Bryan Briggs

## Origin and Living Status

### Origin

Human Mutate; Dormant Novis-Gene activated and further enhanced through various treatments in which they exposed his body to copious amounts of radiation

## Personal Information

### Occupation

Non-commissioned officer in the US Army, Superhero

## Creators and First Appearance

### First

Feb, 2022 (Creation)June, 1997 (Otherworld)

*I'm supposed to be a soldier who never blows his composure, even though I hold the weight of the whole world on my shoulders.*

- **Marshall Bruce Mathers III**

Really, the story begins with Daniel Van Kampen. Once he became the first metahuman, his powers awakened by the greatest power Humanity had ever wielded, the world changed, in equal measures due to the emergence of nuclear weapons, and to the emergence of superhumans. Though he actively refused the efforts of anybody to actually research him, his abilities were the basis of many studies in the postwar environment. A secret project was created in order to study the circumstances surrounding Daniel Van Kampen’s abilities, and gathered genetic material from his immediate family, without their knowledge. They of course knew that if Van Kampen discovered any of this, hell would likely ensue, thus it was kept under the strictest level of secrecy.

Through a series of experiments on tissue samples developed from the DNA of Van Kampen’s immediate family, Project Sunbeam endeavored to replicate the production of Van Kampen’s abilities in other subjects, ultimately with the goal being the creation of super soldiers capable of toppling entire nations single-handedly. They never found much success, however, and the project was closed down in the mid-60s.

Then, a new opportunity arose. In the late 90s, Bryan Briggs was born. Though completely average for a boy in his time, the reason for the rebirth of Project Sunbeam lay in his own genetic structure.

## History

### Origin

Bryan was raised in Texas in a military household, born and bred on the ideals of American exceptionalism. Through this upbringing, Bryan eventually joined the United States army shortly after he got out of high school, being deployed to Afghanistan the summer after his graduation. Through many operations in the country, Bryan earned a reputation for being a quite exceptional soldier with a vigor of spirit that allowed him to succeed where his comrades might’ve failed.

After one ill-fated operation, however, Bryan was hospitalized for several days after being left wandering in the desert for several days. Under inspection, it was eventually found that the only reason why Bryan survived was because his cells seemed to be “drinking” the sunlight. Once this was discovered, it was quickly realized that Bryan had a latent “Novis-Gene”, with a similar potential to the first metahuman himself, Daniel Van Kampen. Bryan was quickly reassigned to a newly revitalized Project Sunbeam, with the primary goal being the full realization of Bryan’s potential.

### Project Sunbeam

For almost a year, the project sped along with research into Bryan’s body utilizing the research they gathered back in the 60s. Drugs of various compositions were pumped into his body, made to absorb radiation in different ways throughout his body. Tissue samples were exposed to high-intensity radiation to study what occurred. Eventually, however, the most obvious answer came to the scientists of Project Sunbeam. They simply had to nuke him.

Project Sunbeam requested, and was somehow granted, a singular nuclear device in order to make or break the project. They designed a capsule with the nuclear device suspended inside of it, the capsule itself suspended within an underground chamber dug by the military, in order to contain the blast and direct its power straight into Bryan’s body. Bryan himself was nervous, of course, though he was assured that this was the primary path for the Project to move forward, and that he wouldn’t simply be annihilated by the ensuing nuclear blast.

A several kiloton nuclear device mimicking the makeup of the Hiroshima nuclear bomb was devised. Placed inside the capsule with a somewhat reluctant though naively courageous Bryan Briggs, the test commenced without much delay. From several miles away, the scientists detonated the nuclear device.

In that chamber, immense power was released through the shattering of air as a pressure wave moved through the chamber. In any normal world, Bryan would’ve quickly been vaporized by the incredible heat of the nuclear blast, but his Novis-Gene quickly activated to its full extent. As predicted, Bryan possessed a natural ability to absorb radiation, nearly identical to Van Kampen's decades prior. His body, instead of simply dying, was remodeled by the incredible thermal and ionizing radiation that it was blasted with.

The chamber, quickly destroyed by the blast, leaving it’s shattered remnants on the floor of the cavern, had a newly remade Bryan leave it’s rubble. Bryan’s newly awakened abilities exceeded every expectation, mimicking Van Kampen’s own abilities in some ways while widely diverging in others. In any case, he was deemed a success. To fit in with the public image of superheroes, the government gave Bryan the name “Steel” and reassigned him to serve as a hero in the public eye. Secretly, Bryan participates in operations across the world as an agent of the government as well.

## Personality

Bryan can be described, somewhat simply, as a born and bred American patriot, though perhaps in the truest sense. He believes that America, in spite of its failings, is leading the world to a better future through its ideals of freedom, peace, and justice for all. Despite the often immense hypocrisy that comes from individuals of similar backgrounds, Bryan truly believes in these ideals and what he is doing to protect them. He equally believes in America and its people, and holds a high opinion of both.

