Application
IC
Name: Altman, Billy
Fandom: Young Avengers
History link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hulkling
Age: 16/17 in series; approximately 1 to 2 years in Pleasantville
Canon point: Issue 2 of Children’s Crusade (likely to be updated as the series moves forward)
Personality:Teddy is bit of a fan boy. He enjoys comics and looks up to most of the super heroes out there (especially The Avengers.) Teddy is extremely loyal to his friends and would easily fight alongside of them until the end. Caring and polite, Teddy would be the type of guy you would want to take home to Mom. However, the best way to describe Teddy’s personality is that of a chameleon. He seems to be able to read people easily and adjust appropriately without losing who he is. He has such a gentle way about him that he can’t seem to make enemies. He knows how to act and react in each situation; no matter if he is himself or if he is “playing someone else” Even though he is a mixture of Skrull and Kree he is nothing like either race. He is not militaristic in any way, preferring peace over the use of war tactics to solve problems. In general he would rather avoid violence and offer himself to stop it. He is rather lucky that instead of having to result to violence he can use his shape shifting ability to intimidate a person and avoid the confrontation completely.
One thing that should be known about Teddy is that he is a shape shifter and as such he tends to mold himself into what is needed at the time when it comes to people outside of his close circle of friends. One example was his first friend. In fact, to begin with Teddy used his abilities to fit in school and befriend the class president of the school; Greg Norris. Greg Norris was the first person that Teddy revealed his powers to expecting the other boy to freak out. Greg actually saw it as an advantage and the two would go about using Teddy’s powers to play pranks. It was soon after, that the Avengers broke up. Greg saw it has a way to make money, suggesting that they go and visit the Avenger’s mansion. Teddy was amazed and in awe of the mansion, treating it with the respect that it deserved, but Greg made it a point to gather up anything he could sell. Teddy being the good guy that he is immediately objected to what was going on. He knew it was stealing, and his morals screamed at him to call the cops. He told Greg that was he was doing wrong and that he would call the police. Greg went about telling him that who would believe someone that stole the identities of other people. Teddy knew that he was probably right, but stealing was still wrong and he used his powers to force Greg into leaving the mansion and everything that he was planning on stealing. Even though he was trying to impress people and fit in, he still had a strong sense of right or wrong.
He may have taken the name Hulkling based on his shape shifting into something similar to the Hulk, but he is no way near the unrivaled anger that comes from the Hulk. In fact, Teddy is rational teenager who when within the Young Avenger would much prefer to follow rather than lead. He would also prefer to resolve disputes quickly with as little violence as possible. He is very patient and tries to be truthful to everyone around him. As mention before, he had once used his abilities to fit in, but has moved on. Taking people’s identities and using his powers for childish behavior only ends up getting people hurt, and that’s something he doesn’t want to do.
He is not particularly outgoing, but that’s not to say that he’s a total introvert either. He’s generally a confident teen that can sometimes throw out a bit of snark to go with his quiet charm (though, a lot of the time the snark his directed towards his boyfriend). One thing to remember is that Teddy is a teenager and as such, can be immature and somewhat excitable.
Lately, however he has started to show more and more leadership abilities. Taking things a bit more seriously, making sure not to back down from pointing out some of the more reckless antics of Billy, and laying down boundaries when they need to be. He knows that there are some things that are going on that are just crazy, but he still supports Billy to the best of his abilities. However, in the end he just wants to make sure his boyfriend comes out of the whole situation in one piece.
If there was one time an angrier Teddy would come out it is when someone attacks his friends and to a greater extent one Billy Kaplan. Billy, of course , is his canon boyfriend and it has been stated that Teddy would maim someone if they even dared to attempt to hurt Billy in any shape or form ( of course, he knows Billy can take care of himself, but the point still stands). He is fiercely loyal and has a strong protective streak. In the end, he doesn’t want to see anyone get hurt, especially his friends. However, he is extremely forgiving; going so far as to forgive the person who killed his adoptive mother. He likes to believe the best in people, and easily gives people the benefit of the doubt.
Even at sixteen, Teddy has been through more than most adults. From being kidnapped to being called the savior of two races he’s been through it all. He is also considered a super hero of sorts, helping to stop crime and being thrown into wars, there’s no way to deny that he is far from childlike simply based on his trials and tribulations throughout the series.
