
When Slade managed to reach Ja Zaki, he not only shot at him, but sicced his pet lions on him as well. When Zaki realized the mistake, he called them off and the two made their escape. Using rocket boots based on Steel's and a harness for Zaki, Slade rocketed his boots into the air with plans to latch onto an overhead plane piloted by Wintergreen. However, Slade overshot and missed the plane. Before they could fall to the ground, Ja Zaki managed to grab onto the plane, sparing them both. They manage to get inside, but the plane, already in bad shape, gives out and crashes. The Buredunian ruler is upset that the rebels have the upper hand, but Slade only cares about squaring things up between the two of them and considers them even.
Unable to wage a war against the emboldened rebels by himself Zaki takes the suit stolen from Deathstroke and flees Africa. In the meanwhile he works as the freelance mercenary Red Lion to secure enough funds to one day return to Buredunia.
Subject Interview
The jungle is the jungle.
Armed fighters of the South American cartel were spread wide across the Amazon jungle, their boots indelicate as they trampled the plant life of the rain forest. These men were too preoccupied with their duties of keeping the headquarters of their operation well guarded to worry about preserving anything in the tropical territory. Evidence of their being there bolded shouted out their location, but of course a group such as theirs did not care who knew where they were. They possessed enough firepower to destroy what acres of the rain forest that remained.
"One more sweep and we can look forward to our relief." One of the armed soldiers called out in Portuguese.
The way their ranks were set they were clustered in groups no larger than three individuals, the three of them responsible for covering no less than a twenty-five foot radius between them. Roughly twelve clusters stretched out horizontally across the forest.
"You say that like our relief is ever on time." Another soldier responded to the first, drawing a laugh from the third man of their group.
Thick branches and overgrown plant limbs were swatted and chopped from hindering their path as they marched a very basic perimeter around the camp that lay somewhere in the center of this 900 foot radius.
BUDDA-BUDDA-BUDDA!
Gunfire roared like booming thunder in the distance, giving each of the cartel soldiers pause as they briefly shared looks among them. They turned, eyes cut in the the direction behind them where the rapid gunfire had come from. A sharp scream quickly snatched their attention to the right of them.
BUDDA-BUDDA!
More gunfire echoed through the canopy of trees. Curses were shouted in Portuguese but quickly silenced. The sounds seemed to swirl all around the three men, drawing ever closer as they felt themselves getting boxed in closer and closer together. Their backs were nearly touching as each opted to scan a particular section of the jungle, their M16s leveled before them with fingers shyly hovering before triggers.
The brush moved to the left, immediately the closest insurgent rotated and loosed a stream of bullets into the trees. Wrong way! A Distraction! The man yelped as he was yanked down into the tall grass, his comrades watching helpless and frightened. They work together to sweep the muzzles of their guns over the surrounding area, their boots marching in unison to quickly carry them out of the area. Whatever was out there taking out their men couldn't have been natural, they thought. No doubt they had come to decide that if they could make it to their camp then they could get the necessary reinforcements to rain down holy Hell on whatever was dwindling their numbers.
Green limbs of grass shook suddenly, attracting for gunfire into the dirt of the jungle. Just then, a blur shot from a nearby tree, slamming one of the remaining two soldiers into the soft ground. As his body was struck by sudden force the soldier squeezed his trigger and emptied his magazine into the greenery hanging overhead.
The last soldier took no chances, once his last ally was taken down he tucked tail and ran off in the opposite direction. The man screamed the entire way over uneven terrain and through swatches of tree branches that stung his exposed skin. Every few feet he would hear a sound closing in from behind but he would fire a burst of bullets behind him, praying that he hit and put down whatever demonic force that gave chase.
The running and screaming did not cease until the soldier arrived at the colony of tents that was the campsite of their cartel. All the commotion he cause by hollering and shooting off his gun had drawn the attention of the other soldiers at camp and they were there to greet him with rifles and knives drawn.
Several smaller tents flanked a singular large structure that was more of a palace compared to the other, tiny, tents. The small clearing that lead up to this camp is where the soldier stumbled to a stop, he was bug-eyed as over a hundred eyes stared at him in confusion. The sweaty, slack-jawed soldier huffed out a breath he seemed to be holding forever, and then he promptly fell into the first face first. Scattered gasps came from a few of the onlookers of the camp as they could not see the deep, bloody claw marks that trailed down the fallen soldier's back. It was then that they noticed he was without his weapon.
Their attention on their own was suddenly grabbed up greedily by the figure in deep red that exited the forest. In either blood-dripping clawed hand he gripped stolen M16s.
"They said I would have trouble in the jungles of South America, that the Amazon Jungle is a different beast! But to JA ZAKI - Jungle is Jungle!"
He squeezed the triggers simultaneously, his crimson mask brightening with each repeated muzzle flash.
RRRATATATATATATA
"And if anyone rules a jungle, it is the lion."
Author's Notes
Player Alias: Shade
Other Characters: Joker, Superman, Black Manta, Sideways
How did you find ARFD?: My horoscope
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