NEXTECH Man

**NEXTECH Man**, the *Defender of Tomorrow*. A superhero that protects the Aryaine Kingdom from all threats, he is an ordinary man known as Aldrin Jayce in the day, and unleashes his secret persona at night.

He represents the day, while QUADRA Shooter symbolises night.

## Biography

### Background

Day and night, Jayce Aldrin is a pillar of Camelot's community, and sometimes, the entire Aryaine Kingdom. When trouble comes, he has acquired Nextech from a renowned Panamoan technology freak, using it to create a costume and a mighty hammer, to become the superhero known as NEXTECH Man! With this alter ego, he defends the entire country from all extraordinary threats that no regular military can handle.

### New Generation of Heroes

Aldrin Jayce has long looked up to the heroics of the G/NEX, that he has inspired to become the hero again. He started by gaining more Nextech from Nexima Robotics Corporation as his suit has run out of power and he needs a permanent replacement.

### Brightblasting Adventure

NEXTECH Man reemerges after he has been alarmed of a threat in the Aryaine Kingdom, disregarding the concerns of his parents not to engage the enemy.

#### Rise of Nextech

The Corporate Renegades have sent a mutated beast powered by Aether in an attempt to demoralise the country. He takes note of the urgent situation and quickly suited up to soar high in the air, looking around for trouble. Upon locating the beast, he wasted no time attacking it and preventing excessive casualties. Though it took him a while to stop it, he ultimately kills it after a mighty swing of his hammer, crashing to the ground and he stands up high, showing himself to the public as a new hero.

As expected, he joined Fiona Vance's legion of heroes, hoping to serve alongside his new brothers and sisters.

#### Brightblasting Adventure

He was also alarmed of a time-hopping thief, known as Cadence Shatter. However, it took him a while to fly up to the Aryaine Kingdom up to Heliga, until he managed to land. Only to witness something, he is apprehended after getting blasted by a hero that has emerged from solitude: Eion Brightblast. He acknowledges his return, and they flew to the headquarters in the Panamoan Republic to familiarise him to their base. NEXTECH Man even praises Fiona Vance for her wealth in managing her legion of heroes. Vance later admitted that she earned her place in being a leader, rather than taking it for granted.

After the entire thievery, he offers them to have an adventure. Eion takes the lead, and they all fought in the Aryaine Kingdom, Radrenia, Masada, Glaz'Ian Islands, Evalka and later, the Panamoan Republic. As they all proved themselves, Fiona has included the veteran into their ranks, and the **NEXTECH Man** has managed to earn his spot as a hero. However, they still don't know, that there is a capable hero in the NEW/G, whom was known as Ashe's daughter. Little did they know, was that Corporate Renegades have sent those creatures and monstrosities sent after them.

He is later welcomed to the NEW/G headquarters. Jayce sees the thief in his cell, whilst he introduces himself to the fellow heroes. Lunar Frost catches his attention the most, proclaiming that she's "one of a kind" and is curious about her skills, likely having heard that she stopped the convoy back at Na'Raka when the Renegades have mined Aether and attempted to deliver it in their headquarters.

However, their adventured inevitably took them to Losteria, forcing them to cleanse the country from invading beasts, that NEXTECH was tempted to show his true power when the situation became worse, even admitting that he has waited his entire life to join the legionnaires. Later, it is evident that they restrained the fugitive and his technology to prevent him from escaping and pulling all those time tricks that annoyed them prior. Jayce also sees that Eion was clearly having fun throughout the face of danger, hearing his words that nothing surprises him anymore in the future, having faced hell (pertaining to the old war) and survived.

#### Renegades, Now Strike!

Spartacus Brightspear leads the heroes as Fiona Vance acknowledges Lunar Frost's confirmation of a cave used as a mining site for Aether. Upon locating the site, Fiona leads them to a silent march, knowing that rushing may be futile as Frozia is scouting them. As he managed to learn that a sniper is about to take the shot, he interrupts her perfectly as he uses his hammer and crushes the entire gate with a HAMMER DOWN! Allowing his fellow heroes and warriors to follow his momentum and the battle starts, instigating the entire war between the legion and the renegades.

They were gaining the upper hand, until they release huge brutes that are enhanced with Aether, forcing them to retreat and leave the cave. However, they deployed mechas to the battlefield, causing havoc and forcing the NEW/G to disperse in the frigid cold. They even deployed Yellowjacket Wolf and Mimeographer into the fight, which in return has caused the injuries of Night Breeze and Seeker. After that, a giant WAR MACHINE mech has been sent to the zone, which ends up causing massive property damage as it buries a lot of young heroes inside the cave, and killing renegades inadvertently.

