Template:Featured Articles/40-2008
| Manuel "Empath" de la Rocha: Manuel is an empath, a type of psi, able to both perceive and manipulate the emotions of others, extending to some higher-intelligence animals such as horses. His receptive range is approximately five kilometres, and he by necessity must use a portion of his power and his attention in shielding himself from the emotions of others.
Born and raised in Madrid, Spain, Manuel was the scion of an old and powerful family, whose wealth wasn't always obtained honestly. His father, Alphonso Rodrigo de la Rocha, dabbled in import-export as well as various nefarious activities. When Manuel turned twelve his mutation began to manifest itself - he would see colors connecting people and surrounding them that would flux and writhe based on people's emotional states. He was indiscreet about using his knowledge - often, he did so without realizing it, and eventually his father poisoned his mother in a fit of jealous rage when Manuel revealed both parents were having affairs. Alphonso managed to conceal Carmelita's death from Manuel, creating a fabricated story that she had gone to visit relatives in Basque country. Manuel's lack of control soon became completely obvious - and it didn't take Alphonso long to realize that his son had cracked and to kick him out of the house. Manuel's power, then thoroughly out of control, ruled his life for two full years. He was at the emotional mercy of everyone and anyone within his steadily-increasing range. With a friend's help he discovered what he would later call The Mirror. By focusing in tightly on one person's emotional signatures, by losing himself in the colors and threads, he could block everyone else out. His other form of empathic defense was music and he became a minor celebrity in the Madrid club scene due to a combination of his empathic ability as well as his natural talent. He lived off his power, using it to get his way, until one particularly spectacular bender ended in his arrest and he wound up in a mental asylum - his father then arranged for him to be transferred to a facility where he was chemically and psychically tortured as part of his 'training' to become a mindbreaker. It was here he met Emma Frost, captured by the Hellfire Club's Black King, Sebastian Shaw. She persuaded him to use his powers to free them both and with Shinobi Shaw, they escaped and eventually returned to Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters. Manuel's time at the school was a tempestuous one. Aristocratic and snobby, used to getting his own way with the use of his powers, he found the American culture bewildering. Manipulated by Kwannon to imprison Betsy Braddock in her own mind, Manuel's lack of ethics resulted in him being compelled to wear an inhibitor bracelet to protect those around him. An unlikely, up-and-down relationship with Amanda Sefton provided him with some foundation, but unable to connect with his fellow students and having lost several friends due to departures or through his own actions, he became increasingly bitter and isolated, realising at last that he had to discard the trappings of his old life in order to establish his new one. It was at the Hellfire function he intended to resign his position as Emma's White Knight that his father, in conjunction with Selene, struck, using magic to wipe Manuel's mind. Only Amanda's intervention saved them both and Manuel was left with no emotionally-charged memories. For the empath, that meant the loss of almost everything he had known. With no memory of anything emotionally resonant and disowned by his father, Manuel struggled to rebuild his life. He was able to establish several new friendships and resolve old conflicts, however flashes of the 'old' Manuel continued to dog his life. An exorcism by Amanda's guardian Romany Wisdom and the London Coven removed the bulk of Selene's influence, allowing him to remember more of his old life and a Valentine's 'gift' from his father, a DVD of the beating meted out to Amanda at the Hellfire Club incident reopened his access to his powers. When Alphonso was murdered, apparently by Pete Wisdom, and Manuel discovered Amanda had known of the plan for months prior, he reverted to his old ways and threatened her with his powers. She left, leaving him angry and grieving, for his father and for Lusyana, one of the Askani empaths who had been teaching him via Nathan's subconscious mind. Reconciliation upon Amanda's return was very slow in coming, but eventually they began rebuilding their relationship, only for Amanda to turn to Selene. In her last 'gift' to him, she tore out the link, before teleporting herself to the Hellfire Club. Manuel went off the rails, nearly driving Tommy Jones to suicide and almost being expelled. Amanda's return, following Selene's defeat at the hands of Pete and the X-Men, drove him from the mansion entirely, and he accepted a position with Gideon Faraday's company, Eris. He began establishing a new life for himself, associating with the only two friends he had left, Marius Laverne and Jennie Stavros. With Gideon's death, Eris fell apart and with it Manuel's job and prospects. He went to Spain, to attempt and reclaim some of his birthright and using old family connections to sustain himself. When Marius also left the school, it was Manuel and Jennie who accompanied him on his European travels, assisting him as best they could. Caught in an empathic loop generated by Marius' use of Manuel's powers through regular feeding, things ended in disaster when Manuel and Jennie were caught up in a lucksnap caused by her over-using her powers. Manuel saved Jennie from being struck by a runaway truck, but sustained serious injuries in the process. Transferred from a Monaco hospital to Muir Island Research Facility, Manuel slipped into a coma shortly after a final visit from Amanda. His condition remains serious and unchanged.
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