Citadel

Citadel is an African cybernetic superhero and the founder of Watchtower.

## Biography

Kalidon Bihari was born a genius. He had little access to education in the remote extremist-occupied corner of Mauritania his family occupied, but it didn't matter. He deduced entire languages from scraps of newspaper and faded adverts. At age four he inferred the existence of the internet, and by six he had built a crude receiving tower to steal satellite wifi. His learning grew exponentially, and at fifteen he harnessed his knowledge of political dynamics and mob psychology to orchestrate a movement that permanently removed the violent extremists from his country.

His actions saw Kalidon hailed as a hero by the Mauritanian government, and the state sponsored his education. But it quickly became clear to him that the government viewed him as some sort of metahuman asset to help maintain control. Kalidon played along with their schemes for years, studying advanced technology at a government research facility with a focus on cutting-edge cybernetics. He even went so far as to modify his own mind with cybernetic implants, becoming a true cyborg with an even more powerful brain. And in 2016, at the age of only thirty, he used this massive brain power to once again orchestrate a coup de tat-- but this time against the corrupt President of Mauritania.

This didn't have quite the effect he'd predicted, however. Although the President and his allies were ousted, the remnants of the government reassembled under a new, even more brutal autocrat, and meanwhile the citizenry descended into chaos. Kalidon himself was branded an international terrorist by the UN for his interference with a 'lawful' government. With no other option he fled the country and found his way to the machine city Zero-One. There he begged the Unimind for asylum, and since he was a cyborg the AI agreed to shelter him. Learning directly from the machines, Kalidon's knowledge expanded exponentially, and he used their manufactories to create astounding technological marvels and even built his first base, a reinforced underground lab full of all the equipment he'd need to be self-sufficient forever. And while he worked, he pondered the question of how to bring true, peaceful democracy to his homeland, and to all countries trapped under the thumb of dictators.

Kalidon never found the answer, but he decided that an imperfect solution was better than none. He had seen the revolutionary actions of the Young Plutonian and decided that as a superhero he could affect some amount of change. Calling himself Citadel (a personal joke acknowledging his reclusive tendencies) he equipped himself with the best weaponry he could develop and began carrying out precision strikes against entrenched military dictators all across the African continent. This campaign continued for only a short time, however, before the Lustrian Star Empire invaded Earth in 2022. Citadel joined in humanity's defense, including playing a small role in the Battle of Olympus. He had immediately predicted the course of the invasion, but had been unable to halt it on his own; the events of those pivotal few weeks convinced him that he must find allies in order to protect the entire world from such perils.

With careful planning, months of work, and a great deal of material aid from Zero-One, Citadel furnished a new home base on an asteroid tethered in far orbit around the Earth and staffed it with a hand-picked team of powerful metahumans. Calling themselves Watchtower, their mission is to save the Earth from existential threats and promote democracy around the world. Citadel still dreams of returning peace to Mauritania some day, and perhaps even becoming his native country's leader-- a democratically *elected* leader, of course. But his ambitions for the world go far beyond one country's borders, and in time this brilliant, driven man may shape the very destiny of the entire planet.

## Personality

Citadel is a quiet man, saying as little as possible to convey his point and not speaking at all if he doesn't believe it will make a difference. He has great faith in himself but almost none in other people, and can quickly become frustrated when others show a lack of the drive, intelligence, and conviction he has in abundance.

For these reasons Citadel has difficulty making friends, inspiring others, or bonding with teammates, which is why he did not seek to make himself the official leader of Watchtower. He is learning to open up, however, and his allies know that they can count on him in a crisis even if he is a bit of a bore otherwise.

Citadel rarely relaxes, but when he does he immerses himself in music. He has almost no musical talent himself but he enjoys tinkering with accoustic systems, trying to achieve a mathematically perfect audio quality.

## Powers

Citadel's cybernetic brain is the processing hub for a vast network of nanomachine drones that orbit him at all times. These drones, each one only a few micrometers in length, are designed to gather zero-point energy from the vacuum between atoms. This is a potentially limitless energy source, and Citadel's drones can focus this energy into powerful energy constructs. These can be used to blast opponents, but they can also create shapeable forcefields and act as a strong telekinetic force as well.

Citadel's armor is crafted of Adamant-3, one of the strongest adamantine alloys, and it provides him excellent protection when enemies make it past his forcefields. Although not true power armor, its ability to channel the energy gathered by his drones does give him enhanced strength and flight capabilities. His armor can also monitor and regulate his body's condition, administering medication, painkillers, antidotes, and stimulants as necessary to help Citadel overcome a variety of deleterious effects.

Citadel's power grows significantly when he's in one of his bases. These locations are all controlled by sophisticated computers that link seamlessly with Citadel's mind. This expands his senses and allows him to take direct control of all the security measures in place, as well as channeling energy directly from local generators into his drone network. He enjoys enhanced damage potential and nearly unlimited endurance so long as the generators keep feeding him power.

Citadel is a super-genius and one of humanity's most brilliant minds. He is a master of every academic field that ever held his interest. His cybernetic brain can retain vast stores of information with perfect recall, and also gives him the ability to communicate with and even hack into computer systems.

## Weaknesses

Citadel's technology is coveted by many nefarious entities, the most dangerous of which is Mechanon itself. Mechanon wants to capture and disassemble Citadel in order to integrate his designs into its own drones and pursues him relentlessly.

Despite his valiant efforts during the Lustrian invasion, Citadel is still widely regarded as a dangerous malcontent. Many see him as an antihero at best, while others outright label him as a terrorist supervillain who must be brought to heel. He may eventually prove himself to UNTIL, but he still has a long way to go. Until then he must be careful to avoid being cornered by the authorities while carrying out his missions.