Fiona Vance orders everyone to disperse and attack all of its vents, and most of them have avoided its stomping attacks, whilst Lunar Frost gathers the two wounded heroes to a safe place, and pulls out an FH-900 AA launcher, to help the heroes out. However, the Warbot flees after receiving a fair amount of damage, then aims its mouth-emplaced plasma cannon, which fires it at Ashe's tomb. The tomb survives the hit but a large chunk was removed due to the impact. Angered, Frost unloads numerous missiles with the intention of destroying the huge machine.

NEXTECH Man witnesses how protective Lunar Frost is, regarding her own country. Later, they all celebrated their victory as Mimeographer is presumably killed, after failing to ram the mech into the tomb of Ashe, and getting assaulted by Lunar Frost to the point of being knocked out, and left for dead in the cold.

He tried to get closer to her, revealing her name to be Madeleine, but politely asked for privacy after her breakdown, which he saw her bloodied gloves. Fiona passes by to him, pointing out that it was due to her having a breakdown during the fight, particularly Mimeographer.

### Anti-Corporations

NEXTECH Man continues to serve the legion of heroes as they all strive to eliminate the main threats, the Corporate Renegades and S.O.L.A.C.E. As a result, he is present in more and more combat operations, even going so far to rescue people from calamities. Some say, he is the mascot of the NEW/G.

#### Rise of the Reaper

The NEW/G mobilises as ADLEHR has posed an imminent threat in Heliga. In response, they teleported into Lachmann and quickly finds him slaughtering innocent people. While most of the heroes have deployed, Night Breeze have chosen to stay in the base and subsequently go AWOL, unknown to him and pretty much everyone, save for Lunar Frost who slowly learns about the sudden disappearance.

As they all confront ADLEHR, and they launched a relentless attack. However, the reaper unleashes a SOUL PASSAGE, which hundreds of thousands of souls interact and launch themselves in front of them, forcing the heroes to stick together and stay defensive, while the Reaper himself laughs in sheer malevolence, proclaiming that the souls represent the renegades that they have killed due to their feats of heroism. Eion Brightblast taunts him for sending an army rather than facing them alone is an act of cowardice.

After Gwyneth Forgesteel becomes incapacitated by the reaper, he took it upon to himself to face ADLEHR. He took him by surprise using a smoke and leaping to the air for a HAMMER DOWN! Jayce relentlessly smashed the Reaper with his JUSTICE hammer, until the latter uses his powers to become intangible from attack and sadistically slows him down with a FLAY DESECRATION. As the reaper aims his scythe to behead him, Spartacus Brightspear saves him as he starfalls on top of him and knocks aside the enemy for a while.

Unfortunately, ADLEHR wins the fight by knocking them out simultaneously, and he killed over thorty thousand in Heliga. As a result, they suffered their first defeat. They all went back to base, except for Lunar Frost, whom disappeared to find Night Breeze.

#### Archibald Robotics, No More!

NEXTECH Man later reappears as the heroes earn their shot for redemption. As Fiona Vance's campaign has been successful and Archibald Robotics has been slowly shutting down, They all decided to get rid of a DRC-09 Cyclops as it was sent to deal with them, presumably the Corporate Renegades have managed to acquire one, even though it is a presumed, and forgotten robot unit owned by PROJECT.

Afterwards, they all spent their time doing anything in the base, with him trying to observe anything suspicious regarding Alissandre. What could possibly go wrong?

### Unshakeable Revelation

#### Prelude

NEXTECH Man returned from the Aryaine Kingdom as he handled family matters. As he went inside the base, everyone is running around and preparing. Questioning Fiona Vance about the situation, he realises that the base is under attack, and quickly follows suit to defend their base against the enemy. Jayce then realises that it will be the same enemy, which has always been. He was the first to spot a giant object orbiting their base above, which Spartacus Brightspear took his concerns and flew to investigate.

Awaiting the enemy, he mounts his TRUTH cannon to a tripod to be used a rapid fire weapon system.

#### Invasion

He valiantly fires his weapon as S.O.L.A.C.E has swarmed the place with mechas and giving the Panamoan military a fight for their lives. Notably, when he got sick of the fliers and proceeds to fly and bash the enemy fliers out of the air, and return to the base when the mechas have started targeting him, He then successfully retreats back to base. As his suspicions about the superweapon became true, he suggests to take a look, but Fiona orders him to stand down as Spartacus Brightspear does it instead.

