Marius Laverne

PHASE 1

PHASE 2

Marius Laverne
Portrayed by Nicolas Cazalé
Codename:	Emplate
Affiliations:	X-Men, Xavier Institute - graduate student
Birthdate:	March 14, 1989

Journal:	x_emplate
Player:	Tapestry

"Uh, why am I tied to the bed?"

Once a student and then X-Man at Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters, Marius left the Institute to pursue a less exciting life until a relapse of his maladaptive mutation.

Details

Character Journal: x_emplate

Real Name: Marius Sammar Cartier Laverne

Codename: Emplate

Aliases: Sami (to his parents), Chupacabra (Trainee codename), Death (as a Horseman of Apocalypse)

First Appearance: October 13, 2005

Date of Birth: March 14, 1989

Place of Birth: Sydney, Australia

Citizenship: Dual Australian / Algerian citizenship

Relatives: St. Croix/Laverne Family: Cartier St. Croix (father), Amanti Laverne (mother), Monet St. Croix (younger half-sister), Nicole St. Croix (younger half-sister), Claudette St. Croix (younger half-sister), Marius St. Croix II (elder half-brother, disowned, and nonexistent in Phase 2)

Education: BBA, MBA, and MPA

Relationship Status: Single, mercifully

Occupation: Formerly Executive Director of the Laverne-St. Croix Foundation, currently the idle rich

Team Affiliation: X-Men

Biography

Phase 1

Early Life

Marius is the third child of Cartier St. Croix, and the only illegitimate one. Although he enjoyed acknowledgement from Cartier from birth Marius endured many trials in his youth, such as growing up an acknowledged bastard of a media mogul with the name Marius Sammar Cartier Laverne. Marius, one assumes out of self-defense, rapidly learned to manipulate and emphasize his more disarming features such as a naturally cheerful personality, his perceived shallowness, and an unique approach to the English language. Possibly in compensation for his last name, he was aggressively sportive.

Marius lived in Brisbane with his mother Amanti, and enjoyed frequent visits from Cartier. Cartier's two families were kept firmly separate; his primary family lived in Sydney. Marius heard of his legitimate siblings via vague references, his father's bloodpressure, and, in the case of his half-sister Monet, the tabloids. During his less well-behaved times he would hear about his elder half-brother, also dubbed Marius, whose behavior lead to eventual disownment. These talks in no way lay the foundations for future paranoia.

Marius was quite happy until his senior year of high school, at which point he began to suffer various symptoms such as fatigue, body aches and apparent malnourishment that were later proved to be a consequence of his manifestation. He was eventually removed from school and hospitalized in mid-July 2005, where he remained, undiagnosed, until the formation of two small mouths on the palms of his hands to serve the purpose of extracting from others that which his own body lacked. Due to a paranoid local hospital administration he was not tested for the x-gene until the sores erupted, thus wasting thousands of dollars of care and most of what should have been Marius' final year of school. Upon discovery of his mutation, he was transferred to Xavier's and the mutations expert Dr. Moira MacTaggart.

Living At The X-Mansion

Marius' first day out of isolation happened to be the day of Forge and Lorna's retrieval from Magneto. This rather handily set the stage for his concept of reality from there on out. Though slightly baffled by his new surroundings and the corresponding lack of sense they seemed to foster, he fit in quite easily despite the bizarre nature of his power and a tendency to attack the nearest mutant whenever he missed a feeding. (He did, however, swear off dating other mutants after a very unsettling experience with Theresa Cassidy.)

Marius' first exposure to real evil was an encounter with the unrepentant serial-mutilator Masque, who attacked and disfigured his suitemates after a night on the town. Feeling responsible for having abandoned his friends early in favor of going clubbing, Marius indulged in well-intentioned but ultimately useless stake-outs in an attempt to apprehend the attacker until the X-Men were successful in his capture. There he was given the chance to use his powers for a good cause, absorbing Masque's abilities in order to repair his victims. However, still enraged by the man's attack on his suitemates, now coupled with the parade of misery he'd been forced to witness in treating the victims, Marius decided to take revenge on the man by punching him -- with his newly absorbed power of flesh-shaping intentionally left active. Though he was forced to undo the damage to the man's face before Masque could suffocate, it revealed a worrying tendency towards recklessness.

