Auguste Khameau

*"A self-proclaimed fashion guru and master thief who manipulates people as well as criminal groups into doing his bidding. Has invisibility powers, though their origin remains a mystery. Alex can't remember his name."* - Auguste Khameau's character profile

**Auguste Khameau** is an antagonist in Glory Hounds. He is a fashionista turned supervillain who works with the Saltwater Syndicate for his own ends.

## Appearance

Khameau is a chameleon with green scales, which are lightest on his underbelly and darker in speckled stripes across his back, neck, legs, and arms. He has three ridged horns, one at the tip of his nose and one above each of his eyes, and short yellow claws at the end of each of his fingers. He has short triangular yellow spines running down his back from his head to his tail, which is long and often curled into a spiral behind him. As can be seen in the game's files, Khameau has green eyes. He also has an extremely long tongue that he utilizes in combat.

In his civilian outfit (which is currently unused, but can be seen in the files), Khameau wears a red wool sweater and gray plaid pants.

In his villain outfit, Khameau wears a pair of goggles with opaque white lenses over his prominent eyes, as well as a color-changing costume that changes appearance as he shifts between various colors. Various variations of this outfit include all black (occasionally with his head unobscured); dark blue with red on his chest and elbows and silver boots and straps; and red with gray on his chest and forearms and dark blue straps and boots. In actuality, Khameau's costume is quite minimal, being all black and composed of just gloves with guards that cover his forearms, a collar attached to a Y-shaped strap that goes across his upper chest, boots, and what seems to be a jockstrap with a few containers attached around the belt region. The rest of Khameau's various "outfits" are simply his scales changing color.

## Personality

Khameau is an arrogant egocentrist who places great importance on the appearances of himself and those around him. Coming from an influential background, he has a self-proclaimed eye for fashion and is quick to insult others, particularly his enemies, for their perceived lack of taste. Khameau seems to have had some sort of cosmetic surgery given his reference to having scars on his nose, hinting at an insecure sense of vanity toward his own appearance. This insecurity is later revealed to stem from a long history of being overlooked, particularly by his parents and his peers in the world of fashion. As a result, Khameau became vengeful and turned toward theft as a means of gaining attention and getting revenge on those that turned their backs on him. He is particularly irked by others forgetting his name.

Regardless of his apparent pettiness, Khameau is highly intelligent and conniving. He successfully deceives the Saltwater Syndicate into helping him steal the Money Talks gown so that he can abscond with it himself, leaving both the Syndicate and the Glory Hounds baffled. He also has a creative eye that allows him to create intricately designed disguises and outfits, though his work rarely seems to suit the taste of others. With a whiplike tongue and the ability to render himself almost completely invisible by changing the color of his scales, Khameau is a dangerous foe, and he skillfully uses his natural abilities in both infiltration and combat. Despite the utility of his camouflage however, Khameau resents this ability and considers himself cursed by it.

## Story

### Prior to Glory Hounds

Khameau comes from a wealthy family with parents who run their own extremely successful company. Growing up, he was often ignored by his parents and only gained their attention when being scolded for interfering with their “perfect image.” In his free time, he took up sewing in hopes of gaining their approval. During his first fashion show however, he accidentally became invisible for the first time as a result of his nervousness and remained transparent for a full two days. His parents then disowned him, considering this unorthodox ability to be a disgrace to the family and causing him to consider it a curse.

Left destitute, Khameau hoped to make a name for himself using his designs. Unfortunately, his initial discussions with other influential people in the fashion world led to his designs being stolen and when he spoke up in protest, his name being publicly smeared. Though he attempted to continue his career even as an outcast, his designs largely failed to find an audience. Feeling more invisible in the world than ever, Khameau decided to put his “curse” to use and took on a life of crime to gain recognition and seek revenge on those who wronged him.