As everyone has motivated Benjamin Timewatcher to reverse the time, all hope seems lost as the CHIMERA now fires a powerful beam that sends their base into shambles, trapping and injuring most of them caught in the rubble. The younger heroes that are lesser recognised are brutally killed. It is a miracle that Jayce was able to rescue a few member before he was forced to escape as well after realising that the enemy is far too powerful in their current state.

#### Dispersion

As he was able to escape, he crudely travelled to the Aryaine Kingdom, only to be met with heavy resistance. However, knowing his prestigious status in the country as their signature superhero, he was quickly placed under protection of the Aryan Armed Forces, but he chooses to have an agreement with them: keep his condition a secret, as the whole planet has grown concerned and has believed that all of them have perished, or has gone missing.

#### The Next Warmother

Despite the distance between Aryaine Kingdom and Avarshi, Jayce was able to pinpoint the position of Skullface's encrypted, open communications channel. Despite his sadness at the loss of their headquarters, he prepares to venture into Avarshi; however, knowing that his outfit may attract unwanted attention, he briefly paints it white and puts on a complete mask to blend into the white snowy landscapes of the Northern countries. After landing in the country, he quickly dressed in civilian clothes to blend in with the locals and avoid the renegades. He is perplexed by the country's lack of S.O.L.A.C.E troops.

### New Heroes, Another Ultimatum

#### The Calm Before the Storm

The NEXTECH Man has reestablished himself as the Aryaine Kingdom's poster hero. As a result, he quickly leaves the training from Area 91, knowing that all he needs is the support of the people, not training or anyone else. And he does it for his parents, whom are all proud his heroics and hardwork throughout his life. He also demonstrated his capabilities when he cleared all the remaining properties of S.O.L.A.C.E themselves, claiming that the legionnaires never had a long, honourable fight with them. However, he was quickly called back to base when something urgent has been announced, prompting him to leave the country and rendezvous in their secret base.

#### Preluding the Finale

Jayce has spent minimal time in the base to mentally prepare himself, knowing that not all of them will survive their final battle in a whole new war. Donning his super suit and his hammer, he quickly flew to Avarshi as fast as he could, despite the warning that the renegades have been using anti-aircraft batteries all over the Northern lands. Upon landing the surface, he quickly rendezvous with the Legionnaires, and they subsequently split up to avoid being caught in a kill box, as a few renegades have cleverly found their position.

He now sits on top of the mountain, alongside Gwyneth Forgesteel and Spartacus Brightspear while REX-ARCHIBALD, Eion Brightblast and Benjamin Timewatcher are with Fiona on the opposite location. While he intends to shoot one shot from his cannon, Spartacus stops him, as he has discovered that a single renegade sniper has found their position.

#### Salazar's True Power

Before they can do anything, they saw Sinister Teeth's head being blown off by who appears to be, Nightfall. In disbelief, they later saw the secret base being sundered by JUDGEMENT. Spartacus concludes that Brienne must've joined them. The Panamoan Army is revealed to be there all along, and hammers the enemy, forcing them to disperse after sustaining massive casualties. Not long after, they fought up close, after being guaranteed of their safety. Salazar Progektö was not amused by their efforts and decides to unleash his true power, which are the machinery of the Societas Renegare, deploying all sorts of firepower.

This forces him to use his hammer to an extensive extent, smashing all the bad guys and the tanks that he comes across. He grew to hate the Jumpers, even going so far to rip out their exoskeletons from their bodies and crushing it, hating the fact that they have enhanced strength and leaping ability. Spartacus Brightspear later caused them to gain the upper hand through tactical means, allowing them to trap the remaining forces into the pits of Klorgan, a giant pit that is shaped into a circular trench, where Iceborns confirm that many died in there for duels.

He saw Lunar Frost fighting the Reaper, and winning, but she ultimately falls at the hands of Mimeographer, which they all tried to pull her out, but the Clemirosans have picked her up and quickly forced the mercenary to retreat. Jayce is evidently worried, but Fiona assures him that she will be alright with her family. He also points out that Bloodlust and Nightfall appear to be working for the Clemirosans, which earned the Legionnaires' surprise.

Later on, he is surprised to see so many renegades killed, leaving only Salazar Progektö alive. He also inquired about Frazier Lashley, which the soldiers confirmed that they've been pursuing him for an arrest, at the request of the Aryan government, which earned his smile. When Salazar shoots one soldier, he demands a fight from the Legionnaires.

