Eight-Paths Lightning

Eight-Paths Lightning is a Chinese superhero and leader of the Tiger Squad.

## Biography

Liu Jingfei was originally a humble monk who studied at the Shichong monastery in Luoyang. Enrolled as a neonate around 1100 AD, he was still a relatively low-ranked initiate decades later when the Shichongs quarreled with the much more powerful Shaolin monks. Eventually this dispute became so bitter that the Shaolin, with the help of imperial allies, finally sacked and destroyed the Shichong monastery.

When rumors of Shichong survivors reached the Shaolin, they dispatched a trio of warrior-monks to investigate and bring the rabble to heel. But the warrior-monks returned to their masters with a marvel: a nameless monk who claimed to have achieved enlightenment and shed himself of the past. His tattoos identified him as a Shichong monk, but the strange man insisted that the Shichongs had never existed at all. He had returned with the Shaolins to their temple, seeing no reason to fear them.

The Shaolin masters questioned him at great length. At first they thought him a coward who was feigning ignorance, then they thought he must be mocking them with his strange philosophy. But they couldn't shake him of his convictions, and recognized the odd, peaceful demeanor of one who has realized some hidden truth. Frustrated, the masters finally ordered that the nameless monk be executed. Now faced with a clear and present danger, the monk defended himself.

What followed was a slaughter so complete that it became the basis of the epic poem *The Gutting of Luoyang*. The nameless monk killed not only every Shaolin he could lay his hands on, but also their imperial allies and even monks of other temples who came to try and put an end to the battle. The death toll was staggering; by the time it was over, there was hardly a fighting man left alive in the entire city. In the poem, the monk (whom the author dubbed 'Eight-Paths Lightning' for his powers and his totally unpredictable nature) even killed his former brothers, Shichong survivors whom he no longer recognized.

Eight-Paths Lightning disappeared for centuries following this event, leaving his origin shrouded in legend. But he reappeared from time to time, usually when some terrible menace threatened the mountains near Luoyang where he was said to dwell. He fully returned to the public's attention once more in 1917 when he faced the deadly Dr. Lin Wu, challenging the sorcerer and forcing his withdrawal from the city. From that point on, his existence was never in doubt, but it was not until after the revolution that the Chinese government made formal contact with Eight-Paths in 1954. He immediately accepted their offer to join the Tiger Squad, seeing no reason not to, and has been an integral (though inscrutable) member of the team ever since. Eventually his incredible power and thoughtless devotion saw him rise to become the Squad's leader, giving him complete command over the dozens of superheroes who work for the Chinese government.

In 2020, Eight-Paths was subdued by the Plutonian with the help of several temporal copies of himself and a handful of other allies. Eight-Paths was subsequently banished from the Earth by Ghost Dance, though he is thought to still be alive in another dimension, unable or unwilling to return to his native reality.

## Personality

Eight-Paths is taciturn and aloof, rarely deigning to speak even when leading his team into battle. His silence comes from the concern that, because others place such weight on his actions, a single word from his lips might be misunderstood and destroy the listener's chance to reach enlightenment. He prefers to let others do as they please and takes responsibility only for his own actions.

Eight-Paths literally lives in the moment, treating both past and future as if they did not exist. This strange perspective makes him baffling to his allies and inscrutable to his foes. He has no concept of fear, hope, or regret, making him impossible for normal people to relate to. He has even abandoned memory, treating his recollection of previous events as an unreliable illusion best disregarded.

## Powers

Eight-Paths Lightning is one of the strongest superheroes on the planet, and is the single strongest 'trained normal' ever known. Whether by fate or luck, he has reached a supreme pinnacle of physical and mental enlightenment, attaining incredible mystic power and prodigious martial arts skills. He also achieved apparent immortality as mentions of him in historical records go as far back as 1100 A.D. He is believed to exist without need for food, sleep, or even air.

Eight-Paths has incredible physical strength which combines with his sublime martial arts to make him a peerless hand-to-hand combatant. He moves and reacts with a speed that is the envy of even the swiftest speedsters. His title comes from the lightning he can conjure from his palms, which he can wield as a typical energy attack or call upon to perform feats of mysticism. Further, he can travel by converting his body into electricity, arriving at his destination with a concussive blast of lightning.

Because of his unique enlightened state, Eight-Paths is nearly immune to Esper-type mental attacks. His mind is utterly blank, leaving no toehold for telepathy or mind control.

## Weaknesses

Eight-Paths has no weaknesses beyond his bizarre views, which are rooted in ancient philosophy and leave him hopelessly out-of-touch. In many ways he is like an automaton, simply accepting orders without giving thought to the consequences. This made him ideal for the purposes of the CCP, but leaves much to be desired in his role as a leader and defender of the Chinese people.