SWAT Kat Identity: Maxout
Age: Varies with his appearance. In most RPGs, he's 16 or 17. In my fanfic Getting Out and the related scenes from Give Me My Wings he's 12. In later fanfics he will appear at varying ages throughout his life.
Description: Courtesy an abberant gene or two he inherited from his father, T-Bone, due to the elder SWAT Kat's being bitten by Viper's mutant creature in the "Mutation City" fiasco, Max is a mutant. He was born with a body that actually produces both Katalyst X-63 and Viper Mutagen 368... and a few reptilian/amphibian genes. Two hours after birth, Max was transformed from a normal kitten into a frog-footed, lizard-tailed feline freak of nature. My concept for Max was to devise a creature suited for all elements: air, land, and water. He has gills and is capable of breathing in salt or fresh water. Salt water burns his gills rather unpleasantly, but the Viper Mutagen 368 in Max's bloodstream repairs such minor damage before it can become more than an annoyance. Max's hands are webbed and his feet are decidedly frog-like, though clawed like any kat's. As to air travel Max can "grow" wings. They form from a gelatinous material that Max can secrete from the skin cells of his back. With the help of Jake Clawson, his "uncle," a teenage Max learned how to shape the gelatin into aerodynamic wings and how to control them. As to my drawings of Max's wings, I am still aiming for something more...plant-like - sort of in the way that all of the creatures in Mutation City, even T-Bone, looked vaguely half-plant with those stringy tendrils of green matter hanging from them.
At sixteen Max reached his full height and weight. Merely inheriting T-Bone's build would have made him large by nature, his mutation makes him huge. Max towers over most kats at roughly a full eight feet tall. At his slimmest, his usual state as he has an insanely high metabolism, Max weighs three hundred pounds.
His "normal" features are a mop of scruffy red-brown hair, one thatch of which forever hangs in his eyes. The remainder of his unruly hair is usually tied in a short ponytail that hangs down his back. His face immediately marks him as his father's son. He has T-Bone's facial features in spades. His fur, however is darker than his father's - more of an orange-yellow color - as are his stripes, which start on his face, travel down his arms, legs, and even faintly mark his lizard-like tail.
Personality: Max, who had best not be called "Maxwell" or "Maxie" if you wish to remain in his good graces, exudes a typical demeanor of the classic hyperactive, hunger-driven teen. He does not understand the word "walk." His method of motion is best described as a bound. He lacks any semblence of grace and is just barely house-broken.
Max usually manages to maintain his cheerful, even-tempered disposition. This is, in fact, his natural disposition. His rather unusual looks, and the personal disgust he has nurtured because of them, however, tends to bring out his moodier side. He has a sharp tongue and a smart mouth. Set him off and they come out full force. In his teen years, anyone who wouldn't bite his head off in return for his smart remarks could be the brunt of Max's foul moods - though he has always tended to reserve his coldest remarks for himself or his father. Making peace with his father in later years mellowed Max greatly, but he still spends a nice chunk of his adult life battling his own inner demons - his own tendency to despise himself for the freak he sees every time he looks in the mirror.
Effects of Mutation: Well, quite obviously the wings rate here. As does his tail, which is fully prehensile. In fact, Max is in the habit of employing it as third arm. His mutant bloodstream also has its own "talents." With Viper Mutagen 368 saturating every cell of his being, Max can regenerate himself like any of Viper's mutants. Though he's considerably slower about it. His bones will knit completely in hours, smaller cuts close at a speed that resembles time lapse photography, and severed limbs will regrow given an hour or two of recuperation. However, all of that will not happen at the same time. Max can easily be wounded beyond his body's ability to heal itself. Serious wounds take several hours of rest to heal, and a multitude of wounds could take days... though his healing would be far faster than that of any normal kat. And, of course, like any mortal creature, Max will die from any blow that kills instantly or even quickly. His abilities are remarkable, but they need time.
Notes: And, there I must stop. I could detail Max
for days. Quite obviously, he's my special favorite.