The Psychopus (OC)

THE MOST BIZARRE SUPERHERO OF ALL TIME!

    The world's first nonhuman superhero, the Psychopus is a female octopus designated "Rachel" that came from a clutch of genetically-modified octopus eggs, created with the intention of improving the brain capacity of lesser life forms before human trials could begin. Rachel was the most developed member of her group, developing not only more human-like emotions, but also showing signs of incredible psychic prowess, such as moving through the water without exerting energy, and establishing a telepathic link with her siblings. These actions were noticed by the researchers, but they found it...difficult to imagine that a mere octopus could wield powers beyond any human. But little did they know that their living bauble of genetic engineering was reading their minds and understood their thoughts as well. Then one day, Rachel broke out of the holding tank and escaped the laboratory.

    Floating through the air (and using her innate camouflage ability to change color with the sky), Rachel performed her own "studies" of the human race, observing day-to-day activities and the thoughts and rationale of many individuals, almost like a deep-sea diver studying fish. Most of these thoughts were positive and kind in nature, which the young invertebrate found pleasing- almost soothing to her advanced mind. When she neared an apartment building one day, Rachel felt a surge of negative, depressing thoughts and emotions, and discovered a man attempting to kill himself by leaping off his window ledge. Since she had studied so many wonderful thoughts and feelings and developed a positive notion of the human race, this self-destructive act appalled the cerebral cephalopod. All it could do to save the man was use a telekinetic push to force him him backwards into the building. The man, surprised at the force he perceived as a divine intervention, decided to keep going in life.

    The second time Rachel saved a life was when she discovered a quintet of bank robbers intending to do something far worse than suicide: They planned to enter a bank, take hostages, and make off with $50,000 in cash, killing anybody that got in their way. Unlike human researchers, who have guidelines to let nature run its course in situations that threatened a "lesser species", Rachel was driven purely by the emotions she felt. Abandoning her camouflage, she attacked the bank robbers, who were so confused by a flying white octopus that they were unprepared to have their guns taken away in her tentacles and their own bodies tossed about by her telekinesis like fruit in a juggler's hands. The five robbers were found by the police (who had been led there by a "voice" in their heads), but they were committed to an asylum for their claims of a "psychic octopus" that attacked them. Nevertheless, the theory was picked up on the local TV station, and the myth of the vigilante "Psychopus" became widespread knowledge, almost memetic in nature.

    Picking up on the name "Psychopus", and feeling a surge of accomplishment from defeating a threat no normal octopus could, Rachel began absorbing knowledge of superhuman individuals from human minds, and decided to become a defender for justice. She adopted her public moniker for good, and eventually The Psychopus became the world's first invertebrate superhero.

    As she matures, Rachel's mind and abilities become more complex. Not only is she capable of an amazing memory and possessing true sapience, but she can read minds from up to 5 meters away, and fly through the air at 24 mph. The maximum weight she can carry is 200 lb, but it is slowly increasing with practice. Rachel's most incredible ability, however, is her camouflage, as she can turn a variety of hues of many colors. Though it isn't perfect, she can mimic most surfaces she's sitting on, such as a sidewalk, or a concrete wall, blending in for an ambush or to hide from her enemies (though she is visible from a profile view). Her most common use of this ability is turning the color of the sky and hovering above people, but anybody looking down from above her will see this as a dead giveaway. Her only weaknesses are her dependence upon salt water to survive, as without exposure to it for 45 minutes at a time, will not survive, and her own lackluster physical strength. And even though she is capable of telepathic communication, her understanding of using human vocabulary is poor at best. She can only use a variety of words to express herself, but don't count on her using eloquent sentences and engaging in dialogue. However, despite her supposed stupidity, she is very understanding, and is eager to fight alongside fellow superheroes... if they take the idea of a Psychopus seriously enough to work with her.

Theme: Passage from Genesis (Ecco the Dolphin: Defender of the Future) www.youtube.com/watch?v=72J5FP…

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