Ben Hammil
| Ben Hammill | |
|---|---|
 Portrayed by D'Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai | |
| Codename: | Match |
| Affiliations: | Generation X |
| Birthdate: | August 13, 2005 |
| Journal: | xp_match |
| Player: | Isaura |
"Ya guys just show up to find mutant kids in need, or just ones that start fires?"
A teenager on the run with a hot power, Match is attempting to learn to better control his them until the fires he started die down enough for him to reconnect with his only remaining family. Who knows what else the future might bring.
Contents
Details
Character Journal: xp_match
Real Name: Ben Hammil
Codename: Match
Aliases: Benjamin Adams
First Appearance: February 19, 2023
Date of Birth: August 13, 2005
Place of Birth: Duluth, MN, USA
Citizenship: American
Relatives: James Hammil (father, missing), Alexandra Hammil (mother, missing), Jacqueline "Jackie" Adams (maternal grandmother)
Education: High School dropout
Relationship Status: Single
Occupation: None
Team Affiliation: Generation X
Biography
Childhood
Ben was born in 2005 to archeologist couple James and Alexandra Hammil. He was their only child, and while they were happy to have a child together, their careers remained the major focus in their lives. And their work took them a number of places, the Hammil’s bounced around the continental United States, offering their expertise and trying to expand upon the research they’d specialized in and loved. Finally, in 2008, the small family settled down in Chicago, following James and Alexandra accepting positions at the Field Museum of Natural History that would allow them to expand on their research and assist on field expeditions of the situation called for it. Ben, of course, understood none of this, but was happy to grow up in one place, when he could finally understand the work his parents did.
Because of the nature of their jobs and the long hours they could easily fall into without a second thought, by the time Ben was eight his grandmother Jackie had come to live with the family. Where his parents loved him but were almost entirely focused on work, his grandmother was a kind and nurturing type of love that was entirely foreign to him. And for a while everything was good for the small family. His grandma would often take him with her after school to her volunteering shifts at a nearby shelter that supported mutants not far from the house, where he would do homework and she spent most of her days helping. Then the world outside of their little bubble got a whole lot worse when Ben was ten. M-Day changed the world, killing a few family friends and co-workers of the Hammil’s, as well as a few people at Ben’s school. Where previously he hadn’t seen much response to his grandmother volunteering at the shelter that supported mutants, now his parents sat the family down to bring forth the ultimatum that either Jackie cease her volunteering or she would be asked to leave. This was the first moment of real strain in the Hammil household to Ben’s memory, and it was quietly brushed under the rug, not to be spoken of, when Jackie agreed. Ben’s childhood slowly trudged on, with the strain of the household continuing even as his parents’ jobs took more and more of their focus out of the home. Some days they would text that they were busy and wish him a good day/night, but most days consisted of radio silence from them. His grandmother tried to cheer him up, but he’d become a mopey teenager who didn’t appreciate the attention.
In late 2020, his parents announced that they would be joining a team in the field, but they would be keeping in contact as best they could. For once, his parents did seem to have Ben as a priority, and, in their absence, Jackie had begun to volunteer, and he was out of the house with his friends. This lasted till the summer of 2021, when communication ceased suddenly.
Ben acted like nothing had changed, as far as he was concerned it hadn’t. Until April 2022, when hanging out at a playground with his friends, he experienced a burning sensation and erupted into flames. His new fire powers lit the plastic slide he was sitting on ablaze and the police were called. No one was injured but, with his parents missing, his grandma was denied parental rights due to his extremely volatile power having deemed him as a danger to his surrounding and he was taken into custody.
Living At The X-Mansion
When a lapse in the power dampening system allowed him to flee the precinct, Ben found himself on the streets. It was then that he was found be a group of mutants called the Chicago Morlocks, after H. G. Wells' fictional species. Immediately the boy was out of his depth, however he stayed with them until February of 2023, when increased security measures of their looting grounds began to push them out. With this in mind, the group decided to go deep into the sewers and leave the human world behind after granting each member one last wish. When a murder cost Match his wish to see his grandma one last time, he took matters into his own hands. Luckily, members of the Mutant Underground and X-Factor were able to spirit the teen away when his panic burned down the family home.
Some teens jumped into embracing their mutations, their gifts; Match was not one of those teenagers. When he arrived at the mansion, aside from check-ups from some of the 'once student, now real adults', he made himself scarce, opting instead to avoid common areas within the building and instead spend his free time in his room or in District X. His control seemed to stagnate, with Match unable to control his heat output as his wariness and anxiety of his new surroundings remained. But at least he wasn't starting fires. The arrival of Rictor and Shatterstar seemed to draw the teen out of his shell some, bringing him to comment a few times on their journals before fading back into anonymity of simply not drawing attention to himself. However, with the arrival of Sharon, Match once again ignited when he woke up to the feral mutant in his room, though the fire was over in an instant, much to both of their surprise. This incident gave him a common ground to bond over with the newly health cleared Jessica Jones.