Deterioration and Recovery

Main articles Bleeding and Vitiation.

Though Xavier's effected his initial stabilization, over time the flawed nature of Marius' power became increasingly clear. Touchstones include:

October 21, 2005 - Marius' long habit of freaking out on people when in the throes of hunger (and acquiring their powers from feeding on their bone marrow) is established.

November 16,2005- Marius discovers the ability to flip active powers when Dani inadvertently uses hers.

June 6, 2006 - A teleportation power acquired from a donation by Kurt manifests, disastrously.

June 28, 2006 - Body begins to acquire visible adaptations to the inimical environment the newly-acquired teleporting power takes him through.

June 29, 2006 - Pulmonary system completely switches environmental needs, leading to respiratory arrest and necessitating the permanent use of a respirator.

With his good judgement descending in direct proportion to his failing health, Marius proceeded to abandon Xavier's in the desperate (and deeply foolish) belief he could find his own solution in Europe -- which served as a handy excuse for escaping the psychological torment of having to waste away in front of his friends. Knowing he couldn't survive without some help, he contacted former student and friend Manuel de la Rocha for assistance. By the time he encountered Jennie Stavros on a fluke layover in France he was already so saturated with empathic power he unknowingly influenced her to remain with him while he continued his search for a cure.

Though no perfect solution was found, Marius did find some success in the form of the then-catatonic Yvette Petrovic, whom he discovered by way of a black market mutant slave trade. Unsurprisingly, his parents noticed the excessive withdrawal of cash from his account and cut him off until he agreed to come home and face them, which he had been refusing for the last year. Instead of capitulation, Marius, Manuel and Jennie dropped off the map and instead turned to illegal gambling to supplement their income. Eventually located with assistance from members of X-Force, the School dispatched a small team to recover the wayward students. As by this point Marius had purchased and been feeding from a small Croatian girl and taken his friends on the lam with him, the retrieval went about as well as you could expect.

Upon returning home and being made to understand the full scope of his actions, Marius sank into a deep depression and withdrew from everyone, rarely leaving his suite and avoiding Jennie altogether. The voluntarily isolation became dangerous, as it meant no one had the opportunity to notice the change in his behavior after coming into contact with a mysterious package that was later revealed to have been sent from Infectia. Driven nearly insane by the degenerative properties of her contagion, Marius had to be forcibly subdued after attacking Jennie in the woods. However, after the virus was identified the School was able to administer a cure -- the first tangible piece of help they had ever been able to offer him.

His relations with Jennie and the rest of the School now repaired, Marius was then surprised by the arrival of his parents Amanti Laverne and Cartier St. Croix, who had by this point decided the best thing they could do was ignore their son's repeated requests for privacy. Though their relationship was strained because of his past acts, the two proved remarkably understanding. After consulting with Dr. MacTaggert and Forge about the increasingly dire developments of his mutation, they consented to an experimental treatment for their son. And so, after much angst and at least three near-death experiences, the degeneration was finally halted by genetic material donated by his genetically perfect half-sibling Monet St. Croix and many large needles.

Post-Cure

Marius, understandably happy to have his ridiculous mutation repaired, also found himself inexplicably uneasy about what could be done now that his powers had changed in such a way he was no longer required to assume a different mutation every week. However, thanks to some unnecessary touching by Angelica Jones during a Thanksgiving football game Marius realized his powers were slightly more versatile than previously thought; though now somewhat restricted, he could continue to mimic -- as long as someone was willing to lend. During This Savage Land an experiment with Yvette revealed that blood-to-blood contact, too, could transmit powers, and he retained what skill his previous experiences had given him at using various mutations.

