Kid Spectacular

* Costume
* AI Generated Face

### Costume

A domino mask and a purple and white superhero suit made for him by Atlas Academy with an "S" to signify his association with the Spectaculars.

## Extras

### Theme

Nothing Personal (Current) Seven Nation Army (Previous)

Aaron Grey was born into a superheroic legacy- the child of two famous superheroes, Mr Spectacular and Mirage.

## History

### Early Life

Aaron spent his early life growing up with his parents in California. He was aware at a young age who his parents were and what they did for a living, quickly becoming embroiled in a hero world. His early family life, whilst busy, was a happy time. His parents were often busy with their hero work and personal projects and relied on a wealth of friends and other family members to help look after Aaron and eventually his younger brother Brandon, notable mention to Uncle Brokgar. Aaron and his brother were brought up in a happy and social environment and met many people from all walks of life.

It was in this early life that he became fascinated with heroes, old and new, and decided that he would one day become one of them. After spending time with the children of other famous superheroes he became really close friends with the sons of Lightspeed and Ultiman, EZ and Max respectively. This bond of friendship the trio share is strong and they know deep down they will always be there for each other, particularly with that great pressure that can come with having famous superhero parents.

He eventually developed his powers (albeit later than his two friends) at the age of puberty, and with his mother as his guide and teacher, taking a step back from superhero life to help her son control his abilities and learn to master them, he made steady progress in a scary time for him. With the powers finally in and with a strong control on them, KS was finally ready to take his first step on his journey to becoming a hero; by joining Atlas Academy with his best friends and getting a place on the active duty team with them.

While they were kids, Aaron, Max and EZ began a yearly tradition of camping. The summer before they transferred high schools to Atlas Academy they found a cave system beneath a lake which they agreed to explore together next year after they were all superheroes together.

### Starting at Atlas Academy

Hoping to make his parents proud and be on a team with his childhood friends Max and EZ, KS signed up for the hero course. He passed but was told to make a choice- join his friends on Team Justice- denying Firestorm and Loxley the chance to prove themselves on an active team or form a team of three. Reluctantly he joined Team Freedom.

His first mission had him working alongside Team Justice- helping victims of hurricane Irene and aiding the rebuilding effort.

Team Freedom's first mission as a group was to spend a night in the Burke Museum protecting a Babylonian tablet that was counterpart to a tablet stolen from a museum in Florida in the aftermath of Irene. Kid Spectacular pulled a prank on his teammates by moving a suit of armour to scare them. While Loxley scolded his immature teammate, a pair of thieves- Duckman and Baghead revealed themselves. The heroes chased the thieves out of the museum right into the trap of Rubber Bandit, Metalmark and Devil Ray.

Through his new team leader Loxley, he and Firestorm became acquainted with Team Unity: Bloom, Siren and Miss Militia. As well as briefly meeting their fourth member- Glacier who didn't seem to get along with the girls.

On the orbital holding facility holding Killer-Volt, Komodo and a number of other supervillains a malfunction caused the villains to be ejected via safety pod down to Earth. Komodo landed at Yellowstone national park and Team Freedom was sent to recapture him as quickly as possible before he escaped into the wilderness. The three heroes fought the cold-blooded Komodo over a dangerous and unpredictable geyser field.

Ironhide sent the team to investigate the disappearance of the cast of a cheesy sci-fi show from the 70s called Star Explorers. As they found their first solid lead into the man who had followed the cast back to their hotels during the previous two days at the con the cast reappeared at the panel- but these were actually Fandroids and the team quickly realised something was wrong from the stilted responses given to questions. Approaching the Fandroids after the panel wrapped up so that Kid Spectacular could analyse them they triggered the Fandroid's self-defense measures. They were able to trace the signal back to an unassuming house- where an old woman told them about her lazy son and how he never put his great mind to proper use always playing with toys. They found the basement which doubled as laboratory and bedroom to Mr Omega. They found out about his plans to kidnap the cast and make them act in his fan scripted episode of the show- which he was filming at an abandoned film set on the outskirts of town. They rushed over and confronted the self-proclaimed supergeek, who sent legions of Fandroids with working phasers at the heroes. During the fight the Fandroids overwhelmed Kid Spectacular and Mr Omega used his disintegration ray on Loxley- which sent Firestorm into a wild fury- only Loxley wasn't disintegrated and was only teleported back to Omega's mom's house. She offered him a cookie as he rushed off to get back to the fight. When he returned he found the set aflame and Mr Omega being beaten severely by Firestorm. Loxley calmed Firestorm down and reassured him everything was okay.

