Heavy Metal
Jeffrey Rawlins
Jeffrey Rawlins was raised by his older sister as they bounced from one foster home to another. Jeffrey was a sports fanatic, especially baseball, but due to his many disabilities, he was never able to participate. Baseball was his only escape from the monotony of life as a foster child. He fell in love with the game despite never being able to play, and remains devoted to the sport today. He had a lot of time to listen to games when he was in the hospital after his foster mother, Tricia, crashed the car they were in. The car flipped twice, landed on Jeffrey, and burst into flames. How frail little Jeffrey survived that trauma or the terrible burns is anyone’s guess.
Like his sister, Jeffrey came out of the wreck unable to move. Unlike his sister, his injuries didn’t involve spinal damage, but he was just as incapacitated by them... it also meant he could feel every torturous moment while being treated for his extensive burns. The doctors kept him on heavy painkillers almost constantly, but it was still unbearable for the boy.
Jeffrey was taken in by Motherboard at the same time as his sister, but his body rejected the cybersheath she’d intended to give him. In its place, Motherboard built him an environment suit of sorts. It was huge, but Jeffrey eventually became quite comfortable in the walking tank, so comfortable that he prefers it to the energy form Rez, Digital Demon, and Pulse possess (he didn’t like the weird way the bodies felt). Jeffrey holds out hope that eventually Motherboard will find a way to repair his body, but until then, his family needs him like he is.
Physical Description
Apparel & Accessories
Heavy Metal’s suit is a sophisticated life support pod inside the torso of a large humanoid “exoframe.” His nervous system is directly connected to the suit’s controls, making it an extension of his body rather than a vehicle. The exoframe is large, monstrously strong, and very durable. It can shrug off heavy weapons’ fire and operate in practically any environment. In addition, the exoframe is equipped with a weapons suite and boasts a set of sophisticated sensors and several utility subsystems.
Mental characteristics
Intellectual Characteristics
Heavy Metal is a gentle giant. He’s protective of his adopted family, particularly of his sister, and doesn’t really want to hurt anyone. He resorts to violence if he has to, but constantly worries about seriously injuring whomever he’s fighting. Despite his intimidating appearance, he’s a shy and friendly guy. When he’s operating beside Sister Steel, he almost always defers to her judgment; he trusts her completely.
Emotionally, Jeffrey is still young and immature; combined with his slow speech patterns and black and white view of the world, many people assume he’s stupid or mentally disabled to some extent, but that isn’t the case.
Social
Contacts & Relations
Jeffrey’ social deficiencies impede his ability to make friends, even though he’s a pretty likable kid once you get to know him. As with many member of his new family, his only real allies are the rest of the team.
Heavy Metal ranks second highest on Arwin Kessler's hit list immediately behind Motherboard herself—simply because of his strength and durability.
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