#### Salazar v Legionnaires

The NEW/G has decided that Spartacus Brightspear, Gwyneth Forgesteel and Benjamin Timewatcher will fight. He later joined mid-way through the fight, with Salazar Progektö able to match them despite his simplicity, using his cunning and Hand-to-hand combat skills. Much to his disgust, he was called "Nextech mascot", while he points out that his body "looks like Aether consumed you so badly." unlike the rest, Jayce was actually able to exceed the leader's power, but he was then pushed away when Salazar used his Aether to create a shield that forced him backwards with a powerful knockback.

He has no option but to watch. Much to their horror, Gwyneth Forgesteel has been killed by her own sword, to which they all attempted to intervene, but Fiona Vance interrupts him and she finishes thim through a fair duel. His inclusion to the fight against Salazar wasn't actually covered by official statements.

#### Salazar's Clear End

Salazar finally loses his momentum after having a brutal duel with Fiona Vance. As a result, she managed to brutally stab him thrice in the chest, before leaving him to die on the ground, while they all leave. NEXTECH Man took one minute to inspect him, before finally flying away, asking the Legionnaires to do their thing, as he knew, the Aryaine Kingdom needs him. He is also responsible for hammering Mimeographer to the ground, but his use of the Dark Iron armour forced him to retreat.

Fortunately, Iron Man picked up the pace and killed the imposter, which was simply Mimeographer wearing a stolen armoured suit of Nexima's design.

#### The Truth

When he returned to the Aryaine Kingdom, he has been swarmed by the press, including the paparazzi, whom demanded answers regarding the truth about the Corporate Renegades and the war that ended on Avarshi. As he spent a minute looking at all the people, he goes straight to the point. They have defeated the renegades, S.O.L.A.C.E is ransacked, and their leaders in disarray. When they decided to ask him about Salazar Progektö, Jayce stood firm and confirmed that his status is unknown, but they were able to avenge their fallen brothers and sisters as they destroyed the enemy.

Aldrin then left the interviewees as he flew back to his house, reuniting with his parents. Jayce confirms that it is all over, but he sternly assures his parents that the war may still be out there, as he had a feeling of something ominous.

### Aftermath: A New Enemy

Aldrin Jayce has temporarily severed ties with the Legion in order to protect his country from all potential threats. He works as an engineer during the day to help innocent people, and as **NEXTECH Man** at night. Knowing that the disbandment of any evil causes another to take their place, he is always adamant about the war's end, knowing that it is still open for any expansions, which is now true when he faces a new adversary at some point, during his superhero nights. This adversary then threatens every night of the country, allowing him to track him whenever it gets dark. Maybe he realised he was more than a match for him in a fight.

The Supervillain challenged him to fight every night. NEXTECH Man accepted, but quickly informs the NEW/G not to interfere. He remarked that he behaved remarkably similar to a PROJECT cyborg in the past. It is the time, for him to defeat him and find out the truth about his secretive rival.

### True Ultimatum

#### Showdown of the Night

The supervillain QUADRA Shooter has terrorised the people of the Aryaine Kingdom. However, he is perplexed by his departure every night, leading him to believe that he only operates at night. Every night, NEXTECH Man and QUADRA Shooter have squared off, trading blows fiercely, with the latter typically gaining the upper hand due to his ranged advantage, owing to his use of guns. He promised to bring him to justice, even if it meant killing him, because he was aware of the supervillain's serial killings, which happened every night. This does not interfere in Jayce's allegiance to the renegades even if he severed ties with them for the time being.

#### A New Rival

One day, Jayce wakes up to see technology and materials stolen from his personal property. He quickly suits up as he investigates to find out who robbed him of his technology, and why. He later went outside to read the media, surprised to read the tabloid stating: "NEXTECH MAN ROBBED BY MYSTERIOUS VILLAIN, 'HIGHLANDER XTREME'! EXPERIMENTAL WEAPONS FALLING INTO DANGEROUS HANDS?" this alarmed him, realising that he has another supervillain rival and he intends to stop them from using technology to create devastating weapons into the wrong hands.

He disregarded the NEW/G's intel about LORD ANNIHILATOR to settle the score. However, it went inconclusive after a stalemated battle.

#### Iceborn Disturbance

As QUADRA Shooter vanished from the radar, Jayce inquired about the current post-war state; after some contemplation, he discovered that the conflict has a new phenomenon, which derives from the fact that a big disturbance is occurring in the Northern lands, Avarshi. Knowing that the NEW/G deserves to be informed, he then suits up and soars across the sky in the hopes of locating the group, should the Legionnaires be interested in his new information.