First year students had homecoming later in the year to the other years, a celebration wrapped up with Halloween to become their first dance at Atlas- Halloweencoming. Students went into the novelty Halloween store- Low Key Halloween Supplies- in downtown where the eccentric owner sold them remarkable costumes at even more remarkably reasonable prices- even more there seemed to be the perfect costume for any needs. Kid Spectacular decided to purchase a high quality spy costume that seemed as well tailored as any real tuxedo and for an incredibly modest price. All he needed after getting his costume was a date, he headed over to Team Unity's door intending to ask Miss Militia to be his date- the two had been flirting and she had heavily hinted that she wanted to go with him. Instead Siren answered the door and assumed he was there for her, he began to correct her but stopped when he saw her lip start to tremble and her eyes begin to water ruining her makeup. He asked Siren to go with him. The couple went to the dance together as their first date in what would become a year long relationship. Him as a spy and her as a princess. During the awards ceremony he was named Halloweencoming King and then the red lights descended and KS passed out as he became the spy he pretended to be.

Not quite KS anymore but still a dashing hero, the Spy- referred to by his unaffected friends as Spytacular- retained none of his memories and didn't know quite what to make of the carnage around him as people became the monsters they were dressed up as- he watched the princess get snatched by an ape wearing a tie. Spytacular began referring to the ongoing chaos as his 'mission' and spoke in an English accent much to Loxley's consternation. Together with Loxley and Firestorm the trio of teen heroes fought against the monsters in the school and regrouped with Ultimax who was convinced he was the sheriff and kept the science building secure. The monsters exploded into orbs when they were incapacitated and they rationalised that if they followed the orbs they would find the culprit. Kid Spytacular informed his allies that he could fly the jet. He followed the trail of orbs back to the Low Key Halloween Supplies store- where a web of red orbs descended from all across Seattle and Bellevue. The others realised why KS had been transformed and they hadn't- he was wearing a costume from this store and that was the common element. Inside they found the mastermind, the store owner revealed he was in fact the Norse god of trickery- Loki. True to his name as master of trickery Loki was quick to summon monsters from his accrued energy and reshaped the space inside the store to suit his fighting. After picking off *Kid Spytacular* and Loxley Loki had more than he bargained for when Firestorm exploded in rage, causing the store to catch alight and releasing all the captured energy from all of Loki's monsters. Loki defeated the trio but at the cost of having to end his spell and retreat.

Kid Spectacular learned there had been some sort of shared amnesia involving an incident at the cafeteria but found a strange cover-up that he would later learn involved his teammates Loxley and Firestorm. They eventually broke down and confided that a mysterious artificial life form had hypnotised the students, created a food golem and caused a literal food fight. Spearing the investigation he soon uncovered a trail left by a shapeshifter- initially suspecting Cynthia- he would later identify the shapeshifter as Jesse Knox. But the life form had been provided by Sebastian who had stolen a sample from the Sanderson-Shields facility and was using the oil in the cafeteria to feed it and make it grow. It had been carelessly left in there when Jesse tried to escape detection from the kitchen staff and that was what caused the food fight.

