RPER INFO:

Canon or Original: Canon

Name: Sergeant Pepper
Contact: PM
How did you find us: Google
Other characters on this site:
Major Characters: Primal, Chamber, Hellion, Blackout
Minor Characters: Ricochet
Rules code: Xavier

Give Credit Where Due:
marveldatabase.com
comicvine.com


CHARACTER





Jared Leto

Affiliation: Students

Name: William Kaplan

Codename: Wiccan

Nicknames: Billy

Place of birth: Leonia, New Jersey

Age: Seventeen//March 22nd

Time at the Institute: New arrival

Marital Status: Single

Known Relatives:
Rebecca Kaplan- Adoptive Mother
Jeff Kaplan- Adoptive Father
Two adoptive brothers; Jason, 13; Mark, 11
Tommy Shepard (Speed)- Twin Brother

Base of Operations: Westchester Academy, or his bedroom

Sexual Orientation: Homosexual

Physical Appearance:

Height: 5’8”
Weight: 135 lbs
Hair: Charcoal pitch, which is possessed of an odd shade of red in certain lights; short but shaggy
Eyes: Chocolate brown

Description/Body Type: Unassuming in stature, Billy is not a very tall individual, standing at just over an average five feet eight inches… and although he has a small amount of growing left to do he still comes in a hair shorter than most of his peers. Soft, brown hued irises reflect a certain amount of openness, gazing out from underneath the shreds of midnight black that fall over his forehead, evenly spaced at the crest of a ski-slope nose.

Neither well built nor scrawny, he fits somewhere in the middle- another average point, it seems he meets most statistics in a generalised centre. Attractive, but not incredibly so, notwithstanding Billy doesn’t put much stock into how he or others appear anyhow. While he does work out a fast metabolism means he usually hovers around the same weight- he is not going to be putting any muscle on any time soon. Despite that he is decidedly toned for a sixteen year old.

Distinguishing Marks: Nothing particularly remarkable- his hair is of small note.

Clothing style: When not wearing his uniform Billy can be spotted in casual clothing- a typical wardrobe consisting of jeans, t-shirts…trainers and the odd accessory…nothing too flashy, just everyday teenage fashion. He knows what looks good and while he isn’t trying to make any sort of statement he can usually pull off just about anything.

Uniform: Fashioned in a manner which reflects Billy’s idolisation of superheroes- the Avengers in particular, his outfit is somewhat reminiscent of Thor. A blood red cloak, frayed at edges that almost reach knees, drapes about his shoulders, swathed around the front and fastened at the neck. Fingerless gloves run up into bracers, which are patterned similarly to the headdress that protects his forehead. Everything else is black, leather, and punctuated with a few extra straps such as a belt and patterned fabric running along his ribs.


Powers:

Reality Warping: This explanation is based on a mix of quantum mechanics, string theory, my own theories, and an offshoot of QM called quantum mysticism which is often scoffed at by scientists. It is, however, becoming supported by a larger amount of physicists.

The world around us is constructed of energy so finite we are barely aware of it- everything we touch, taste, smell, and feel reacts to us and our bodies in the manner we expect of it. Even the most solid of objects is made up of constantly vibrating molecules, wavelengths, linked by strings so small the mind cannot even imagine it. In this way, from the smallest particle to the largest of objects, everything in the universe is connected- bound by the invisible and the unseen. Our minds have been shown to play a massive part in how we interact with our local reality; when we expect a certain thing a certain way, it becomes a pattern and solidifies. This is why as children we are not subject to some of the same rules that the adult mind settles into. In a way, there are things that we can no longer understand as adults- a child’s thought processes are so open to such a vast realm of possibilities, thus we hear of children experiencing and doing things that often we dismiss as imagination.

For example, take the child who has seen a monster beneath the bed- as an adult we assume it is an infant jumping at shadows, in fact the likelihood is that there was in fact something there, we are just no longer are able to process the idea that things beyond the scope of what is considered ‘normal’ actually exist. This is because of something called conditioning- when we are told a certain object, situation, or belief is the way it is, over and over, it becomes consistent; the brain actually hardwires its synapses and neurons to fire in this expected repetitive pattern.

This phenomenon can also explain why people have such drastically different experiences in their lives- take religious experiences. The individual may pray for an outcome on a daily basis, and truly believe whatever God they are praying to will grant their request. When it happens, they believe it was divine intervention- in fact, this base expectation and regular reinforcement is because of how our thought wave patterns affect the particles around us. This expectation actually creates our own personal reality- this is how we function day to day. This is why one cannot experience something outside of their belief system or reality tunnel. One person may have a vision of a spirit or an angel whereas another saw or felt nothing, because they do not believe it, it didn’t happen to them. That does not mean it did, or did not, happen. Reality is subjective and relative, and entirely beyond the limits of ‘is’ or ‘isn’t’.

