List of Characters in Heroverse: Succession

Traveler
Nick is the youngest of the Gray triplets, and by far the most danger-prone. His main ability--which he calls Blinking--came in early, and his mastery of it quickly drew unwanted attention. When he was eight years old, Nick was kidnapped by the Project, forcing his father to rescue him. Most of his childhood after the fact was spent being safe-guarded by the rest of his family, which he both appreciates and resents. Nick tends to keep a low profile, using his powers only when absolutely necessary. The long-term effects of his brief captivity persist the rest of his life.

Nick is generally easy-going, preferring to hang in the background to drawing attention. He is a little boy-crazy, having discovered his attractions early on and never quite gotten over the wonder of it. He is a serial romantic, often seeking partners just for the thrill of new company. Despite this, he is not actually looking for love, so much as the companionship of others. His presence is magnetic; people can't help but gravitate towards him, whether or not he wants them to.

As a result of his trauma, Nick tends to overthink on reflex, examining situations for potential threats and outcomes before he ever makes a decision. He is observant to the point of neurosis, and has an eye for details other might miss. His awareness of body-language and social cues is such that he can accurately assess a person's mood or thought process just by being near them. It is a skill he uses largely by habit.

Trail Blazer
Ector (not Hector) seems to have started life in easy-mode. The only son of an Irish historian and an absentee Spanish diplomat, he was spoiled by his mother for most of his childhood, which lent itself to his developing ego. The fact that his mother was often gone when he was growing up saw him practically living with the Grays. Brimming with energy and easily bored, Ector is the life of the party, never without a joke or trick to amuse or infuriate his friends. He has no filter, no patience, and precious little self-control, and he is accustomed to getting his way. If possessed of the need to act, he does so, rarely considering the consequences even after they've arrived.

The only thing keeping him from a life of crime is his own (relatively) good nature. His mother's foresight in naming him after a knight may be partly to blame. Despite his somewhat questionable morality, Ector's one goal in life is to help whenever he thinks that he can. His arrogance only lends itself to this mission; he is utterly convinced that he could punch out the sun. This overabundance of confidence belies a lifelong struggle with loneliness; Ector's playboy image is largely a front to distract from his low self-worth. He knows what he's good for, and he's not willing to examine the reasons people want him around.

When he isn't challenging his teammates to races, pranking his friends, or hitting on literally everyone, Ector is an avid music producer. He enjoys composing, having taught himself how to use production software from scratch, and plays a number of instruments, specializing in guitar and percussion. He is also a classically-trained pianist, though he dislikes the instrument. His fast-talking lends itself to rap, which he is nominally better at than singing. He low-key views River Winthrop as a rival on the music scene, but the rivalry is one-sided (as River pays him little mind). Though he will flirt (or sleep) with anyone, he has spent most of high school with an ill-fated crush on Ferah Quinn. It is a fixation that will not end well.

Houdini
Some kids want to save the world, and some just want to live in it. River falls somewhere in between.

On the surface, he seems like the most normal person on Earth. He is perceived by his many friends as approachable, supportive and endlessly patient. Very few are aware of the depths he holds. Having lost his birth-father to hereditary bipolar, he lives with the knowledge that this fate might one day be his own. He struggles with unpredictable moodswings, which he manages with meditation, self-regulation, and regular counseling. He does everything he can to distance himself from situations that might set him off, aware that a loss of face might change the way people view him. No matter his casual, laid-back appearance, nothing he does is impulsive, or unintentional. This sees him doing everything he can to avoid a fight. When pressed, he will engage, but he rarely holds a grudge, preferring to compartmentalize minor stress rather than allow them to trigger him. It is very hard to make River angry--but it is not impossible.

River is very much a background person, which lends itself to his uncanny skill at blending in. He slips from notice almost the moment he's not in focus, only to reappear where he isn't expected. Most of the time, this results in little more than funny candid photos, which he delights in posting online or sending to friends. In addition to marching on the school drum-line, River has all but mastered performing with a Launchpad sound machine, often putting in appearances at parties to make extra money.

Polygraph
The only strange thing about Kieren Winthrop is that he wears a sweater-vest by choice. That, and the people he sees are apparently on fire.

Despite receiving 'nominal' scores on his psionic tests, Kier started to see auras when he was eleven, and soon realized that he could discern the emotions they contained based on the colors he saw. In time, he could even tell when someone was lying to him, based on the guilt that they felt as they spoke. And the longer he focuses on the emotions he perceives, the more he can feel them himself, whether or not he recognizes the feeling. His advanced sight is both blessing and curse, giving him visual cheat-codes to the moods of those around him at the cost of rendering him helpless as he descends into over-analyzing. Most of the people who notice assume he has focus problems, as his attempts to reason through it often leave him staring mutely at them. He has very few friends.

Kieren's abilities are so much a part of him that they inform his personality. His natural shyness leaves him reflexively checks auras for cues in social situations, resorting to making guesses about what he sees without any context. He is sensitive to other people's emotions, being unable to block them out, and often becomes overwhelmed when faced with a crowd. The resulting anxiety often leads to overthinking, and constant nervous-talking. He is a regular target of bullying, and--able to see the troubles his tormentors struggle with--he is both unwilling and unable to defend himself.

His power is unique and so has gone unnoticed, leaving him with no choice but to figure it out as he goes along. His young age and innocent, trusting nature only make sorting through other people's baggage at a glance that much more difficult. He often gleans things he did not want to know, and things he does not understand. More than once, he has confused one emotion for another. The only person who knows about his Sight is his brother River.