#### Rise of the Institute

Ironhide gave them a mission to capture Shogun Mantis- as Loxley and Firestorm had faced the villain before. Ironhide had been tracking the man's movements and was positive a research facility that had been abandoned after the hurricane would be the next target due to their area of expertise- killer bees. The trio infiltrated the flooded facility and overpowered the mooks that Shogun Mantis had hired before quickly coming face to face with the insect controller and his new power boost- the genetically modified killer bees. These new buzzing allies gave Shogun Mantis the edge and he brought down both Loxley and KS triggering one of Firestorm's explosive meltdowns which blasted Shogun Mantis clear through a wall and out into the swamp. Firestorm collapsed from exhaustion and when the trio came to, they found no sign of Shogun Mantis. He'd actually been 'rescued' by the Ishtar Institute on behalf of Ringleader who still wanted to use him in the Carnival of Carnage.

Tracking the connection between a series of mysterious storms, Ironhide sent Team Freedom to investigate such a storm on the ground- they arrive to find what appears to be Killer-Volt going on a rampage destroying infrastructure at random. The team intervenes but comes to realise it's actually just a teen, like them, not fully in control of their power. Kid Spectacular bats for the unfortunate youth while Loxley is content to throw him to UNISON after all the millions of dollars of property damage he's caused. Kid Spectacular undercuts Loxley's authority and informs Ironhide of the situation and persuades the principal to take the boy in to Atlas rather than putting him through the criminal justice system. Grateful for his help the kid decides he wants to be a hero under the name Kid Thunder.

Kid Thunder passed initiation exams after he could prove to be in control of his powers- which he achieved with help from KS who had personal experience with out of control powers and with helping others with little control. KS organised a group outing to celebrate, taking his girlfriend, KT and KT's new team leader Flexigirl. They were having a good time together being normal. Up until the pirate ship appeared in the bay. A shockwave hit the café sending the patrons- and the incognito teen heroes flying to the floor. While Flexigirl and Siren helped get people out of the way, Kid Thunder and Kid Spectacular confronted the unenthusiastic crew that had come on to land intending to rob the bank that was next to the café- they were dressed inappropriately piratey for the cold weather with deep v-necks and silks. The crew were reticent to fight unarmed children but were more willing to fight when the superbrats revealed they had powers. The pirates revealed their flintlock pistols were actually laser pistols and each of the pirates bore a high-tech cybernetic prosthetic though they were little match for the super kids. KS and KT entered the bank and split up so KT could get the hostages out while KS looked for the big bad. He came across a more enthusiastic pirate who called himself 'Eyes of the Devil' Crane, when KS locked eyes with the pirate he found himself paralysed and surrounded by illusions. Eventually overcoming the paralysis the two fought and the pirate tried to flee, KS pursued and found a smiling KT who had taken care of the pirate. Together again, the dynamic duo fought against the apparent mastermind- the Buffalo Buccaneer. Kid Thunder was taken out by his first villain unfortunately quickly- his power having decreased now he was trying harder to control it. After beating Buffalo Buccaneer both boys were bewildered that the baddie wasn't wearing some kind of costume but appeared to be some kind of buffalo-headed minotaur.

Hockey Maniac, Captain Kangaroo and Horsepower were all stealing various components for Brainchild, Team Freedom stopped them. Brainchild was freed from his imprisonment when he finally accepted the Institute's offer.

Team Freedom was sent to Paris to protect an art gallery that had previously been targeted by a gang of art thieves. As Célérité explained he had stopped the first attempt at night, but all the perpetrators that had been knocked unconscious or captured had absolutely no memories of the plot or how they even got there- some had memories missing for weeks. Célérité believed that as he was going into low earth orbit in a highly publicised press event for the Alliance the gang would strike again- even during the day. The three waited growing increasingly bored for any action to spring up in the gallery and were shocked when finally the glass smashed in and the thieves attacked. They had not counted on their leader, a cunning sorceress named Allura, being with them, or on her notable effect on the male patrons of the gallery who joined the looters in fighting the heroes. Even Firestorm succumbed to her mental domination, starting a fire that allowed the villain and her lackeys (including the mind-controlled Firestorm) to escape. The two remaining members of Team Freedom prioritised rescuing innocents and artwork before pursuing the villain and their friend. They tracked their position into the catacombs thanks to Firestorm's thermal signature, they fought against the villain and their former friend until they managed to stun her- causing a lapse in her mental control enough for Firestorm to weaken her. She melted away into the shadows to escape the rage of her puppet cut loose. Loxley and KS managed to talk Firestorm down and returned to the surface along with all the confused men who had been her loyal minions only minutes before. To this day, Ethan does not remember visiting Paris.

