Bucket of Lava

"This is the worst part..." Buck Tolava (A.K.A. Bucket of Lava, BOL) is a mildly superpowered cook working at a Trout 'N' Sprout Café in Cwm Dyffrynnant, and occasional UNWD agent (numbered 25) due to zir incredibly specific lava-related powerset. 
== Character ==
=== Appearance ===
Buck has short, naturally blue hair. Ze wear the usual TNS uniform while at work and own a UNWD outfit for missions. Zir best friend, Grenklerf Williams, excitely gifted zir an orange and black, flame-retardant, unnecessarily flatteringly form-fitting superhero costume, ordered from Fin Face. It has multiple belts with karabiners for attaching buckets: smaller pails across the front and a couple of large ones on the back. Ze haven't had a reason to wear it on the field yet.
=== Personality ===
Ze are known for being humble, mild-mannered and fairly unassuming. Ze are somewhat pessimistic about zir potentail as a superhero, and would prefer if zir UNWD colleagues stopped asking zir about zir powers. Quite sensibly, ze are hesitant to show off zir abilities for curious people, not least because of the actual pain involved. Ze almost neurotically tries to avoid triggering zir powers and is extremely careful while going about zir work in the café.
=== Skills/Abilities ===
==== Lava generation ====
Bucket of Lava has a singular superpower, with no known cause. Whenever zir bare hand touches a bucket, that bucket will immediately fill 4/5ths with red-hot lava, seemingly fresh from the Earth's crust. The lava is real and can then be poured out (though will consistently remain filled to 4/5ths as long as ze are touching the bucket, making this a seemingly endless supply), or the bucket can be set down (it can then be emptied properly by someone else or BOL if ze put on gloves) or thrown (think fast!), leading to the usual expected consequences of dropping lava on something.
Some UNWD testing discovered that the powers' definition seems to be based on anything culturally considered or called a bucket: those used on the beach count, as do takeway chicken shop buckets, certain football fans' hats, and lists on paper of things to do before one dies. There is a theory that a list of that sort written on a computer could work too, but nobody has been willing to offer their device for testing yet.
==== Lava immunity ====
Luckily for Buck, zir powerset includes an immunity to any physical damage that the heat generated by the lava could cause, though ze still very much feel the searing pain: because zir hands need to be bare for the effect to work, ze almost always let out an extended scream while summoning lava. This lava immunity also somehow extends to whatever bucket ze're holding. Even when summoning lava in a cardboard bucket, the bucket will be unaffected until ze let go of it. Theoretically, ze could also touch the lava and be unaffected but ze seem oddly resistant to the idea of trying.
== History ==
Buck has no idea how these powers manifested. One day ze picked up a bucket of water while gardening, only to be surprised to find the bucket massively heavier than expected, gushing steam, and painfully hot. In a panic, ze threw the bucket away, only for it to land by zir neighbour's garden shed, which immediately combusted. Perhaps extremely luckily, that neighbour was Naomi Rogers, who recognised lava immediately and took a keen interest in Buck, after ze apologetically helped douse the flames. Naomi then introduced zir to the UNWD as soon as she could.
Rumours spread quickly in the village about zir powers, but ze continued to work at the café. Later, ze met with a local traditional blacksmith to test zir powers in a safe environment, and found it quite fun so kept it up as a relaxing hobby (barring the screaming).
Since then, the UNWD has only found a few situations to make use of Bucket of Lava, knowing ze do not like using zir powers unless absolutely required.
== Trivia ==
* The name 'Bucket of Lava' was proudly coined by zir friend Grenklerf and stuck immediately.
* Unknown to zir, ze, among a couple others including SCORCH, are on Agent ?'s terrifying quick-dial list of 'agents to call in the case of the sun going out'.
* The biggest thing ze have ever filled with lava is an ironworks' crucible, but weirdly zir powers only worked on it before ze were informed it wasn't just called a 'big bucket'.
Category:Nonbinary Characters
Category:Superhumans
Category:UNWD