Calvin Montgomery Rankin || Mimic

[Calvin Rankin]

Basic Stats

Name: Calvin Montgomery Rankin
Codename: Mimic
Gender: Male
Age: 17
Occupation: Student
Place of Birth: Passaic, New Jersey
Place of Residence: Xavier mansion
Known Relatives:
Ronald Rankin - father [deceased]
Marilyn Rankin - mother [deceased]

Alliance: Neutral


Physical Stats

Height: 6'3
Weight: 192 lbs
Eyes: Bluish/Grey
Hair: Dirty blonde

Avatar: Robert Pattison

Abilities

Mutation:

Calvin gained his abilities when he was young. His father was a scientist and after a mistake with a series of chemicals that he was working on Calvin discovered that he was able to adopt the knowledge, skills and super powers of others around him. He was only able to keep these powers temporarily though. The traits could only come to him if he was in close range of the person he was copying; he couldn’t call upon his powers if he was alone.

Calvin wished to make his powers permanent. This was something that he found he was unable to do, and is still unable to do perfectly to this day. Calvin’s father attempted to create a machine to make this skill for Calvin, but he failed in attempting to do this. Calvin wasn’t able to keep the traits and powers of others around him, until he was doing an experiment on himself one day. Calvin figured out that he could keep powers, but there was only one way to do it. Calvin is now able to adopt, and keep the powers from five different people/mutants. It is difficult for him to keep them for a long time though. Also, if he wants to take another person’s power after he has filled up the five spots, Calvin has to get rid of one of the other powers to be able to house the new one. This is very annoying to Calvin and he wishes to explore this part of his power more.

Calvin’s powers work when he is standing in an approximate radius of 10 feet from a person and he can keep the power until that person/mutant is a mile away. Another thing Calvin noticed though is that is he is exposed to a mutant's power for a long period of time, he is able to permanently mimic that power, and he no longer has to be near them to access that ability. Calvin has five 'slots' in his ability, which means he is able to take on five different powers at once. When he adopts a power he can then take on the physical appearance of the power if there is one. For example if he were to take the mutation from Angel he would have Angel wings. Calvin is also able to separate his powers. He is able to just take knowledge from someone, or just a power from someone.

Calvin is constantly seeking a way to gain more than one power, and to be able to keep that power. One could say that he is almost obsessed with the notion that he wants other’s abilities. Calvin wants to be able to copy and keep powers from the get go. Being constantly exposed to one's powers over a long period of time is a lengthy and somewhat annoying. Calvin believes that the more he learns about his power, the more he will understand it and then he will be able to unlock the other door to this ability.

Skills:

Due to his power, Calvin’s skills are always changing. He can adopt the skills of everyone around him, but he has gained a few skills of his own over the years. Most of what he has learned was gained from his father, who was the one to raise him.

Calvin is exceptional at science. He doesn’t know if it is inherited from his father, or if it is from years of watching and participating in his father’s experiments, but never the less, his passion and exceptional ability in the sciences is very apparent. Calvin is constantly trying to figure out a way to change his molecular make-up to try and keep the powers that he can absorb. His philosophy is that if he was able to survive through his molecular make-up being messed up before when he received his power, he can do it again and gain another power. Calvin is always working on a project or making something new.

Calvin is also exceptionally advanced when it comes to building. His father was always building new machinery and Calvin adopted the ability from him. Ronald Rankin always liked to involve Calvin in the things that he was making. Calvin can always be found fiddling with technology. Building new gadgetry is something that he does to pass the time.

Calvin is also a very good artist. Most of the time he just sketches blueprints for things he builds, but on occasion he will draw other things and when he does they are amazing. This is a trait that he inherited from his mother, who unfortunately dies when Calvin was very young.

Personality:

Calvin is a very complex person. He is usually arrogant and self-serving, but on occasion he will show a side of himself that isn’t cocky. He can be sensitive and sweet, but not very often. Calvin liked to keep up his egotistical façade. When Calvin has his guard down though he can be a very good friend. Calvin has to trust those around him for his barriers to be completely down and this doesn’t happen very often he finds. His soft side rarely comes out from behind his arrogant side.

