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— Vladimir.
Vlad the Komodo Dragon is a gangster reformed to a business mogul. He leads the underground syndicate called The Nazar, a sinister group with the intentions of becoming a one world government with a monopoly system in mind. He intends good, but does nothing but evil in the process.
Appearance[]
Pre-Corruption[]
Vlad was a mere Komodo Dragon. No different than the rest of his species, he had a normal black tone to his scales. Nothing was too odd about him. His eyes were a fiery orange, and he had small claws barely long enough to cut deeply into prey. His tongue was lengthy and his teeth were sharp though. Vlad was very muscular though, he had a tank like build.
After Corruption[]
After Vlad's chemical bath, he had several new features. His face grew out more and had bone like spikes appear to the side of his head around his third eye area. His eyes also became a fearsome red. Spikes covered sides of his arms and back, lowering to some sides of his tail. His saliva has changed color from a clear blue to an acidic forest green. His scales grew rough and dry, they also a greenish tint to them. Since the scales grew so rough they became sharp enough to cut things. His teeth grew rough as well. He also has a scar on his right eye. He retained his muscular build. It is important to know that Vlad has stress veins on his forehead because of Neapolitan.
Personality[]
Vlad appears to be a silent, sentient person. He has a huge understanding of the feelings and often keeps an eye on the behavior of others. Rarely does Vlad speak aloud with out getting a serious understanding of what happens around him. He always picks up actions and words of what people say around him.
Though on the outside he's so quiet and observant, on the inside there is a burning passion deep within Vlad. Vlad is possibly the most disrupted individual among his crew of fiends. He has an undying rage that will never be satiated. His calm and cool outward appearance holds only so much. Turning on this lizard's bad side is a mistake that should definitely be corrected.
Utterly ruthless, Vlad will not stop until he's completely violated his foes image, only to end it all with a slow and painful death. When in deep rage, Vlad is almost unstoppable because he won't let down his anger. This is because of his personality disorder given to him as through genetics. While sounding sociopathic, he only does this to ensure his life isn't threatened. Vlad hates needless killing as it is a reminder of his youth. He takes medically prescribed pills to remain sane while angry.
Vlad turns into a completely different person in rage. He blacks out and doesn't remember what happened, what he's done, who the person was, or how the argument began. All he knows is that by the end of it, somebody got hurt, and odds are it wasn't him. Vlad is even known to mutter things under his breath when angry. During his aftermath of rage, Vlad often laments as he feels he's a deranged psychopath who can not control himself.
Besides his uncontrollable rage, he is considerably cool and easy to speak to. This characteristic earns the trust of people rather easily, his very good speeches also evoke confidence in those who have faith in him. Vlad focuses on persuasion too, he is very influential.
Vlad is the master of bull shitting, he can lie to persuade his enemies and even allies to do his bidding quite easily. Even when his bull shit tactics are deciphered, he can adapt to truths and work with them even when it's against his favor. When all else fails, he'll kill whoever doesn't see eye to eye with him. He can too work with intimidation tactics.
Vlad does have a soft spot, a rather large one too. He specifically cares for his crew members and with out them he'd have no purpose in life. This is especially true for Mirage. As a business mogul, he has made moves on repairing the slums sector in Hordaiquan, feeding the poor, and going to prisons to reform criminals.
But despite his good will, Vlad is a selfish man. He views people on how they can help him and what they can do for him specifically. This is evident with his treatment of key Nazar figures like Neapolitan and Remington (despite being Vlad's best friend). The only thing is, Vlad gets attached to his team and he knows just how significant a role everyone plays.
Really deep down inside, Vlad is just confused. Since he was a young lizard he never understood morality. Even though he would hate to admit it, he misses his father dearly and was the main reason why he was so stressed and jobless. He even tries to act as best a father can be for Mirage, he does this as a way of making sure she would never have to go through the same pain he did in youth.
Deeply depressed, Vlad is a man who is not happy with himself. He knows all of his faults and he hates himself for being what he deems a mistake. He knows he's not an honorable man, a good man, or even anyone to look up to. It's this sense of self awareness that drives him to find something he can do to at least impact the world in a positive light. However, in reality he knows that all he is is just a criminal with no redeeming factors.