Team Freedom was assigned patrol around Seattle due to a number of unusually loud and flashy robberies from the criminal partners- Duckman and Baghead. During a patrol the team spotted the pair and gave chase only to be lured into a trap- Maxim Challenger opened the Box of Moloch trapping KS, Firestorm and Loxley inside along with Duckman and Baghead. KS woke up in a daze, his memories blurred into one. All he knew was that he had failed. He had lost his powers and was back at home living with his parents- who smiled sadly at their disappointment of a child. KS felt himself being drained of hope and a heaviness took over his limbs as he began going through the motions as an ordinary child. As he grew more and more desperate to be special again, he saw a door that didn't belong. He opened it and found Duckman who told him it wasn't real and that they needed to find the others and quickly. As if to punctuate his point metal scraping could be heard behind the pair as they found their way to the next door. They found Loxley sinking into the ground as a ghost. They pulled him up and Duckman nervously revealed they'd been paid to lure them into a trap- and that this was the trap. When pressed on how to escape Duckman nervously deflected but said that Baghead would be able to use his powers to get them out and they could get into each others dreams through special doors- they just needed to find him. The first door they opened lead them to Ethan's nightmare- the burnt out husk of his old school. As they walked through the corridors they saw the black shadows of children burnt into the walls until eventually they found Ethan burning out of control. Together they calmed him down and explained it wasn't real- causing a split to happen and a shadowy fake firestorm to appear who tries -with sadistic glee- to burn the others. While trying to regroup with baghead they were approached by the warden of the box- a sneering man in a purple suit who gleefully informed them his name was Moloch and that he would just have to make them forget what they'd learned and make them face their fears alone again. KS began glowing with power and Moloch rolled his eyes, realising he'd have to beat the will out of them first and transformed into a purple skinned minotaur. Team Freedom fought against Moloch while Duckman looked for a doorway to Baghead. After they staggered Moloch and the construct started to fall apart they followed Duckman through the door into a space where nothing made sense and strange whispers tugged at their consciousness, Duckman shouted that it was time to leave and suddenly they were all sat on solid ground, reeling from the experience. They found themselves in some sort of trophy room that looked, at first glance, to be a shrine to Mr Spectacular. Hearing the commotion Professor Challenger entered the room to find himself face to face with three very angry teens and two disgruntled former allies. Baghead lifted up the bag a slight fraction while stood behind his allies and Challenger dropped to his knees babbling incoherently about how it wasn't fair. Challenger was taken in to UNISON custody while Duckman and Baghead fled the scene.

KS and Firestorm tried to recruit the sullen Glacier to freeze a hill so they could go sledding, which he called a stupid and childish waste of time. Kid Spectacular took umbrage at this and did the mature thing- he instigated a fight. He and Firestorm gave the social outcast a beatdown which landed the team in hot water and would have dire consequences later.

