Victor Duchesne (Virtue)
Contents
Affiliations
Victor Duchesne (pronounced 'doo-SHANE') is the founder and driving force behind the Duchesne Foundation. Through the Duchesne Foundation Victor is also associated with the Duchesne Institute for the Advanced Development and Education of Mutants, or DIADEM (Virtue Supergroup).
Backstory
Victor Duchesne is one of the world's most notable philanthropists and perhaps the most talked about American multibillionaire celebrity in the league of Warren Buffet and Bill Gates. With a net worth of over $100 billion, Duchesne is hailed as one of the poster children of what America stands for; the freedom to accomplish whatever one sets their mind to, and to become whoever they wish.
Duchesne began his career as a commodities trader in Chicago in the early 1980's. As a young investor and broker, Duchesne was able to amass quite a fortune within a decade. Although Duchesne seemed to be a natural genius at determining the valuations of commodities, he also forsaw the potential to achieve greater success by investing in the medical sciences and pharmaceutical industries. By the 1990's Duchesne became a billionaire for the first time, and his insights into the fields of science, genetics, and pharmaceutical medicines were driven more by his passion for superhuman abilities rather than profits. Although Duchesne was not directly involved in most of the scientific advances and breakthroughs in the understanding of mutant evolution and superhuman development, his money and financial backing certainly did provide agencies such as GIFT and SERAPH with the funding they needed to facilitate their programs.
Through the 1990's and the turn of the millenium, Duchesne experienced a whirlwind of success and admiration for his efforts in helping the world to peacefully integrate ordinary humans with the superhumans that were appearing around them in increasing numbers. Paragon City became a second home for Duchesne, and it was here that he met his future wife Amanda Harrington, a younger socialite from a politically connected family. They met and married in 1991, and a year later their first child Charles Alexander Duchesne was born.
In 2002, Duchesne discovered that his son was developing mutant abilities, a reality that both frightened and fascinated him. Although GIFT was initially called upon to help counsel Charles, the teenager seemed inconsolable. Charles was apparently developing a form of precognative powers that, at the time, didn't seem comprehensible. Charles was having nightmares that made sleep impossible, and the boy experienced visions while awake that no one else could see. At the behest of another mutant teenager named Matthew Winters, Charles drew pictures of monsters that haunted him. Charles would often wake from his dreams and cry out warnings for people to run, but no one seemed able to determine exactly what was happening to him and why. Matthew remained close to Charles and, like an older brother to him, became close friends with the precognative boy while they were both under GIFT's care.
The Rikti then launched their first invasion of Earth.
The First Rikti War
When the Rikti came to Earth and began their assault on Paragon City, Duchesne ensured that his wife and son were placed on a private helicopter that was chartered to take them to safety. Duchesne chose to remain behind in Paragon City, to work closely with GIFT and to help them acquire whatever resources they needed to establish proper medical facilities and triages throughout the city. Matthew Winters was in his late teens, and although he was not yet a hero he chose to remain with Duchesne in the event that he needed protection. Just shortly after the helicopter took flight, a Rikti dropship entered the atmosphere above Paragon City and began its assault. The helicopter was struck by a powerful energy blast, destroying it completely as Duchesne and Winters watched helplessly from below. In the barrage of energy blasts and bombs that wreaked havoc throughout the city, Duchesne was exposed to high levels of radiation before several heroes were able to whisk him away to safety. Although his exposure was not lethal, Duchesne was debilitated for weeks with radiation sickness. For several months after the Rikti War ended, Victor spent time recovering from his exposure and nearly died from the experience. His body became lethargic, many of his organs failed, and all of his body hair withered away. Victor's recovery was miraculous. Despite his hair returning bleached prematurely white and his reproductive systems sterilized, Victor was alive and well, and to his surprise he was developing superhuman abilities that enabled him to control gravitational fields and energies. Matthew Winters remained by Victor's side during his entire recovery.
The Duchesne Foundation
After the Rikti war ended, Duchesne recovered from his sickness with a new sense of purpose. Though he grieved for the deaths of his wife and son, Duchesne was determined to help the world regain not just a sense of its former self, but enter a new era in the wake of the invasion. Duchense pulled his resources together and formed the Duchesne Foundation, a philanthropic organization whose purpose was to not only help the world to recover from the aftermath of the Rikti War, but to also more fully understand the evolution and presence of superhuman abilities, particularly those of mutants. Duchesne never directly blamed GIFT for their failure to properly interpret what Charles' visions meant, but when he looks back at the drawings of monsters that his terrified son made they are perfect sketches of the Rikti.