In the battle between the Brotherhood and the X-Men, Calvin doesn’t really know where he belongs. It is hard for him to pick a stance because he sees good things on both sides. Calvin could go either way. He believes that the Brotherhood have good ideas when it comes to mutants. Calvin believes that mutants should not have to hide in fear. Calvin also believes that the cure is something that is offensive to his kind. He believes that the evolution of the human race is inevitable and that he is one of those who have evolved. He is proud of that. Calvin has also seen his share of humans who have despised him for who he is, but he has also seen his share of humans who have accepted him for who he is. He does not believe that the humans should be killed out. Calvin likes to think of himself as neutral and has decided to not take a stance until something drastic happens and he needs to take a stance.

When dealing with others around him, Calvin tends to be pessimistic. He thinks that everyone is out to get him, so he is out to get everyone else. He is very defensive and quick to anger. When meeting new people for the first time, Calvin is cynical, but if one is able to stand Calvin long enough to get under his cynical shell they would find a good, understanding friend who would do anything for them. Calvin has had few friends in is life, due to the fact that he and his father retreated to a mine after Calvin’s power was discovered. Calvin did however love his father abundantly and the few friends that he has had. Those friends were able to see the true Calvin, not the defensive, hard shell he puts on every day to the outside world.

When looking for attractive qualities in other people, Calvin looks for loyalty as a major asset. Calvin believes that if he has loyal friends he has everything that he needs on life. He can’t stand people like him. He hates liars, and hypocrites and those are some of the major issues that Calvin sees in him. He lies all the time, is very hypocritical and hard to get along with. Even though he is very arrogant himself, he hates that aspect in other people. The best way to explain Calvin is that he is as hard as a stone on the outside, but soft as butter on the inside.


History:

When Calvin has four-years-old his mother was killed in a horrible car crash. Calvin’s father, Ronald Rankin, who was a scientist, took to taking care of Calvin. Since Calvin was four he has been helping his father with, and has been participating in experiments of his father’s. Calvin enjoyed his father’s company and looked up to him. Ronald Rankin was Calvin’s entire world.

One day, Ronald mixed up different chemicals and the chemicals exploded all over Calvin. Calvin was knocked out for a while but, after an hour or so he woke up to see his father. He was concentrating on his father’s face, and suddenly without warning he transformed into his father. He didn’t only look like his father, but he had all of his father’s memories. Ronald was stunned at this, and told Calvin to keep it a secret until he could figure out what was going on with his son. Calvin continued going to school, and he found that if he concentrated on another person, he could transform into them instantly. Calvin also discovered that he could adopt powers from others as well. Once on his way to school Calvin transformed into his next-door neighbor and discovered that his neighbor had powers. He was able to run at incredible speed, but he suddenly transformed back into his regular self once he got about a mile away from his neighbor. Calvin discovered that he could adopt the powers from another person when he was close to them, but lost the powers again when he was about a mile away from them. Once he was passed a mile the power tapped out and he couldn't access it again.

Calvin told his father about this, and Ronald became obsessed. Calvin’s dad moved them into an abandoned mine, where Ronald attempted to create a machine that would help Calvin to keep the powers that he was able to possess for only a short amount of time. Once Calvin’s dad was done the machine he tested it a couple of times. The machine needed so much power though, that it caused power outages across the city. A mob of people who had been tracking the power outages came to the mine to attack Calvin and his father the only way for Ronald to protect his son and his machine was to blast the mine entrance. Ronald got caught in the blast though and ended up getting killed. Calvin, who survived the blast had nowhere to go.

A few years later Calvin found himself living with a foster family. He was scarred from losing bother his mother and his father. Ronald Rankin had been a role model to Calvin and now everything that Calvin had known was gone. Calvin decided that he would continue what his father started. He would continue to try and figure out how to absorb powers and keep them. Calvin wanted to be the most powerful mutant in the world. Calvin’s foster family had a lot of money, so he was able to continue with experiments in a lab that was set up for him in the basement. Calvin, being advanced in the sciences was able to figure out his molecular make-up and how it was different from a regular human. Calvin was able to find a makeshift way for him to keep control of certain powers, but he found that he couldn’t keep the powers for too log, so he went back to the drawing board.

Calvin eventually figured out that when he was exposed to a mutant’s power for a long time he was able to keep the power. He also discovered that he had five different 'slots' for powers in his body. When he was exposed to five powers he could absorb them after a long period of time and keep them to use whenever he wanted. This excited Calvin, and he tried to adopt a sixth power, but he realized that when he took the sixth power one of the other powers disappeared. This intrigued Calvin, and he still to this day cannot figure out why his body will only house five powers, but he intends to find out eventually.