Osprey sent information to Ironhide about the Carnival of Carnage's unusual movements, together they inferred a pattern and believed they were using circuses and carnivals near to their targets as cover to get close before attacking. This time the attack was believed to be directed at a Sanderson-Shields manufacturing facility at an airfield- an airfield that was hosting a carnival for the nearby town. Team Freedom went undercover at the carnival with Team Unity- both teams acting only as backup for the second year team. Siren and KS spent time together as a couple, playing games and going on rides following the example of his team leader. When the inevitable happened the two had just got off the ferris wheel that Bloom and Loxley were still on and Team Freedom had to fight the new Carnival of Carnage line-up: The GREAT Boris, Rubber Bandit, Twin Dragons and all while getting hit by the disorienting nausea of Dizzy Darling's powers. After a series of fights across the fairgrounds, with each side alternating between withdrawing and pressing their advantage like a pendulum the carnival decided to cut their losses and escape to the Ziggurat which imposed in the skies above. The second year team was out of commission from a simultaneous attack on the manufacturing facility from another Institute team and Team Unity wasn't prepared for a prolonged combat engagement but the trio pursued the carnival alone, hoping to prevent them from regrouping. Instead they met the Iron Bull for the first time, the injured heroes no match for his overwhelming firepower and years of combat experience. One by one, the Iron Bull brought the team down. KS was roused from unconsciousness by Team Unity- the faces of worry from Bloom and Siren, determination from Miss Militia and a cold hint of a smirk from Glacier. He was told that Iron Bull had taken Loxley and Firestorm with him as he left leaving the teen to despair the loss of his friends.

When Loxley and Firestorm returned he found that something serious had happened between the two of them- with Ethan refusing to even speak to Loxley. KS would learn that the Institute had attempted to recruit them.

Realising the lost potential to get a man inside the Institute, Ironhide concocted a plan to create new villainous identities- backdated online with fake news stories about their exploits and to really prove their worth and that they are not Team Freedom he has Mal use modified fandroids to create duplicates of KS, Fahrenheit and Loxley. Firestorm chooses a villainous identity that's mute so that he doesn't have to speak to Loxley- ignoring the other obvious downsides. The fandroid Team Freedom faces down the new villains Orbit, Coal and Darkbolt who quickly find themselves being brought up to the Institute Ziggurat and recruited as members. They complete the trials and are brought into the school to meet their peers. Who demand they prove themselves in combat- letting them choose their opponents from the gathered crowd. They pick Kid Carnage, Sister Savage and Nightstrike and defeat them- which they later learn has placed a target squarely on their back as those three are considered three tough individual opponents.

The three heroes settle into their new lives as members of the institute to varying degrees. As his new identity Orbit, he befriended Ken the Invisible Boy and Nightstrike. He tried to mediate the growing tension between "Darkbolt" and "Coal" to little success- the pair fought in a duel before their new classmates. The Institute gave the newly forged team their first chance at a mission-during briefing they learn of the redundancies planned into mission assignment: two teams will be sent and the victorious team will earn special privileges. Darkbolt talks with Malice about his assignment and she offers him a massage to relieve his stress- leading a team with a guy who hates him and being the only non-powered in the Institute must be hard. Only later did he realise that Malice's team was the other team selected for the mission and even that she had actually placed a glyph on his back. The mission was to infiltrate a cutting-edge lab and steal a prototype device, both teams infiltrated the compound, able to evade the high-tech security systems. The two teams engaged in a fight after Orbit retrieved the device, which lead to the alarm triggering and hundreds of robotic drones being activated to apprehend the intruders. Eventually, after more back and forth and attempts to snatch the device from the other team they were forced to work together to get out without being captured.

The trio decide to learn what the device was stolen for and learns it is to power a huge weather machine similar to the ones used by the Ziggurat to hide it's location from satellites- only this one could potentially reverse the effects of global warming at the potential cost of hundreds of thousands of people in Canada where the machine is currently being assembled by fellow Institute student Apex. Kid Carnage caught them stealing the data and, already bearing a grudge against the trio, tried to bring them down. After they had defeated him along with a squadron of Hammurabi's trained Eyes of Judgement, they broke into the Iron Bull's locker and sabotaged the suit before heading for the hangar and stealing a jet. They were headed for the site where the Institute was assembling the weather machine- an abandoned observatory but they only narrowly escaped the anti-air defenses and missiles of the Ziggurat. They changed into their heroic identities and landed on a frozen lake near the observatory. They fought against Apex, Hockey Maniac and Metalmark as the machine began to power up but ultimately they were able to defeat the villains. They finally broke radio silence after weeks undercover trying to reach Atlas Academy- but they received only silence in response.

