James West

[James West]

James West

Human Form:

True Form:

we all started somewhere

Birth name: James Ethan West
Alias: Jim or J.W. to very close friends
Gender: Male
Age: 17 (looks to be in his early twenties)
Birthday: October, 1st, 1993
Grade: Senior

only skin deep

Play by: Dave Franco
Appearance: Dark brown hair falling over dark brown eyes, a chiseled jaw, and handsome features grace James' face. Perhaps not the absolute best looking guy on the block, but definitely a person that caught your eye. There were no tattoos to speak of on his body, though he did sport a few scars very proudly, with each one earned with sweat, blood, and a good story. Perhaps the thing that caught a persons attention most was how James held himself, he had an aura about him, a rugged nature that seemed to say he lived a rough life style and loved it. These were the things that used to be said about James, used to being the key word. Oh, he still looks very much like he did a few years ago, perhaps a little older and more mature, but otherwise the same. The only problem is, what you see, what everyone sees, isn't James.

The dark hair and mysterious dark eyes that belong to James, or belonged to James, are simply a mask for what's underneath. Underneath meaning, the TRUE James West. When James' mutation began to manifest, radical changes occurred in his body. Not the "hair growing in places it didn't used to" kind of changes, more like, "hair falling off, skin hardening and turning ghostly pale" kind of changes. Ever since it became obvious that he was a mutant he has been losing his hair, more rapidly every week, and his skin is turning more and more pale.

(What James will eventually look like)

The true James looks more like a monster than a man. His skin is ghostly white, though there is a grey sheen to it when the light hits it right, and he has a long, vertical, black line that goes about four inches above and below each eye. His dark brown eyes are now solid black in appearance, like two black holes in an otherwise snowy white landscape.

Perhaps the strangest thing (as if that all wasn't strange enough) is that his body is completely and utterly smooth, like polished marble rock, and completely featureless. While there is definite muscle definition, there are no discernable features such as ears, a nose, a mouth, or the like. His head is elongated, with a ridge running down the middle of it and shaped somewhat like a crab shell, with little distance between his head and neck. When one gets close to him, they will see that his body isn't perfectly smooth, but is instead covered with slight ridges and rough bumps that blend into his milky white skin. In his true form, James stands slightly over six feet and weighs well over two hundred pounds. A true monster, most can't handle seeing James the way fate decided to make him. Needless to say, puberty brought more than just a deep voice.

on the inside that counts

Personality: The 'Silver-Tongued Devil', it was a nickname often given to James growing up and not much more could have fit him better. From the time he was a small child until today, he has always been and will always be a smooth talker. Well, he may not always be smooth about it, but he'll always be the talker at least. James is a charmer, always looking to butter people up and has generally been very well liked because of it while he was growing up. Though he doesn't just tell people what they want to hear, he's a charmer because he often tells the truth (or at least a very well thought out lie) and backs it up with a gentleman like attitude. That being said, he is considered by most to be a pretty decent person, at least in appearance anyways.

James has been in a juvenile detention center four times in the last four years, you see his talking gets him into more trouble than out of trouble more often than not. Not to mention he is a bit of a trouble magnet, and to be honest, he is usually the one causing the trouble. To those that are close to him, they know that he is an expert liar, and a cheat. He can put together words more beautifully than many poets and make you believe them, despite how hollow they truly are. Though, he has never used this skill for anything particularly evil in nature. Ninety percent of the time he simply uses it to create stories that aren't true for amusement, he's a joker, a man that loves to laugh and loves to make other people laugh. True, he may be a gentleman in nature, but under that sweet, it's still the devil in disguise.

With James' father being a cattle baron, owning one of the largest ranches in Texas, right on the border of Mexico, he grew up in a incredibly wealthy lifestyle. Many make the mistake of assuming that because of this, James is would probably be a bit arrogant and spoiled, but it is quite the opposite. After the death of his mother, James' father turned to drugs and alcohol to try to stem the pain he felt with the death of his wife. When that didn't work, he took his pain out on his two sons. James was only a year old when his mother died, so it wasn't exactly the best household to grow up in. Ethan, James' brother, was three and often stood up for James and took as much punishment as he could to save James. It didn't stop though, the older they got, the worse the treatment got.

That kind of lifestyle made Ethan and James grow up very quickly, aging mentally far beyond their years. Ethan was always very serious and stoic, so James naturally became a bit of a jokester and trouble maker to help relieve the tension. Despite how much trouble he got into, or how much he joked though, deep down he was far more mature than he made himself out to be. Mature, and calloused deep down inside, he has a hateful and untrusting nature of everyone. He may be kind of and polite to a person, often seeming very warm and open, but truly he has never let anyone close to him except for Ethan. The only person that knows what James is really like is his brother, and vice versa.

Sure, it was a tough life, and they were both denied any privledges from their father, but they learned how to make lemons out of lemonade. Both Ethan and James became very hard workers, learning to manage the massive ranch and manage all the workers on it when their father would disappear for weeks at a time on alcohol binges and 'mutant hunts' with his white cloaked friends. The only luxury they were ever given was staying in a mansion of a house, that being said, James has learned to work and earn everything that has been given to him and refuses help from anyone even if he needs it. He has never had anything handed to him in his life and will never expect anything to come easy.