When Arthur Centino opted to bring the members of Generation X to District X, Match joined and was shown a dumpster filled with cans that he could clean and sell but Sharon. However, as Jess was chaperoning the pair, this dumpster diving was not appreciated. The dumpster was upended by the woman to remove them from the trash. This did not have the desired effect as the group ended up with garbage juice on them and were brought back to the Community Centre to clean up. His apology to the older woman came with a job offer, and soon after Match began working for Alias Investigations. When Sharon found herself able to shift again, she rested in Match's room, to his horror. Following this, she decided to move in with him and they became suitemates.
An attempt to learn boxing from the instructor at the mansion showed the boy had little fighting ability. The shenanigans continued when Arthur and Jess took the kids of Generation X to Salem Center's fall festival. When other teens chose to heckle him (and Sharon), they decided to respond in kind and scared them off with a slight show of their powers. He passed out candy in the Alias office, much to Jess's annoyance. When a sudden storm hit New York, he helped a man named Artie place sandbags and requested an ID so he could turn in the cans he'd been collecting. The week before Christmas, the entire mansion was stirring when a mysterious intruder set off the alarms, threw Sharon and Liam outside, and seemingly mimicked his pyrokinesis. No one was happy.
Physical Characteristics
Match is a tall skinny kid, bordering on gaunt, that seems to be mostly limbs and a mop of messy hair. He very much looks like he’s been living on the streets for a hot second, and could use a nice warm meal, a shower, and a haircut. His posture is slouched and pulled into himself, from trying to not draw attention. The most exceptional thing about him is the glowing spot on his chest and back that he wears a number of layers to cover and that is expanding. When using his powers for an extended period of time, his eyes will begin to glow yellow-white.
Height: 5’11” (and potentially still growing)
General Build: Gangly, mostly long limbs, elbows and knees with not much meat on his bones.
Eyes: Brown
Hair: Black
Other Features: Slowly spreading Lichtenberg figure on chest and back, above heart, where his skin glows brightest. At the time of his coming to the mansion, this has spread to his neck.
Powers
Match possesses pyrokinesis, which scientifically means he can excite molecules around him to turn to flame and be malleable to him. This extends to heat, making him warmer than the average person, with the potential of heating up to melting points through heat alone. He is, in essence, a living flame, with more of his body transforming into the glowing skin that’s spreading across his chest, the more he uses his powers without fuel. It’s possible that a steady income of food might slow the transformation, as it would give him calories to, quite literally, burn. Because he generates his own fire, he’s immune to flame and heat. His powers have the capability to absorb heat and extinguish flame, using them as a stored source for later usage, however at the time of his coming to the mansion, he has no practice in this and instead relies on using the fire he produces.
Since the activation of his X-gene, Match developed ageusia and anosmia, meaning he cannot taste or smell. Food is simply fuel to him.
At the time of coming to the mansion, Match draws fuel for his flame from his own body, and can only do so in short bursts because of his malnourishment. This extends to creating flames equivalent to a small campfire and heating his hands up to melt the average door knob/lock. Afterwards, he requires calories to replace what has been lost, though in cases of power use beyond his limits his body would reject food as it goes into starving and cannot process them. Additionally, due to his very loose control, upon arrival Match unconsciously could not control his heat output, meaning that anyone within ten feet of him noticed a temperature spike that sets them into uncomfortably warm territory.
His control has strengthened since coming to the mansion, though his ability to ignite is fueled by negative emotions.
Equipment
- Grandfather's jacket
- "Fucked Up Little Dude" Plushie (Snoopy Plushie purchased in District X)
Trivia
- Will only allow his grandmother to call him "Benny" or "Benjamin" - anyone else can try at their own peril.
- Since learning a loose control of his power, snapping his fingers has provided a focus for his pyrokinesis.
- Became "married" to Sharon Smith when they shared a bed, much like in Moby-Dick, though the pair have not slept in the same bed at the same time.
External Links
Plots
2023
Meta
Player: Isaura
E-mail: 
Player Icon Base: D'Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai
Meta Trivia
Match is Isaura's second character, who she lovingly refers to as her "dumpster fire baby." Due to the introduction of Ben Russell, this Ben is generally referred to by his alias Match. Because Isa is lazy with editing, she opted to have Match's living fire appearance instead be more akin to the glowing embers of a dying campfire that is spreading outwards from his heart so she wouldn't have to crack open the photoshop too much.