Fearing the worst, the exhausted heroes got back in their commandeered jet which was already running low on fuel and headed back south to Atlas Academy. When they arrived back, their worst fears were realised- the Ziggurat dominated the sky and the Academy was clearly besieged by Institute forces. As the three entered the school they heard the broadcasts from the Institute- offering clemency and a good position at the Institute if they joined the true fight for justice. They first aided Kid Thunder and Mal who were fighting against Blacksun, Pyroman, Quake Kid and Brimstone. They then headed to their dorms to try and rally the other first year heroes- but when they got there they found that the other heroes had been sealed into their dorms by thick ice- Glacier had switched sides. Stood alongside him were Malice, Miss Chievous and Dust Devil who encouraged him to torment his former teammates Bloom, Siren and Miss Militia a little. The three heroes fought their former enemies-turned-comrades-turned-enemies, with Malice being the first of the villains to recognise their identities. Afterwards they held off Kid Carnage and helped Mal repair the broadcast tower so that they could summon Team Justice back from their assignment and call for reinforcements from the Alliance and UNISON. Blueshift arrived back in less than a minute, helping in evacuation efforts by getting the most vulnerable students far removed from the battle. Ultimax was next of Team Justice to return, he helped carry Firestorm and Loxley up to the Ziggurat before being forced to defend his teammates jet on their return. Loxley and Team Freedom fought against a weakened Iron Bull- who had not had a chance to fully recover from their sabotage. After defeating the formidable villain they found themselves face to face with Hammurabi who admitted his assault on the Academy had been triggered by their defection- all thanks to the information Loxley had given him. During the fight they found themselves overwhelmed by the might of his weather gauntlets- a miniature version of the weather machines but Loxley was finally able to beat the howling gales and land a hardening capture foam arrow that trapped Hammurabi in place and prevented him utilising his gauntlets.

Team Freedom's reputation took a hit after the attack when it became widely speculated and later confirmed that Loxley was responsible for giving Hammurabi the school's location.

### Summer Break

Kid Spectacular hosted a beach party at his place and many of their friends came over for a couple of nights- unfortunately Ethan was not cleared by his therapist to come. During the party three alien bounty hunters came to Earth- two of them were trying to bring Rouge back to her parents. With the third seeking one of the other bounty hunters due to his extensive rap sheet. When Loxley learned that Bloom was seeing someone she'd met at a festival he spent half the day crying and KS did his best to support his friend while also playing host to his other guests.

## Personality

Kid Spectacular cares deeply for all people and this is what drives him to become a hero. His compassion for others has led him to take in many strays, this is a trait that has been directly passed down from his parents. He forms strong and unbreakable bonds with friends and is willing to go to the ends of the earth to help them. Whilst originally struggling with maturity and leadership in the first season, KS’ personality and maturity grew in the second and third with his team and other characters depending on him. He aspires to be a great leader one day, but knows deep down he has a long way to go still.

KS has a love for meddling and creating drama that has caused him to lie in certain situations and cause trouble on purpose, but never to truly hurt anyone. He loves a good joke and isn’t above lying to save his own skin, however, this is something he has displayed less of more recently. KS sometimes struggles to find a balance between putting others or himself first and this can lead to KS being selfish and putting his own feelings first.

KS’ strong inner drive in the pursuit of knowledge and solving puzzles has forced him to take on many investigations and sometimes become obsessed with finding an outcome. It is this determination and grit as well as his compassion and resourcefulness that will one day forge him into being a great hero. Or so he hopes…

## Powers, Abilities & Equipment

### Telekinesis

Can easily lift up to 3 tons and can manipulate objects with precision. He has a tactile telekinetic field around himself that he manipulates like a forcefield- he can use it to fly up to 120mph and it also gives him a danger sense through the ability to "touch" things from a distance.

### Astral Projection

Can project his consciousness up to 500ft away from his body for a limited time.

### Science and Technology

KS is a whiz kid when it comes to his specialist subjects of Science and Technology- he plans to get a degree in Astrophysics at ESU just like his dad.