Full Name-Elias Dreizehn
Codename- In HYDRA and SHIELD files he’s cross-referenced under “Mauler,” but he doesn’t like the memories that name brings up.
HYDRA/S.H.I.E.L.D.- SHIELD
Weakness(es)- He’s an ordinary human. Tough and possessing amazing skills, but a human. If he encounters something that is connected to his “former” life it will distract and confuse him for a moment, and he will be slightly obsessed with learning about it. Has developed some psychopathic tendencies due to having years of blood, working with the Skull, and PTSD shoved into his head. Doesn’t like to be reminded that his parents did this to him.
Skills: He has some of the memories and skills of a highly-trained soldier and agent of HYDRA, the equivalent of a Green Beret or Ranger, especially in the areas of infiltration, close-quarters combat, sabotage and tactics. Most of these are only remembered, and must be practiced to “work off the rust” and teach his new body what his mind already knows, and of course he doesn’t have the strength of his adult body, so he focuses on fighting dirty. He is also fluent in German (sometimes speaking in it when surprised, but he has an American accent) and has a deep knowledge of old HYDRA codes, people and plans, though much of it is fuzzy. He’s currently very proficient in some kungfu and is deep into escrima study.
Weapons: Carries a vintage WWII infantry knife, his great-uncle’s straight razor with a HYDRA symbol on the handle, and a small throwing knife on a breakaway chain around his neck. Usually wears heavy steel-reinforced boots and weighted gloves.
Appearance- He has brown hair cut very short and dark eyes with a bright smile. He looks pretty ordinary, which he uses to his advantage. An intensive workout regimen, especially since his “merging,” has given him a fit body.
Personality- He’s a quiet and calm, yet friendly and open fellow, totally dedicated to supporting SHIELD and destroying HYDRA. Has no personal animus towards his enemies, seeing it as the “family business”, though he does blame them for preventing him from gaining his full potential. He sees powered people as a challenge to regular people to be better. Is always interested in training and working to improve himself and others. Will take the practical approach to most issues and kill without reservation, but will avoid doing so if at all possible since it usually causes more problems than it solves and it feels too much like what his ancestor would do. Likes puppies.
Backstory- Elias Finch was an average boy who had an average life in the small town of Pepperton, Nevada. He grew up hearing stories of his great-uncle Ernst Dreizehn who fought in WWII, serving as an elite commando and fighting alongside Captain America. This thrilled him, and he decided that he would follow the same path and join the military when he became of age. His parents seemed to support this, telling him that he had a great future in store.
As the years went on, Elias worked hard to get ready for boot camp. He studied languages, geography, and took up wrestling and boxing, running every day after school. His father also took him on regular hunting trips and to the firing range. His favorite subject was history, and he received high marks for his reports on WWII, using a few papers his father had found in a trunk in the attic. He was a true patriot and hoped that perhaps one day he would also be able to meet the Captain, perhaps as an agent of SHIELD!
Everything changed on his eighteenth birthday. For a week beforehand, Elias had noticed strange cars and visitors around the house. His parents assured him that they were just business friends who were visiting from out of town, but he was still suspicious and puzzled. On the night after his party, he had determined that the next day he would begin investigating exactly what was going on. His parents had taken him out for dinner (and his first taste of alcohol), and he dozed off in the back seat.
Elias awoke to discover the car had stopped and his parents were gone. Getting out, he was grabbed by strange figures and dragged into the woods, emerging in a graveyard. They moved down the rows to a mausoleum, where his parents as well as other masked figures awaited. The men forced him to his knees in a chalk circle. He was tasered, and a cut was made on each of his hands while he lay helpless on the floor. The next thing he knew, a strange chanting filled the room. His eyes blurred, and pain ripped through his body.
Suddenly, shots rang out and uniformed men arrived, killing two of the masked men and beginning a pitched battle with the others. In the confusion, no one noticed a dazed Elias creeping away, though one of the masked men was later discovered with his neck broken and sidearm missing. Three days later the tired and hungry young man slipped into the town’s police station and identified himself as Elias Dreizehn to a startled officer. He gave the name of several high-ranking HYDRA officers to the supervisor on duty, causing him to be hustled to the regional SHIELD office, where a full examination discovered the truth.
His parents, the strangers, in fact the whole town were all former and current HYDRA employees. His great-uncle had indeed been an elite HYDRA officer during WWII, but had in fact worked for the Red Skull as one of his most vicious agents, code-named Mauler for his…interpersonal skills. And he had fought against Captain America, even landing a lucky punch on the Super-Soldier on one occasion before being quickly knocked aside. No one was sure how he’d eventually died, but his reputation and brutality were the stuff of legend, and it was that glowing ideal that had led some of HYDRA’s more nostalgic members to attempt to transplant the spirit of the warrior into his blood descendant. The ritual, however, had been interrupted by a SHIELD double agent who had learned of their plansand called in help, since obviously HYDRA being able to recycle their dead into new hosts would be bad. There was some evidence that this ritual had been done by them successfully on other occasions.
Elias had gained the skills and knowledge of his ancestor without fully absorbing the personality, though he did take the dead man’s infamous last name, since it just felt more natural to his mind. He was in essence an amalgam of the two. There were a few cosmetic physical changes: his eyes, which had gone from green to brown, and his features had shifted to resemble his ancestor. The SHIELD high command decided after some deliberation that Elias’s famous name and story would be a perfect rallying tool against their enemies, and shipped him off for agent training to hopefully help lead the fight in the next generation.