R E A L  N A M E
Kyle Von

F I R S T  A P P E A R A N C E
Forte (Original Series) #253
(December, 1993)

O C C U P A T I O N
Shop Owner

H I S T O R Y
Relatively little is known about the past of Kyle Von, other than that he and his father (who may or may not be his real father) fled from their native Khanistan (though Kyle himself has distinctive white hair and more caucasian features) when it was overthrown by the former Russian super-villain named Imperator. Father and son settled in Galveston, Texas, but after several years the father relocated to San Francisco to be among the Khanistani community there. Kyle remained in Texas to run their shop until pressure from local crime families drove him out, and to seek out a rumored high-stakes martial tournament in Seattle to secure new start-up money. Choosing the name Secundus (from an old Khanistani tradition dating from the time of Alexander the Great) at the illegal tournament called "Terminus", he soon discovered the tournament was to the death, and he escaped the island (with the organizers out to kill him to keep him quiet) and sought the aid of Forte to shut the deadly event down. Befriended by Forte, he ended up joining this fairly new incarnation of the team, and soon this simple marital artist found himself thrown into situations like being trapped inside a super-villain prison during a blackout while some of the most dangerous beings on the planet poured from their cells. But he stood up to each challenge and survived, making a name for himself as a super-hero. He eventually left his Forte friends to live near his father in San Francisco, continuing his masked heroing on the dangerous streets there and working with former Forte heroine The Mist, who was now UNCLE San Francisco's Commander. When Mist decided to form a San Francisco hero team to stop the tide of villainy and despair in San Francisco, Kyle was her first choice, and Secundus once again found himself on a hero team...one called Forge.

A B I L I T I E S
Secundus is a devastating martial master, mainly using his nation's native "Four Spirits" fighting style. He obviously has some kind of augmentation, as his speed and strength are beyond human levels (he's been known to deflect bullets with his battle staves). He also appears able to both see in the dark and at great distances, with all his other senses seeming to be at unbelievable sensitivity, and seems almost able to sense danger before it arrives. He is also an unnaturally talented acrobat, a tracker, can move in near complete silence, and uses special healing herbs to aid others in need. While he does not use swords in his hero activities, he is a master swordsman as well.

P E R S O N A L I T Y
Kyle is a shy and quiet man, preferring to keep his thoughts to himself and his words few. He is meek in spirit but powerful in battle, socially awkward, introspective and meditative, and patient with all. He seems almost immune to fear (at least when it comes to fighting...social situations are a different matter) and lives by an unbreakable code of honor. When not keeping watch on the streets, he runs the shop that he and his father own--part Khanistani deli, part gift and import shop, and part bonsai shop (Kyle's particular talent being bonsai trees). He keeps his past to himself, and friends allow him his privacy and wait for the day he chooses to speak of it (and his reasons behind the odd choice of the Soviet hammer and sickle tattoo on his shoulder).

 

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