It's his self awareness that allows himself to keep sane when killing or destroying the lives of others, as in his eyes it's a battle of survival. Vlad fears himself, he fears what he does to other people and he himself knows that he can't be trusted.
Vlad feels as though he can do good in the world if he was in charge, complete dictatorship over the lives of people. He feels that with out control, things become weak and brittle. He wants to lead the world to an era of dominance, and he doesn't care what gets in his way or how he's supposed to do it.
History[]
Upbringing[]
Vlad was born in Osenouv, Mavenland. This area was considered a secure sector full of nothing but heavy police and crime.
He was born into a poor family who lived in a deprived area of Osenouv. His father was a gangster and his mother was a former nurse. They lived in a broken down beat up house that was evicted for years. He was very poor while young and had been raised to a very dangerous lifestyle.
Some time along his youth, Vlad's father had become a very successful drug dealer and paid killer for his neighborhood. This allowed him to be able to purchase Vlad clothing and get him into military school where he would hope the lizard would learn how to survive in life. His father protected his family and would ensure his child never came across the gang life he had been so used to.
While growing up in military school, Vlad was very studious. He aced his English classes as well as his math and physical courses. Vlad was considered a child prodigy in the militaristic department. This is because Vlad was hardened to think for himself and learn as much as he could due to having very little in life. Because of military school, Vlad was taught a lot about combat and having a methodical mind. He was shaping up to become a heavy duty fighter in youth, and he was only in his teens!
A Worse Life[]
Vlad's father had been shot and brutally killed during a drug deal one night by an opposing gang. Just in his mid-teens, Vlad fell into a huge depression along with his mother. While Vlad himself was clean, his mother was already a drug addict and had trouble interacting with the situation. Vlad knew she was useless and knew her purpose in the world was basically over.
Fueled with anger and thoughts of vengeance, Vlad joined his father's gang; the Rolling 80z Killaz. He began to wear green and took his father's former pistol and weaponry as a way to fund himself and kill the opposing gang; the Boulevard Hittas. Vlad began drug dealing to earn respect in his gang, he also sold illegal weaponry and did hired kills on the opposing gang; just like his father did for him.
Unlike his father though, Vlad had ambitions. During his late teens, he got back into school and started studying business and ethics. Even though he had such a bad background and was considered a street thug, Vlad had carried himself with such intelligence that most would question why he would dress the way he did. The money he was earning on the streets wasn't a lot, but it was enough for him to get by and be able to attend school.
In his business classes, Vlad learned how to manage money and persuade others. He updated his literary skills and spoke in a very influential manner. With his ambitions to leave the hood, Vlad was determined to change his life and get legal.
He paid cops to forget about his previous crimes when he was being pressured to arrest, and most of the time back then it worked. He and several other gang members killed off the Boulevard Hittas' leader and set the gang back by having a higher possession of drug money and basically dominated the streets. He was considered the leader of the Rolling 80z Killaz, and had intended goals for them.
Life Changes and Prison[]
Vlad's crimes would eventually come back to haunt him after honest police found him out and sent him to prison. Charged with a life sentence with no bail, Vlad spent several years in prison, well into his adulthood. Despite this, he kept very hidden ties to his old gang. Vlad spoke to Remington a lot during his imprisonment and discussed leading the Rolling 80z under a more organized manner with business savvy methods, even reforming the gang under a new name.
Remington complied and eventually bailed Vlad out of prison all together, illegally. He tarnished his documents of imprisonment and bought anyone who got suspicious of him, those that pursued Vlad even with money being shoved in their faces were killed. Vlad was a cold blooded lizard, both in literal and metaphorical form.
Iron Skin and Origins[]
Vlad, now a full adult, was free and in a world he lost much touch with. His gang barely knew him and many familiar faces had died. Nobody respected Vlad like they used to, Remington's hold as a leader wasn't as strong as Vlad and so the gang got rather unorganized despite Vlad pushing for a more business approach to it.
Vlad had to set an example again and pursued the Boulevard Hittas. The two gangs went at it with a shoot out surrounding a chemical factory.
