Vanguard "Rocket" the Wisphog

[Page last edited on 06/04/2018 by R.M. Hunter]
[Character currently undergoing reconstruction]
Vanguard the Wisphog, also known as Rocket, is an 8 year old anthropomorphic hybrid Hedgehog and Orange Rocket Wisp. He was created and is played by R.M. Hunter of Fanfiction.net. He is notable for his unique Hyper-Go-On Energy (HGO) and his intellect.
== Physical Appearance ==
In his current design, Rocket is a relatively short and lean creature whose appearance mostly resembles that of a standard hedgehog, with a few exceptions. He has vibrant orange fur that covers his entire body, barring his arms, torso, and muzzle. He has seven quills on the back of his head, arranged in a hexagonal pattern with one in the center, but none on his back. His eyes are a pale blue-green color, and his nose is small and triangular. He doesn't have a tail. 
His attire consists of a light grey long-sleeved thermal shirt, a tan utility vest worn over, and a pair of brown jeans. A utility belt hangs on his waist, and he wears black construction boots and white gloves. Occasionally he will wear an olive green scarf. 
== Personality ==
Rocket is overall a very level-headed individual who is polite, courteous, innocent, and intuitive. His combined curiosity and natural intelligence make him one a surprisingly competent learner and tinkerer. Though he's not often doing anything particularly helpful, his lengthy resume of engineering accomplishments span from surprisingly useful to ingenious yet terrifying. Though generally well-behaved, he has been shown to have a sarcastic streak every once in a while.
Rocket is young, and since his brain is still developing, he has trouble perceiving adult concepts like love, value, trust, and betrayal. Unfortunately, due to his odious lack of parents, he relies on the courtesy and advice of strangers far too much than would be considered safe.
Rocket is exceptionally secretive about his past, and often tries to shift conversations away from that topic.
== Backstory ==
After the events of Sonic Colors, a stranded group of wisps who had failed to escape Mobius were discovered and subsequently captured by agents working for G.U.N. After being confined for a few months, the wisps were sent to be experimented on by scientists, who had been hired by the United Federation to unlock the secret of the wisps' Hyper-Go-On energy. Though the exact fate of all the wisps is unknown, one project, classified as Project Vanguard, involved the hybridization of three Wisps' DNA with that of common creatures. These included a human adult infused with DNA from a Cyan Laser Wisp, a human embryo with DNA from a Red Burst Wisp, and a hedgehog embryo with DNA from an Orange Rocket Wisp. Both the human projects failed spectacularly, but the hedgehog survived, though weak and disfigured.
The hedgehog had no quills on his back, a short and stubby nose, and most horrifyingly, a third leg, useless and deformed, where his tail should have been. This was promptly amputated. The hedgehog showed traces of Hyper-Go-On energy, and was generating this energy on its own, but was weak and helpless as an infant. The scientists dubbed the creature a wisphog, a hybridization of wisp and hedgehog.
The project, despite all its setbacks, was a success, and the scientists presented the wisphog, now known as Vanguard, to the United Federation. The Federation were impressed by the Hyper-Go-On energy, and hoped to turn Vanguard into a soldier or agent when he grew up. From childhood, Vanguard performed rigorous physical exercise, trained with all forms of Federation weaponry, and studied tactics, physics, engineering, chemistry, and electronics. However, despite his intellect showing promising improvement, his physical strength and weapon mastery never improved.
After five years, the scientists faced the realization that Vanguard would never become a super soldier. He had been weakened by the wisp DNA; his intellect and Hyper-Go-On had grown tenfold, but his physical prowess and combat experience remained stagnant. Not wanting to disappoint the Federation, the scientists worked with Vanguard to stage an "accident" which resulted in his apparent death. He escaped the compound, changed his name to Rocket, and began wandering through Mobius.
== Powers and Abilities ==
=== Strengths ===
==== Intellect ====
Rocket is a natural scientist. He was raised around scientists, undertook several science courses during his childhood, and has an optimally engineered brain for absorbing and processing data. As such, it's not difficult for him to repair or modify equipment that he's familiar with, specifically weapons, electronics, or other combat equipment. When left on his own, however, he usually satiates his desire to learn in some creative, but usually destructive, projects.
=== Powers ===
==== HGO Manipulation ====
Rocket's most impressive power is the regeneration of his HGO energy. He can draw HGO out of his body and transform it into various types of energy, most notably electrical energy, which allows him to charge batteries or other electronic devices by touching them. He can also use his HGO for heat energy, light energy, and lifeforce.
==== Shining Eyes ====
Rocket's eyes naturally glow blue-green, even while closed, and even when he's drained of HGO energy. Depending on his needs, he can increase or decrease his eyes' luminosity. Generally he keeps them exceptionally dim, but he often uses them as a flashlight to dispel his fear of the dark. He can shine bright enough to blind others, though doesn't usually use this ability since it consumes a lot of HGO energy.
==== HGO Shield ====
Speaking in terms of combat, the most effective way for Rocket to use his HGO energy is by transforming it into a physical barrier, which can cover some or all of his body. Generally he will use it as a way to increase his overall durability, manifesting in an orange aura surrounding him during combat. He can also use it to amplify his own attacks, coating an arm or a leg in this barrier to increase the force of a punch or a kick, while also protecting that specific limb from damage.
=== Weaknesses ===
==== Phobias ====
Rocket is afraid of a lot of things. He is afraid of deep water, heights, darkness, blood, vermin, insects, thunder and/or lightning, monsters, tight spaces, and syringes. Most of his fears are justified, but that doesn't change the fact that he's likely to be a pain when encountering any of the aforementioned.
==== Physical Weakness ====
Though average and healthy compared to Mobian standards, Rocket is significantly weaker than most of his kin. He is slow, has poor endurance, does not possess enhanced strength or speed as some Mobians do, and is impossibly fragile when not using his HGO energy to protect himself.
==== HGO Overuse ====
Rocket has a limited capacity for his HGO energy, which results in a limited amount of HGO energy he can manipulate, and once he's drained, he's practically useless in a straight fight. Though his HGO recharges, it does so very slowly and only while he is sleeping. The more he uses it, the more sleep he needs to recharge.
==== Water ====
Like most hedgehogs, especially young ones, he cannot swim.
== Forum Appearances ==
=== Left 4 Dead 2 - Hard Rain ===
Rocket's most prominent forum appearance was in the L4D zombie survival topic. In this topic he plays the role of a Carrier who joined up with survivors Aoki Morishima, Sanhas Saza, and Lyda Saza to work together to survive the apocalypse.
== Trivia ==
* Rocket's first appearance was in the Sonic Boom topic where he teamed up with a hedgehog named Slate to rescue some animals from Dr. Eggman's base. However the appearance was short-lived and the author moved on to the L4D2 topic.
* This character was also the author's first actual Sonic OC, as the others created before this character were originally part of a stand-alone science-fiction series.
* Perhaps the most useful manipulation of his HGO power, Rocket has allowed Aoki Morishima to take HGO energy from him as lifeforce to sustain herself during the Left 4 Dead topic.
* Rocket's original creator was Dr. Robotnik, but the author chose to move away from using specific canon characters in OC's backstories.
Category:Characters