Bernhardt Gunvald

Bernhardt Gunvald is the captain of Team Cthulhu. He is one of the 12 current Level 5 Superhumans at H.E.R.O., one of only three naturally evolved Level 5 superhumans, and the original captain of M-Division. He is widely considered the most powerful of the superhuman captains and is known as a serious, tough, and ruthless soldier.

## Background

### Origins

Nothing much is known about Bernhardt Gunvald's childhood but at some point during his early life he was noticed by Tarnic Miliken and brought into his service at M-Corp. During his tenure, Bernhardt survived a monster infection and ascended as a superhuman. While his code name is unknown, he was the leader of the M-Division and respected by all who dealt with him. While friendly with all his fellow squad mates, Bernhardt formed especially close friendships with fellow superhumans and M-Division soldiers Malik Drexel and Henrick Bendrix. Henrick even went on to be his foremost lieutenant, trusted above all others. After Henrick became the first superhuman to reach Level 5, Malik and Bernhardt both used his experience to achieve their own final evolutions. So far, these 3 superhumans are the only ones to have reached Level 5 naturally.

As a member of M-Division, Bernhardt helps end The Unification War in the United Republic's favor and then continues his work as a founding and controlling member of H.E.R.O.. At some point he got married and the couple adopted a son: Elijah Gunvald. When Henrick eventually became too dangerous to let out into public, Bernhardt took over the Cthulhu Squad as its captain.

### Current

Bernhardt is a member of the controlling council of H.E.R.O. and has a vote on the organization's general operations. He is generally the voice of Superhuman supremacists and constantly advocates for Superhumans to take over and rule through fear to better focus the world's efforts to tackle the monster problem. He also relishes fighting monsters, particularly members of the S-Class, against whom Bernhardt has notched an unbelievable 4 kills.

### H.E.R.O Arc

Bernhardt is first introduced during Dexter Miliken's negotiations on H.E.R.O.'s behalf against Supreme Minister Alistair Landley. He arrives during the meeting and is introduced to the group. Alistair naturally doubts the magnitude of the Monster threat and the power of H.E.R.O. as an organization so Dexter sets up a demonstration. Dexter Miliken organizes the awaking of single M17: Himavat in the crystal mountain ranges during the meeting. Its incredible size and obvious power immediately sends the supreme minister into a panic. He immediately thinks of scrambling Nuclear Weapons to try and kill it but Dexter points out that a nuke would do little to a mountain and - given that it was a powerful monster - even multiple nukes most likely wouldn't kill it. Dexter also says that he wouldn't want to waste Bernhardt's time cleaning up the atmospheric damage of multiple nuclear explosions. Alistair then asks how H.E.R.O would handle the matter. Dexter promptly asks Bernhardt - who was watching the whole scene - to handle it. Bernhardt merely comments that "a little pressure should do it" and vanishes in a gust of wind. He appears in front of the monster - hundreds of miles away - in just a few seconds. Bernhardt then "handles" the issue in spectacular fashion, first engaging the monster in a quick conversation, blocking its enormous strike with little effort, and then blowing it to pieces in an instant. A few seconds later he returns to the conference room, tells Dexter to ensure that the negotiations go favorably for H.E.R.O and leaves. This display of H.E.R.O.'s power also quickly ends negotiations in Dexter's favor.

Bernhardt is next seen at the press conference introducing H.E.R.O. to the world. After Dexter introduces h.E.R.O to the assembled journalists, he invited Bernhardt to further explain the situation. He gusts into the auditorium before descending dramatically from the ceiling onto the speaking podium. Bernhardt then simply says that the monsters are an every increasing threat and that they need more Superhumans as warriors to fight. Any superhumans who didn't would simply watch their world be swallowed by the monsters. He then leaves as quickly as he entered.

Bernhardt is next seen during the council meeting after Nico's confrontation with Ella's wards at the TV station. He greets the MC before taking his seat and waiting for the meeting to begin. He interrogates Nico, before quickly analyzing the information the MC provides. If the MC tells H.E.R.O. that Ella is a recently ascended Level 5, Bernhardt will comment that it would be "easy pickings" for him.

### Battle of Diamonds

Bernhardt and rest of Team Cthulhu are posted around the various sector to deal with the concurrent monster attacks orchestrated by S.I.N during the Battle of Diamonds

### Twins Arc

In the aftermath of the Battle of Diamonds, If the MC has low public opinion, Bernhardt and he are sent out for various public appearances and press conferences. Bernhardt takes a severe hard-line with the press both admitting to prioritizing saving Superhuman lives over that of regular soldiers during the battle and to H.E.R.O.'s eugenics programs. He freely intimidates the press and is quite brusque; accepting absolutely no dissenting words from anyone.

He is in the room when the MC presents his plan to infiltrate a S.I.N initiation and is disgruntled to hear that it relies on a traitor in S.I.N's ranks. When Lucius wonder out loud as to how much they should trust the MC, Bernhardt simply states that trust is unnecessary when H.E.R.O. becomes the only option. When the council debates using mind control or other subtly coercive measures to keep H.E.R.O. operatives in line, he is unhappy since he believes its is underhanded and unnecessary since he believes in using pure force and fear to keep everyone on side. He also wants to restart the old M-Division training programs to make warriors out of all the civilians they are recruiting but doesn't get too much traction with the other council members.