Some months after his cure Marius' half-sister Monet returned to the mansion. Despite some initial leeriness thanks to family and tabloid gossip, the siblings discovered they found each other mutually amusing, which proved to be more pleasant for them than for innocent bystanders. Marius accompanied Monet to confront their disowned elder brother, the confusingly named Marius St. Croix, during the events of Carmen Animi Vermium. Though with her in righteous indignation at the time, the later unearthing of the elder Marius' past caused some conflict -- Marius the younger understanding despite himself how the man could have fallen so far, and Monet still incensed over what he had tried to do to her. As a result of this clash of opinions the two have now called each other enough horrible names to officially qualify as siblings.

The X-Men

After several months of relative uneventfulness, Marius found himself, along with Jennie and Kyle Gibney, kidnapped and mercilessly experimented on by Rory Campbell, a vindictive ex-colleague of Moira's. Taken off the street and having his DNA mixed with that of his two classmates, Marius was brainwashed into attacking the X-Men sent to recover him. Though he briefly broke his conditioning long enough to provide his rescuers with a little assistance, the means were brutal: conscious thoughts stripped away by the conditioning, Marius tore a chunk out of the mutant Wipeout's arm and used the acquired power to remove those held by the rest of the mercenaries. Marius and the others were eventually restored, but the experience of waking up with his classmates' powers after a rampage brought back traumatic memories of Vitiation. However, instead of withdrawing, Marius and his two classmates instead responded by applying for positions as trainees under the belief that taking action was better than waiting for the next kidnapping.

Since joining, Marius has had remarkably bad luck in missing missions. His first official assignment has been participation in a rescue mission during Thirteen Days, where he found a shapeshifter named Lemuel Krug. Here he made strategic use of his blood-sharing for the first time, taking advantage of his and Krug's mutual wounds to copy the man's mutation. Though in reality still insecure about his lack of independent power, Marius has found he derives great satisfaction in hitting things for Justice. Perhaps as compensation for his relative lack of field experience he has instead been paying special attention to the Blackbird, to the general terror of all involved.

Marius was recruited by Garrison Kane to aid in the infiltration of a Kick ring under the pretext of being involved in human trafficking, which did not endear Kane to him. However, Marius was eventually forced to be an adult and realized he couldn't be choosey about what roles he was assigned. The mission was ultimately successful, and it did give him the opportunity to feel up teammate Janet Van Dyne. For justice.

Genosha

Marius, along with several other residents, attended a protest at the Genoshan embassy and found himself kidnapped and slated to undergo the mutate process. Paired in a cell with Korvus, he found that his power had protected him from the mutation-canceling abilities of Mudd and took the younger man's powers in hopes they would be offered some chance to escape. This chance arrived when the combined forces of X-Men and X-Force broke into the Citadel, but Marius and Korvus were separated in the confusion. Marius managed to escape and joined some of the other escapees in a refugee camp, during which he borrowed the powers of Catseye and Wanda to assist in a campaign of guerrilla warfare against the Genoshan forces. Present also when their camp was discovered and raided, he was deeply disturbed by the appearance of Yvette as Mutate 105 for reasons beyond the partial amputation of his temporary tail.

The X-Man participated in the final push against the Genoshan government, using Molly's borrowed invulnerability to help him survive another confrontation with the brainwashed Yvette. When confronting Thomas Moreau he finally exceeded his maximum ability to stack powers: having borrowed the chaos powers of Wanda, the physical powers of Molly, and the shapeshifting abilities of Catseye and Paige, his body began to produce a mixture of silica growths and terratomas, forcing Kyle to husk him from the acquired form. Though he recovered enough to augment Wanda's chaos powers in the final wave he collapsed again soon after, not to wake for several weeks.

