Name: Number Two
Aliases: "Numbah 2", "Kid Block" Malcolm Campbell, Instructor Campbell, "Che$hire Grin"


Past self:

Present self: A teacher at University (Latin language, Atlantean studies)

Possible Motivation: - Secrets of the Universe, for fun and profit

Potential ideas:

Music inspiration:
Glass Animals "Life Itself"
Coyote Kisses "Six Shooter"
The Kongos "I'm only Joking"
Pink Floyd

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Name:

Age:
Gender: Male
Current Residence: Boston, Maryland USA
Hair: Red
Eye Color: Green/Blue
Height: 6'2
Weight: 195

A brief history

When I was young, it seemed that life was so wonderful
A miracle, oh it was beautiful, magical
And all the birds in the trees, well they'd be singing so happily
Oh joyfully, playfully watching me
But then they send me away to teach me how to be sensible
Logical, oh responsible, practical
And they showed me a world where I could be so dependable
Oh clinical, oh intellectual, cynical
-The logical song, SuperTramp.

2007
After being accepted into Harvard, Malcolm joins many of his other siblings in leaving the Academy.  Unlike the others, he has no intention of pursuing life as a superhero nor capitalizing on fame. However, he is not stupid to relinquish the wealth. He leaves the majority of his things behind, intending to come back for them at some point.

At the insistence of Arthur Hammond, Malcolm hires a wealth manager. Evelyn Hitcher has spent a decade servicing large corporate accounts, though never anything in the Fortune 500. She saw opportunity  in working for a Daedalus beneficiary as there were few, if any opportunities to go higher. She had come recommended by Hammond for her discretion, instincts and a resolve to match Malcolm's own when it comes to saying "no". Regardless, Hammond made sure that the financial, legal, privacy and and secrecy clauses were airtight. While Malcolm agreed to hire her, he was not keen on still having some one babysitting him. Evelyn assured him that she was not there to babysit him, but his money.

Despite starting mid-year, Malcolm will still live in Harvard yard as is mandatory. While living there is not much different than life at the Academy, he finds the close proximity to normals that know him as a superhero is off-putting. His suite-mate cares little for him and does not really care to be involved, finding the whole situation a little silly. He moves in during Winter break

2008

"This ain't no place for no hero.
This ain't no place for no better man.
This ain't no place for no hero
To call "home.""
Short Change Hero, The Heavy


During Winter break, Malcom leaves the dormitories. With the assistance of Evelyn, he relocates to a studio apartment in Cambridge. He is eager for the solitude, having always been living with other people. It takes some adjustment. While he still has to deal with neighbors, he does not have to adhere to others' schedules or considerations. Privacy is no longer an issue and he can always watch what he wants, when he wants. It's glorious with the windows open, eating a bowl of frosted flakes with chocolate milk in your underwear during and all day binge of Spaghetti westerns.

Classes kick off without too much a hitch. Though he finds living off campus a bit more distracting, he is still able to handle his classes better than the others. He begins to find them to be boring. His time in the Daedalus academy gave him a leg up over the others. Many of the classes merely go over things he has covered before, or as far as the least scientific classes go, went against the ideas explored.

He was shaken when he learned about the death of his sister Cory, and the devastation of those that of his family that stayed in the aftermath of Kawakum. He was not sure how to handle the mix of guilt, desperation and anger. Even though it was easy to direct it to Abe Campbell, Malcolm understood it was just that: easy. Though not normally something he would pursue, he seeks out assistance from a therapist, Joshua Pendlehaven. Joshua was discreet, and while he knew of the Daedalus children, he always kept it professional. They never discussed the others, only ever doing so in respect to his feelings and his life going forward. While he grieved for his sister, Joshua helped Malcolm gain focus and purpose. If he sought to leave the life he lived behind, he would have to to make sure he had something to work for.

Malcolm spent his summer break on the island of Plumia at the protest of Joshua. He felt that spending time where such a great influence of he and his siblings took place and being among those that considered him a deity would be counter productive. Regardless, Malcolm spends the majority of his stay exploring the entrance to the Hollow Earth and scuba diving. While Scuba diving, he discovers a strange metallic object. At first he thinks it is a Spanish doubloon, it does not seem to be affected by erosion, oxidization or sea life. Further research reveals that it is not of Spanish origin, but little else. He writes it off as some unique curio and attaches it to a chain he wears as a charm.
Before he left, he visited the shrine made to each of the children. He could not stop crying as he gave his final farewell to his sister.

Before Fall term begins, Malcolm is in proximity when a high collateral event occurs. He opts not to interfere. When it became known to Joshua, he does not press Malcolm on it. He is not sure how to feel about it. While Malcolm acted like any other person would, the fact he could have prevented or even mitigated the carnage does not sit well with him. He decides to wait and see if Malcolm approaches him about it.




