Luz was born with a mutation which passively converts psychic emanations into a hybrid thermal/electrical plasma. Unfortunately, this power was unstable and thus it became necessary to outfit him with technology from an experimental walker project.
Cognitive Fusion: Luz's psychic power generates a nonspecific hot, high voltage plasma. This process is regulated by a regulator gauntlet attached to his arm and by a control chip in his cerebellum. The regulator produces the further effect of 'sheathing' the energy discharge, preventing individuals and materials from being exposed to the plasma's full effect. These can be fired either in a beam or in an explosive manner with himself at the epicenter. As this process is a byproduct of thought, this gives him a great degree of resistance to non kinetic energy sources.
Psychic Armature: Luz is able to generate psychic weaponry of various sizes which directly attack the mind of any target it comes into contact with. These armaments must remain contiguous to his body, and thus only melee weapons can be created. In addition to inducing unconsciousness, these armaments are able to absorb memories, although the memories chosen are at random. The energylike 'armor' created by the activation of his cognitive fusion or psychic weaponry is a byproduct of this effect and is required in order to utilize his phasing or hallucination abilities. Even when not 'active' the armature has the effect of creating powerful mental barriers and spoofing his mental processes, giving him powerful protection against psychic attacks.
Phasing: Luz is able to pass through walls or obstructions, so long as he is able to pass his whole body through it and the object itself is not in motion.
Hallucinations: Currently, Luz can only create auditory hallucinations of himself, but other kinds could be created in time. These hallucinations only work on beings with a neural process, so unless a sufficiently advanced machine intelligence were in control these would not fool electronic surveillance.
The El Adalid (Or Champion) Walker project began during the Cold War with the intention of allowing infantry and particularly combat engineers to safely operate in irradiated combat zones in terrain unsuited for tracked vehicles. Unfortunatey the program was plagued by constant cost overruns and design creep, coupled with the design flaw that there seemed to be no power source that could not only effectively power the walker for more than a few moments and also be mass produced effectively. When the Soviet Union surrendered, the project was abandoned.
A little more than a decade later Luz Garcia Santiago was born on March 22nd in the small town of Nacogdoches, Texas, the second of three children. Growing up he spent a lot of time with his father who owned a small construction company, so metal and wood and concrete became what legos were to other kids. Weekends were often spent camping, and while the last to call himself a country boy Luz grew up a tough, self reliant boy…more than a little important because he had been given his grandmother's name (she had insisted).
In retrospect, the signs were there. He could 'see' and 'touch' things that weren't there. When he was around areas with extensive wireless coverage he would suffer moderate and even crippling migraines. More than once things just…exploded around him. Thankfully the latter instance never occurred more than a few times in his early childhood, and the former instances while peculiar were brushed aside. It would not be until he entered high school that things would become truly problematic. For while Luz had indeed been born with superhuman powers, there was a flaw…
In high school, Luz tried out for football. His grades, while not fantastic were sufficient to keep him in good standing. Unfortunately during practice he suffered a minor concussion. Initially it appeared minor, and so he was allowed to return to school the next day. He made it through the majority of the day, but when it came time for him to dress out (even if he was benched) he began to suffer a seizure. While the coach at first rushed to help him, glowing eyes and his shifting into something far more energy than flesh was a clear sign that something had gone terribly wrong. Although no one was hurt, the release of power was sufficient to leave make a respectably sized smoking crater in the midfield. Although he was unharmed, Luz was promptly rushed to the nearest hospital and then sent along to the nearest Level I Comprehensive Trauma Facility for observation and treatment. In simplest terms, it was found that he had the ability to manifest psychic energy as a state similar to plasma, and that the process that his body was utilizing was imperfect, generating vast stores of energy but unable to discharge it completely. Not only did this vastly increase the power of these discharges but also forced them closer together. Results: potentially massive property damage, loss of life, and eventually his own death.
For months, Luz stayed in the hospital. He hung out with the doctors and the EMT's when he could, and learned what he could. He even dabbled in astronomy, fancying that perhaps he was somehow connected to the stars. As his discharges grew shorter and shorter apart and more and more powerful, he seemed resigned to his fate even though he accepted it with as much grace as any teenager could. It was then that one of his doctors, Dr. Michael Arden, tapped a contact who had worked for the US Department of Defense and specialized in energy storage and regulation systems. Realizing that they had no time to design something completely new, they looked at older decommissioned projects, which is when they came upon the schematics for the El Adalid.
While the El Adalid was a failure in its totality, two of its proposed systems had great value for Luz's case. The first was that while there was no effective powerplant for the walker, several of its advances in energy storage and power regulation were still revolutionary. The Adalid also had a protoype neural implant intended for its use that would have allowed speed of thought reaction. By combining these systems, Dr. Arden and his associate were able to create a scaled down storage 'gauntlet' that could be worn on the forearm and an implant installed within the cerebellum that would allow him to control his powers with the same part of the brain that controlled fine motor movements, thus giving him not further control over his abilities with the proper therapy and training. After three months of testing (and missing the first half of Sophomore year) Luz was released from the hospital. Although he had been given a clean bill of health, his power still required further control and he needed to be in an environment better suited for the dual challenges of a psychic and what was essentially a small star…and so he was sent to Coral Springs.