His time at in Pleasantville would have been generally tough. He's not the type to take to being alone very well. At first, he would make every attempt to escape, using all of his powers to try and break away, possibly causing some collateral damage along the way. Slowly, he would come to the realization that he may not be able to escape and get back to his friends. Yet, he would probably never actually stop trying as his friends are perhaps one of the most important things to him. But, in all honesty there would be something about Pleasantville that would strike close to home. It would be nice to have a motherly influence ( even if all she did was try to feed him cake and be a mindless perfect zombie) considering that the person he believed to be his mother was killed early in the series.
As there is a Billy apping (as far as I have had conversation with the mun) if the two of them were in Pleasantville together, they would of course try everything to find a way out, but it would be far easier on Teddy than if he was alone. But, they would probably find some strange solace in the rows of similar houses, almost a break from the crazy that they sometimes find themselves in, and possibly a chance to be alone without being interrupted by Billy’s twin brother. It happened before when they were kidnapped in previous issues of Young Avengers, I don’t see why it wouldn’t happen again. Of course, he would be massively creeped out that everything was perfect, and when he broke things they would magically be fixed hours later. But, if he had his boyfriend or anyone else he knew or could get to know for that matter, it would be a little bit easier on his mind.
In the end, once Teddy was released from Pleasantville, I think he would be relieved to finally escape the “perfect family life.” Sure, it’s something that he probably vaguely wanted, but he would have easily believed that all the adults in the town were brainwashed, zombies or some kind of robot out to make him fat with tea and cake. As mentioned, he is a bit of a fanboy, and the whole situation would seem like something out of a cheesy ‘B’ movie. A bit of paranoia would have built up a long the way because of these facts, however in general Teddy is a level headed kid, who has been kidnapped before. He’s a bit better equipped them most people considering that fact and the fact that he is a bit of a Super Hero.
Powers/Abilities: Teddy is an alien hybrid. Meaning that he comes from two different alien races. Half of his heritage gives him shape shifting abilities (meaning he can shape shift into anything he wants, really), and the other half gives him super strength (need a car picked up so you can take their parking space, he’s got the skillz that pay the billz).
Prose sample: Pleasantville wasn’t so pleasant in Teddy’s opinion, it was downright boring. The grass was perfect; the houses were perfect everything was absolutely perfect. It was all too perfect to be true. To say that he hadn’t dreamed of a place like Pleasantville would be a lie. He had always hoped for the typical family in a typical neighborhood. But, really he was no where near typical.
He was the spawn of two alien races that were locked into a war of such hatred; he was part Skrull, a race that wanted to take over the planet and part Kree, a race of warriors who hated the Skrull with all their being. Pleasant and perfect just wasn’t in his blood.
When he had first arrived in Pleasantville, he had tried to escape, but each plan was foiled and he ended right back in the perfect house down the lane, next to the other perfect house, which just happened to be across the street from another perfect house, it was just utterly perfect.
He kept trying, not just for himself, but for Billy as well. He missed his other half more than anything, but slowly he started to become complacent, Billy becoming the only thing from home he could hold onto. It was on his eighteenth birthday that he was unceremoniously thrown out of the perfect that was Pleasantville and into the exact opposite in the form of Las Vegas, or at least what was left of it.
He had been there once when he was growing up, he remembered the lights and the hustle and bustle that came along with a city that never slept. All of it was simply gone, the people, the lights, and heck even the random people handing out fliers for the nearest strip clubs were gone (and he had thought they would be around forever, showed up how much he knew).
“I actually thought we’d get to go here before it became a ghost town, Billy..”
And now, he was here alone, in some kind of waste land that had once been Vegas. The usual landmarks were gone or crumbling. Suddenly, he missed the dull and boring times of Pleasantville. No matter, he knew how to survive in bad situations, he was an Avenger (albeit a Young Avenger). The first thing he had to do was find shelter, not from the elements, but from what could be lurking around the corner.
He was pretty hardy against the cold or the heat, partly because of his alien heritage, but mostly because the East Coast was naturally temperamental that way. Looking up, he saw two buildings that looked mostly whole; either would be and okay fit for his current situation.
“Shelter, check. Now some food or water would be nice…” Of course, he was no Survival Man, nor was he as scrappy as Wolverine was, but he figured he could manage. Unfortunately, he paid attention in school and knew exactly how much of a desert Las Vegas really was. The water for the city was pumped in from Hoover Dam, so the chances that everything was hunkey dorey was pretty slim. And if there was no water, the chances that there would be food about was pretty close to slim and none.
“I’m in Las Vegas, without food, without water and I don’t even have my boyfriend to share it with. So Teddy, how’s your week going? Well, it’s just peachy. Thanks for asking.”