Acidbath

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<title source="name"><default>

Acidbath

</default></title> <image source="Image"></image> <image source="image"></image> <group> <header>Basic information</header> <label>Civilian name</label> <label>Alias(es)</label> <label>Gender</label> <label>Worm start</label><default>Unknown</default> <label>Post-timeskip</label> <label>Ward start</label> </group> <group> <header>Personal Status</header> <label>Status</label> <label>General location</label> <label>Family</label> <label>Relationships</label> <label>Occupation</label> </group> <group> <header>Parahuman Status</header> <label>Legal status</label> <label>Team(s)</label> <label>Previous team(s)</label> <label>Power</label> <label>Known classifications</label> </group> <group> <header>Media</header> <label>First appearance</label> </group> </infobox>Acidbath is a killer of both cops and capes<ref name="description"/> imprisoned in the Birdcage.<ref name="intro"/> He acts as a leader of one of the cell blocks.<ref name="intro"/>

Personality

Acidbath is both sadistic and misogynist, having a personal need for ‘two eyes for an eye’ revenge and disrespecting women, to the point where he can't work with them on a long term basis.<ref>Advantages/Flaws: Sadistic. ‘Two eyes for an eye’ revenge, especially against women who’ve offended him. When slighted or hurt, he must return the favor, with interest, or morale will suffer.

Personal Code (misogyny) - Is an asshole to the fairer sex, won’t work with women on a long term basis, and the sadistic code counts double vs. them. - Playtest Capes, document by Wildbow.</ref> Despite his disrespect for them, Taylor notes that he was 'a bit player' before his imprisonment,<ref name="laughter"/> and indeed, he has mutilated a large amount of girlfriends in impulsive acts of retaliation.<ref name="brother"/>

Acidbath is poor at long-term planning, acting impulsively,<ref name="brother"/> and being caught up in his vices before his imprisonment, while also acting arrogantly.<ref name="laughter"/> Despite his personality, his ability to threaten others and his street smarts allow him to command some underlings.<ref>Skills:

• 3 Threaten (+1 to frighten or coerce, +1 to rolls against frightened foes, can substitute Dex for social when frightening others)
• 2 Street Smarts. (+1 to rolls, has underlings equal to social stat) - Playtest Capes, document by Wildbow.</ref>

In battle, Acidbath is without fear, laughing and jumping around from foot to foot.<ref name="laughter"/> His fighting style against Scion is a flailing, reckless, hurried scramble.<ref name="teamwork"/>

Appearance

Acidbath is a man with blond hair, although he had grass-green hair in his mugshots.<ref name="description"/> Taylor described his stylings as those of 'a rock musician or punk rocker who’d spent a little too much time doing drugs and not enough time playing his instrument'.<ref name="laughter"/> He has circles under his eyes,<ref name="description"/> and is 'worn around the edges'.<ref name="laughter"/> He speaks with a coarse accent.<ref name="laughter"/>

Abilities and powers

A formidable Breaker/Changer-class cape, Acidbath is able to turn himself into a form consisting of clear, highly acidic liquid, strong enough to cause Scion to smoke, roughly five times his original mass.<ref name="tidal wave">Scion shook off the pair, and then struck Chevalier hard enough to send him crashing into the crowd opposite us.

Then he wheeled around. His eyes passed over Acidbath.

Acidbath, still dancing from foot to foot, leaped, and he changed into a living tidal wave of clear liquid, isolated, with roughly five times his mass. He materialized into regular human form when he was a little behind and to one side of Scion, and then lashed out, slinging punches that ended with his hands becoming liquid projectiles. They splashed against Scion, and I could see smoke rise, even though there wasn’t any visible damage. - Excerpt from Speck 30.2</ref><ref name="powerlist"/> In this form, Acidbath is able to move as a tidal wave,<ref name="powerlist"/> reaching speeds greater than that of a typical car.<ref name="teamwork"/> He can reactively turn himself to acid before an attack makes contact, negating some or all damage and splashing those nearby.<ref>Power: Defensive Break; can reactively turn self to acid before an attack makes contact, negating some or all damage and splashing those nearby with spray, as described above (Wits based). - Playtest Capes, document by Wildbow.</ref> Acidbath is capable of partial transformations, slinging punches with his hands becoming projectiles,<ref name="tidal wave"/> and can fire acidic blasts within a hundred feet range.<ref>Power: Acid Blast, 100’ range, sprays targets near struck target for less effect.