#### Legion's Last Intervention

As the NEW/G prepared to stop LORD ANNIHILATOR from wreaking havoc and destroying Nexonia Prime, NEXTECH Man and the rest of the Legionnaires have listened to a moving speech by Fiona Vance and saluted in reverence, all pointing their rifles overhead in unison. They were quickly trapped in Vuraki after teleporting to Avarshi. Fiona then realises it was an ambush and stands side by side with REX-ARCHIBALD, seeing that the **Tyrannical Supreme** shined his red eyes over them, as his army of holographic minions now rush towards their position without stopping, forcing the Legionnaires to form a defensive position.

He then switches his hammer into cannon mode to prepare accordingly.

## Personality

Outside of NEXTECH Man persona, Jayce lived the life of a young inventor, being a very intelligent, science enthusiast, and capable of inventing and building his own creations, powered by Nextech. He is also an avid Galaxia Chronicles and a science-fiction fan, making frequent pop-culture references to it in battle. In addition, Jayce is highly impressionable towards figures of authority, though is experienced and matured. He even takes harsh words and criticism to the heart, as this caused him to question his heroics and intentions in helping those in need, loves and cares about.

Despite his seemingly young age, Jayce is a highly responsible and a remarkable individual with a sense of justice and responsibility. He uses his skills and heart to protect all the people he loves and strives to make the planet a safer place.

## Abilities

NEXTECH Man is outfitted with a functional costume that not only looks good but is also extremely durable and provides him with resistance to heat and acidic elements; it also amplifies his enhanced physiology. His JUSTICE hammer is a proprietary design that can be used as the TRUTH cannon, allowing him to shoot enemies from a distance with powerful plasma charges.

He uses the Nextech supplied in his family, as House Jayce featured the most amount, and they initially belonged to his great (too many greats) grandfather, Brayden.

### Moveset

* **HAMMER DOWN**: He jumps to the sky and slams his JUSTICE hammer to the ground. Due to its bulk and durability, it typically cracks the ground with incredible force.

* **ELECTRO BLAST**: In the TRUTH cannon, he fires an electric blast that causes area-of-effect damage to the target, affecting victims caught in the blast radius, and able to blast walls with ease. It is powerful enough to penetrate light vehicles such as the BULLDOG Mk. 2 ATV and the CS1 ATV, while can cause some effect on tanks.

* **ELECTRO OVERLOAD**: In the JUSTICE hammer, he discharges a large amount of electricity to protect himself from incoming enemy projectiles and attacks. When an adversary attempts to attack him under its effects, it will electrocute them.

* **OVERCHARGED**: Through the TRUTH cannon, he gains additional energy reserves in order for him to launch numerous plasma shots without overheating in a limited amount of them. Typically suited to grouped enemies and hordes of enemy combatants.

* **CRUSHING BLOW**: He hits his opponent with the JUSTICE hammer, which would typically send them backwards due to a powerful knockback.

* **ACCELERATION PLATFORM**: Drops the said platform to the ground, an ally that crosses it will gain a boost in speed and agility, while using the TRUTH cannon and crossing it would expand his cannon's range, allowing it to snipe enemies.

* **SHIFTING WEAPON**: Allows him to switch between the JUSTICE hammer, and the TRUTH cannon at will. He can do this to gain temporary speed surge, or to activate a powerful attack, such as an enhanced hammer strike for the next ten seconds. Switching back to cannon form allows him to fire an extremely powerful blast of plasma.

### Skills

* **Skilled Combatant**: Even before assuming the superhero persona of **NEXTECH Man**, Aldrin possessed exceptional combat skills. He is skilled in hand-to-hand combat, melee weapons, and even ranged weapons like firearms.

* **Brilliant Tactician**: NEXTECH Man is an improvisational learner, able to come up with better tactics the longer he has experience as a hero in combat.

* **Master Spy**: As he has two personas, he can project a typical hero personality with NEXTECH Man, to separate his true self, a regular but noble person that strives to build technology to improve the Aryaine Kingdom.

## Trivia

### General

* Jayce was unprepared when the CHIMERA superweapon destroyed their base, which traumatised him to the point of the even being etched to his own memory.
* As the NEXTECH Man, he wears a super suit and uses a fearsome hammer as his signature weapon. It also happens to augment his physical strength, strong enough for him to kill nevians with mere strikes and lift an entire bus.
* His weapon is custom built, and has been equipped with the most powerful Nextech. It is even more powerful than Forgesteel's sword.
* Aldrin admits to be not good with women, and he continues to improve on that aspect.
* Some claim he threw an entire bus just to provoke an enemy, who appears to be his rival and is physically similar to PROJECT GRANDIOSE.
* Now he's looking for a sidekick to handle two villains as Highlander XTREME proved to be a great threat.