Perhaps it is that line of thinking that lead to his motto of always watching out for number one. James is a trouble maker, and thrill seeker and anyone that has met him has quickly realized that he is not someone that has a predictable nature. One thing can always be counted on though, no matter what happens, you can but that James will choose the route that will benefit him; whether it be long-term, or short-term satisfaction, he is always out for number one...

Everything that makes your character who they are!

Family
Mother: Cassandra West, 23 (when she died), Deceased
Father: John West, 40, Cattle Baron
Siblings: Ethan West, 19, Ranch Worker

Other: N/A

some of us are... different

FOR MUTANTS, Leave blank if you are human.

Power(s): (These power explanations represent a general overview as well as his soon to be current knowledge in using them and will be updated frequently and accordingly as he grows in skill and understanding of them. As mentioned before, much of these powers have not manifested completely yet, and more will come with time, at his current state James only represents symptoms of most of these pwoers and hase not discovered his "true form" yet. Basically, he is still mutating and will gain the full use of the powers listed here very soon so I went ahead and listed them. As he gains a deeper understanding of the powers and other tricks and limits to them, they will be listed here.)

Self-Biological Manipulation: As the name of the power implies, James is able to completely manipulate his own molecules, causing them to reshift and reform into anything he can possibly think of. In layman's terms, this means he can do things such as turn his arms into spikes, stretch his limbs to unnatural lengths, reshape his body, create tendrils, create new limbs, etc. The only limit to this is that he cannot change his humanoid form (I.E. no matter what he reshapes his body into, he must always have his head above his torso, legs, etc.). This is likely due to being unable to actually change his skeletal structure. However, through experimenting, James has found that this "limit" may actually be a psychological limit that he has imposed on himself, he cannot change his base form because he doesn't THINK it's possible.

A trick that James has found he can do with manipulating his body, is increasing his body's densityAs he increases his body's density, he doesn't seem to 'gain' any weight at all, but does get heavier and more solid. He has found that he can increase his body's density to the point where even a sharp knife won't penetrate his skin or even leave mark. However, it is a lot harder to move quickly when he does this, but he does gain an incredible increase in his strength. When his body is in its' densest form, he is upper levels of superhuman strength, reaching into the levels of being able to lift tons. It is much harder to break his skin than a normal person. As well, he is also much stronger than he ever was before, able to easily lift eight hundred pounds without making his body dense.

Organic Cellular Mimicry: When James' mutations manifested, they did more than give him a terrifying appearance. His powers completely rewrote James' genetic code, reshaping his DNA and turning him into what can best be described as a blank piece of paper. His genetic code is 'blank' for all intents and purposes, which is likely what allows him to contort and reform his body to his will. What is the most interesting though, is that while his genetic code is 'blank', it can actuall rewrite itself whenever any organic matter enters into his body.

In simple terms if James were to take a hair from somebody, or a sample of their blood, and ingest it in some way, his body would mimic the DNA that was put into his body if James wishes. Meaning if James were take to a hair from a random person and put it into his body, he could actually become that person (in appearance only obviously as James' mind and personality will never change). This power is not limited to just people, James has been able to change his body into different animals as well. Though, no matter what animal he turns into he always retains a humanoid form and mass, which can make for some terrifying results (After all, what does a humanoid dog look like? And you thought werewolves were only in fairy tales).

His body's DNA will also retain the memory of any new DNA he puts into, meaning once he becomes someone or something else, he can revert to that person whenever he chooses to. This isn't immediate however, James either has to frequently consume that DNA or stay in that form for a very extended period of time before his body will 'remember' it. Because he was in his 'human form' for sixteen years before his powers manifested, obviously his natural appearance is the easiest thing he can shapeshift into. Regardless, changing his body from its' base form (the white alien) into absolutely anything else requires a huge amount of concentration, and the more complex the thing he shapeshifts into, the more strain it puts on his mind. No matter what, he eventually has to return to his base form to rest. The only thing he can has ever turned into for an extended period of time is his natural human form, and even then he can only hold it for about twelve hours before it exhausts him. On average he can usually hold a simple form (generally animals) for an hour or so before it tires him out, and a complex form (another human) for about thirty minutes before it exhausts him. The more frequently he turns into something, the longer he can hold it before it tires him out. Practice makes perfect in all things it would seem.

Weakness(s): (Just like the powers explination, this will be updated as new weaknesses as learned and discovered. This represents what is understand about his weaknesses and known through common sense. As his powers develop, so will his weaknesses and both will be updated accordingly.)

General Weaknesses: James seems to be able to be hurt just like any other human, he can be cut, stabbed, shot, bludgeoned, etc. Despite his strange form, he still feels pain and bleeds just like the rest of us, it is just harder to actually pierce his skin than a normal person (as a note, something that he has found interesting is that he doesn't bleed red like most, instead his blood is solid black). He also has no healing factor, if he is cut it takes him just as long to heal as the rest of us.

