Antonio Xipil - Torrent

"Stick with terrified. It will keep you sharp."

Antonio

art by Lucy Lin

DMA File Information

Name: Antonio Xipil

Hero Identity: Torrent

Metahuman Type: Mutant

Known Powers: Lava transformation, earth sense, enhanced speed

Special Items: NA

Combat Roles: Melee (speed, lava), ranged (lava), control (lava river or lake)

Strong against: Physical damage, heat/fire, toxins

Weak against: Cold, water, mental attacks, flying opponents

Race: Latino

Age: 18

Education: Military training. Speaks multiple languages. GED

Background

Antonio was born with unnaturally red hair and eyes, marking him as a mutant. This was something of a surprise to his non-mutant parents, but things were mostly fine until Antonio's teenage years when he started to develop actual metahuman powers one at a time.

Like most mutants, Antonio's control over these powers was very erratic at first, and the first activation of his lava transformation was especially traumatic. Government regulations required that Antonio attend some sort of training school or program, and he selected the Metahuman Army Power School, MAPS, program-a joint DMA & Army sponsored effort for mutants who had aptitude or desire for combat training on top of the normal power control training given in most DMA schools. As a result Antonio has been trained in hand to hand combat, use of conventional weapons, wilderness operations, and more.

After graduating from MAPS Antonio had a number of options, but chose to return to LA. He knew that he would either be joining the Knights as a trainee or be leading a new subsidiary team.

Personality and hobbies

Growing up as a mutant isn't easy for most kids, and Antonio was no exception. The MAPS program was a real turning point for him, as he was in an environment where most of the people he delt with day in and day out were highly successful mutants. He's well aware of how lucky he was, both in picking the MAPS program and because of how relatively mild his mutation is. Antonio can easily pass for human with sunglasses and a bit of hair dye. As a result he has a real desire to pay it forward and wants to be a good example-and maybe even and inspiration-for other young mutants.

Antonio really enjoyed learning all of the things he did in the MAPS program, but he uncovered an unexpected talent for languages on top of everything else. While he will mostly speak in English or Spanish, Antonio is also fluent in Nahuatl, Portuguese, German, and Russian. He is also a reasonably skilled billiards player and loves to play for fun.

Powers

Earth Sense

Antonio can feel things happening to the ground around him. He is particularly sensitive to vibrations and impacts. This perception works best on hard ground or stone, but functions in a reduced way for things like concrete and sand. Antonio is unable to use it in building, unless he is on the bottom floor, with maximum ground contact. In addition to providing an awareness of most people and vehicles around him, Antonio's power also makes him aware of pending earthquakes, mudslides, and such.

Enhanced Speed

In his human form Antonio is able to run at nearly 200 miles per hour and has superhuman reaction time. His body is tough enough to withstand the kinds of acceleration and deceleration his power enables, but this is still at the low end of metahuman ability. His lava transformation vastly reduces both his land speed and reaction time. In both forms, his enhanced speed makes his punches and kicks much stronger than one might expect.

Lava Form

Antonio can transform himself into a semi-liquid lava form. While in this state he has a great deal of control over both his temperature and liquidity. Most of the time he will stay in the lower ends temperature wise, which in turn keeps him mostly solid. Like this, he appears to be mostly dark grey or black with reddish-orange cracks. At his very lowest body temperature the cracks vanish entirely and he rarely damages his surrounding. However Antonio can increase his temperature, making his body more liquid. He has a degree of control over his liquid form, but is not nearly as fast most of the time. The one exception is Antonio's signature lava wave attack, where he approaches his opponents at top speed, and spikes his temperature at the last moment, going liquid and engulfing his targets. His lava body is very resistant to most physical attacks, but is weak to cold, water, ice, and the like.