There are many accounts of extraordinary feats performed by people who simply believed they were capable. The man told he would never walk again after all the bones in his body were crushed, walking out of the hospital a few months later. The woman who cured herself of breast cancer simply by telling herself she would. These are true accounts of some people who are aware of how we affect our reality with our minds and daily patterns. This is often why when we have for example a bad experience, and tell ourselves ‘I knew that would happen!’…well, that is because we created that particular experience. We knew it would happen, therefore it did. This creation process happens on a subconscious level, with everyone- every single person alive does it whether they are aware of it or not.

When it comes to an individual such as Billy however, the mutation in his genetic makeup means that his reality manipulation is beyond a subconscious interaction with the universe…as a mutant he is able to bridge the gap between expectation and choice and thus the possibilities seem almost endless. Despite this, there are limits to his abilities.

· Spellcasting
Probably the most obvious of his reality manipulations, by chanting his desire over and over Wiccan is able to use a multitude of ‘spells’, including teleportation, healing of others, sensing location, and casting illusions. It is not restricted to these few, however he can only cast one spell at a time and needs to be able to hear his own voice. While Billy refers to them as spells they are in fact not magic based- simply an extension of his underlying reality warping.

· Energy Constructs
Able to bend and solidify the invisible energy around him, Billy can create projectiles, force fields and shields- around himself and others, and disks he can use to transport others.

· Elemental/Light Generation
Wiccan’s foremost attack, he can generate huge amounts of electrical energy in the form of lightning.

· Flight
Well this is somewhat self-explanatory…


Weakness: While Billy’s powers seem almost unlimited, this is far from the case- he cannot cast more than one spell at a time due to the need to repeatedly chant the desired mantra in order to achieve an outcome, and should he be unable to actually hear his own voice he cannot utilise this ability. He cannot use his spells to heal himself, and requires intense concentration while chanting- if he is being physically attacked, he would be unable to cast a spell. Noise makes it somewhat difficult to concentrate however he has learned to work with it and can usually block distracting sound out. The force fields are not indestructible- use enough strength and they will break.


Personality: Genuine and honest, Billy is the kind of person you would want as a friend- not one to judge or jump to opinions, this is likely due to personal experiences. Growing up with something that makes one stick out from the crowd, one tends not to hold to the quick assessment of others, and it seems he is willing to befriend just about anyone. This is not to say that he is naïve- far from it, simply that he is generous enough not to cling to preformed assumptions.

This aside Billy is happy with who he is, and has never had an issue with his sexuality or identity- he has always maintained that it is other people with the problem and not himself. Growing up in an accepting environment probably aided this outlook…however it does not mean that he hasn’t often felt like an outsider, especially when faced with typical high school cruelty and segregation.

Unhesitant when it comes to assisting others, Wiccan seems almost inherently unselfish, willing to throw himself into the line of fire in order to help out someone in trouble. This being said, he is party to the same moods that all teenagers go through- he can be rather serious despite his generally untroubled demeanour and has been known to make the odd sarcastic comment.


History: The origins of William Kaplan are shrouded in a certain amount of mystery- a hazy curtain drawn over his birth and the place at which it supposedly occurred, as if the truth didn’t quite want to be found out. But despite this glaring gap in the pages of young Billy’s existence, his life mostly went from strength to strength-- adopted by Reform Jews, clinical psychologist and cardiologist Rebecca and Jeff Kaplan, he was raised in a loving and accepting environment.

Fairly well off, Billy lived a comfortable life alongside two younger brothers, wanting for nothing…television, games consoles, nice clothes; not spoiled, but not missing out on anything either. At the age of six they moved from Leonia, New Jersey to a spacious New York apartment. Even at this young age Billy knew he was different, however it simply wasn’t an issue to him…just part of who he was, and thus didn’t feel the need to broach the subject.

However, as he grew older alongside the shallowness and ignorance of school age children Wiccan began to feel the sting of his dissimilarity. Bullies started to emerge, initially mostly pelting him with verbal insults and segregating behaviour…later though on it grew into physical assaults. His being gay wasn’t the problem though, it was always them…only feeling anger towards the prejudice he faced and never at himself. In high school it worsened; a young man named John Kessler unmercifully harassed him, leading the brunt of the aggression.

After receiving a particularly vicious beating Billy found himself in the recently reformed Mutant Town Park. Being something of a superhero fanboy meant he often dreamed of having powers of his own, thus a stroll in this area of New York was not something that particularly unsettled him as it might others. In fact he almost welcomed the idea of bumping into a super-powered individual. While sitting under the boughs of twin cherry trees a red-clad female had come across the boy; noticing his injuries she had inquired if he was alright. Following his explanation of events she told him to stand up for himself…not to allow the bullies to win.

