Legends of immortal spirits that inhabit human bodies are rare, but not unknown, even in the realm of Heroes Rising. The unusual case of the man named Elijah Andrew is one still in the process of deciphering.
When morphons first seeded this planet, Elijah didn't appear to show any signs of being affected. He continued his non-descript life as a barber-by-day and part-time bartender-at-night, and as havoc reigned from New Amsterdam to Bursa to Onnatangu and places in between, he kept at his roles without bother.
Three months ago, he began to have vivid dreams - of time as a masked hero, aiding friends and battling enemies. On awakening, he had full memory of the visions although nothing was familiar. Elijah was familiar with most of the known world threats such as Necromech, Aurora, ShadowFright and Unity, and had just as impressive a knowledge of the myriad of enhanced humans called to defend the planet. But nobody in his visions was familiar. Was he seeing a future Earth? Psychiatrists analysed his visions, and even BADGE paid attention - their eyes and ears were in many a place at this time and with the knowledge that the mythical Father Time was at large, were on full alert for the presence of anybody with pre-cognitive abilities.
They interviewed, they scanned, they had their own mentally-skilled agents attempt to decipher ... to little effect. While they discovered trace amounts of morphons embedded in Elijah's genetic code, the fact that he himself did not show any signs of supernatural ability was enough for BADGE to let him go. Return to normal life, or as normal as you can, they told him.
His life mildly disrupted, Elijah took solace that BADGE had financially compensated him above and beyond what he would have expected from being away from his job and responsibilities for those several weeks. He resumed his daily tasks with relief.
That period of relief lasted two days.
As many a hero origin story would go, a criminal act in one's presence seemed to have the effect of awakening latent abilities. A pair of hooded men attempted to rob the barbershop during the early morning, and just as the barrel of a gun was pointed at the eyes of Elijah, a spark, bright and brilliant, exploded in his mind and he felt an otherworldly spirit swirl within.
"Is this who I really am?" he asked himself as he disarmed his assailant with a heavy strike to the chest, before spinning and shooting (from his extended fist!) an energy beam at the second hoodlum, knocking him unconscious on sight.
He was too stunned to do anything but flop in his chair.
An hour passed, and as the 'Closed' sign rattled on the storefront, BADGE agents opened the door.
They asked, "What do you see? Were your visions of a future yet to come?"
Elijah shook his head. "No. They are of a past. But a past that nobody here knows."
[TBC]
--- Visionary
--- ID: 3597
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