Kirk Rogers // Patriot

Play-By: Jake Abel

"When you look in the mirror, what do you see?"
Full Name: Kirk Nimoy James Buchanan Rogers
Codename: Patriot
Date of Birth: July 4 2002
Sexual Orientation: Heterosexual
Character Faction: New Warrior

"Do you defend someone 'cuz 'they look like me'?"
Physical Appearance:

Kirk is roughly 5' 10" tall, with a thin frame, though this is filled out somewhat with muscles, Rogers is hardly on you could consider to be a "big guy". He is considered to be the spitting image of his father, having blonde hair, blue eyes, and the same smile. Recently he has developed some darkness around his eyes due to sleep deprivation, from his late-night heroics. Usually clean-shaven, for comfort while wearing the mask, Kirk is known to be able to grow a respectable beard of golden scruff when he can't be bothered to shave it off.

In "civvies" Kirk enjoys comfortable clothes, usually wearing long-sleeved shirts with a few buttons leading from the collar. He also likes jeans and slacks, always held up with a belt, into which the shirt is occasionally tucked.

As Patriot, Kirk skews his identity with a blue mask, that highlights via a band across the eyes. Over his torso is a blue double-crested jacket that hides the protective materials underneath, with a pair of white pants with a red stripe running down the seams. This is held up by a brown, multi-pouched, belt that features a bronze buckle with a star in the center. A pair of large, red, gloves also protect his hands from the elements, and the potential to cut himself on his own shield.
Personality:

Raised by his mother, Sharon, Kirk had a fairly normal upbringing, excepting for the fact that he and his sister were constantly reminded of the identity of their father, Captain America. He is unsure of how to feel about Steve, due to a range of conflicting opinions, particularly those concerning the circumstances of his death. Despite this, Rogers has developed a strong sense of justice and fairplay, having been the underdog in his early years, the motivated young man committed to bettering himself, engaging in any sport or activity that would improve the condition of his physicality.

Kirk doesn't believe in doing wrong, which made him something of an outcast as a child and teenager, usually keeping away from anything that would get him into trouble. As he grew into his mid-teens, however, Kirk would occasionally make small acts of rebellion, though they were typically small things like coming home 2 or 3 minutes past curfew, or not turning the faucet off all the way after his showers. But this mounted to a head when he received his very particular birthday gift from "Uncle James". He trained to become a superhero, despite his lack of super-soldier condition like his sister's, and hoped to become a patriot whose place in history would rival his own father's.

Throughout his life, Kirk has suffered from an inferiority complex towards his older sister, who eventually became Miss America, having clearly inherited Steve's physical condition, unlike the younger Rogers. Thus, even though the two appear to be close, Kirk resents Madeline for being "better" than him, this flaw being buried, but still present. But ultimately, all Kirk cares about is being a hero, and he will always do what's right, regardless of what his peers may believe.

Personal History:

Super Soldiers were a creation which was often recreated, or rather attempted. Many hoped that the eventual death of Steven Rogers would shed some insight to the secrets of humanity's next stage, but we're getting ahead of ourselves.

Steve Rogers was a name that everyone in America learned about, at one time or another, as one of the greatest, if not THE greatest, military figure in American history. Enhanced by Project Rebirth, Steve Rogers was dubbed Captain America and lead a number of key and successful missions within Europe that helped assure the victory of the Allies over the Nazi forces. But during one mission in the sub-arctic, Captain Rogers was lost, the plane with a key piece of military hardware having plunged into the icy depths, and no corpse was retrieved.

For 49 years he was frozen solid, the enhancements of the Super-Soldier Serum keeping him alive during this time, he was eventually recovered by SHIELD. Following his reanimation, Steve returned to his acts of heroism, as an Avenger, and would become hailed as one of the greatest heroes of the Golden Age. Of course, all dynasties must end, and even after years of Steve being a hero, and even having become a husband and father, Rogers refused to stand by idly as the Superhuman Registration act was going through congress, and was essentially making all individuals with superhuman powers government property. Starting his own movement, Captain America plunged the US into a second World War, one that he eventually lost.

When he was to be convicted before the Supreme Court, however, Steve was assassinated by the hired guns of Red Skull, assisted by Roger's own hypnotized wife, who shot the man in the stomach three times. Immediately he was rushed to a hospital, but succumbed to his wounds, and was taken to the Tri-Carrier to have his body processed. Unfortunately, his body began to degrade immediately, as the serum seemed to have stopped functioning within Steve upon death, and metabolized itself from the man's system before his brain ceased function.

This left Steve's and Sharon's children orphaned, as their mother was convicted for her husband's assassination, and the Rogers brood were sent to live with their godparents, separating them. Kirk was the youngest at the time, and was just as heartbroken as the others, losing both his parents at 1 and being sent to live with "Uncle Tony" not being an ideal situation. While the man tried his hardest to care for his godson, Tony was not an ideal father. This resulted in Kirk being left to his own devices much of the time, exploring Avenger's Mansion, though it was long empty of its former inhabitants following the disbanding of the hero team in the aftermath of the Civil War.

