SYNCH

Real name: Everett Thomas
Occupation: Runaway
Identity: Synch's mutant status is unknown
Legal status: Citizen of the US, no criminal record
Other aliases: Rett, Ev, Jett
Place of birth: St. Louis, Missouri
Marital status: Single
Known relatives: Merrick and Ayana Thomas (adoptive parents); Max (adoptive brother)
Group affiliation: None
Base of operations: The mean streets of NYC
First appearance: October, 2001
History:

Everett Thomas was adopted when he was three days old, to Ayana and Merrick Thomas, a young black couple in St. Louis. His birth mother was a young law professional who didn't have the time or inclination to raise a family. While she developed a nurturing instinct for her unborn child, her career goals were too strong to be ignored. She chose adoption as the most human response, rather than terminating her pregnancy. In her own way, she loved her child.

Life with the Thomas's was the picture of a cookie-cutter lifestyle. As a child, Everett was raised in a home filled with love and activity. Ayana stayed home and was an active part in the community, while Merrick worked part time as a journalist for one of the local papers, as well as working as the owner for a local chain of bookstores that doesn't extend out of Missouri.

Everett was raised to be a thoughtful, kind young man. His parents taught him the important values of sharing, being polite, and various other childhood lessons. Even as a child, Everett was rather low key, rarely crying when strangers held him, and even his rebellious stages weren't so bad. While they lived in a predominantly white neighborhood, Everett has never encountered any sort of racism, or dislike because of his skin color. Even as a child he had a lot of friends, and none of them took it remiss that some of them were different. When Everett was seven, his parents adopted another child, his younger brother Max.

Max's mother did not feel she could take care of the child, and had put him up for adoption a few weeks before. Everett and Max got along well, although Max was not as easygoing as his older brother. But their parents took good care of them, and taught them good values. In school, Everett excelled. He learned to read in kindergarten, and was soon reading at a level several years beyond his age. He got straight A's, as soon as they started giving them, that is. In first and second grade, he got more checks and check pluses. He was a smart student, and nearly always got one of the highest grades in his class, regardless what subject they were studying.

Everett was a popular student who got along with most people. And not surprisingly, he even appeared to have it all. Which he probably did, or close enough. Everett was a sort of 'golden child' who seemed to have everything going for him. The events of the Black Prom didn't affect him, although he did go see the movie when it came out with his friends. When you're young, politics and current events aren't always the main priority of life. He started hanging around with one of the new girls in school, Natalie Brunswick.

He and Natalie were just friends, although others teased him about their relationship. He did, however, pay attention to the events involving the Symposium, which took place just about the time of his senior year. He walked away from the news stories with a sense of fear. Mutants were likely a threat, and a bad thing. His parents shared some of his laidback attitude, and were not so hasty about judging people. However, for the first time, Everett was worried about the situation. He didn't hate mutants, but he had a problem with those who abused or showed off their abilities. He had everything going for him.

At least until his mutant ability manifested. He was seventeen, and starting his senior year of high school. It was October of 2000. Natalie and himself were heading back from a football game, when Everett's head began to hurt. Natalie and he had been having a discussion, and he found himself wondering what she was thinking. Unfortunately, it was also the first time his mutant ability manifested. While Natalie herself was a mutant, her ability had only manifested at a few choice times in the past, where the effects could be written off to chance. Her mutant ability was to manipulate fields of energy.

Light began to shimmer inside the car, where Natalie was driving. Only Everett was wearing his seatbelt. Everett's unconscious use of the ability skewed the mechanics of the car, causing Natalie to lose control. The car slammed into a tree, slamming Natalie's head on the steering wheel upon impact.

Everett awoke a few minutes later, groggy and in pain. Attempts to wake Natalie failed. He got out of the car, hoping to head over to her side, drag her out, and save her. It was upon exiting the car that he realized he was still 'glowing.' Everett still possessed her ability to skew energy fields. It was also the moment that he realized what he was...a mutant. Everett pulled her from the car, determining that she was, indeed, dead. Or at least, he thought she was. Being in shock sometimes makes a person do strange things, and in Everett's case, he just started walking. Initially, it was to find someone to help them, but eventually, it was walking just to run away. It was in walking, leaving the car, that the realization of what had happened started to strike him.

Over the course of an hour, his mind attempted to wrap itself around the events that he had just left behind, and caused him to reevaluate his life. The first shift of his personality started then, and continued for weeks until he had established a routine he felt comfortable in. Considering himself a murderer and a mutant, even one was bad enough, Everett took off, and started running. It was several hours later when he hitched his first ride, and wound up two hours by car east of St. Louis. From there, he's been a transient in a variety of locations, eventually winding up in New York. He is currently homeless, doing the best he can to make ends meet. He's been on the run for a year now, and worries about someone finding him, because of the sadness his parents will feel.

Height: 5'11" Weight: 150 lbs.
Eyes: Brown Hair: Shaved nearly bald
Unusual physical characteristics: None
Strength level: Everett possesses the normal strength level for a man with his height and build, who engages in occasional physical exercise.
Known superhuman powers: Everett taps into the mutant abilities of others, and borrows them for a time. His 'synching' ability is temporary, and limited in range.
Other abilities: Everett can play the guitar, and has a pretty good singing voice.
Weapons and paraphernalia: None
Other notes: None