Beacon

## Origins

Aldraax Girban never knew his home planet, having been born two decades after the destruction of the planet **Cert**. He was one of the children brought into a life of transience, never staying in one place for longer than it took to colonise a planet, but it was all he had ever known and he was glad of the life his forebears forged for him and his people.

All three of his parents were high-ranking members of the **Way of the Founders**, a quasi-religious military order that also comprised the ruling class of the **Certan Empire**, and he was raised as a devout follower. He grew into a fierce warrior, both physically strong and highly intelligent, and remained dedicated to the cause throughout his young life.

He watched as his people travelled the galaxy, taking what was owed to them with their strength and weapons, and building a legacy of death and conquest that would last throughout the ages. He knew that war was the way of life, and that true progress could only be taken, never passively received.

### Forerunner

To be named the ***Forerunner*** of a Certan conquest was an ancient and prestigious honour, meaning that an individual would be the first to set foot on a target planet. The duties of the *Forerunner* required them to assimilate themselves into the society they were infiltrating through a process of intense and painful genetic manipulation referred to as the ***Harrowing***, and develop a strategy for a full-scale invasion.

It was little surprise to most of Aldraax's comrades when he was named to be the **Forerunner** of the latest conquest, a planet named **Earth**. The phase of the Founder invasion strategy in which they used probes to ***understand*** the species they would be attacking was already underway, and brought back a variety of tissue and DNA samples which would be used to manipulate Aldraax's genetic structure to help him blend in with the human race. He underwent the *Harrowing* and began to find that, along with the physical characteristics of a human being, he was also experiencing some psychological changes. However, he kept these a secret from his people, fearing that they would jeopardise his opportunity to act in his role as *Forerunner*.

Considered by others to be one of the most fearsome *Forerunners* the Certa had ever produced, Aldraax was sent down to the planet in the Earth year assigned **1942**. Although they had identified that the planet was currently engaged in a worldwide war at this time, it was deemed that this would be most effective for analysing their combat strengths and abilities.

### Arrival on Earth

As per the Certan battle strategy, Aldraax’s arrival on Earth was perfectly timed to coincide with the death of a mid-ranking member of the United States government named **Andrew Gibson**. allowing him to take the dead man’s physical form and position and continue his life as if nothing had happened. He successfully infiltrated the US government using this cover, and began to find out more about the Earth’s military strategy.

Identifying enhanced soldiers such as **Agent Apex** and **The Patriot** as some of the Earth’s greatest combat assets, he quickly maneuvered himself into a position as a liaison to enhanced soldiers, wherein he was able to covertly replicate many of their superhuman abilities using the genetic matching abilities of his species. However, this adoption of genetic traits changed something within him fundamentally, and he was surprised as he began to feel impressed by the heroic actions undertaken by these heroes.

This seeped out into his non-working environment as well, and he began to take pleasure in seeing the joy and successes of the human race in general. When he witnessed the end of **World War II** in 1945, he found himself weeping and celebrating along with the other humans, unsure of what was happening but feeling more connected to these people than he ever had with his own.

### The Founder Invasion

The final stage of the Certan invasion strategy was launched on July 5, 1947 with a simultaneous attack on multiple strategic locations around the planet. Aldraax watched as humanity, otherwise unprepared for such an assault, mobilised their forces and began to mount a defence. His admiration and appreciation of the people he had been sent to infiltrate and destroy grew deeper, and he made a decision which would change the course of history.

Finding Agent Apex in the command centre, he revealed his true nature and told the gathered humans what was coming. He told them that he had been sent to infiltrate their culture and destroy them from within, but he had seen the wonder of humanity and now wished to preserve that. Many of the assembled military leaders distrusted this creature and even wanted to shoot him on sight, but Agent Apex saw past his flaws and identified his true nature. He was given the codename **Beacon** and enlisted into the **Superior** strategy, assembling superhumans from across the planet and sending them into battle against the alien invaders.

Beacon proved to be vital in defeating the Certa as he was able to transport Agent Apex and a small squadron of enhanced combatants directly into the heart of the Certan mothership. Here, he confronted the **Overlord** and showed him that the Certan battle strategy was flawed, and that the human race was protected. The Overlord lashed out, but the combined forces of the Superior agents defeated him and caused the entire fleet to flee back into space, the first defeat the Empire had ever experienced.

### Superior Squad

In the aftermath of the invasion, Beacon surrendered himself into custody and provided a wealth of valuable information about the Certa to help the world's governments prepare for them to make a second attempt at invading the planet. While certain members of the administration wanted to lock him up for his involvement in the invasion, and others wanted to dissect him to find out more about the Certa, he was ultimately released into the custody of Agent Apex, who formally inducted him into his new team, known as the **Superior Squad**.

He was told that the codename Beacon served multiple purposes. It was not only a reminder of the fact that it only takes a single glimmer of light to shine through even the darkest of purposes; he would also act as a signal to the other alien races in the galaxy that Earth was ready for more visitors from the stars. He became the team's second-in-command, and was able to advise on all matters involving alien races, technology and culture, proving himself an invaluable member of the team in many subsequent missions.

