Blood of Heroes Hero Details



Personal Data

Character Name: Penumbra
Character Type: Energy Projector
Alter Ego: Henry Delaware
Power Origin: Accident/Granted Powers
Occupation: Contract Forensic Investigator
Marital Status: Single (Divorced)
Known Relatives:
  - Former Spouse: Linda Connors
  - Son: James Delaware Connors (4)
  - Daughter: Emily Delaware Connors (2)
  - Parents: Donna  Delaware
No Group Affiliations
No Base of Operations
Height: 5' 11"
Weight: ~185 lbs
Eye Color: Brown
Hair Color: Brown
Age: 29



History

Henry Delaware grew up in a conventional american household. His parents were regular folks, blue collar workers, who managed to provide for him and his siblings all that was needed. His father died when Henry was 18, a heart attack while at work. His mother continued raising them on her own, and the life insurance helped to cover costs and paid off the house.

Henry came into his powers by accident. Being a contract detective and forensic investigator, he found himself on the wrong side of a powered confrontation between local heroes and forces of alien origin. As he tried to escape the combat zone, a large jet-black rock crashed next to him, and lightless tendrils of power took him up and entombed him into the stone. He doesn't remember anything that happened while he was trapped. He woke up in a hospital one day. The doctors explained to him that he had been in that stone for two weeks. After many experiments and even more failed attempts at breaking him out, the stone simple split him out on its own, releasing him. But he was not the same person any more. His body had been changed. It was now able to do things with dark energies that were supernatural, superhuman. After spending some time being debriefed by the local hero teams, the military, and other government agencies, he was deemed "Not A Threat", and released back to his regular life.

Henry tried to move on with his life, not entirely sure how to proceed. For a few weeks he continued with life and work as usual, but it wasn't the same. People looked at him with suspicion and distrust. It was around this time that a distant relation, a cousin he hadn't talked to in many years, died in a accident, leaving him a large inheritance of stock options and annuities. He didn't need to worry about working any more, so he took a long vacation: three months off in a remote island. This gave him time to clear his mind and take on a new direction in life.

Henry decided that with great power also comes great opportunity. All his life he had been trying to help catch all the bad guys, but now, with this new development, he could take that a step further. He worked on a hero persona he called "Penumbra", and started moonlighting in the city, taking on progressively greater challenges, until he felt confident he could handle himself in a fight, even against more challenging opponents.

It also helped that he had enough money in the bank to keep him well-off, and that his present employer was the City Police Department. With all the contacts in place, he decided that he could take a second life as a hero on a permanent basis.

This was it: a chance at doing the right thing.


Description

Henry works as a forensic investigator, so his everyday look is one of off-the-rack suits, ties, and shirts, as his professional contacts are usually in the police department. He is a bit of a retro fan, so he wears a fedora for the style of it, something which is sometimes endearing to people who appreciate that. When at work he usually carries a suitcase with his chemical lab and evidence gathering equipment, a camera, masks, and rubber gloves.

Casually he likes to wear jeans and collared t-shirts, with urban shoes. A leather jacket and a baseball cap top off his personal style when he's out on the town.

As Penumbra, he takes on the shape and form of "darkness", appearing as a lightless silhouette in the shape of a man to normal sight. He doesn't exactly have a costume, more of a form. A pair of bright points of light on his "head" mark his eyes.



Personality

As Henry, he likes the typical trappings of the american life: he watches sports, enjoys a drink at the bar on Friday nights, occasionally goes out on dates, and likes to spend a few days sailing on his boat. He enjoys Sports Illustrated, the daily newspaper, and a good cup of coffee in the morning.

Henry was always smart, but his transformation in the "rock" boosted his mind and body to amazing degrees. His understanding of the world and superior physical abilities now have him stand a bit apart from others. The change was subtle at first, but it came on gradually: he didn't see himself as part of the crowd now, he had become someone, something, different. Yes, he was still human, but he clearly didn't have the same problems other people had.

His new-found abilities have him questioning the trappings of power and the desire to acquire it. He has begun examining human psychology, and the reasons why people do what they do. It has been an enlightening revelation for him, and it has even helped him to make better conclusions during his forensic examinations. The world is no longer "black and white" to Henry. He now understands that there nuances and imperfections in people, and that every one deserves a chance to be heard and understood, sometimes even if that is behind bars.

As "Penumbra" Henry can steep into intellectual prose, humanistic discourse, and even some poetry on occasion. But most of the time he's silent, doing what he needs to do without asking questions or making commentary.