Quiet Days

Marius spent the next year largely withdrawn from the team and other residents, concentrating on achieving his degree in business and generally practicing champion-level avoidance. He did participate in the rescue of Sue Storm from Dr. Arthur Molekevic, during which he discovered he could successfully acquire powers from tissue that had been removed from a mutant and placed in another entity, such as Molekevic's earth golems. He also had a chance encounter with a long-absent Jennie whilst pursuing a lead on escaped members of the Nasty Boys in Hungary. With Kyle and Scott, he persuaded her to return to the mansion. He then spent the next year avoiding her.

Fury Said to a Mouse

Marius was part of the team sent to respond to a request from Heather Hudson regarding the missing brother of Alpha Flight member Madison Jefferies, Lionel. Lionel, a doctor and mutant with powerful fleshcrafting abilities, had been working for a bioweapons company in the European country of Slorenia, and the abrupt lack of communication and vague accounts of an "industrial accident" raised red flags.

Upon arrival the team found the entire town had been annihilated by Lionel's project, an anti-personnel weapon called the Fury. A combination of robotics and living tissue, the Fury showed an alarming capacity to adapt to their powers and repair any damage dealt to it with available materials and quickly decimated the X-Men. During the course of the altercation Marius positively identified tissue from from Jefferies on the Fury, lending support to the theory he had been killed by his own creation. Thinking it might be their only chance to damage its endless capacity to self-repair, a strategy was arranged for Yvette to slash off as much matter as possible and be teleported to him by Clarice. Marius located and subsequently ingested the tissue, which gave him the power to compromise the Fury's capacity to regenerate. Jefferies' power allowed him to heal a number of severe injuries, including Fred's melted face, Scott's missing eyes, and Clarice's sepsis, but the fleshcrafting ability in turn worked changes upon his own body. In addition to creating a number of crippling, if temporary, tumorous growths, the drain on his physical reserves caused the parasitic mouths on the palms of his hands to return. While he does not require the bone marrow of other mutants to survive as he did in the past, the parasitic mouths were an unwelcome reminder of his past. After some weeks without improvement and complications clearing Jefferies' powers from his system, during which he and Jennie hand a altercation about honesty and avoidance, Marius voluntarily transferred to the Muir Island Research Center to concentrate on his recovery.

The Dark Phoenix

Whilst recovering Marius, along with John, went to investigate a power outage at the research center and discovered members of the Brotherhood infiltrating the facility. After sending a distress signal to the mansion he joined up with Jennie, Lorna, Matt and Sam in the security center, where they repelled recruits from Magnetic North. Upon clearing the area they found themselves face-to-face with Magneto and his current "partners," the Dark Riders. Marius witnessed Barrage execute Sam and the murder of Matt by Foxbat before the latter stabbed him through the back, killing him if not for the physical resilience he'd stolen from Shalimar Fox.

When the Dark Phoenix descended on the mansion Marius had some success absorbing and refocusing the telekinetic attacks, but, like most of his teammates, was ultimately powerless against their assailant. He woke up in the new world with the rest of the survivors.

Phase 2

Given the intense trauma of the Dark Phoenix event, Marius elected to take an extended vacation/sabbatical to Australia with several other mansion residents and simply declined to return. After leaving Xavier's Marius completed his MBA and MPA. He convinced his parents to found Brisbane-based charity The Laverne-St. Croix Foundation, which specialized in offering support and financial assistance for mutants with complex medical needs. After a few short years he installed himself as Executive Director through the power of money, personality, and blatant nepotism.