Calvin heard about Xavier’s Institute from one of his friends at school who also happened to be a mutant. He had heard about it on TV when mutants started to discover that the cure was killing mutants instead of helping them. Apparently, a very contagious virus came from the cure and killed hundreds of mutants in ghettos. Calvin had heard about that on the news as well, but never heard about Xavier's. His friend told him that Xavier headed the X-Men and had a school for "Gifted Youngsters', AKA mutants. Calvin had been waiting for something like this to happen. Calvin wanted to learn more about his powers and have access to powers for long periods of time so he would be able to keep the powers he wanted. It would be like a buffet of things he could keep for himself. Calvin would learn how to hone his power to be what he wanted. Xavier’s institute would give him that opportunity. Calvin talked to his foster family, both mutant enthusiasts and they agreed to send him there. This was exactly the opportunity that he needed. So, Calvin packed his bags and was on his way to the institute.


Sample Post:

Calvin looked down at the bags around his feet. It was going to be difficult for him to be in a place with so many mutants. There would be so many powers for him to choose from. His plan would be to go to the school and learn more about his powers. Where they came from and how he could develop them into something more than they already were. Calvin almost shivered at the thought of what he would be able to control, how powerful he could become. He knew that it would be frowned upon, using his power to steal powers from others, but he really didn’t care.

Even since his father had died Calvin had become rather heartless. The one person in his life that he had loved was gone, and he felt as though his heart and his head had no more room for love. If he were to love another person they would just be torn away from him. Calvin’s foster family was more of a convenience for him and the state. After all Calvin was still a minor, even if he did only have one more year as one. Calvin had lucked out with a foster family though. His adoptive parents were Ray and Carla Childs. They were mutant enthusiasts and had a lot of money. They strove to make Calvin happy so, he got pretty much everything he wanted from them. A science lab, a car, expensive gadgets, everything he needed.

Calvin picked up his bags and placed them into the trunk of his silver, Gold Volkswagen. Calvin shut the trunk with a thud and walked around to the front of his car where Ray and Carla were standing. He gave Carla a hug and Ray a firm handshake, said his goodbyes and then turned and opened the door to his car. Calvin slipped inside and gazed at his grayish-blue eyes in the rear view mirror. This was going to be everything he wanted. He was finally going to get what he deserved.

Calvin was a handsome young man. He had messy, dirty blond hair that never seemed to do what he wanted it to. His eyes were bluish-grey and looked like the ocean during a storm, and they seemed to swirl with the anger of a storm as well. Calvin also tended to be a pretty snappy dresser. He was wearing a pair of dark, denim jeans and a pair of black and white checkered, slip-on Vans. On his chest he was wearing a plain white t-shirt with a black blazer over top.

Sitting behind the wheel of his vehicle, Calvin felt confident that he had made the right choice. He knew that he would never be able to become close with Ray or Carla, it simply wasn't possible. It was best to cut the ties when he did. Calvin took his hands off the wheel and grasped for a small box in his glove compartment. He pulled out a cigarette and an orange lighter and placed the cigarette between his lips. With a flick the light sprang to life and he lit the end of the 'cancer stick', as Carla had called them. Calvin took a deep drag and opened his window so he could blow the smoke out. This was definitely the right choice.

Player Information:

Name: Hannah Bird
Age: 18
Contact Information: [e-mail]
Other Characters: None

[Katherine Pryde]

Glad to see your app up! ^_^

I do have a couple of concerns, however. Firstly, about Mimic's powers. The wording of the first paragraph makes your meaning a little unclear, so I'd suggest cleaning it up a little. It makes it sound like Calvin's powers resulted from the chemicals spilled on him, rather than simply leading him to discover his mutant powers, which he possessed all along.

Also, he cannot copy the entire physical appearance of a fellow mutant. If the person he's copying from has a physical mutation than he can copy those parts of their body related to the mutation, but not their entire appearance. For example, when copying Angel he would have Angel's wings, but he would not look identical to Warren.

It's also important to note that when Calvin uses someone else's mutation it's only half as potent as the original. So say Colossus can lift 20 tons, Calvin would be able to lift 10.