2009

When I was a child, I caught a fleeting glimpse
Out of the corner of my eye
I turned to look, but it was gone
I cannot put my finger on it now
The child is grown
The dream is gone
I have become comfortably numb
Comfortably Numb, Pink Floyd


Winter break was bleak for Malcolm. The original high he felt the prior years had faded. Where being lazy and carefree was an exercise in rebellion and growth, it was now a symptom of submission and stagnation
The sessions with Joshua became one-sided. Inquiries into his studies were given one-word answers. Leading questions were met with shrugs. Concerns were met with silence. Eventually the question was asked.
"Why didn't you get involved?"
It was a question he kept asking himself over and over again. He sat days staring at nothing. A scream for help ignored. He lay in bed staring at the ceiling. A life ruined forever.
His sisters. His brothers. Strangers he never knew.
Joshua shed the light on the darkness, and Malcolm knew. For all his faults, their father shielded them from the worst of it. The pain. The close-calls. The aftermath. All for what?

Malcolm stopped seeing Joshua then. He only spoke to Evelyn when necessary, only moments at a time and only by  her last name. He only showed up to classes when it was mandatory.  His work was always "just enough". A brilliant paragon of the Daedalus Academy grew dull and tarnished. Those who once viewed him with a sense of wonder pitied him; the jealous ones mocked him. One was foolish enough to try and assault him.
Malcolm let him, and he took his beating like a champ. He'd had worse. He'd fought worse. There were always worse ones.
He had recovered enough by the end of the term that his GPA did not suffer too much, but he was definitely out of the running for Valedictorian now. It was just another self-important badge of honor that ultimately meant nothing.

Summer passed into Fall as he stayed in his studio, only coming out for food. At this juncture, Malcolm had considered dropping from school entirely. It was only the fact that it would be pointless to drop out that balanced it out in the end.


2012
In the locust wind comes a rattle and hum
Jacob wrestled the angel
And the angel was overcome
You plant a demon seed
You raise a flower of fire
-Bullet the Blue Sky, U2

Seasons came and seasons passed as Malcolm continued a shell of a life. Autonomous; a schedule as predictable as a clock. Go to class. Take half-hearted notes of thing he already knew. Avoid contact. Take lunch. Order the usual. Go to class. Take notes. Complete assignment. Go home. Shower, rinse, repeat.

Avoiding conflict where it presented itself slipped Malcolm out of what he came to regard his father's plan for himself. The tabs he kept on his siblings left no doubt he was the only one who had enough of the old man's teaching. It took will to not jump in where he did not belong. To interject his will in other's business as Abe had done before. And got his sister killed. He would escape the clutches of being a Miracle Child and make his own fate.

Fate, however, had other plans.

At semester end, the Anthropology class had a museum field trip. If it was not mandatory, he would have skipped out.  Dubbed a "Once in a lifetime experience", a mysterious benefactor was allowing his private collection to be showcased. The centerpiece was a statue of Queen Nedakh holding her royal scepter encrusted with varying crystals.
For the most part, none of the exhibits held any interest for Malcolm. He idly took notes while listening to the audio recorded tour. It was his lack of attention that allowed him to notice something out of the corner of his eye. Hairs rose at the back of his neck as an old familiar feeling washed over him. One that he had been, up till now, suppressing rather successfully. He purposely turned away to ignore it. And came face to snout with Python.

Rumors of a rare Lemurian artifact was enough to secure the interest of Red Claw. Python had no compunction of being as brazen as possible. So it was perfect timing that he tracked down the rumors of this showcase. Human casualties would just be a pleasing bonus and give his soldiers some much needed fun. Then he saw the unmistakable eyes of one Malcolm Campbell. Leering Lumerians and terrified humans alike could feel the energy shift as scythes swung free and the air grew heavy.

Before the League of Heroes arrived, surviving witnesses recounted the battle between the two as something out of a movie. Those who thought they knew Malcolm expressed confusion in the sudden rage he had shown. In the process of the fight, Malcolm had used the scepter as a bludgeoning weapon. When it broke, Red Claw had suddenly lost interest in the fight, fleeing shortly before the League of Heroes arrived.

When the owner arrived, Malcolm had calmed down from the anger he had and apologized for damaging such a valuable artifact. Introduced as Walter Renning, he assured Malcolm with some jocularity that it was not an issue.  The scepter was just a replica. He didn't trust putting such a thing out in the open. Removing one of the fake crystals, he revealed a hidden transmitter. It was an elaborate trick to try and locate where the Lemurians disappeared to.

Walter was not too keen on the plan, what with the risks of casualty and how easy it would have been to spot the fake. But, it was not his plan, and thus, why it failed. Dismissing the situation, Mr Renning commented on the squandered potential. Of what, he just replied with a cryptic smile. He did make Malcolm an offer  that if he wanted to explore that potential and seek his revenge, he could make it happen. However, he needed some one capable and willing to work. Mr Renning directed him to an associate of his, Dean Susan James to discuss his future. If she found him worthy, then a new world would open for him.



2013
-Malcolm enters the Anthropology Master's course under the guidance of Dean Susan James, an associate of Mr Renning
-Begins training to bring himself back up to combat readiness again.
-He tentatively begins to speak with Joshua Pendlehaven again. It is more of a cordial re-connection than client/patient.
-Malcolm tasks Ms. Hitcher to seek out income sources so he can continue paying for his tuition and living arrangements. He desires to have it separate from Abe's in an attempt to claim even more independence.

2014
-Mr Renning is pleased with how Malcolm is progressing. Malcolm learns that Mr Renning has several others who work for him as well. Each one seemingly on a different project. He authorizes Dean James to provide him access to a particularly challenging project that recently lost it's main researcher. No one has seen him for years.