Benjamin Burke

* 2005
* 2002

Benjamin Burke is an American journalist of Irish descent, now based in San Francisco. He is a close ally and old friend of the Paragons. He runs The Investigator newspaper with Sonya Hudson. He was intimately involved in the Greenville Crisis due to his friendship with Bradley Fisher, and lived in the city until 2005.

## Biography

### Early Life

Benjamin James Burke was born in Greenville on May 9th, 1984. Second child to parents Michael Burke and Abigail Ryan, having an older sister born in 1979 named Jodie. His grandfather was an Irish immigrant, and the family was rather poor for the area. During large parts of Ben's childhood, the family couldn't afford to buy him the game consoles and computers he wanted, so he would spend a lot of time reading Superhero comics, a collection of which he received from his uncle. This spurred him to try and keep up with current news stories, and he would always read the newspapers his father brought home. For a long time he had a corkboard in his room dedicated to the rare clippings of super stories from local newspapers. This was his first exposure to journalism, and it stayed with him for life.

### Jodie Burke's Murder

In 1995, his sister Jodie was shot and killed at age 16. Her killer was not identified, and the case grew cold as time went by. Ben, aged 11, attempted to use his journalistic skills to track down his sister's murderer, but his efforts were ultimately fruitless. His obsession continued into high school, causing great distress for his parents, despite maintaining an affable personality during school time.

### The Greenville Crisis

In 2002, Ben's close friend Bradley Fisher gained Gravity-type force powers, and many in their social circle gained powers too. Ben's old love for comics was reinvigorated, and he attempted to help them grow their image at school and in public, encouraging them to get costumes and aliases. Things began to derail when fellow student Robert Palmer attempted to enthral the criminal super Morph with the help of his mind control power. This lead Ben and his friends to discover that Sarah Gardner, another student Ben had been fostering a crush on, had Armor-type material powers and was under Rob's control. In the subsequent battle at Greenville Memorial Hospital, Robert and Sarah were subdued by the group. Ben helped Sarah's through her emotional recovery, and the pair quickly got into a romantic relationship.

Despite Robert's defeat, it was not long until he was able to escape the police's grasp, and use his powers again. Ben was one of four hostages taken by Rob before the Battle at Greenville Theatre. All hostages were close friends or family of the Fugitives, (as they had become known by that time). He was commanded to walk off the roof of the theatre, but the Fugitives defeated Rob and his accomplice, Laguna, a Water-type material super. With Ben's help, the group established Robert and Laguna's connection to the Ville Villainz, a criminal super group they had been embroiled in a war with for some time.

By now Ben was also on the run from the police, and stayed with the Fugitives in their underground hideout beneath Greenville Comics.

## Personality

Ben has always been dedicated to his passion, investigative journalism. He is quick to laugh, driven, intelligent and personable. He has quite an anti-authority streak, and uses his skills to fight for those who have been left behind or treated unfairly. He is a great salesman, and can pitch almost any idea in the most tantalizing way possible.

### Relationships

###### Sarah Gardner

Ben has been in an on-off romantic relationship with Sarah for 3 years, since they began talking in their senior year at high school and he helped save her from Robert Palmer's mind-control. Due to their strong drives, they often butt heads, and can be quick to argue when emotional. Ben likes this about her, and unlike many in her life, believes in her ability to do anything she sets her mind to.

###### Bradley Fisher

Brad and Ben have been best friends since middle school, despite their differing interests. Ben is always happy to help Brad with anything he needs, and his always been encouraging of his pursuits. When Brad became a super, Ben was there to push him to use his powers to do right.

###### Sonya Hudson

Ben met Sonya during the Greenville Crisis, and they quickly formed a bond over their love of journalism. When his friends went to jail, she got him a job at the Greenville Chronicle, and with Sarah becoming distant, their relationship got personal. By 2004, they were living together, and when his friends were released in '05, they headed to San Francisco together to start up their new paper, The Investigator. When Sarah came back into his life, their relationship became tenuous, and a month later he moved out of their apartment. He has begun to feel she manipulated him, being 27 when they met while he was 18.

###### Peter Murphy

Murphy initially met Ben during the Greenville Crisis, but they did not work together until after the crisis ended. During the prison years, Murphy brought him a few small cases, but kept the good ones to himself, which would sour their friendship. Eventually, in San Francisco, they would meet again. When Ben got wind of what he and Kate Bishop were investigating, and no longer wanting to live with Sonya, he would begin staying at their hotel and working with them frequently.

## Appearance

Ben has grey-blue eyes, brown curly hair and a thin stubble. He has a skinny build. He usually wears a brown suede jacket and a blue shirt, with blue jeans and red/white sneakers.