The shoot out was vicious and many gang members were lost on both fronts. Vlad was up against a more coordinated gang than he was last time and his new recruits weren't as good as the originals. Under pressure, Vlad went into the abandoned chemical factory and fought off the remaining gang sets.
The fighting led Vlad to a fist fight between him and the new leader of the Boulevard Hittas, Azor X. No matter the military training and the blacking out, Vlad had lost to Azor and was thrown into a pool of acidic chemicals. Remington later entered the battle field and shot out Azor, killing the opposing gang for good.
After noticing his friend in the pool of chemicals, he used a beat up machine to rescue the dead lizard. Presumed dead, Remington kept checking for a pulse and started practicing his medical skills on Vlad. He reversed the chemicals and dried them up to become a regrowing skin plating that was very rough; little did he actually know that it transformed Vlad into a living tank.
Vlad uprising out of his deathly slumber, awoke to regrown skin and a damaged mind. Remington assured Vlad he was alive and Vlad began to reevaluate his life. The two were on pursuit to strengthen the Rolling 80z again under the new name of the Nazar. They recruited with drug money and illicit means. This led Vlad and Remington to travel across Mavenland.
Foundation of the Nazar[]
On his escapades, Vlad ran into a street performer under the name of Mirage during the winter.
— Vlad asking Mirage why she was preforming in the cold.
To his surprise, the girl was preforming for money to keep her in a healthy condition. This caused Vlad much sadness as he saw himself in Mirage and he knew the pains of being poor. He looks upon the young husky as he gives her a hefty load of money.
— Mirage's response
Vlad sighed and stated that her position in life reminded him of his youth. He also told her she had great skill and was wasting time out in the streets, not living up to her power. Vlad offered to take her in and she agreed after multiple visits. (The two would later grow far closer as Vlad became a father figure and then a literal father to Mirage in the future.)
Vlad would later travel to Archaven where he would meet another Nazar member, Neapolitan the Cat. In a night club, the two met up, Vlad initially noticed how odd she was in appearance and instantly asked questions as to why she appeared as such. The two would later have an intense lying session and argument, to which, Vlad was impressed with.
— Vlad's recruitment towards Neo.
He flashed loads of money to Neo, to which would later consider joining the group and eventually did.
Nazar Syndicate and Business Mogul[]
Vlad had gotten a lot of money growing into his current age and eventually reformed his gang into a very educated business that left its ghetto roots. They became clean but still kept the function of illicit dealings and criminal activity. Vlad had the ambitions to make what was a gang, into a globalized monopoly force. He wanted to own everything and nothing was going to get in his way.
Money was in his heart and no one could tell Vlad no. He got his hands on armed killers who would oppose his group so that his hands wouldn't get bloodied, bought out competitions left and right, and even bought out legal pursuers. Vlad was a hidden media mogul who owned a company no one would ever consider sinister, everything's different behind closed doors.
Relationships[]
This section will show Vlad's feelings on his comrades and enemies.
Mirage the Husky[]
Mirage is Vlad's pride and very joy in his life. He knew from the moment he met her in Archaven that there was something special about her. Being unable to make children himself due to his chemical bath, Vlad became very close to Mirage as a fatherly figure with each visit he'd have with her back in Archaven. Eventually he recruited Mirage into his business and migrated her to Mavenland with him. He eventually legally made Mirage his daughter and raised her up to be his second in command for the Nazar.
Vlad is only ever himself when in the company of Mirage. He does not like to destroy the naivety and innocence that Mirage has, so he often tells her to stay out of his darker business matters. He hates yelling or even scaring Mirage as the only remnants of emotions he has lies in Mirage, she's what keeps him sane. On his death bed, Vlad has the dream of Mirage replacing him and owning the business as she chooses to.
There's a sense of guilt Vlad harbors with Mirage though and it's the fact that he knows he's using her. He uses her to gain sympathy when there's bad press against him, to use her powers for his business, and even slowly eroding away her innocence by having her subtly order to kill people by saying it's "the right thing". Vlad is the main reason why Mirage has disturbed morals and he honestly feels horrible for shaping her the way he has, but at the same time he knows that if she knew the man he was, she would never love him and would leave his side.
