Editing Masks: Halcyon Superheroics 101: Preston Digits (section)

=Backstory=

'''How did you get your powers?'''

Magic, the user-unfriendly Swiss army knife of the gods that every newbie power-chaser thinks is the solution to all their mundanity woes, and every more-informed and wise chaser promptly decides otherwise (fools tend to be the ones who get eaten by demons or on trial for murder of sentients for the parts needed to skip all the boring "needs to actually study this" business; the ones who manage to live the dream through sorcery were generally wise ones until desperation, and even then, it usually takes the form of cautious dabbler stuff). Magic, you see, needs not just a bunch of equations, but a worldview and assimilation of some frankly alien logic, and that takes a lot before the brain adapts, usually a combination of trauma and desperation. So it was with Nigel, who lost both of his parents to a mob hit, collateral damage against the circus' debts. And then he met the worst person to begin healing with, one who thought that the most helpful thing to do was to break everything about Crime (capital C) in retribution for Crime hurting you. Punching your issues - or befuddling them, as it were - is not conducive to actually moving on, especially when your coping mechanism of being showy and a disaffected attitude is core to what spells you know. Alex Azam is very much someone who refuses to believe that magic can't solve all problems, it's kind of why he's a villain with a self-righteous cause who forced an orphan to be his sidekick.

'''What do you do for fun?'''

He's got a soft spot for kids; he finds both doing magic shows for them, and his actual job as an often-online tutor, quite satisfying, and unraveling the puzzle of someone's ignorance is fascinating for him. If he's feeling pissy, he fakes hauntings.

'''Who, outside the team, thinks better of you than you do?'''

Elia Gibbs, his landlady. She thinks of him as this often charming stage magician with an understandable chip on his shoulder who wants to do good and to be someone better than what his mentor wanted him to be. Nigel agrees with the "understandable chip" part, and appreciates it, but he thinks of himself as a jackass who wants to piss off said mentor.

'''Why do you try to be a hero?'''

Because he feels it pisses off Alex, who is very much of the "if you're damaged, you're evil or you're on my side" school of morality. Alex Azam is of the opinion that only damaged and weak people become supervillains, as do people who think they should be more than they are - they should let people who know better handle things (he is completely blind to his membership in a villain team these days - he refuses to see they're pricks and/or thinks he can sell them into good graces of the public). Nigel, being someone who still has phobias over mannequins, and who enjoys learning new techniques and secrets because it makes him stronger, enjoys being a living flaw in his philosophy. That, and punching down always makes the absurdist comedy that is existence less funny.

'''Why do you care about the team?'''

Frankly, the fact that they've realized his absurdist "all is theater, give 'em a good show" philosophy and cavalier attitude is a coping mechanism even he knows is unhealthy, and he also wants people to avoid the same trauma he suffered under an abusive mentor and his orphaning. That, and they wear their malfunctions on their sleeve, rather than hide them. This puts him far more at ease, as opposed to having a showy, extroverted illusionist who's also a dogmatic psychopath and bully behind closed doors.