As a veteran of several military operations, and still technically in the armed forces, Bryan also holds a high view of the military and soldiers in general, holding a lot of respect for those that serve their country.

Most of all, however, Bryan holds an incredible conviction that he must do all he can to protect the values that have shaped his life, even to the point that failure seems to bring him to a breaking point. He holds an immense amount of survivor’s guilt towards the many comrades he’s lived to see die because of his failure, imagined or otherwise. He feels that his duty as Steel is to protect the people and values that they died for.

## Powers and Abilities

### **Radiation Enhanced Physiology**

Bryan, through Project Sunbeam, has acquired powers similar to the first metahuman, Daniel Van Kampen. His body has been altered to be able to take in radiation from all sources. Radiation from different sources enhance Bryan’s abilities to different degrees, with solar radiation providing the below abilities, however more powerful sources of radiation yield increasingly powerful results.

#### Superhuman Condition

Bryan possesses a superhuman condition. He has incredible amounts of stamina, able to fight for long periods of time without tiring. His speed, reflexes, and agility have all been enhanced to superhuman levels as well, though not to any especially exceptional degrees. Most strikingly, his senses have sharpened to incredible levels as well, with him being able to hear a pencil drop off a table several hundred feet away, and being able to see clearly for miles.

#### Incalculable Strength

The most striking power Bryan possesses is incredible superhuman strength. Though in theory limited by the power of the radiation surging through his body, even at its most basic, Bryan’s strength seems infinite, able to lift cars, semis, and even aircraft with seemingly no issue. Still, his strength isn’t physics defying, and he cannot lift an object that would simply collapse under its own weight. Similarly, he cannot project his full strength while flying or in the air, lacking any leverage to push off of.

#### Invulnerability

Inheriting the so-called “steel skin” of Daniel Van Kampen, Bryan possesses an incredible degree of invulnerability. Physically, Bryan is impenetrable, with no implement seeming to harm him. Of course, there is one exception, and magic seems to affect him just as it would anyone else. Bryan has even been subjected to nuclear weapons by certain terrorist groups, but even that heightened Bryan’s powers to even greater levels.

### **Radiation Manipulation**

While not being able to freely manipulate radiation, Bryan has manifested several powers that utilize various forms of radiation that have been absorbed in his body.

#### Flight

Through the manipulation of the gravitational radiation his own mass produces, Bryan is capable of self-propelled flight by reducing the gravity behind him and increasing it in front of him. Through this method, he is capable of flying at incredible velocities and at almost instantaneous accelerations, his top speeds capping out in the hyper sonic range. Still, he is limited by Earth’s atmosphere, and incredibly high speeds of flight seem to tire him out especially quickly.

#### Gamma Vision

Through the storage and manipulation of radiation stored within his cells, Bryan is capable of firing from his eyes beams of high-intensity radiation. Tinged red-orange through reducing oxygen in the air to a plasma state, the beams fire radiation with such intensity that it breaks down the molecular structure of the target, burning through it with incredible violence. Bryan is capable, with effort, of lowering the intensity of the beams so that they do not immediately kill a target, though it is claimed that it causes an increased risk of cancer or even radiation sickness.

#### Radiation Vision

Due to his natural absorption and manipulation of radiation, Bryan possesses the ability to see radiation that permeates the environment. This allows him to see in even complete darkness, but also allows him to see radiation through structures and detect bodies past obstructions, essentially, X-ray vision. However, the more dense a substance, the less clearly he is able to see past it. As such, he is not capable of seeing extremely far through many obstructions, or even a few obstructions if they are of a dense material.

### **Weaknesses**

#### Radiation Deprivation

The most clear and obvious weakness that Bryan has that can be exploited is being deprived of his source of his powers, radiation. The most obvious way to do this is to cut off his source of sunlight, though even low amounts of light are apparently sufficient to fuel him. Complete darkness can depower him over the course of two days or so, with him becoming progressively weaker. This weakness can be counteracted somewhat by holding a source of radiation, such as a bar of uranium.

#### Radioactive Materials

Somewhat paradoxically, radioactive materials are seemingly the only substance capable of harming Bryan’s skin. This is due to the intense radiation coming from these materials seemingly disrupting Bryan’s own normally impenetrable cellular structure upon physical contact. This isn’t limited to sharp implements either, with blunt implements being equally as effective when made out of some radioactive material.

#### Mental Attacks

Bryan holds no special mental fortitude that allows him to resist telepathic attacks. Though possessing an incredible will, it’s incapable of protecting him anymore than it would protect a normal individual. Mind control is a threat that Bryan is aware of, and goes through pains to avoid encountering it.