Martin Kohler

Description
Oh my.

Even in a city like Colonial Bay Martin is not something you see every day. Standing at seven and a half feet tall and weighing in at roughly three hundred and fifty pounds, his body is covered in a fine tawny fur like that of a lion. Much darker hair spills out around his head and down his back like a great shaggy mane, further adding to the lion-like imagery. His eyes, often hidden behind sunglasses, are a solid white, without visible pupil or iris, and when he talks his voice is a low rumble that almost sounds like a growl.

He wears a white t-shirt that probably comes with more X's than a moonshine bottle. Despite this it is stretched tightly across his barrel of a chest. In black lettering are the words 'Some days it's just not worth chewing through the restraints'. Over this he wears a black leather motorcycle jacket that several cows gave their lives to make. His hands are bare, a pair of big meaty mitts covered in golden fur that appear as though they could quite literally crush coconuts, with each finger tipped by an inch long non-retractable claw.

His legs are clad in bluejeans, well worn and stretched. From the cuffs emerge his feet, covered in the same golden fur as the rest of his body. Like everything else his feet are simply enormous. If they were normal feet they would be at least a size sixteen but they are shaped differently than a human foot, being much wider across the ball than typical and giving him an almost triangular foot print. This, combined with the inch long claws on each toe, make footwear problematic and so he simply goes barefoot. Fortunately the bottom of each foot is equipped with thickened pads.

Powers and Abilities
Simply put, Martin is a powerhouse. He is capable of lifting six tons over his head, running at speeds of up to thirty miles an hour for extended periods of time, and leaping distances of over sixty feet. He is not bulletproof but his mutant physiology protects him better than normal humans and enables him to heal from nearly any wound within a matter of minutes. He has inhumanly fast reflexes, the ability to see in near total darkness like a cat, hearing that is significantly better than any dog, and one of the sharpest senses of smell on the planet (far sharper than the sense of smell of a North American grizzly bear).

Unbeknown to Martin his enhanced physiology has one extra gift. A large transfusion of blood from him is capable of passing on his rapid healing ability to others for short periods of time. Such a transfusion would be extremely taxing to Martin and would include additional side effects in the recipient for short periods of time such as hair growth and atavistic tendencies and characteristics similar to Martin's.

At sixteen years old Martin has not had much opportunity to really develop any skills. His preternatural reflexes give him some very impressive raw abilities but these are all untrained. He does have a basic understanding of French due to his classes and an interest in European history. He also harbors a secret talent as a painter and while he is far from a master he could make a modest living as an artist if he had to. The only other skills of note would be his ability to find out information on the street, a remnant of a childhood growing up in Harrisburg.

Martin's enhanced senses leave him vulnerable to flash attacks. He is also quite distinct, standing at seven and a half feet tall and covered with golden fur, making it impossible for him to maintain a normal life. The claws on his hands can make it more difficult for him to perform actions that require fine motor control though that is largely offset by his heightened dexterity. Additionally Martin has a juvenile record due to his time spent with the wrong sorts of people in Harrisburg. This, combined with his huge body and fearsome demeanor, have given him a reputation as a troublemaker and generates extra scrutiny for him from authority figures at school as well as local police officers.

Personality
Martin is sullen and withdrawn. He feels like a freak wherever he goes and that no one can possibly understand what it is like to be going through these changes. In short, he's like any other teenager.

He's also still coming to grips with his new abilities. While it is certainly cool to be able to lift six tons it can kind of limit your interactions with the more normal people. A friendly game of football can suddenly end up as a charge of assault and battery.

In addition he has found himself suffering from certain atavistic tendencies in his new form. When he fells trapped or pushed he finds it hard not to lash out (not the best situation to be in when you're equipped with inch long claws and are capable of flipping over a car with one hand). Additionally he finds being in crowds to be extremely uncomfortable, not simply because of the sensory overload but because the animal portion of his brain tells him he is surrounded. He also has to struggle to eat in the fashion of three meals a day like a normal person. He finds that he would much rather eat an enormous meal every few days if left to his own devices but most people find it rather disconcerting to sit down with someone as they eat a 20,000 calorie meal that consists mostly of meat.

Origins
Martin Kohler is a native of Colonial Bay. Born in Harrisburg August 15th, 2058, he had a fairly unremarkable childhood. His family struggled to make ends meet but they weren't that bad off. If they didn't have as much as some at least they had more than others.

They always tell you that as you get older you'll go through various changes. That you'll go through a growth spurt and that your voice is going to deepen. They say that you'll need to shave as you start to grow more hair and that you may begin to experience mood swings.

What they don't tell you is that the growth spurt will make you nearly seven and a half feet tall, or that your voice will gain the rumble of a rock crusher. They don't tell you that the hair you will grow will be a tawny yellow and that it will cover every square inch of your body and they certainly don't tell you how sometimes you will want with every fiber of your being to give a blood-curdling roar and leap at someone who really deserves it and tear their throat out.

Puberty sucked.

This, of course, was not the easiest time for Martin. It took enormous amounts of energy to fuel his growth, leaving him constantly hungry, and the growing pains were intense. Martin began to get into trouble, getting into fights and hanging out with the wrong sorts of people. Martin's parents have moved across town, finding a tiny apartment that they can just barely afford in the hopes that in a new environment Martin will make better choices.