Khameau began stealing money, fabric, jewels, and other expensive items in pursuit of developing a fashion empire. While he gained somewhat of a fortune from his heists, many of Khameau’s stolen materials ended up becoming components in his own couture. In possibly his most infamous heist, Khameau successfully made off with the crown jewels when they were being exhibited at a museum. For a brief time, Khameau ran an unsuccessful blog where he would showcase his creative endeavors and talk about his feelings, particularly how underappreciated he felt in the world.

Eventually, Khameau was able to find “kindred spirits” who were willing to assist him in his crimes. Many of Khameau’s goons appear to be butterflies, some of whom were seemingly connected to the world of fashion themselves. Still bearing a grudge against those who wronged him, Khameau came up with an elaborate plan to steal the valuables and designs of a number of influential figures from the world of fashion in an act of revenge.

Shortly before the events of Glory Hounds, he seemingly devised an idea to steal the Money Talks gown from Opgedoekt by first teaming up with the Saltwater Syndicate and then double crossing them to take the gown for himself. He then approached Ahab with a plan for working "collaboratively" that was quickly set into motion.

### Issue #1

Khameau debuts in the *en media res* opening of Glory Hounds, pursued onto the roof of a skyscraper by Dawn Hound and Dusk Hound while attempting to pull off a heist. He is angered when Alex forgets his name, despite having apparently just told the pair about his "tragic backstory" off-screen, and calls in a group of sword-wielding butterflies to back him up during their confrontation. Before the fight can break out however, Alex flashes back to how he ended up in this situation, which once again leaves Khameau furious at being ignored.

### Issue #2

Khameau makes his first chronological appearance at the start of Issue #2, where Ahab introduces him to his subordinates as the key behind the Syndicate's upcoming heist. He is frustrated by the group not knowing his name, but nevertheless shares his plan to infiltrate the Opgedoekt gallery by impersonating janitors and then steal the gown discreetly without being noticed.

After pulling a few strings to set up a false temp agency, Khameau succeeds in getting himself and members of the Syndicate hired as janitors at Opgedoekt. After once again interrupting from the present to complain about Alex flashing back rather than fighting him, Khameau is shown pointing out Alex's presence in the gallery to Ishmael, who quickly informs the rest of the Syndicate that someone has come to stop them. Khameau later packs up the Money Talks gown and captures Lou, bringing them before Ahab to receive instructions on what to do with them. After a brief argument regarding Ahab's use of pirate terminology, the villains are interrupted by the arrival of Dawn and Dusk Hound. Khameau insults their outfits, only to be hit in the face by Alex's grappling gun, and releases Lou in pain. He is quickly avenged by Ahab however, who defeats the heroes and allows the Syndicate to flee the gallery with the gown in tow.

Khameau returns to the Syndicate's hideout with them in order to celebrate a successful heist, proudly accepting kudos from Ahab for the success of his plan. Ahab questions his decision to leave the Syndicate following their successful operation, but Khameau insists he has plans of his own. Before he can elaborate however, the group is interrupted once again by the arrival of Dawn Hound and Dusk Hound. During the ensuing conflict Khameau proves to be an agile and formidable opponent, though he quickly makes his escape when the heroes turn the tide by felling Ahab.

In the aftermath, the heroes discover Khameau's calling card in the now-empty container for the Money Talks gown and realize that he must have double-crossed the Syndicate. They then resolve to look deeper into his background and plan to track him down the next day.

### Issue #3

Khameau serves as the main antagonist of Glory Hounds Issue #3, with the team pursuing him following his getaway in Issue #2. After conversing with Lou about Khameau’s previous heists and his possible whereabouts currently, the team discovers that the calling card he left in the Money Talks gown’s container contains a message in invisible ink reading “come find me” alongside the logo for the city’s new convention center. Lou quickly puts together that Khameau will likely be present at the “Bonds Through Bondage” fashion show being held at the center that night. Despite the obvious danger of walking into a situation where Khameau feels confident enough to taunt them into attending, the Glory Hounds decide to sneak into the event and confront him in hopes of retrieving the gown before he can disappear with it.