In late 2022 Marius began to experience increased fatigue, unexplained bruising, and abnormal weight loss. Testing confirmed the bone marrow transplant he'd acquired from Monet had failed; he was suffering from myelosuppression and once again required the healthy bone marrow of other mutants to survive. While hiring willing donors worked as a stop-gap, Marius' past experience made him fearful of further deterioration. Unwilling to return to Muir Island unless he had no other choice, Marius left his charity and began to explore other alternatives for treatment. Eventually he was referred to a highly credential hematologist in Toulouse, France who was, unbeknownst to him, connected to Clan Akkaba. Recognizing Marius as a potential resource, the specialist cultivated their relationship for months before abducting him from the clinic by simply adulterating his infusion with a sedative. Once in Akkaba's custody he was ritually converted into the fourth Horseman of En Sabah Nur: Death. In preparation for his role in En Sabah Nur's return, Akkab's mystics and scientists not only corrected his marrow deficiency, they unearthed two former mutations Marius had once carried: the teleportation derived from Kurt Sefton, and the molecular control of Yvette Petrovic.

Behold a Pale Horse

As Death, Marius was tasked with collecting energy to aid in the resurrection of En Sabah Nur. While Clan Akkaba deployed Deadpool in France as a feint to draw the X-Men's attention, Marius accompanied Clan Akkaba in an assault on District X. Using what he knew of Marius' capabilities, Kyle constructed a strategy with Garrison designed to push his former friend and teammate into overload by soaking him with different powers and provoking him into feeding on April Parker's symbiote DNA. The attempt was only partially successful: though Marius was incapacitated, Nur's influence still compelled him to unleash a sphere of death intended to claim the lives of thousands. In a last-ditch effort to abort the attack, Dominion arranged for Nightcrawler to drop him into the growing sphere, counting on his chaos aura to protect him long enough to slap Marius with an inhibitor. His hunch proved correct, with the added bonus that the combination of chaos and luck powers stolen from Longshot undid much of the physical alterations inflicted by Akkaba. The disturbance also momentarily disrupted the channel to En Sabah Nur, giving Topaz the chance to identify and destroy the link between the two.

Upon regaining consciousness at the mansion Marius found himself faced with a new reality: being an ex-Horseman of Apocalypse, and being chaperoned by Kyle until such time it was determined Marius was both physically well enough to be released and emotionally stable enough to be trusted under his own recognizance.

Back at the Mansion

Finding himself at loose ends and realizing he was likely to be at the mansion for some time, Marius slowly began to reassemble something like a life for himself. A chance conversation with Jean Grey inspired him to look into the creation of a new clinic if District X, and shortly thereafter he auditioned to rejoin the X-Men. He also received a charm protecting him from possession from Stephen Strange.

Physical Characteristics

Height: 6'1"

Build: Lean and athletic

Eyes: Amber (formerly: brown; post-deterioration and pre-cure: orange and slit-pupiled)

Hair: Black and fabulous

Other Features: Marius possesses the St. Croix Family Nose, inherited from his father Cartier. He has silver dollar-sized mouths on the palm of each hand that are used for extracting bone marrow from other mutants. The Eye of Akkaba was carved across his pectoral muscles during the ritual used to transform him into a Horseman of Apocalypse.

Powers

Dubbed "instinctive reactive adaptivity," Marius' power is primarily geared around adaptation for his own survival to a level to which is as yet undetermined. Due to the inherent flaw of his mutation this power could only act in response to a problem, not repair it at its source.

Physical adaptation

In response to the physiological disruption caused by his manifestation, Marius' body compensated by developing a way to extract that which it was deficient in, bone marrow, from other mutants. After a donation from Kurt Wagner the teacher's teleportation was adopted as a beneficial addition. As a result of the imperfect nature of the replication Marius' body was then forced to evolve an accompanying set of physical adaptations to allow him to survive the damaging atmosphere of the subdimension it required him to pass through. The successful bone marrow transplant from Monet wiped out these adaptations, although the mouths later re-opened after a particularly bad mission.

Absorption and mimicry

Marius can mimic both direct expressions of mutant powers used against him (telepathy/projective empathy, telekinesis, pyrokinesis, Rogue's power of memory absorption) and indirect, ambient expressions his power osmoses (Polaris' sensitivity to and control of EM fields, Domino's passive reality-warping powers). Generally any power he acquires is expressed in the same manner in which it was used against him, consciously or unconsciously.

