Billy Kaplan

## Personality

Billy can be very social and friendly, only problem is his way of trying to make friends can come off as awkward or weird, since he is constantly making sarcastic comments or jokes that no one really gets since they are geared more towards nerds.

Billy is a bit bull-headed, standing firm on his point of views unless someone shows him a really good reason to change his mind. He's passionate about what he believes in, and becomes disappointed when someone doesn't really live up to his expectations.

He can be sensitive and become withdrawn at certain points, just wanting to be left alone for awhile until he feels like he is ready to be back amongst people.

He also can have a little bit of a temper when provoked or he sees someone being an ass.

## Powers

Billy has what people call Electrokinesis, an ability where a person can generate and control an electric charge. Which would be really cool if Billy could figure out the whole ‘control’ part and not either make a wimpy little spark or electrocute his school tormentor almost to death.

He’s also able to levitate in the air for about ten minutes before his powers decide to short out and he finds himself back on the floor in a heap of limbs and bruises. He’s slowly getting better at staying in the air longer, though due to the uncertain time limit he’s been a bit too afraid to try and go any higher.

Another small thing that he has never told anyone because it freaks him out just a little too much, is his ability to get what he wants when he really really wishes for it. It's only happened a few times, when he forgot to study for a huge test in Geometry or broke his mom’s favorite vase, and doesn't happen every time he tries it, but it still scares him when it actually does work.

Billy has conflicting emotions about his powers, on one side it makes him feel like all those heroes he’s admired and adored from his comic books and shows, but on the other hand these powers are real and very uncontrollable. He terrified of hurting someone on accident like he did Kessler again.

## Talents

Billy is fantastic when it comes to videogames, especially when it comes to RPGs and fighting games, which is surprising when video game and TV time in the Kaplan house was limited.

He can type 60 WPM and can speed read like a God.

He can also quote every line from the musical The Sound of Music as well as sing every song, albeit off key.

## Interests

Billy is what is known as a fanboy.

His room his lined with almost every superheroes poster, his three bookcases are packed to the brim with comics, hard covers and dvds. He is very proud of his limited edition figurine collection and will kill anyone who tries to take them out of the packaging.

Unfortunately, this is one of the main reasons he is a constant target for bullying, but he hasn't let that stop him from doing what he loves, even if it means he gets a black eye or a swirly every week.

## History

Billy grew up with what his mother insists is a normal childhood for a Caucasian Jewish adolescent male in New York City. Loving parents, two obnoxious younger brothers and a small beta fish his brother named Shark because he thought it was hilarious.

With his mother as a well-known psychiatrist, Billy learned early on when to say what exactly you were thinking and feeling and when to keep it under wraps. It wasn't that he didn't trust his parents enough to tell them things, it was just he hated when his mom turned a mother-son talk into a doctor-patient session.

Bullying had always been a problem for Billy and for the most part he was able to take the names and jeers hurled at him with stride, never giving those jerks the satisfaction of seeing him hurt. But, in the middle of spring semester in the 8th grade, Billy had made the mistake of telling his friend who liked him why exactly he didn't like her back.

The rest of the school year was awful after word had gotten out that Billy Kaplan was gay. Girls whispered and laughed as he walked by and guys actually went out of their way to push him against lockers, walls, even shoulder check him hard enough he would fall flat on his back.

It didn't help either that he talked back, always throwing out his own insults even when he was cornered and there was no way of escape. This trait really came back to bite him when he moved on to high school and a certain bully, John Kessler, took a special interest in him. Kessler made his freshmen year at high school a living hell, always calling out slurs, knocking his books out of his hands and slamming Billy’s head against the locker.

It was finally brought to the school’s and Billy’s parents attention when Billy had to be taken to the ER for a broken arm and Kessler was suspended from school for a week. That fight was actually one of Billy’s proudest moments, Kessler had called him some generic name and Billy had shot back with “You're just mad your not my type.”

He had gotten some good swings in too, the shiner on Kessler’s face was the proof.

Unfortunately, even with the school notified, the beatings and taunting didn't stop. It was a cool fall day when Kessler had pushed Billy up against the wall out back and started grinding the back of Billy’s skull into the brick. Billy tried his best to push him off, but Kessler had always been bigger and just pressed Billy’s head harder against the rough surface.

Billy could only remember trying to scream when he felt a shock feeling fire up through his spine and everything go white.

When he opened his eyes Kessler’s smoking and unmoving body lay on the ground and Billy about had a panic attack as he quickly ran to get help. It came as little relief to hear that the boy would survive, though he was severely injured, and Billy locked himself in his room for three days after the event.

A week passed before the Kaplan’s received a visit from Charles Xavier, sitting down with the family to explain that Billy was a mutant and that if he would like, he was welcome at Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters.

After two weeks of thinking about it, Billy informed his parents that he would at least like to try it out, especially if what Xavier said was true and they could help him figure out how to control his powers so that something like with Kessler would never happen again.

It was while he was packing up that his parents and brothers were watching the news, something about a mutant protest or something, when his brothers both screamed “It’s Billy!”

TiVo made it easy for them to rewind and pause on what was sure enough Billy’s exact double only with really weird white hair. So, now Billy is heading to school with hope that he can learn some kind of control while also wondering why his doppelgänger is running around New York.