Chubster

<infobox> <title source="name"><default>Chubster</default></title>

<image source="Image"></image> <image source="image"></image> <group><header>Basic Information</header> <label>Civilian Name</label> <label>Aliases</label> <label>Gender</label><default>Unknown</default> <label>Death</label> <label>Age</label><default>Unknown</default> <label>Post-timeskip</label> <label>Ward start</label> <label>Relations</label> <label>Family</label></group> <group><header>Professional Status</header> <label>Occupation</label> <label>Classification</label> <label>Unique Features</label> <label>Alignment</label>

<label>Status</label><format>

{{{status}}}

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<label>Location</label> <label>Teams</label> <label>Previous Team(s)</label> <label>Base of Operations</label></group> <group><header>First Appearance</header> <label>Worm Debut</label> <label>Ward Debut</label></group> </infobox> Ben Cothran,<ref name="PRT67"/> was a hero known publicly as Chubster, a name he picked out himself.

Personality

Ben was the sort to poke fun at himself,<ref name="PRT67"/> but he did have a serious side believing that he was doing good in the world as a hero.

Relationships

He had a good relationship with his daughter charley known to the public as Auroch. He inspired his daughter to believe in the ideals of the Protectorate, becoming a Ward.<ref name="PRT67"/>

Skitter

He never actually met Skitter being unconscious at the time and what happened shortly afterward. Their brief encounter would affect the young villainess in the months that followed.<ref name="12.5e1">I was indirectly responsible for the deaths of others. I’d looked at the information on the capes who’d died during Leviathan’s attack and found Chubster, the fat man I’d failed to save. Innumerable others had died because we hadn’t been able to stop Bakuda, giving her the chance to attack the city, killing forty-three people and inflicting horrific injuries on dozens more in the process. When Thomas, the man from the Merchants, had been bleeding to death, I’d given the order to leave him there to die. - Excerpt from Plague 12.5 </ref>

Appearance & Equipment

Chubster was an overweight man,<ref name="PRT67">“Who is the fat man?”

“My dad.”

“Oh. Sorry, for my calling-”

“It’s fine. He was fat.”

“Why am I looking at this?”

“Keep going. You might have to go a bit. Photo… sixty or so.”

“Oh. He is a hero?”

“He was. He’s dead.”

“Oh.”

[...]

“If they were going to force you to join? I’d never stay. I’d never let them mess up my memory of my dad, okay? I couldn’t do that. I believe in what I’m doing.”

“Yes. And you believe I should be joining the American heroes?”

“No. I think you should do what works best for you, and maybe that means you don’t. Maybe it means you do, because that helps you avoid jail or time in the hospital, it gives you a job and a lot of help at a time you need that help.”

[...]

“Can I ask? His name?”

“Ben. He was Ben. As a superhero, he went by Chubster.”

“Chubster?”

“It means fat. A funny sort of fat. He was that sort of guy. To poke fun at himself. And he chose the name because he was frustrated all the good names were already taken.” - Department Sixty Four, PRT Quest thread i p67</ref> who wore armor as part of his costume.<ref name="8.3"/>

Abilities and Powers

Chubster gained durability and ambient momentum effect at will, tied to consequently loss of mobility.<ref name="list">Chubster Gained durability and ambient momentum dampening effect at will, tied to consequent loss of mobility. - parahumanList, bolded edit by Wildbow.</ref> Essentially the slower he moved. the tougher he became, with a similer kinetic dampening field around himself while using his power.<ref name="IRC1">Comment by Wildbow on IRC, not archived</ref> This made it difficult for him to recieve CPR when he was unconscious.<ref name="8.3">Extermination 8.3</ref>

His daughter Auroch had similar abilities.

History

Background

Ben was a natural trigger, setting out to be a hero he became a member of the Protectorate. He chose the name Chubster partly as a joke, supposedly because "all the good names were already taken".<ref name="PRT67"/>

Story Start

Chubster participated in the Battle against Leviathan, the first endbringer battle where the Protectorate had the chance to gather their forces before the Endbringers strike.

After the defending capes evacuated following Leviathan's opening attack Chubster was knocked out by a wave sent by the beast. A fellow cape with a shotgun gave him CPR. Eventually the teen-aged villain Skitter took over for the departing shotgun cape, attempting to give him CPR, though she was hampered somewhat.

Hearing that another wave was incoming Skitter tried to move Chubster but proved to be too weak, given a split second to make her decision the villain choose was forced to abandon him in order to flee to safety from the incoming wave, and Chubster was killed.<ref name="8.3"/>

Legacy

His daughter would take his death hard but would eventually recover.<ref name="PRT92">PRT Quest thread i p92</ref>

References

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