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| Portrayed By | Rick Schroeder |
| Sex | Male |
| Status | Registered Evolved |
| Ability | Metamorph |
| Age | 32 |
| Date of Birth | June 6, 1976 |
| Date of Death | |
| Occupation | Artist |
| Family | Parents |
| Significant Other(s) | None |
| First Appearance | |
| Last Appearance | |
A social butterfly of an Artist; before the bomb, he had a few high-profile gallery shows but like many others, he is now working to get a new collection back for viewing around the demands of his mundane day-job.
Character History
When kids are young, it's sometimes easy to see which kids will grow up to be leaders and extroverts and which kids will stay in the background. Schuyler was one of the latter, preferring to read or to have crayons and paper in front of him rather than play with the other kids. He wasn't popular and he was often teased for his lack of social skills; it was of deep concern to his teachers at times. He tried, a few times, but never felt comfortable enough to follow through until he found his imaginary friend, 'Sky'. 'Sky' was a lot like Schuyler was, but he was better looking, more outgoing, and he was the one who would write the good poetry and papers in class and he was the one who did all the best drawings in the class. When his teachers and parents started showing concern at Schuyler's insistence that he didn't do the work, but that 'Sky' did, he stopped talking about him, but 'Sky' was always there, doing the things that Schuyler was afraid to do.
As with all kids, things get harder once one gets into Middle and High School. While Schuyler excelled at Art, he still remained the shy loner. The summer between his Freshman and Sophomore year of High School, Schuyler was dreading going back for yet another year of whispers and friendlessness. That's when 'Sky' convinced him that he could take over if Schuyler wanted. Imaginary friends weren't supposed to do that sort of thing. There was a bit of confusion but then Sky showed Schuyler what he meant. Schuyler 's features shifted into the image of 'Sky' that he had in his head since he was young. Here was the good-looking, extroverted kid who could do everything and do it well. Then the question formed: Could he go to school like this? Could he actually -be- Sky? While there were similarities between Schuyler and 'Sky' there were enough differences that his parents would notice, but…would the kids at school notice? He was a nothing before so maybe, just maybe they ignored him enough that it could work. So, he practiced when he was alone, switching back and forth, and the first day of school found him a bit lighter-hearted and much better looking when he walked into the building.
For the next three years, Sky was one of the most popular kids at school. He was in with most of the crowds and made good grades, had friends, a couple of girlfriends, and was one of the top artists in his grade if not the entire school. At home, he was Schuyler…shy and quiet and the unassuming loner that his parents and extended family knew. He did begin to try and figure out just how he could change back and forth…and around the end of his Junior year, he started trying turning into other people. It took practice; Schuyler to Sky was easy, but Schuyler to others wasn't there yet. He needed to concentrate and focus but by the time he graduated from High School, he had mastered a few other forms. All were people and all were male at this time, but he was learning how he needed to think in order to change into someone else. He experimented every now and again, going out as a different person to see what the reactions and treatments were. He could blend in or stick out as he chose!
Much to Schuyler's (but not Sky's) surprise, he was accepted into the Fashion Institute of Technology where he decided to major in Fine Art and Graphic Design, the latter at the encouragement of his dad and the dot-com business he owned. Finding an apartment in Hell's Kitchen, he left his family home in Brooklyn and moved there to be Sky for almost his entire four years. He couldn't stay Sky 24 hours a day though…he noticed that the longer he stayed in that particular persona, the harder it was to return to himself. He did have thoughts about just staying 'Sky' forever, but he wasn't ready to sacrifice himself completely…or so he felt it would be such. He did tend to experiment with more forms in college (isn't that what college is for?) and did spend some time learning the female form as well. He even attended a few parties as a very attractive blonde young woman for kicks.
It was during his time at school when he started seeing that his behavior through High School with the 'dual' identities was not terribly healthy; that he was hiding behind a mask yet he was still actually himself as 'Sky'. He could look like anyone and all he had to do is decide how he wanted to look for good. It was a difficult revelation, but one that he knew would be for the best. So the mousy sense of self all but disappeared as he gained the true confidence that he exhibited while in his more extroverted persona until the two were blended together in a healthy way.
It was amazing how many doors opened up once Sky found his true confidence. Oh, he still played around with shifting forms but now his base form was so much more comfortable to him than it was before. Upon graduation, he landed a job at a fairly prestigious Advertising firm with work in Graphic Design. It wasn't really his first choice of careers, but it paid the bills enough so that he could get a sunny, trendy loft that served as both his studio and apartment. It also paid him enough so that on his off-time, he could create his own art; large canvases with abstract swaths of color. He was quickly becoming an up-and-coming 'star' of the art world with a couple major showings, sales, and a steady career when it all exploded. Truly. His loft apartment, the galleries, everything was gone. Luckily, he wasn't in the apartment at the time or he would have been gone as well but he came back to nothing but rubble.
He tried living at home, but depression started to grab hold of him. He was an artist…he needed to be out and about to make his art. Surely, even in the wake of the destruction there was something he could do to create…so he left. Sky came out as did some of his other forms; he became what he needed to become in order to crash on a friend's bed, panhandle, find his way into a plush hotel room…somehow he never went too hungry nor did he have to sleep on park benches too often without losing too much of his virtue. Rather, virtue was given away as he chose…not in exchange for shelter or food. He had that much pride, at least. Knowing that he can always go home was good, but Sky needed to find that he could make it on his own. Now, years later, he has managed to find another job, but having to start from scratch has caused him to seek other methods of getting what he needed. He hasn't quite stooped to robbing banks, but he has been known to 'become' certain celebrities in order to get free hotel rooms, free clothes, and free fine dining. It's 'Identity Theft' at its most basic but everyone knows Brad Pitt and Paris Hilton.
When he registered as 'Evolved', he soon found that some were interested in him and his particular skillset…and one just doesn't turn down the Government if they want to live, right?
Evolved Human Ability
The easiest explanation is that Schulyer is a metamorph and can change his form at will. He's been practicing this since around the age fourteen where he figured out his first shift. Going back and forth between forms is fairly quick by now, but he does need to return to his 'base' form every couple of days in order to recharge the energy it takes to maintain the shift. It's something he can do without too much focus now, but energy is still expended. Thus far, he has mastered both male and female shapes and becoming someone's identical twin is much easier if he's had time to study them, preferably live, but good pictures and video can also work as well. He has found that he can maintain most forms during times of extreme stress or pleasure, especially some of the older, 'default' forms that he has used over the years. New forms take a little more time to get used to in order to perfect, but even upon first change, the voice and physical movements are identical to the original. Certain mannerisms may need to be learned via study.
As far as drawbacks, while sleeping or unconscious for any reason (injury, drugs, etc.) he reverts to base form.
Timeline
Memorable Quotes
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Trivia and Notes
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Gallery
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