After the reveal of Eisheth during the S.I.N Initiation infiltration, Bramon Xanthe puts Cthulhu Squad in charge of capturing her and ending her kidnapping spree across the sectors. Bernhardt is disgusted at the idea of having to capture instead of kill the monster but ultimately concedes to the mission. Before the briefing, the MC can find him, Henrick Bendrix and Lisa Corven observing a sparring match between Elijah Gunvald and Kira Kelsey. Henrick comments that the 2 sparring superhumans seem to be adjusting well to their new Level 5 forms. Bernhardt is unconvinced, saying that he and Henrick adapted much better and that Xanthe's serum was flawed. Henrick counters that that's just because he and Bernhardt are built different, pointing out that Bernhardt was stronger than the Level 5 lieutenants even before he evolved. When the MC arrives, Bernhardt asks Lisa to extract the lieutenant from the simulation and begins the mission briefing. He tells the MC that H.E.R.O. is going to use Amber and Liz as bait for Eisheth. When the monster appears, Elijah and Kira will engage it and the MC's job will be quickly spirit the twins to safety and kill anyone who interferes. When the MC asks whether it wouldn't be better to just ask Nico to warp the twins to safety, Bernhardt coldly comments that it would be a waste of Nico's time. He does however allow Deryl to participate.

Trusting that his son and Kira Kelsey would successfully capture Eisheth, he departs on another hunt. Until he is surprised to receive an emergency distress call from Elijah Gunvald; who says that he and Kira need him. Bernhardt arrives practically instantly to see Elijah and Kira pretty thoroughly beaten by Eisheth but still alive. He is disgusted at their performance and summarily dismisses them before turning to confront Eisheth. She is disappointed to see the lieutenants withdraw but decides to deal with Bernhardt. He is clearly disgusted by her and doesn't respond to her teasing. His killing intent on the other hand rattles her, causing her to immediately telekinetically grab a number of humans as shields. She attempts to bargain but Bernhard simply challenges her to try and kill the hostages then immediately cuts off her arm - through her barrier - before whisking away all the hostages. Enraged, Eisheth imposes her world even more strongly and assumes her true armored form. She once again attempts to bargain with Bernhard but he is unmoved. Bernhardt is unaffected by her first attack and then uses his Anti-Pressure to nullify her attempting to crush him. He then cleaves her in two with his air blade. Realizing that he couldn't kill her in her realm, he unleashes a tempest so powerful it erases the entire realized realm. Eisheth is shocked to see his power and relieved to see Hex appear to evacuate her. Bernhard instantly destroys Hex's ring before seizing Eisheth with his wind. He then uses his air compression to crush Eisheth into a ball and capture her for Bramon Xanthe.

Bernard is later present at a meeting of the controlling council, where the other captains scold him for his lieutenants' performance. Bramon Xanthe also criticizes him for not handling Eisheth's capture personally as he had asked. Bernhard is embarrassed and volunteers - along with Malik Drexel and Henrick Bendrix - to destroy S.I.N and retrieve the MC and Deryl. He is later even more irritated to hear that about Bramon's plans to capture and store even more S class monsters in H.E.R.O.'s cells.

## Powers and Abilities

Bernhardt is one of if not THE most powerful superhumans in the story. He is routinely called a freak of nature and - along with Malik Drexel and Henrick Bendrix - is the most powerful superhuman at H.E.R.O. With his decades as a Superhuman and natural Level 5 evolution, he is renowned for his incredible power, skill, and experience.

### Human Abilities

Bernhardt is veteran solider; serving for decades as a part of M-Division in multiple conflicts. He is also a experienced leader, having led the other captains from their time in M-Division. He is ruthless and calculating and trusted by his peers and subordinates to deliver results.

### General Superhuman Abilities

As a Level 5 superhuman, Bernhardt's body is incredibly durable. He is also shown to be incredibly fast, moving hundreds of miles in a blink of an eye. He also likely has the standard suite of superhuman senses and enhancements and favors long range combat.

### Level 5 Abilities

Bernhardt appears to be an Aerokinetic. His powers seem always active, constantly levitating him a few inches off the ground and giving him the ability to instantly disappear into the air. He can move incredibly quickly in this "Wind" state, moving the hundreds of miles between the capital of Sector 1 and the Crystal Mountains in a matter of seconds despite being "slowed down" by being underground. His primary mode of attack and defense seem to be by moving enormous quantities of air and using it to exert enormous amounts of air pressure. The range and speed of his attacks make him utterly deadly for anyone to face.

## Trivia

* In theory it takes about 24221 PSI or 167 megapascals of pressure to crush 1 square meter of rock. In layman's terms, it would be the weight of 340 Semi Trucks standing on top of each other focused onto a 1 square meter area. To shatter a regular mountain would require Bernhardt to be able to exert millions of megapascals; and a monster is much tougher than a regular mountain. Meaning his average hits generate more over-pressure than nuclear bombs.
* In the first update that Bernhardt was featured in, his first name was shown as "Bernard"
* Bernhardt is a German name which means 'strong, brave as a bear'. His last name is common amongst Northern Germanic peoples, Norwegian to be exact.