• Scars flesh. Coverage of gear more effective than armor, does nigh-permanent damage.
• Damages and dissolves gear.
• Can reduce range to cover more area, making dodging harder. - Playtest Capes, document by Wildbow.</ref>

Acidbath himself is immune to his own acid power and caustic chemicals, even resisting burns in general, although this protection does not extend to his gear.<ref>Power: Acid Immunity; can’t be hurt by his own acid power or by caustic chemicals. Does not extend protection to gear. Resistant to general burns. - Playtest Capes, document by Wildbow.</ref>

History

Background

Acidbath was a dangerous parahuman, a killer of both cops and capes,<ref name="description"/> who used his acid powers to horrifically scar not just opponents,<ref name="description"/> but girlfriends and girls who rejected him.<ref name="brother"/> Even his own brother was not safe from Acidbath's impulsive acts of retaliation.<ref name="brother">I’d compared myself to some pretty horrible individuals in the past, but Acidbath was something else. He was low, barely above dirt. He’d scalded his own brother with acid, and had gone after girlfriends and girls who had rejected him. The attacks hadn’t been lethal, but had melted flesh and the fat or muscular tissues beneath. I’d seen the pictures of the aftermath when I’d browsed his files, after the scar tissue had formed.

I couldn’t think of worse ways to hurt someone, and he’d done it in impulsive acts of retaliation.

If I was going to be a monster, I’d at least try to be smart about it, constructive. To have a plan. - Excerpt from Speck 30.2</ref> He was one of the rare few who was sent to the Birdcage purely by dint of how despicable he was.<ref>Acidbath
One of the rare few who got sent to the Birdcage purely by dint of how despicable he was, using acid powers to permanently scar the faces of girlfriends and adversaries alike. - Playtest Capes, document by Wildbow.</ref> He managed to become a cell block leader and keep the position for three years.<ref name="laughter"/>

Gold Morning

During Scion's rampage, Acidbath is released from the Birdcage, to the great upset of one member of the audience present.<ref name="description">Acidbath. Copkiller and capekiller, he’d used his power to horrifically scar innumerable opponents and girlfriends. His blond hair wasn’t the grass-green of his mugshots anymore, and he had circles under his eyes. He took one step away from the portal, then sat on the ledge in front of the crowd, searching for something, then settling into a stare when he found it.

I looked, and I saw a man, not in costume but in a suit, standing and staring at Acidbath, with an expression as though he was going to cry at any moment. But he didn’t avert his eyes. - Excerpt from Extinction 27.3</ref> Rather than prepare for a confrontation with Scion, Acidbath decides to enjoy the sun.<ref>Acidbath had stayed, rather than leave to go get a costume, and was splayed out on the rock of the cliff face, his shirt off and laid out beneath him. Soaking up the rays, insofar as they was any sun to be had. - Excerpt from Extinction 27.4</ref>

Acidbath is next seen during the rise of Khepri, during the last battle with Scion. He laughs at Taylor controlling other capes while Chevalier battles Scion,<ref name="laughter">Laughter disturbed me from my thoughts.

“Human shields?” A man asked, almost unintelligible with his coarse accent. “I love it! I was ganna shoot the bloody idjits in the backs, you’re ‘lowed to do that, ‘miright? But some cunt might get the wrong idea.”

When I turned my head, all but one my minions turned their heads as well. My fault. I’d wanted the extra sensory input, and I’d instinctually tried to take it in with a share of my ‘swarm’.

It was Acidbath. One of the Birdcage’s cell block leaders. He had the stylings of a rock musician or punk rocker who’d spent a little too much time doing drugs and not enough time playing his instrument. Worn around the edges, a little too full of himself. He’d been a bit player in the real world, caught up in his vices, yet had managed to take over and rule a cell block for three years after being sent to the Birdcage.

He was still smirking, laughing a little, as he looked between me and Scion’s ongoing fight with Chevalier. He danced a little from foot to foot, tensing just a bit every time Scion moved. Not out of fear.

“This is better,” he said. “They wanna run and leave us assholes to do the fighting, you can say otherwise. Pin ’em up and let Scion knock ’em down.” - Excerpt from Speck 30.2</ref> taking over when Chevalier is defeated.<ref name="tidal wave"/> He later coordinates his attacks with Black Kaze.<ref name="teamwork">Black Kaze alternated attacks with Acidbath, very proper, measured in her movements, compared to Acidbath’s flailing, reckless, hurried scramble to keep out of Scion’s line of sight. Acidbath moved with surprising quickness, faster than a typical car might. A peculiarity of his breaker power. - Excerpt from Speck 30.2</ref> Ironically, he eventually falls under Taylor's control.<ref>Was I going to be moral, or efficient?

Two capes fell in my awareness. Acidbath was one. Another was a talented shapeshifter who was in bad shape beneath their moldable skin.

Shapeshifter, I made the call.

One expendable asset. At my bidding, he strode forward through the portal. The clairvoyant retrieved a tinker device and dropped it through a portal. The shapeshifter caught it. - Excerpt from Speck 30.5</ref>

Trivia

• There are hints that Acidbath is a client of Cauldron, as Doctor Mother describes a sample that gives acid powers, including the ability to turn into a living pool of acid.<ref>“No sample provides the exact same powers every time. The bullet points note examples of the powers gained when the sample was tried on a human subject or a client. There’s typically a common thread or theme connecting powers from a given sample. One sample might have a tendency to work with the production of acids and a tendency for physical manifestation. This might allow an individual to turn into a living pool of acid, to secrete acid from his pores or to spit streams of corrosive venom.” - Excerpt from Interlude 12½ (Donation Bonus)</ref>

References

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