You may want to mention that Calvin has the potential to permanently absorb a mutant power if exposed to it over extremely long periods of time, but that point is up to you.

In the rest of the app, there are only a couple of issues that need fixing. Obviously you need to edit out all mentions of being able to copy someone else's appearance, since Calvin can't do that. In the history section, you need to at least make a mention of the Decimation storyline and how it affected Calvin. If he didn't come to Xavier's until afterwards (meaning somewhere in the 6 month time jump) it doesn't need to have affected him in any major way, but he would have at least heard about it.

The very last thing is a grammar and spell check for the entire app. The quality is good, but there are a lot of small errors scattered throughout the application that could be fixed with a good read-through.

As always, don't hesitate to ask any of the admins if you have questions or need any help at all. You can find all of our contact information in this thread.

[Calvin Rankin]

Okay, I made a few changes and read it over. I find that when reading my work though a few grammatical and spelling errors slip through the cracks. I have spell checked again and again and got one of my friends to read it. So, if there are any more of those problems just tell me, as well as issues with anything else in the application.

Thanks

[Julian Keller]

There are still a couple of areas of concern that stand out to me in this application...

• Calvin is seventeen years old and very powerful for his age. The last Calvin application we had was limited to three templates that could absorb the powers of other mutants and keep them for a temporary amount of time. I'm going to ask that you reduce the character to the same. However, I will allow Calvin to permanently mimic someones abilities if they have been around him for longer periods of time...but, if he wishes to add another power to the template, that previous power will disappear. This way it stays fair to both the character and the writers here that might see his powers with God-modding capability.
  
  
• Calvin Rankin, as far as I have read, can only mimic other mutagenic abilities on several neural templates that store the abilities information. He cannot absorb knowledge, muscle skills, or any other experience that a person has unless it is a direct result of their mutant ability. {IE: Mimic could absorb Prodigy's ability to instantly learn skills and information, but could not absorb Wolverine's extensive knowledge of the martial arts...because that his not his power, but moreover his learned skill set.} Please edit that out of the beginning, or otherwise prove me wrong...but I want hard evidence if you choose the latter.
  
  
• Furthermore, your mutation description is very repetitive and is therefore confusing to read, at least to me. Look in this one snippet I've copied...
  

  Calvin wished to make his powers permanent. He hoped that he would soon be able to absorb other’s powers and keep them as his own. This was something that he found he was unable to do, and is still unable to do perfectly to this day. Calvin’s father attempted to create a machine to make this skill for Calvin, but he failed in attempting to do this. Calvin wasn’t able to keep the traits and powers of others around him, until he was doing an experiment on himself one day.

  
  If you notice, the first sentence is basically said two more times in the lines following. I understand by the first sentence alone that Calvin is frustrated by his inability to keep the abilities he absorbs permanently. Please clear this up not only from this small paragraph, but also from the rest of the mutation section. I'm sure you'll be able to see it now, but if not feel free to PM me.

That about sums up my qualms with the application. If Am or any other IC Admin find further points that need amending, I'm sure they'll point them out. Side from that however, I look forward to seeing this application completed and accepted. Enjoy!

[Calvin Rankin]

Okay, well I sent an email to the person who plays Kitty Pryde and she told me the opposite about my powers. I can make the powers go down to three, that's fine with me, but I did get the impression that Calvin is able to adopt knowledge and skills from others. At least that is what I read on en.marveldatabase.com/Calvin_Rankin_%28Earth-616%29 that website.

So, just kind of confused.
I will sort out the issues with the repetition once I can figure out what exactly he is allowed to do with his powers.

Thanks, Hannah

[Julian Keller]

alright. that proves you right, so i'll allow it. Am will have further say, i'm sure.

[Katherine Pryde]

This is looking much better, especially in the mutation section. Like Evan pointed out, though, it does get a bit repetitive here and there. Especially when it concerns Calvin's desire to better develop his powers you say the same thing several times, with slight differences in wording. There's still some grammar/spelling errors as well, although fewer than last time.

I'd suggest just reading the app to yourself again. Try reading it slowly out loud -- it'll give you a better idea about how it sounds to the rest of us when we read it. That usually helps me fix the little things. Overall it's looking much better, though.

[Calvin Rankin]

Okay, I have made some adjustments. If it is still too repetitive just let me know (:

[Katherine Pryde]

Apologies for the wait, but check your PMs for a message about the application.