Ben Russell

This page is about the Phase 2 incarnation of the character. For other uses, see Ben (disambiguation).

PHASE 2

Benjamin "Shatterstar" Russell
Portrayed by Bartek Borowiec
Codename:	Shatterstar
Affiliations:	Generation X
Birthdate:	September 9, 2005
Journal:	xp_shatterstar
Player:	Conner

To shatter the very stars...

Shatterstar is a young mutant with poor control of his powers and an OSDD system who is coming to Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters to find stability and learn control.

Details

Character Journal: xp_shatterstar

Real Name: Benjamin Wayword Russell

Codename: Shatterstar

Aliases: Shatterstar, Benji, Gaveedra

First Appearance: May 14, 2023

Date of Birth: September 9, 2005

Place of Birth: Boston, Massachusetts

Citizenship: American

Relatives: Unknown Father, "Ricochet" Rita Wayword (mother), Ginny Wayword Russell (aunt, deceased), Liam Russell (uncle)

Education: Some high school

Relationship Status: Single

Occupation:

Team Affiliation: TBD

Roommate: Liam Nelson

Biography

Childhood

Benjamin’s mother went mysteriously and suddenly missing when he was young enough to not really remember her. He was raised by his mother’s sister Ginny and Ginny’s husband Liam in their Manor Crossing apartment in Boston. He grew up a very intense kid, having a lot of trouble in school and with other kids and often relied on his aunt’s low-level telepathy to communicate effectively. Benjamin had some problems with bullies but had friends too, especially his friends from fencing and swordsmanship classes. (He became sort of obsessed with Arthur Centino’s filmography as a kid after watching Longshot for Survival and liked the sword stunts best).

Then came January 1, 2015. He was just nine. He and his Uncle Liam were watching yet another Arthur Centino film with his Aunt Ginny on the phone in the other room when suddenly she burst into flames. Reflexively, Benjamin grabbed his Uncle’s arm and they ended up miles away from Manor Crossing. The first time, the only time, Benjamin ever teleported was the moment his aunt died during M-Day. It got hard for him after his aunt’s death- from her not being there, the knowledge he was a mutant, the guilt that he got his powers when everyone else died from their, and the quiet resentment his uncle had that Benjamin hadn’t let them die with his wife.

Benjamin started to get even more into swordsmanship, anything to get out of the apartment- no longer Manor Crossing, which had severe fire damage from Ginny’s death. Not only swordsmanship, but fighting in general. He also started thinking of himself as Gaveedra-Seven, just like a minor gladiator character once played by Arthur Centino. Having already had minor symptoms, this developed into full on OSDD-1b. In short, Gaveedra became his own altar and began fronting more and more, especially once they hit high school. Gaveedra found that, unlike Benjamin, he had heightened speed, agility, strength, and senses. Shatterstar could also heal just that bit faster, though that could have been sheer luck. He was also very, very good at fighting and very bad at social cues and “being human”. He was very involved with EMA*, Kenjutsu, and Iaido- anything that let him have the heft of a sword (and didn't kick him out for being overzealous).

Teen Years

Russell ended up in and out of hospitals and threatened over and over with juvie throughout highschool. During this time, Gaveedra started going by Shatterstar after a mean-spirited comment about the body’s birthmark and on a therapist’s suggestion to separate himself from the character he was based on. After running away one too many times, Shatterstar actually did get them sent to a juvenile detention center for a period while waiting for beds to open up at a specialist hospital. This detention center had a culture of fighting in an almost gladiatorial way, a failing of the Massachusetts juvenile detention system. He kept having his transfer to a hospital denied because of all the fighting he got involved in. Here, Shatterstar found that, if he absolutely had to, he could generate a vibratory shockwave, though he would be extremely drained after. During juvie, Benjamin stopped fronting completely, though he occasionally commentates in the headspace.

Finally, the court system insisted he be transferred to the Weismen Institute, a hospital specializing in plurality. Unfortunately while having to do trauma work there, Shatterstar started struggling with his vibratory powers and his senses. It was suggested, under a referral from David Haller at the Muir Island Research Facility, that after he was discharged from the Weisman Institute he should go to the Xavier Institute, where he may be able to get help with control of his powers.

Early Days At The X-Mansion

Shatterstar arrived at the mansion on May 14, 2023 after being picked up in Boston by Darcy Lewis, Quentin Quire, and Madin. He soon met with David Haller, who got him into powers training both with he and Theresa Cassidy. Shatterstar also somehow stumbled into etiquette lessons with Hope Abbott. He also eventually started shooting lessons with Kevin Sydney. After a rocky start with Haller, Shatterstar (and Benjamin) have come to respect the older man highly after lessons on psychic shielding. He even met his hero Arthur Centino (who knew his mother, Rita). Most surprisingly to Shatterstar, he actually made friends- chief among them Rictor. He also became extremely close to Terry, who gifted him a Cassidy Family sword for his 18th birthday.

During the flooding of District X during November 2023, Shatterstar assisted in clean up efforts.

Physical Characteristics

Height: 6'3

Build: Lean, muscular, but slightly underweight

Eyes: Blue,. Left eye is slightly cloudy

Hair: Chest length auburn hair, often worn in a ponytail with two small braids

Other Features: He has a port-wine birthmark over his right eye that looks sort of like an eight pointed star. Sometimes he outlines this or darkens it with makeup. He also has some scarring, especially around his knuckles, from fighting.

Powers

Enhanced Ability: Shatterstar has heightened speed, agility, senses (particularly hearing, sight, and balance), and strength. It edges between peak human ability and edging into superhuman. For example, he can run a marathon in under two hours or deadlift a little over a thousand pounds. Think “peak human athlete, then add steroids”. This could probably be increased with training.

Shatterstar has 20/10 vision and the ability to see decently in the dark. He has hearing akin to a dog’s. He has perfect balance processing. He’s also a little more sensitive to touch than the average human, having slightly more touch sensors. The senses in particular can lead to bad sensory overload, and Shatterstar isn’t always good at pacing himself and often pushes past his stamina.

Shatterstar also heals on the fastest side of normal, though that could be sheer luck. For example, if he broke a bone it would heal in 3 weeks as opposed to four, and if he had an average sized scab it would heal in half a day to a day. He does NOT have the ability to regenerate anything.

Vibratory Shockwave: He can also produce a vibratory shockwave. Think of a wave of solid sound. However this exhausts him and leaves him faint and dizzy for hours. Maybe the shockwave power would work better with some sort of anchor as well…? It can be sustained for half a minute and at it's full extent of powers could be used to break down a metal door. Only Shatterstar has shown the capability for this, not Benjamin.

Teleportation': He has teleported once, but that was with someone else as an “emotional anchor” to visualize another location and he passed out for four hours after. This anchor must teleport with him. He has a current range of forty miles. While they’ve never tried teleporting again, and it’s unclear if only Benjamin can do this. If he does ever do it again he’ll need an emotional anchor or get lost in the between space, which could be potentially very dangerous.

Equipment

Various blunted and wooden training swords.

A sword that belonged to Terry's ancestor Féchín Cassidy, gifted to Shatterstar by Terry on his 18th birthday.

Trivia

Shatterstar vastly prefers EMA (European Martial Arts) to AMA (Asian Martial Arts).

So far, only Haller and Arthur have met Benjamin. The psis in the mansion are aware.

External Links

xp_communication posts

journal posts

xp_logs posts

xp_generation_x posts

Plots

2023

A Haven to Call Home

Meta

Player: Conner

E-mail:

Player Icon Base: Bartek Borowiec

Meta Trivia

Conner chose to make Shatterstar a system because Conner has a system (DID, not OSDD though).