Kirk was well-known at his school, having been sent to the same preparatory academy that Stark had once, though without the bearings of a young gentleman to helped him fit in, Rogers always carried himself in an eerily similar manner to any kid from Brooklyn. This made him noticed, and also caused Kirk to be the target of admiration and spite on both sides. Those who still idolized Captain America wished to spend as much time around Rogers as possible, while those who felt that he was a traitor to the government often picked fights with Kirk, constantly altercating with him until the boy was expelled at 13, his headmaster citing "refusal to commit to citizenship standards".

Though subsequent private and public schools that Tony enrolled his son in failed to prove much better, as he went through over 15 schools in the following 3 years, until Kirk turned 16 and was able to take his GED. As it turned out, Rogers was plenty intelligent, and was often a great performer in athletics when his schools would allow him, so it wasn't the slightest bit difficult for the young man to finish the test, and begin enrolling in online courses for college. It was about this time, however, that Steve was given a shield by a mysterious person for his birthday, and the boy attempted to seek the person in question out.

After months of searching, the young man finally managed to trace the package back to one James Buchanan Barnes, friend of his long-dead father and current Winter Soldier. Kirk, at this point, practically begged the man on-knee to teach him how to fight, wishing more than anything to be like his father, and become a hero that could live up to his legacy, despite the fact that he lacked any real training or enhanced conditioning. Unimpressed with the gesture, Buck turned away and instructed Kirk to never seek him out again. James did not count on the boy being stubborn, however, as he threw himself in front of the older man, and attempted to punch him.

Despite being clearly outmatched, Kirk continued to swing, unable to give up, until his legs gave out, and Rogers hit the ground face-first. This sparked something in the old soldier that was very familiar, and upon Kirk's return to a fully vertical-position, he agreed to teach the boy, so long as Rogers followed every order to the letter. And did he ever.

The following two years were filled with training, patrols, and vigilantism, as Kirk trained with Winter Soldier during days, in addition to studying his college workload, while also taking on the identity of Patriot and fighting crime at night. Recently he has been recruited into the New Warriors as something of a Captain America-like figure, similar to Miss America.

"It's not what you have, but what you do with it, that makes the man you are."
Superhuman Powers:

Kirk has no superhuman powers, apparently not inheriting any parts of the Super Soldier Serum, he is just a normal guy.

Skills:

Conditioning: Always having hoped to be like his late father, Kirk actually had a fairly athletic early life, helping to minimize the impact of his father's poor original genetics, and is able to lift roughly double his body weight (about 350 lb.), run the 40-yard dash in about 4.7 seconds, and do other such actions for a reasonable amount of time without tiring.
Martial Arts: Trained by Winter Soldier in a number of fighting disciplines, he's only had about 2 years of training, but is very talented as well. Most of his fighting styles cover the basics of fighting others of equal, or greater, skill, relying heavily on feints and tricks. He has also learned a number of techniques for fighting superhumans, including an advanced version of jiujitsu that specifically counters someone with superhuman strength.
Marksman: Skilled with a variety of guns, Kirk has good aim, and is especially quick with his trigger, allowing him to fire in rapid-succession, requiring his pistols to designed specifically to quickly load into its chamber. He has a strong preference towards small arms, however.
Shieldsman: Another thing that Kirk picked up about two years ago, Bucky has also trained him in the use of the shield as a weapon, allowing for Kirk to do a number of things, including running down foes, using it to add extra weight to his standard strikes, and even gouge with the tips, a gruesome tactic he usually avoids. Due to the less discus-like shape of the shield, however, he can usually only make it bounce off of one target before catching it once again.
Skilled Acrobat: Jumping and leaping of respectable feet-counts, though he's abysmally within the human-limit for these, being an above-average acrobat at best.
Scout: Taught in stealth and recon, Kirk isn't easy to catch, and he's a useful resource for gathering information in hostile locations or situation.

Equipment:

Shield: The shield which was originally wielded by Captain America during WWII, it is made from a highly durable steel alloy, that is resistant to gunfire, and has quite a bit of weight to it. Kirk will usually strap this heater to his back, to pack it around, and wield it in a similar manner to his father as a weapon, though he's been known to use the sharp tips to cutting and stabbing.
Costume: Heat and Fireproof, this suit was modelled after the first costume of the original Patriot, made with Kevlar and nomex. It provides protection against some lower calibre gunfire and knives, though with a firm enough hand or strong enough gun, it isn't difficult to penetrate the protection.
Variable-Handgun: A simple pistol, designed to effectively fire a variety of ammunition, including standard pistol bullets, rubber pellets, and special gas bullets he procures from a mysterious sponsor.