(http://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee80/KaiStormwind/RP/justin-timberlake-hot-808095024_zps62fb4286.jpg)(http://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee80/KaiStormwind/RP/PaladinX-009PowerSuit_zpsd92a0340.jpg)<br/><br/><strong>Xavier White, the Paladin, contestant in the Hero Project</strong><br/><br/>Alias: The Paladin<br/>Identity: Xavier White<br/>Age: 27<br/>Base of Operation: Los Angeles, CA, USA<br/>Power Class: Class B – Technologically advanced battle suit/power armor and other technological innovations<br/><br/>Background: Born into wealth, and having incredibly successful parents who are both Class A, a lot was expected of Xavier, who unfortunately….was born with no powers whatsoever. Dad (Nathan White) was a technopath and mom (Dawn Summers) was a telepath, and they combined their abilities to great effect in the business world; making tons of money. So that their son was powerless…was disappointing to say the least. At the very least though, their son grew to become very intelligent, with a great engineering and scientific mind. In a bid to overcome his crippling disability (in his mind, having no powers is as good as being disabled), he constantly worked on inventions of a combative nature, his work eventually culminating in his own Mona Lisa; the Paladin Power Suit, a suit of battle armor that is far more powerful and advanced than any single piece of military hardware currently in existence. Currently, the suit is in its ninth iteration as Xavier constantly tinkers, refines and upgrades components of the suit.<br/><br/>The pressure of never living up to his parents’ expectations has always weighed heavily on Xavier, and it showed in everything he did. He always aimed to be the best; a highly competitive and driven individual who always exudes an aura of confidence and cockiness. Naturally, he doesn’t have much of a social life. But the arrogance is used mainly to mask his own fears and insecurities. He doesn’t truly believe that strongly in his own capabilities. It’s all a show. A stupid façade, but one he does very well, because he’s always trying to convince himself that he’s better than the rest. But behind all that haughty calm, he is very vulnerable. He constantly feels inferior to those with powers, especially those with a Class A classification. He dreads not being able to live up to his parents’ expectations and so is always thinking and analyzing to come up with new tactics and tinkering to come up with more technological marvels to stay ahead. He MUST stay ahead. Anything less is failure, and he would never live with that. Worse yet, he didn’t know if his parents could live with that. Dad pumped in billions into the development of his son’s research to show his support. Xavier didn’t want to let him down. Xavier himself as put years of his life into his pet project…to lose now would be disaster.<br/><br/>The Hero Project is Xavier’s big break. His chance to prove that he can cut it with the best, to live up to his parents, and perhaps put his own fears and doubts to rest. And so he will be in the last six. He will not stop working, thinking and strategizing until he is.<br/><br/>Abilities: The Paladin X-009 Power Suit is impervious to any small arms fire and too fast for the bigger weapons that could possibly damage it. It can fly at supersonic speeds, can turn near invisible and is armed with a startling array of weaponry, ranging from ballistics to energy and laser weaponry. Of course, most of the weaponry is hidden within the suit, but it is intimidating enough as it is. An in-suit AI handles all weapons, flight and other combat calculations, since while Xavier is smart, he’s not that smart, or he probably would been a Class C or something. The defining feature of the Paladin, and where the suit gets its name from, is in its ability to form an energy-based sword and shield for offence and defense. The sword is projected from an emitter on the right palm, while the shield is emitted from the left forearm. It is essentially a laser sword and will cut through any material known to man. The shield is essentially the same, but exists as a field of energy covering the left forearm, so anything that comes into contact with the shield is normally vaporized unless it is energy from a different source; for example, the shield would vaporize bullets, but a fireball or electrical bolt (of enough power) would fry it and cause a small explosion.<br/><br/>A few small gadgets that are mostly for self-defence are normally carried around, but these are not of any use in an extended combat situation, they’re used to let him get away from combat or at least stall for time until he can get into his suit. They mostly serve to stun or distract people, PI or not.<br/><br/>With all that wealth and a privileged childhood, Xavier has learnt, or at least attempted to learn a great many things throughout his life. From the typical and mundane such as learning to play the piano and the violin or fencing or tennis, to those with more of a combat application; such as Judo, Taekwondo, boxing and Muay Thai. He is most skilled with Taekwondo, holding a black belt (4th dan) in it. This has no bearing against a Class A PI, of course, who could probably just blow him away with a look if he wasn’t in his suit.<br/>