In the past Marius has been able to borrow and utilize powers such as shapeshifting, fleshworking, and healing factors, as well as temporarily mirroring any physical adaptations his donors might have (claws from Kyle Gibney, dusky skin from Kurt, incompletely developed wings from Jay Guthrie). However, those powers were delivered directly into his system by means of a marrow donation or the ingestion/injection of blood or tissue.

Mutant identification and sensitivity

As a consequence of the adaptation that required Marius to replace his own faulty bone marrow with that of other mutants', Marius' power provided him with an additional ability to identify and read the mutations of others. While he cannot necessarily detect all the nuances of someone's power, experience has taught him to recognize basic classifications (energy-projector, mimic, feral, etc). The ability is sight-based and does not function through photographic or digital means.

Marrow extraction

Marius extracts mutant bone marrow via two leech-like orifices in the palm of either hand. Feeding on a mutant leaves the donor weak, immuno-compromised, and impairs their ability to use their powers. Typically these effects last 2-3 days, although injury or illness can prolong them. The extraction process is involuntary and will initiate if a mouth is allowed to latch onto a donor's exposed skin.

Phase 1

Chart of Past Power Usage

Character	Power	Notes
Angelica Jones	Energy projection	Absorbed via direct-exposure; Angel's biologically-generated flame caused no physical damage (except to his pants).
April Parker	Spider/Symbiote adaptations	Inadvertently acquired via feeding. Symbiote DNA proved incompatible, provoking a system overload.
Arthur Centino	Probability manipulation	Acquired through feeding. Used to force Wanda Maximoff to split her attention to mitigate a rebound. Psychometry was undiscovered.
Arthur Molekevic's Golems	Creatures infused with the ability to create and manipulate earth constructs	Gained power via being hurled into a command golem and getting a mouthful of mutant stem cells with which they had been infused by Molekevic. The power gained was on a lesser scale than it would have been from a direct donor.
Domino	Probability-warping	Passive absorption, unconscious use
Doug Ramsey	Pattern recognition	Sadly, still not enough to let him beat Jamie Maddrox at Dance Dance Revolution.
Forge	Intuitive understanding of technology	Though he lacks the vocabulary to quantify what exactly he's doing, Marius is able to duplicate Forge's ability to comprehend and create.
Jay Guthrie	Healing factor, selective avian physiology	Because Jay's physical mutation does not include shapeshifting, the wing-stubs Marius grew never completely developed and reabsorbed shortly after emergence. This was really attractive.
Jean Grey (The Dark Phoenix)	Telekinesis and telepathy	While Marius was able to partially diffuse her telekinetic assault, the Dark Phoenix pushed the upper limits on the power he could absorb; his system was overwhelmed to the point he began to hemorrhage internally.
Jennifer Stavros	Probability manipulation	Has been shown to absorb the power and, rather than expend it immediately, instead use the temporary ability to perceive lines of probability to his advantage.
Jubilation Lee	Energy projection	Absorbed in battle. Physical and emotional distress provoked an explosion.
Kurt Wagner	Teleportation	Though a tail and Kurt's altered fingers and toes did not occur, Marius' skin did become somewhat dusky. Kurt's teleportation, as well as some of his physical adaptations, established the groundwork for the form Marius eventually adopted.
Kyle Gibney	Healing factor, enhanced senses, atavistic attributes	A mildly diluted form of Kyle's atavistic traits do manifest, including the retractable claws and unruly toenails.
Lemuel Krug	Single-form shapeshifting (bat-winged reptilian)	Powers acquired by blood-to-blood transfer; shapechange initiated, but manually irreversible because Marius has difficulty with extra appendages.
Lionel Jefferies	Fleshcrafting of self and others, healing	As the tissue Marius ingested was tainted, Jefferies' power caused Marius' body to deform uncontrollably. It was also responsible for re-openingthe parasitic mouths on the palms of his hands, though he does not require marrow as he once did.
