Marius Laverne

PHASE 1

Marius Laverne
Portrayed by David Krumholtz
Codename:	Cupacabra
Affiliations:	X-Men, Xavier Institute - graduate student
Birthdate:	March 14, 1989
Journal:	x_emplate
Player:	Tapestry

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

Marius Laverne is a student at Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters and half-brother of alumni Monet St. Croix. He was briefly evil in the summer of 2006 after two near-death experiences brought on by his maladaptive mutation. Both the problematic mutation and the evil have since been corrected.

Details

Character Journal: x_emplate

Real Name: Marius Sammar Cartier Laverne

Codename: Chupacabra

Aliases: Sami (to his parents)

First Appearance: October 13, 2005

Date of Birth: March 14, 1989

Place of Birth: Sydney, Australia

Citizenship: Australian

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

Education: Graduate of Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters, Freshman at Empire State University

Relationship Status: Single, mercifully

Occupation: Student

Team Affilitation: X-Men Trainee

Biography

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 only 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 power. Though in reality still a little 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.

Physical Characteristics

Height: 6'1"

Weight: 185lbs

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

Hair: Black and fabulous

Other Features: The St. Croix Family Nose, inherited from his father Cartier. He also has silver-dollar sized pitted scars on each palm, residual evidence of the small mouths that developed to extract bone marrow from other mutants, now healed over.

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 self-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.

This expression of his power was geared around physical necessity brought on by the flawed manifestation itself; now that the underlying necessity has been corrected Marius' body has no further need for changes of this nature.

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.

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. Though the need that caused the condition is now gone, the power remains. It is sight-based, and does not work through photographs or electronic or digital means.

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).
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.

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.

Plots

2005

Fear Itself

Mutants and Molotovs

2006

Masque (plot)

Bleeding

Vitiation

Voices Carry

2007

Red X Mission: Whiteout

This Savage Land

Ahab (plot)

M-Date

Thirteen Days

Carmen Animi Vermium

2008

Aureus Canis

X-Men Mission: Nicobar Reef

Zemo

First Do No Harm

Day Zero

Meta

Player: Tapestry

E-mail:

AIM: EmplateXJ

Player Icon Base: David Krumholtz

Meta Trivia

The confusing doubling of names among Cartier's male children was due to the fact Monet's original player established Monet with an elder brother of the name Marius, disowned for reasons unknown. Rather than retconning, creative addition occurred.

If you ever wondered my OOC reaction to Marius during the events of Bleeding, refer to his mother's log with Ororo.