Uniquely, he is not affected by telepaths as much as a normal person. While his mind can still be sensed, his thoughts are incredibly difficult and require concentration from even a powerful telepath to read (though they can still be read, it is just harder). Also, it has been discovered that electricity is an extreme weakness for him. Not simple static electricity, but an actual current of electricity has incredibly negative consequences on his body. When hit with electricity, it is as though his body shorts out and goes haywire.

Self-Biological Manipulation: The most major weakness for this power is that it is linked directly to James' mind and imagination. If James truly believes that he can turn his arm into a massive spear, then he can turn his arm into a massive spear. If he has doubts and doesn't truly think it is possible, then his arm will never turn into that spear. If he thinks he can do it, he can, if he doesn't think he can do it, he can't.

It should also be noted that James can't actually create anything from his body, he can only form things out of his own mass. In other words, he can't turn his arm into a gun and it becomes an actual gun, he can only create things out of his own mass. Also, while he can detach limbs from his body and they will eventually decay and disappear, he has to will it to happen. His body will eventually replace the lost mass, but it does take time, so letting large chunks of his body fall off would be unwise. That being said, James cannot create more mass than what already exists, he cannot turn his body into something bigger than his actual mass. Conversely, he cannot turn his body into something smaller than his actual mass, the mass of his body ALWAYS stays the same, it can just be reformed and repositioned. However, he can add to his mass the same way a body builder would add to theirs, through natural training.

When it comes to his superhuman strength, that is a variable factor. His base strength, when completely relaxed and his body is unmodified, he can lift roughyl eight hundred pounds. The more dense he makes his body, the stronger he gets until it reaches superhuman levels. HOWEVER, when he does increase the density of his body, it presents a whole new weakness. While his dense form can withstand brutal punishment and has superhuman levels of endurance and strength, he cannot modify his body. Meaning that once his body's density is increased to a certain point, he can no longer turn his arms into spears, create new limbs, etc. etc. This is not a psychological limit, but a physical one, something that can NEVER be changed.

Organic Cellular Mimicry: First, the most obvious weakness with this power is in the powers name, James cannot turn into anything that is not organic. Meaning that he basically cannot turn into anything such as plastics, glass, refined metals, synthetics, etc. He can only turn into things that are organic, people, animals, etc. James also will always retain a humanoid figure no matter what he turns into, such as turning into an animal, he will always retain a humanoid appearance and never look EXACTLY like a dog, or a cat.

The most major weakness when using this power is the power itself. When using this power, James is actually changing the genetic code of his body to mimic something else. When that happens, he gets a whole new set of weaknesses and strengths depending on what he turns into. As an example, in his human form, he cannot stretch his limbs out, or reshape them, or grow new ones, and he can be cut and hurt as easy as any human. The only thing he ever retains is his strength, beyond that, he is just as weak as whatever person he turns into. Though, this can also be an advantage, because if he does turn into a form such as werewolf like creature, he can be hurt like any other person but he also gains the enhanced senses of the creature he is mimicking. Regardless, he is almost ALWAYS weaker in terms of power when he is not in his base form. So if he wants to look like a human instead of a freak, then he will have to pay the consequences and be just as weak as a human.

Cause: The cause was largely natural, well as natural as a mutation can be anyways. Though it didn't manifest itself right away, he began noticing unnatural changes as young as thirteen. He seemed to mature very rapidly around his fourteenth birthday, growing in height and greatly growing in strength, his body was developing much more rapidly than any other boy his age. While it was unnatural, it wasn't a cause of alarm to him until some days he would wake up and his eyes would appear unnaturally dark. One day he woke up they were completely black, though he thought it was a dream as they were back to their dark brown color after he blinked his eyes a few times.

Most recently, James has noticed that his skin feels very rough, and hard. Almost as if his skin is actually a hard shell. He has been feeling incredibly sick the last few months and often has coughing fits where he begins to cough up blood; though he refuses to see a doctor. His skin has also been turning an unnatural pale color, but he just attributes it to how sick he's been. Despite how horrible he feels, he actually is stronger than he ever has been in his life. So strong in fact that he has trouble sometimes with knowing just how strong he is, often breaking things on accident. Though it is very obvious he is a mutant, it terrifies him simply because of how hated mutants are in his area. His father doesn't know of the changes as he is often gone, and his brother (whom he is very close to) always reminds him to be thankful that the mutation is minor. James can't help but shake the feeling that something else is going to happen with his powers and that there is more going on than just unnatural strength...

Other skills:

Skilled Mechanic

Fluent In Spanish

Very Quick Learner

Smooth Talker: He has been called a silver tongued devil and is famous for getting out of, and into, trouble just with talking.

Nimble: Both with his hands and on his feet, he is not only a fast thinker, but a fast mover.

other

Allegiance: None yet, but he has been contacted by a man named Xavier...

Anything else: (Have something else you need to say that wasn't covered? Put it here.)

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