Weaver

*I watched, like most of the country, most of the world, as the Black Zodiac swept over Paradigm. Experienced the shocked disbelief as the Heroes that I had looked up to fell, one after another. The country conceded to the might of Zerstoiten soon after. Things got weird for me after that. I realize now it was the first manifestation of my ability, intuitively understanding the uncommon connections between things, though at the time, I didn't understand why I was doing this. Raiding the hidden caches of dead heroes, scientists, aliens. Combining the fruits of vastly different genius into something new and different. It didn't last, of course.I had no skill for being sneaky. The Black Zodiac found me. A 15-year old kid, in way over their head, with cobbled tech that could do things they've never seen before, or even imagined.*

*I'd like to say they didn't give me a choice, but that would be a lie. I was too scared to do anything. I knew what sort of things would be done with what I made for the Zodiac. At least I thought I knew. Zerstoiten had incredible geniuses working for him, of course. Ones with experience and skill, who saw the applied potential in my devices that my intuitive ability could not. They provided  me with every piece of technology they had access to. A treasure trove of new possibilities to combine in ways that no one else could have even considered in hundreds of years. I can't undo the horrors that were then committed with the things that I had made. I can't take back what had already been constructed. So I grabbed everything I could carry. I fried the rest, and I ran. If we're lucky it will take them years to understand and reverse engineer my tech. I don't understand it myself, at least not in a meaningful way.*

*I know what I should do. Every day that I'm alive is a day they could recapture me. This time they won't be lax.  I'll be controlled, enthralled, or worse. Each time I think that maybe this time I can do it, each time I fail. Their trackers are getting better, the time until the next one gets close is less and less. My luck will run out soon. I am a selfish coward, and I am alone. Where is a hero when you need one?*

## Origin Story

Cas was at a private boarding school when the Ion Cannon leveled Millennum City, , and Cas has not heard from any of their family since. Guided by an intuitive drive, Cas started locating and breaking into the secret stashes of many of the city's powered individuals. Caught by the Zodiac while looting one of Yellow Jacket's secret safehouses, Cas's particular talents were immediately evident, drawing the attention of the Zodiac's top minds and Zerstoiten himself, and put to work in one of the Zodiac's most secure labs. Cas escaped, but not in time to prevent a very familiar device from being used to destructively coerce Spain into joining Zerstoiten's empire and giving him a foothold in Europe.

## Meta-human Abilities

1. **Intuitive Invention:** Weaver is able to naturally understand the effects of technological devices both intentional and secondary, and how they will interact with any other given thing. This allows Cas to crafts technology that operates in ways the few could have anticipated or imagined, and also to sabotage technology in ways that no one could have predicted.
2. **Connectivity:** The same power also allows Weaver to intuit the hidden and in-obvious connections between events and people and places, and is the aspect that allowed them to loot the secret stashes of many heroes and villains. This ability is currently largely undeveloped and simply operates in the background steering Cas in the right direction
3. **Untethered:** Weaver has a keen mind that is uninhibited by conventional linear thinking than most. This provides a layer of defense to direct mind reading that many mentalists would find uniquely unpleasant.

## Equipment

Weaver uses a variety of equipment and devices, scavenged, scrounged, and repurposed. Many of these come from the looted stashes of various heroes and villians, notably certain components specifically have their origins with The Crusader, Dr. Sabre, Javen Exarch, Hyde, and Ultraviolet. Notably the main power source for the Harness is clearly Malvan in origin. Various modules can be attached to the harness to emulate different abilities, albeit very unreliably. Much of these have been expended avoiding the Zodiac's Hunters.
1. **The Harness:** Always at the center of Weaver's gear is the central framework and power source for further gadgets and devices. In its initial form it is a jury-rigged combination of high technology and scavenged components, worn over the torso with control wires and emitters trailing to the hands and feet, much of it readily identifiable as bleeding edge Zodiac tech. The core ability of the Harness is redirection and storage of kinetic force. It does not seem to show a limit to this ability, though the controls for such are crude and unreliable. The Harness itself provides a small amount of physical protection, largely due to its bulk and high-end construction materials.

## Skills & Talents

Cas has an encyclopedic knowledge of various heroes and villains, though with most of them dead, it's largely utilized to loot their corpses, so to speak. Cas has the potential to be an amazing scientist, but lacks any formal training and doesn't carry much of the hard science knowledge necessary, yet. Physically Cas is relatively average, but has shown talent for operating vehicles, even unconventional ones.

## Weaknesses

Cas suffers from a crippling lack of self-confidence, and the brutal suppression of Madrid has brought on a new low. Witnessing Weaver-tech being used for evil is likely to put Cas in a bad place. Cas has no physical metahuman abilities, and is thus very vulnerable without gear.

## Appearance & Personality

Cas is a fairly nondescript looking Korean-American teenager, with straight hair off the shoulder and a rather androgynous look. The Harness is covered with a tattered canvas, and underneath is a ratty zodiac uniform. Given the opportunity, Cas will dress in comfy, nondescript clothes. The only standout item is a silver hairclip worn over the left ear.
Cas is prone to polar swings between mania and brooding depression, but will latch onto and fiercely defend any who seem to show genuine concern. Cas will not open up easily, figuring that will just put others in more danger.

## Quote

"I don't have any choice but to keep pushing forward. If I stop, he wins."