DIADEM
Duchesne's foundation has since been involved in many philanthropic efforts around the world, and they work closely with GIFT and SERAPH when it comes to managing programs designed to benefit superhumans and to help the world work more closely with them. The flagship program of Duchesne's efforts is DIADEM (Virtue Supergroup), or more formally the Duchesne Institute for the Advanced Development and Education of Mutants. Duchesne's vision for DIADEM is that the mutants of the world will have a place that caters to their specific needs, particularly the needs of young and developing mutants who are experiencing their powers and abilities for the first time. The faculty at DIADEM is staffed by many of the world's best doctors, psychologists, and professors whose sole purpose is to help young mutants understand and develop their potential as safely as possible without endangering others around them. In many ways, DIADEM is the facility that Duchesne wishes Charles could have attended. When the planning for DIADEM was complete and implementation began, Duchesne offered the first spot to Matthew Winters, the young mutant who stayed by his side and befriended Charles during their time of adversity. Winters later went on to become the hero Patron X (Virtue) and founded the all-mutant security consulting group known as Foundation X (Virtue Supergroup).
Mutants who enroll with DIADEM generally come in on their own or are sent to the institute by their parents, but the Duchesne Foundation does work closely with orphans and foster children. Several foster care programs and orphanages in Paragon City do report the presence of a new mutant among the children enrolled in their programs. The Duchesne Foundation helps to sponsor many of these programs with their co-sponsor Crey Industries, and together they offer new mutants an opportunity to realize their potential in an environment designed specifically for them. Most of these foster children, now mutants, spend at least a few years enrolled with DIADEM before graduating and entering the workforce with their superhuman potential.
Danica King
In February of 2008, a traumatized mutant named Danica King (Virtue) was brought into the care and custody of GIFT. Danica reported to GIFT that she had been enrolled with DIADEM several years ago, but that she was kidnapped from DIADEM's campus and held as a prisoner at a location beneath Paragon City. Danica's memories of her captivity remain clouded, but she recalls being heavily sedated for most of that time. Danica specifically remembers hearing mention of something called Protocol X (Virtue Supergroup) and a person named Director X (Virtue). The screaming of dying children, whom Danica believes may have been mutants like her, still haunts her today. It is Danica's belief that she was part of an illegal mutant experimentation program that likely resulted in the deaths of the unwilling mutants, but when she led GIFT and Longbow agents back to where she believed the facility was the only site that was found was an abandoned bomb shelter beneath Paragon City that had not been touched since the 1940's.
Victor Duchesne has never met Danica King (Virtue) but he was questioned by Longbow. Duchesne was horrified to hear of such an event and a link to DIADEM, but he assured investigators that there was no wrongdoing on the part of his foundation and that he would also cooperate by looking further into the matter. The results of Duchesne's internal investigation through Foundation X (Virtue Supergroup) have yet to produce any useful information, but their investigation is still open.
The Death of Victor Duchesne
On July 7, 2009, Victor Duchesne was found dead in his home in Paragon City. The cause of death is under investigation, but it appears that the cause may be cardiac arrest.
Powers
Gravity Control
Victor Duchesne has the ability to manipulate and control gravitational forces on a localized scale. By increasing or decreasing the pull of gravity in an area Duchesne can root a target to the ground and crush it with its own weight, pull a flying object from the sky, or send an object into the air simply with a thought. Although Duchesne has yet to demonstrate an ability to do so, he may be able to open up gravitational wormholes or manipulate gravity in such a way as to attain the ability to hover and fly through the air.
Force Fields
Duchesne is also able to manipulate the way gravity fields work, structuring fields of force around him and others that can provide protection in a number of ways. The gravitational forces within these fields can affect the manner in which physical objects or energy fields work, essentially diminishing or entirely negating any harmful effects one could suffer due to the environment or other causes. Bullets and other projectiles can be stopped in mid trajectory or flight, slamming harmlessly into the Earth or coursing away into the atmosphere. Flames, energy beams, radiation, harmful gases, and other potentially harmful occurances can also be affected according to how Duchesne uses his ability to manipulate the effects of gravity on the molecular structure of the atmosphere or the source of harm itself. For example, in order to protect himself from flaming projectiles, Duchesne can manipulate gravity to remove all of the oxygen molecules in front of and around the flames, effectively causing the fire to burn out before it even reaches him.
Contact Information
Victor Duchesne may be contacted on Virtue by e-mail using his name, Victor Duchesne. His global channel that is valid across all servers is @Major Paragon.
