Soulshaker

Rusty Samuels, better known as Soulshaker, is a boss-turned-party member from The Saviors of Sunset City, and is the nemesis of Big Red. He is best known for his magical prowess and addiction to Asphalt Bliss.
== Personality ==
Soulshaker is a self-centered conman, doing what he can to get up in the world.
== History ==
=== The Operator ===
Rusty used to be the janitor of Hopkins House, not really liking Martin until he gave Rusty an addiction to Asphalt Bliss, which made him subservient to Martin for another fix.
=== The Saviors of Sunset City ===
Soulshaker was first seen when Normalcy called the Eight to deal with a villain he couldn't take the powers from. When they got there, Oracle primed her blade, Big Red primed his gun, Spinflux spinned his wheel and got Superior, and 10 transformed into Swampfire, all ready to take him down. Big Red lunged at Soulshaker, breaking his nose a second time, something Big Red had apparently done recently before the campaign started, swiftly followed by Void and Spinflux doing the same. The Alchemist threw an ice potion at Soulshaker, missing but still slowing him down. This was a moot point though, as after Void encircled Soulshaker in flames, Soulshaker levitated up and out of reach, devastating the brawlers with a high-damage spell. Oracle vaulted up with a psionic staff and kicked Soulshaker out of the air before 10 blasted him with fire, followed up by a shot to the stomach from Big Red. This shot knocked Soulshaker's supply of Asphalt Bliss from his hands, rendering the fight over as his painkillers were out of reach. He was promptly brought to Elm Tower to have his injuries dealt with.
Later, the Eight came to visit him to get information about the missing kids from Hopkins House. Big Red pressed on his gunshot wound to get him to talk. He told them he didn't know which kids he meant, due to villains finding stray kids quite often, and when White Lion gave him the files, Soulshaker particularly recognized Lochan and Ryder, admitting to the former giving him Bliss. He remarked that he wished he still had his supply of Bliss, but it had to be taken away from him by Dr. Paean. Oracle attempted to peek into his mind to try and extract more information, but couldn't go deeper than surface-level. Big Red attempted to press on the wound again to get him to talk, but White Lion pulled his hand off of him. Big Red defied this motion, doing it anyway, forcing Dr. Paean to get involved. This press did work, however, and Soulshaker told the Eight he worked for the Operator.
After a short moment of deliberation, the Eight tried to convince Soulshaker to be their mole to get closer to the Operator. They decide to have Spinflux try and convince him, despite Laughter Inducement still being active. Spinflux offered for the Eight to cover his medical expenses in exchange for him being a mole, but this failed due to Soulshaker having insurance. Then, Big Red offered a lower sentence, which Soulshaker declined due to likely having the death penalty. The thing that won Soulshaker over was White Lion pigeonholing him with the ultimatum that he could either be ratted out as a mole to the Operator with no protection, or be their mole and be protected from any pushback from the Operator. Once Soulshaker was discharged from Elm Tower, he prepared the plans to be their mole.
Shortly after the Eight visited Hot Rod in Elm Tower and learned of his passing, they went to visit Soulshaker to see the next stage of his plan. He told them that the Operator had stopped talking to him after he conspired to be the Eight's mole, suggesting that it may have been Hindsight who gave the Operator that inkling. With no reason not to fully stand against the Operator, Soulshaker formally joins the Eight's side of the fight.
When asked about whether or not he recruited the missing kids into the Operator's scheme, Soulshaker confirmed that he was the last one added to the roster of villains. He also confirms to Big Red that his real name is Rusty Samuels. Soulshaker later remembered that Madeleine's power was opening gateways, and that she hadn't been seen in a long time.
Later on, Soulshaker begrudgingly helped Big Red and gladly helped the others face off against the Amoeba and Counterfeit King, but did not get to do much of note in either encounter. He also helped stop Drasticman's evil side from causing damage. He participated in the battle against the invading Ging Gongs, but was only in the background instead of the primary encounter the party was part of. He was present for the investigation of the Curator's slaughterhouse masterpiece but did not do anything of note.
Soulshaker did not make any more appearances outside of being a background character for the remainder of the campaign for unknown reasons.
== Notable Moments ==
* Attacking Normalcy
* Having his nose broken at least four separate times
* Being pigeonholed into being the Eight's mole
* Being ghosted by the Operator
== Powers and Abilities ==
=== Magic Spells ===
The extent of Soulshaker's magical abilities are yet to be seen, but he has extensive control over magic. Whether or not he has limits to what spells he can use has also yet to be seen.
== Trivia ==
* Soulshaker is a spoof of John Constantine from DC Comics.
Category:Characters
Category:NPCs
Category:Humans
Category:Sorcerers
Category:Antagonists
Category:Bosses
Category:The Saviors of Sunset City
Category:The Echelon Eight
Category:Friendly NPCs
Category:Hopkins House