After infiltrating the event under the guise of a waiter, Milo locates Khameau mingling in the VIP section and plants a tracking device on the bag he is carrying. Dusk and Dawn Hound are able to follow soon after by posing as models, with Alex spotting Khameau from the catwalk and causing a diversion by identifying him as a thief. Khameau then turns invisible and flees backstage, temporarily being halted when he trips over a mannequin.

Face to face with the Glory Hounds, Khameau bitterly relates his backstory and the motives behind his crimes before revealing that he was the one to create the Bonds Through Bondage show for the express purpose of robbing those in attendance of their valuables. He also taunts the heroes with his possession of the diamond-encrusted bodice of the Money Talks gown. Afterward, he becomes invisible yet again and flees toward the roof with the Glory Hounds in pursuit, where the story itself begins back in Issue 1.

As Alex finishes his tale, Khameau complains about Alex still not knowing his name despite his long flashback and sets his minions upon the heroes. Biding his time, Khameau turns invisible and strikes as soon as his butterfly henchmen are defeated, knocking Dawn Hound unconscious with his whiplike tongue. Though at first Khameau possesses the upper hand in his fight against Dusk Hound as well, Alex is able to turn things around by using his sense of smell to track him. Before Dusk Hound can land a finishing blow however, Khameau is able to knock Alex off the roof.

Saved from death and returned to the exact moment before his fall by the mysterious voice that continues to contact him, Alex learns from his defeat and, instead of attempting to dodge, grabs Khameau’s tongue. He then releases his grip to send it flying back toward Khameau at a high velocity and knock out the fashionista once and for all. As he regains consciousness, Khameau cries that all he wanted was recognition and is surprised to find Dusk Hound offering his sympathies, even remembering his name at last. Khameau then willingly surrenders to the police and gives up the location of the rest of the Money Talks gown to the heroes so it can be returned to Opgedoekt.

## Relationships

### Alex

— Alex offering Khameau sympathy following his defeat.

Khameau is frustrated by Alex's inability to remember him or his name, as well as his flashing back to his origins as Dusk Hound rather than focusing on their fight. He looks down on Dusk Hound's "lack of fashion" and insults both his costuming and combat prowess, even taking on an appearance specifically to mock him. Despite this, the pair share a fair amount of parallels in regards to their anxieties about being forgotten by the world without ever leaving a mark. After Khameau is defeated, he willingly surrenders and gives up the location of the Money Talks gown as a result of Dusk Hound offering empathy and, at long last, remembering his name.

### Ahab

Khameau first approaches Ahab with the idea of forming a collaborative partnership to steal the expensive Money Talks gown from Opgedoekt, to which the Saltwater Syndicate's Captain agrees. In actuality, Khameau uses Ahab and the Syndicate as a distraction to steal the gown for himself and abandons them to contend with Dawn and Dusk Hound. Khameau looks upon Ahab as a fool and seems to take pride in having manipulated him, though in doing so he gained an enemy in the Saltwater Syndicate.

## Trivia

* Khameau is gay.
* Khameau is repeatedly shown to have the questionably-canonical ability to freeze-frame Alex's narration of the story by literally tearing through the fourth wall as if it were the page of a comic.
* Khameau's surname is presumably a pun on the word 'camouflage,' befitting his color-changing abilities.
* Khameau's multi-horned appearance resembles that of a Jackson's chameleon, though his specific species is unknown.

## Gallery

DefaultStealth costumeOne variation of Khameau's villain costumeA second variation of Khameau's villain costumeMocking Dusk HoundKhameau's actual costume without his scales camouflagedPromo art featuring Khameau illustrated by Shtar.Close up of promotional art of Khameau in his civilian outfit.Promotional art of Khameau for Issue #2 of Glory Hounds.Promo art for Glory Hounds Issue #3- Of Models, Monsters, and Mortality featuring Khameau looming over the heroes.