Over the years, Beacon has developed a particularly close relationship with **Doctor Photon**, a young woman fascinated by the scientific insights he is able to offer as a member of an advanced alien race. He finds her enthusiasm for his knowledge highly endearing, and they have formed a relationship in he plays the big brother to her little sister. He also considers Agent Apex to be his best friend, and embraces **Cinder** as the woman who has captured his closest friend's heart.

### The Siege of Kymeria

When the **Unified Nations** declared their intentions to infiltrate the hostile rogue nation of **Kymeria** in the mid-1960s, Beacon proved to be a valuable asset with his expertise in invasion and infiltration. He was able to advise the government on the most effective methods of integrating with an unknown culture, and helped Agent Apex and **Skywatch** to prepare themselves for going undercover.

He was acting in an advisory and monitoring capacity when his teammates were attacked by aggressive Kymerian forces, and as he heard Skywatch's murder at the hands of the megalomaniacal despot **Countess Chaos**, he dropped everything and immediately travelled to the Kymerian border. His power, combined with the forces of the rest of his team, was not enough to break through the impenetrable force shields that surrounded the country, however, and he was forced to watch as the Countess executed his best friend on live television.

He froze in shock at this event, having seen his friend and comrade as invincible throughout their relationship, and was unable to stop Cinder as she unleashed a magical inferno across the face of the country. He managed to snap out of it to rescue Cinder as she fell to the ground, and rushed her straight into the arms of medical professionals, but nothing he did could bring his friend back, and he was utterly devastated.

### After the Superior Squad

With Agent Apex and Skywatch dead, and Cinder in a comatose state, only Beacon, Doctor Photon and **The Eclipse** remained of the Superior Squad. Knowing that it wouldn't be the same without their friends, the remaining members made the decision to disband the team, feeling that it was time for new teams to step up and show the world what they had.

Keeping his codename in memory of his fallen friend, Beacon relinquished his role as a superhero and became an advisor to **UNION-S**, the division of **UNION** responsible for monitoring potential threats from outer space. He eventually worked his way through the ranks to become the official director of UNION-S, a role he felt comfortable and useful in.

He also found greater purpose in finding and counselling young people who have been identified as Certa sleeper agents, the heralds of a second invasion that was looming on the horizon. He even went as far as creating a non-profit organisation called the **Forerunner Foundation**, where potential sleepers could learn techniques for coping with their true natures. It was through this organisation that he met a young man named **Zachary Heismann**, whom he took under his wing and began to personally mentor.

## Personality

Before he came to Earth, Aldraax Girban was a bloodthirsty warmonger, who craved violence and combat in the way he had been brought up to do. He was ruthless and angry, and became one of the most feared members of his entire race due to his ferocity and savage nature.

As he underwent the *Harrowing* which imbued him with human genetic traits in preparation for becoming the *Forerunner* of the invasion of Earth, he began to feel psychological changes happening. He started to feel guilt for the amount of violence he had perpetrated in the past, and empathy for those whose lives he had taken. He began to take pleasure in small, calm moments rather than in moments of vicious bloodletting, and he began to find beauty in natural things rather than in symbols of pain and aggression.

He hid these changes from the rest of his people for fear of the great honour of being the *Forerunner* being taken away from him, and yet the changes continued as he began to walk among humanity. He started feeling compassion towards them, and joy in small moments of human interaction, and as he saw superhumans working hard to protect normal, innocent people, he began to feel admiration for them.

As the invasion occurred, he had to come to terms with the fact that he was very different to when he had arrived on the planet. He now felt that humans were his people, for all their flaws and failings, and became a kind, compassionate being who had a true desire to protect those who were unable to protect themselves. He felt love for his friends and teammates, and pride in his ability to redeem himself for former injustices.

In other words, he felt really and truly *human*.

## Superhuman Abilities

The primary physical ability of the Certa is called **genetic matching**, and allows the species to take on certain genetic characteristics of other races through physical contact. They have developed the technology to do this without contact, but it has not been refined from its original form, a painful and invasive surgical procedure which changes members of their species irrevocably.

Owing to his proximity to superhumans on Earth, Beacon's innate genetic matching abilities allow him to assume the superhuman abilities of other people through physical contact. He is only able to access one of these abilities at a time, but each time he replicates a new power it becomes stored in a **DNA Codex** in his spinal column. This means he is able to manifest specific abilities that he has previously replicated without requiring physical contact, and there are a few abilities he uses frequently:

* **Flight** - One of the first abilities he replicated, Beacon loves the feeling of flying and uses it frequently to transport himself and others.
* **Superhuman Strength** - He finds that it can be helpful to be able to pack a punch from time to time.
* **Telepathy** - As none of the other members of the Superior Squad are able to use telepathy, he will often link their minds with this psychic ability.

He is also able to take on minor physical characteristics from people he has physical contact with. While not enough to allow him to fully shapeshift, he can do things like replicating the structure of someone's eyeball to fool a retinal scanner, or subtly change his vocal cords to perfectly mimic somebody's voice.

## Weapons and Equipment

Beacon chooses not to use weapons, seeing them as a symbol of the warmongering lifestyle he left behind many years ago.