Lorna Dane	Electromagnetic manipulation	Passive absorption and unconscious application
Manuel de la Rocha	Empathy (receptive and projective)	Lack of training with psionic-type powers had disastrous results, as he unwittingly used the projective aspect to influence Jennie and Manuel (to the point of causing psychosomatic effects)
Marie-Ange Colbert	Precognition, ectoplasmic constructs	Effectiveness of assimilation difficult to gauge, as the precognition rendered him completely incoherent for the duration of its retention.
Marie D'ancato	Absorption of powers, memories, etc.	Absorbed her powers and memories as she absorbed his upon physical contact; though memories were transferred, it was never determined whether her acquired powers did as well.
Masque	Ability to mold flesh into any shape he desires	Also acquired a more limited ability of Masque's to sense a previously affected person's "original" shape and instinctively recreate it.
Molly Hayes	Invulnerability and super-strength	Obtained while Molly was de-powered, and thus able to lend her blood.
Nathan Dayspring	Telepathy, telekinesis	Direct use of telekinesis is absorbed without effect (as long as it's applied to Marius himself rather than clothing or other objects). Has decided he does not like telepathy. At all.
Paige Guthrie	Transmutes body into different states of matter	Assumed a somewhat flawed stone-state due to his lack of experience whilst simultaneously utilizing Catseye's shapeshifting mutation. The utilization of Wanda's powers caused uncontrollably mutations until he was husked free by Kyle.
Rahne Sinclair	Lycanthropy	Available only from blood-to-blood transfer; lacks Rahne's instinct to shift all parts evenly (upon first acquisition turned one hand into a paw, half-shifted his jaw to a muzzle, etc).
Scott Summers	Optic blasts	Absorbed via direct exposure; blast's physical force only partially absorbed.
Sharon Smith	Shapeshifts into feline forms	While able to assume the the 'big cat' form of equal mass, he was unable to achieve housecat size. After his first shift he was left with claws and a prehensile tail (which was partially amputated before being husked off).
Theresa Rourke Cassidy	Sonic powers, enhanced hearing	Absorption through direct exposure probably possible, but may be painful unless body is given sufficient time to prepare the necessary physiological adaptations to redirect.
Wanda Maximoff	Manipulation of chaos and creation of hex bolts	Was able to work in tandem with Wanda to create more dramatic incidents of chaos, though only Wanda possessed the skill to control it. However, upon exceeding four borrowed mutations the chaos powers caused a catastrophic malfunction of Paige's shapeshifting abilities.
Wipeout	Ability to temporarily suppress mutant powers	Absorbed via direct exposure, then later by ingestion of blood.
Yvette Petrovic	Extreme control of body's physical properties	As opposed to Yvette's naturally spiky appearance, Marius defaults to a smooth but impenetrable shell. Has also learned to adapt his limbs to more functional forms under specific circumstances, such as altering the shape of his legs for longer jumps.

Equipment

A bracelet woven of his own hair and natural fibers protecting against possession, made by Stephen Strange. Also many, many pairs of gloves, usually fingerless.

Trivia

Marius was named for his paternal grandfather, and is the second child of Cartier's to bear that name. The first was disowned. Due to the name overlap with Cartier's first child, Marius' parents make use of his middle name of Sammar and refer to him as "Sami."
While using Masque's power to restore his then-suitemate Forge, Marius inadvertently repaired the damage that resulted from Forge's accident, including making use of the excess tissue provided by the copious burn scars to regenerate internal organs. Spleen: it's what true friends give.
Marius is quite intelligent. Before the year was interrupted by his manifestation he was at the top of his class in Brisbane. Unfortunately that intelligence has no visible relation to things like interpersonal sensitivity, observation, or common sense.
Marius speaks French and English with equal fluency. In contrast to his accented and heavily mannered English, his French is flawless.
Marius's codename is the result of an inadvertent typo and database error.