torres, leandro, 23, animal mimicry, marlon teixeira

[leandro torres]

LEANDRO CASTEL TORRES

PERSONALITY People generally see Leandro as a confident, amusing, and engaging guy which means that most like him straight off the bat. He's got an easy smile that puts folks at ease and is one of those people who has that little extra something which inexplicably draws the eye whenever he's in a room. So it's definitely a good thing that Leo likes entertaining and having an audience. Not that he’s overly dramatic, he simply has a way of commanding attention and enjoys being the center of it. He tends to be a bit vain and self-centered but the boy was graced with handsome features and a great body - who can blame him for loving it? Underneath the bravado and sizable ego, Leo can be a pretty decent guy. While he is a social creature and has a lot of ‘friends’, they're more like acquaintences because Leo doesn't let very many people close. He'd like to but after some bad experiences in the past, especially in regards to his superhuman status, he's not all that trusting. Once you get past his walls, Leo's a friend for life though. He's insanely loyal and will defend anyone he cares about even if he knows they're in the wrong. The way he sees it is that sooner or later you've always gotta choose a side so he might as well be on the one with the people he cares about. When it comes to dating, Leandro is that boy your mama warns you about. He's sexy and charming with a long history of cheating on girlfriends because he claims that monogamy is unnatural. Question him on it and he'll pull out tons of polyamorous examples from the animal world and espouse their biological benefits, as if that justifies his philandering actions. Someday the right woman might change his tune but for now he continues to stay footloose and fancy free. Under the influence Leo can be an equal-opportunity lover but would never choose another man for a relationship because he’s just not romantically attracted to them. HISTORY Leandro Castel Torres was born prematurely to Rosa and Armando, spending nearly two months in the NICU before being declared healthy enough to go home with them. After that he had relatively few health problems, which was a relief, but his parents were already buried under the hospital bills from his birth. Armando made a decision in order to bring money into the household which certainly wasn't smart but it seemed to be a necessary evil. He began working for the Colombian drug cartel as an enforcer, a position that fit well with his abilities of superhuman strength and enhanced senses. Armando had wanted to steer clear of the cartel but the Torres family had been in it for generations because of their genetic quirk. No one outside of the family spoke of it outright but everyone seemed to know the Torres' were... different. And they made absolutely deadly enforcers. Of course, they weren't all gifted. While there were those among the family who shared abilities similar to Leandro and his father, he also had aunts and uncles and cousins who were completely human. His little sister Marisol, born three years after Leo, also proved to be completely normal which was something Leo resented until he became more comfortable with himself and his powers. It had been clear from the moment that he started walking that he was gifted (or cursed as he likes to joke). It was in the graceful way he moved, how fast he could run when playing with other kids, how far he jumped on the playground. Rosa was quick to scold and warn the young boy about displaying such things in front of non-family members but his abilities seemed harmless enough so she wasn't adamant about Leo controlling himself until The Incident. One has to understand that the streets of Cartagena can be rough, especially where Leo grew up. He was 10 years old, Mari was almost 7, and some older kids took it upon themselves to mug the little girl. A simple gold necklace she’d worn since it was given to her on the day of her birth, and which she usually kept hidden under her shirt, had slipped out when they were playing. The older boys wanted the jewelry but his sister clung to it stubbornly and Leo had to step in to protect her. He’d been in minor scrapes before but they couldn’t have prepared him for the five vicious boys, especially when some of them pulled knives. For the first time the Torres boy used the claws which grew every time he became upset (and retracted when he calmed). In the end one would-be mugger was hurt badly while the rest escaped with minor injuries and Leo stood in the middle of the street, clawed fingers dripping red with blood. Too many people witnessed the event for it to be contained or forgotten. Rosa and Armando packed up their children and fled before the Colombian government could take them, as was the rumor among superhumans. They came illegally to the US by boat in the middle of the night and at one point they were nearly caught but finally made it to southern California where they had family waiting to take them in. The whole thing he had caused was just too heavy a weight on young Leandro and those first couple of years in San Diego he was rather withdrawn. Outside of their mostly Hispanic neighborhood it was all so different from what he used to know. Along having to adjust to a new country that he was technically not allowed to be in, Leo had to learn how to fit in with American kids and speak like they do. He’s not too fond of English but he picked up the graceless language easily enough, though he still thinks in Spanish. It wasn’t until he reached high school that Leo came out of his shell. By then he had assimilated and, more importantly, learned how to better control and hide his abilities. Leo was able to stop worrying about being dangerous and was able to focus on developing a social life. He found a place on the soccer team early on and by senior year he was team captain and had led them to numerous victories. Okay, maybe he had a slight advantage on the field but hey, you use what you got. What Leo had was athletic prowess, a body sculpted by workouts, and a killer smile that could make girls all fluttery when properly applied. He was young and handsome and let it go to his head, becoming a notorious player that changed girlfriends so often no one could keep up. Everyone knew he had a reputation for being a heartbreaker but it never stopped the ladies from lining up for him. After graduation Leo landed an athletic scholarship and attended college in Portland, Oregon but dropped out in his second year. He didn’t have the heart to tell his parents and lied to them for another year about going to school even though he wasn’t. Eventually it came out thanks to his sister’s big mouth and his parents, disappointed and angered by all they had given up for him in order for the boy to make nothing of himself, disowned him. It’s been almost two years but Leandro hopes they’ll come around… sometime. Hopefully. In the meantime he’s been couch surfing with friends, taking random jobs here and there, until he ended up in Little Moon. He found a bartending job at a little club called Marvel that lets humans rub elbows (and a bit more than that) with supers. The regulars are quite fond of him since he’s known for having a few shots and entertaining the patrons by putting on a cat-like striptease. Leo truly enjoys being adored for using his powers instead of reviled for it. ABILITIES Animal Mimicry While there are others in his family who can do multiple animals, Leo is only capable of mimicking a big cat. Probably jaguars if he had to guess. He can react with a burst of speed up to 30 miles per hour, jump a good twenty feet, and hit something with the force of a 300lb animal. Leo moves with a feline grace that makes it seem like he has muscles in places that most people don’t and doesn‘t make an effort to hide it. Like jaguars he tends to be most active at night and often has cravings for red meat. Sometimes he‘ll even purr when he‘s happy and yes, Leo always lands on his feet. Retractable Claws Within minutes Leo can grow three and half inch bone-like claws. His fingers dynamically generate calcium and iron to form durable, lightweight nails that may be used as weapons or tools (as in lockpicking). He is able to retract them by reabsorbing the minerals back into his body. The claws are very strong but they aren’t indestructible, however, he can eventually re-grow any that are broken. A downside is that the claws will extend spontaneously if Leo doesn’t keep his temper in check.

LEO TWENTY-THREE DECEMBER 11TH SUPERHUMAN BARTENDER SUPERHUMANS HETEROFLEXIBLE MARLON TEIXEIRA

VEE - PM - EASTERN - ETHAN

[leandro torres]

Done!

[charlotte ballard]

accepted!

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