Will Fletcher
Will Fletcher is the current leader of the Protectorate, operating under the alias of Invictus.
History
Early Years
Will James Fletcher Jr. was born and raised in Athens, Ohio. From conception, he was always seen as a "lucky" baby, as his father was infertile. The couple had three children already, all born through IVF treatments, yet Will was conceived naturally. To add to his "lucky" streak, Will was born on a leap day, being born nearly two weeks later than his expected due date. Growing up, Will's parents did everything they could to provide for Will and his siblings. The couple wanted nothing more than to see their children succeed. From a young age, Will had a fascination with music, an interest that his parents helped cultivate into a passion. At the age of seven, Will was enrolled in guitar lessons, with hopes to one day perform as part of a band. His parents, despite the criticism levied at them by other parents, encouraged his dreams, and promised him that they would support him no matter his decision. Unfortunately, they would not be able to keep those promises. In November of 2014, while walking home from his school's band practice, Will noticed a number of military vehicles parked outside his family's home, with dozens of heavily armored soldiers stationed around the property. Among the soldiers, he spotted the familiar face of his best friend's dad, Nathaniel DeMarco. Nate quickly spotted the young Will and rushed over, doing his best to separate the boy from the chaos currently surrounding his family home. Nate guided Will inside the DeMarco residence, and told him that he would be having dinner over at their house that night. Later that night, after the soldiers had left, Nate finally explained the situation to Will. Earlier in the day, shortly his wife Julia left for work, a group of SUVs drove up to the Fletcher house. Dozens of soldiers in full-black armor flooded out of the SUVs, quickly surrounding and breaking into Will's home. After a short scuffle, both of Will's parents were dragged from their home, though Nate assured the boy that they were alive, as Julia saw Will's father trying to resist being forced into one of the SUVs. When Julia went over to the soldiers to ask about what had just happened, one of the guards pulled his weapon and shot her in the leg. During the conversation, Nate confessed to Will that he was not their neighbor by coincidence. He had been placed there by a government agency known as M.I.D.A.S., and he was assigned to monitor the family for signs of metahuman activity. According to Nate, blood work during a routine wellness check on Will's oldest sister, Jayla, revealed that she was born with a dormant metahuman gene, with later tests performed on Will and his siblings producing the same results. With potentially four metahumans living in one home, M.I.D.A.S. deployed Nate and his family to watch over the family, with instructions to intervene if one of their awakenings posed a significant threat to the area. Will was overcome with emotion at the news of what happened to his parents, and begged Nate to tell him if he knew anything about his siblings. Nate told him that M.I.D.A.S. was unable to locate his siblings, and while they weren't yet certain, it seemed likely that whoever kidnapped his parents likely got to his siblings as well. For his own safety, Will was taken to a nearby M.I.D.A.S. facility, where he received a new identity and met his new "family". M.I.D.A.S. leadership thought it highly likely that Will was likely still a target of whoever attacked his family, and wanted to ensure he could be under near-constant surveillence and protection. In order to best protect him, Will and his new family were moved to rural Montana, with M.I.D.A.S. facilitating a pseudo-homeschool curriculum to reduce the amount of time Will would spend in public. To ensure total secrecy, Nate and his family had their memories of the Fletchers erased. Roughly a year and a half later, on Will's sixteenth birthday, his metahuman gene manifested. His new parents discovered him floating above the floor, a nervous smile on his face. From that point on, the M.I.D.A.S. curriculum added supplementary education geared towards teaching Will to better control his new abilities. Eventually, Will was able to return to a somewhat normal life, as he was now more than capable of protecting himself from anyone who could try to harm him. He enrolled at the University of California in Los Angeles, pursuing a degree in criminal justice. Though not outright part of his goal, part of him wanted to utilize the education to track down those that kidnapped his family. Despite the years since he last saw them in person, there was always a part of him that wanted nothing more than to look for them, to rescue them from whatever torment they might be in and bring their captors to justice. His time in rural Montana had greatly impacted Will's ability to make friends, as the isolation he experienced meant he had little in common with those around him. As a result, he kept mostly to himself throughout his time at UCLA. Following graduation, Will enlisted in the LAPD, hoping to gain the experience he needed to become a detective.
Children