Neapolitan the Cat[]
Neapolitan is Vlad's least favorite worker and the one he often has deep concerns for.
He finds that Neapolitan's cynicism and overall attitude is eerily close to his when he was a young lizard. Often hating Neapolitan's stances and how uncaring she is, Vlad can tell it all stems from deep personal problems she has. While he may harbor no patience for Neapolitan, he relates to her mutant deformities as he himself suffers under similar ones. It's through this sense of understanding why Vlad doesn't outright fire Neapolitan or have her killed.
While they may argue left and right, Vlad honestly does want to cure Neapolitan of her ice cream disorder and eventually revert her to a normal Azimian.
Remington the Crab[]
Remington was once Vlad's best friend and right hand man, much is true to this day.
However, Vlad has seemingly departed from much of their childhood relationship. Vlad has replaced Remington with Mirage in favor and even though Remington would've been most suitable for second in command, he chose his daughter to suffice. It's due to this why their relationship has some what become strained since their childhood years.
Vlad does still trust Remington to the degree of a close comrade, despite everything listed above. In Vlad's eyes, he wouldn't have been able to make the Nazar with out Remington in mind.
Skills[]
Skilled Combat[]
After learning the arts of Military combat, Vlad was taught all he could possibly want in the arts of fighting. He knows how to deliver deadly blows with his fists and can combat the best very well and efficiently. He is a brawler and isn't afraid to fight dirty as well. Simply put, he has experience with fighting and he'll do anything to win.
Abilities[]
Iron Skin[]
Vlad's chemical bath gave him a number of new abilities, the most easily noted is his rough skin. Not only is the skin quite fearsome, but it is almost like a shield for Vlad. It regrows naturally and has limited weaknesses. Any incoming projectiles such as bullets just fly off, same applies to weapons and standard combat (However, when empowered by elements the effect is not the same). The drier the skin is, the more durable it becomes. Though it comes at a price. Vlad can not move normally and has problems with his stiff muscles making it a pain to even walk fast. It is also considerably weaker in colder/watery areas.
Weaponry[]
Scissor Shooter[]
While being named the scissor shooter, this weapon is actually a machine-gun like shotgun. Laced with a green metallic armor, stainless steel blades that hang at the end of the muzzle of the gun, and a deep silver color scheme around the weapon. It weighs roughly 100 lbs and is held upside down for better grip of the handle and easier fire from the trigger. This is a double barrel shotgun and it fires heated shrapnel at enemies, this shrapnel is very dangerous and is capable of rending foes and breaking down armor. Vlad can also melee enemies with the two machete blades that do hang from the side of the gun.
Megaton Slab[]
This weapon is considered as Vlad's sword. The sword is a giant chiseled stone, reinforced to be swung and used as a weapon. The stone made of igneous ore. The stone blade of the sword then connects to a green steel cross guard that then links to a black grip and finally a silver pommel. The sword has three silver bolts embedded into the crossguard and rain guard.
Vlad uses this weapon if he has to get very serious, he almost never uses it as he feels it makes him far too suspicious in public light. The slab itself is taller than Vlad by two inches and weighs almost 300lbs.
Weaknesses[]
Vlad is a very bulky person. He has issues with turning around and is very clumsy when it comes to running. He's not exactly elegant because of his large muscular stature. A huge con to him is his speed, he is very slow even when it comes to combat.
Though his skin may make him seem immortal, there are plenty of ways to make it weaker. Simply use elemental abilities or abnormal powers and you should at least stagger the reptile. Fire doesn't work effectively against his armor, but water does. The drier the armor, the stronger it is. Keeping Vlad in a cold and moist area will surely show how weak it is. But Vlad is not defenseless, keep that in mind.
Ultimately, using his tall bulkiness against him will ultimately win the battle. He simply won't keep up with fast targets, unless he's enraged. Even when enraged, it's best to stay far away and out of sight as he can be angry for so long until he just point blank passes out. The best way to handle Vlad is to avoid him, and if confrontation is unavoidable try to out smart him in battle by using speed and wits.
Trivia[]
- Vlad was born on the 25th of April, making him a Taurus.