Of course Billy thought her advice was ridiculous and started trying to avoid Kessler at all costs, even going to the lengths of learning his schedule in order to not be in the same place at the same time. However things came to a head when Wiccan spotted the bully taking his frustration out on a younger school member. Unthinkingly, Billy leapt to the student’s aid- it was at this point his powers chose to manifest. Lightning wracked his nemesis’ body, nearly killing him in the process. Terrified by what he had done the mutant raced back to the cherry trees, hoping to talk to the same woman, but she was nowhere to be found.

After the initial shock though Billy spent the next few months exploring what he could do, reading articles and books on differing theories and abilities, from scientific papers to self help books, to traditional pagan practices. It was amongst the literature he developed his own customised version of spell casting…trying out different methods of testing his limits. Not quite understanding how his powers worked, he took to referring to them as magic.

Having only a brief grasp of these newfound abilities, it was not long after this he received an invitation to join Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters. Curious, he accepted.

Journal


SAMPLE RP POST:

Daylight like lemon shards of otherworldly thought fragments sheared through the edges of barely open eyes, cracked on a blurry world that still contorted itself with the aftershocks of dying dreams. Sleepily craning his neck in order to squint at the digital green display that was flaring up in an agitated pattern of zeros and eights, Billy Kaplan pulled a face and shirked the blankets back over his head with a grunt.

Forty-five minutes later he had battled through the sleep demons, showered, thrown on a pair of jeans and was now sat, head in hand and a piece of toast in the other, staring at but not quite focused on a quietly mumbling television. Pictures flared out over the screen, images all cast in crimson and droned over tonelessly by some nasally reporter, black and white and grey-eyed…some green, but mostly monochrome. Whatever it was it momentarily caught Wiccan’s notice and he paused, toast suspended at mouth, the edges of a frown tugging at his looks. They were talking about some sort of incident that had happened not too far from his home. Something scrolled across the screen about the mutant problem and supplied the masses with a number to ring…as if random people would have any information about super-powered criminals.

The tinny rendition of a rock song ringtone suddenly kicked up a fuss in his pocket and pulled his attention away from the news story. A quick eye cast over the caller display proved nothing; he didn’t recognise the number but took the call anyway, hitting buttons in a manner that said he couldn’t really be bothered to talk right now. He was still sleep groggy.

‘Hm?’

‘HeyBillywhatsuplamer?!’ Words drilled out in an unintelligible string, almost one syllable, although the voice was unmistakable.

‘Umm, what? Tommy? …Not all of us function at mach ten you know.’ A bemused expression wandered across Billy’s features. ‘What the hell are you doing on a cell phone anyway?’

‘Oh yeah…’ A few seconds and a sonic boom later a green blur materialised aside the half-dressed Wiccan, dust and bits of things Billy supposed were leaves and paper shreds tornadoing in his brother’s wake. ‘I forgot your folks were outta town- so, what’s the plan; party, alcohol? Movienight? I’ve so gotta watch some more of that crazy Japanese shit.’

‘We’re hanging out now?’ The warlock shot him a dubious look.

Tommy shrugged and slumped his arms onto the kitchen island, slouching against it in a couldn’t-care-less fashion. ‘Yeah, well, y’know, I have nothing better to do.’

‘Your date dumped you huh?’

‘I prefer the term “rescheduled”.’

‘She dumped you.’

Irritation clawed at the space between the speedster and Wiccan, but before his brother could fling some more aggravated words at him Billy continued. ‘I’ve gotta go up to Westchester today anyhow, some sort of orientation thing for new students is going on and they asked me n some others to help out. …Whose cell phone were you using?’

Glancing down at the object still clutched in his hand, Tommy nonchalantly flipped it about. ‘My moms…I should probably give that back…’

Billy pulled a shirt from the dryer and over his head in one smooth motion, shoving his feet into awaiting trainers. Patience was not a virtue his twin was familiar with- he doubted the word was even in the guy’s vocabulary, which meant Speed could be somewhat absentminded from time to time. ‘You go do that; I’m heading out. Don’t let two rejections in one day get to you too much.’

Sapphire tendrils curled in to furl around Wiccan’s extremities, spilling out across the faux marble surfaces and glass paned cupboards and setting the area in a soft blue gradient-- hands emitting a coiling sky-toned aura as he muttered a teleportation mantra.

‘iwanttobeatthemansioniwanttobeatthemansioniwantobeat..’

Tommy’s voice chased Billy as the kitchen surroundings faded: ‘Yousoundlikeatard…’ echoing behind him.