Beckett Langley Kest

Appearance
Beckett has messy, stark-white hair, which is at upper neck length. It covers his ears and a lock runs across his face.

Background
Beckett was born an albino, much to his father’s distaste. Due to this, he never really saw his father, whose personal repulsion of his son’s disability led to neglect and contempt on his part. Beckett’s mother on the other hand, fully embraced her child for all he was. Beckett grew up essentially with just his mother, his father’s white-collar job supporting them. Despite the fact that he was never around.

He grew up laughed at and ostracized by the children around him due to his albinism. It wasn’t as if the school was unaware of this, but they considered it simply “what kids do.” Alienated from the only world he knew, he fled back to his mother, refusing to go to school. And he was allowed to stay at home, under the pretense of being sick. That was, until his mother contracted a terminal illness, and was hospitalized. Beckett was at her bedside day and night, and despite the fact that his mother assured him that she would be fine, he heard enough from the doctors that she didn't have much time left.

It was clear she knew that too. So she had a little talk with her only son. And her words were ingrained in Beckett's little mind.

“People are going to look down on you, because you’re different. That’s fine. But Beck, that’s where you fight back. Not with force, but how you act. You shouldn’t care about what other people think. Show them how you want to live, not how they want you to.”

Beckett went into secondary school with that credo, and was all the worse for it. Despite doing his best to treat everyone with kindness and respect, he was frequently picked on, simply for being different. People fear what they don’t understand. And what they don’t understand they want to destroy. And that they tried to do, day after day, treating him like rubbish. Such was the public school system.

In the middle of the seventh grade, his mother finally succumbed to her illness. He skipped school for a week, hiding in a house that seemed much bigger now that no one else was there. It was empty and hollow. Days later, the funeral was held. This was the first time he had seen his father properly in years.

They didn’t say a word to each other, before parting their separate ways at the end of the funeral. Prior to that though, his father handed him a substantial amount of money so he would survive until he could find a job. His father at least recognized Beckett as the last proper memory of his wife. That very same day, for better or worse, his fate changed.

Show them how you want to live.

His mother’s words echoed in his brain bitterly, as he began the long journey home. A few blocks away from his house, he was met by a stranger. With a knife. They ordered him to hand over his money. At first he refused, but then two more stepped from the shadows of an alleyway. They beat his mercilessly with baseball bats, leaving his unconscious on the ground, the money his father had given to him gone.

Lying in the gutter, bloodied and struggling to get up, he managed to drag himself back home. Nearly. He collapsed and passed out at his own front door.

Unbeknownst to him, a spider started lowering itself from the doorway. Landing on the comatose Beckett’s back, it crawled down to his ankle, before biting him.

The sharp pain woke him up, returning him to the accursed world. He opened the door and stumbled into his house. Knowing he can’t support himself until next year, the legal age for a child to work in New York being fourteen, he decided he would think about it tomorrow. Cleaning himself up a little, he collapsed on his bed and slept for a whole two days.

When he woke up, he immediately knew something was different. He felt stronger. The heavy beating he had received negated to just slight bruising. He didn’t understand how or why.

Returning to school the next day, he was once again accosted by those who alienated him from his world. But this time, instead of taking the beating, he could feel a strong tingle before they swung their punch, and was able to dodge it in turn. He caught their punches and simply pushed them back. He knew he could fight back. But he didn’t. Walking away, he was amazing with his new abilities. Was this fate’s payment for all the suffering he had to endure? He wasn’t sure.

Ignoring homework and spending the next several nights testing out the limits of his newfound powers, he found his powers being similar to another popular superhero in New York. The Spider-Man. From watching footage of him on the internet, he could tell that the hero also had some form of his early warning mechanism. But what was different was Spider-Man could shoot webs. He couldn’t. So he spent countless hours working on webbing fluid and dispensers for it. Eventually he had a pair of very crude, but usable web shooters. Maybe he could be a hero too. He didn’t have a costume, but it didn’t matter. He could simply wear street clothes and a mask for now.

And so, the world got another Spider-Man, and Beckett got a chance to be praised for being different, instead of getting ostracized because of it.

Show them how you want to live.

At least, that was the plan, until the Bronx was leveled by the Cosmic Cube while he was midway through the eleventh grade. Beckett had been among those who evacuated in time, though he lagged behind long enough to say one final goodbye to his mother. He stopped by the graveyard where she was laid to rest, bidding her farewell and how he was doing. He didn’t know if she would approve of him becoming a hero, but there wasn’t much she could do against it, sadly. He could never have a normal life anyways, no matter how much he wished: it was in his DNA. So might as well live one of helping others. Be a person society would accept as long as he kept a mask on.

Personality
Beckett tries to judge people based on their actions, not words. He learned very early that most people have to faces; one they show to the world, and their real face. Which usually is not very pleasant. Due to this, he is rather distrustful of people until he feels he's truly gotten to know them, which is rare.

Despite this, he tries his best to help and protect those around him as a hero. Because society tends to look down on people who are different, but when you're a hero it tends to be a different story. He understands he is still hiding behind a mask in order for acceptance, but he doesn't have to change how he acts. How he lives as a normal human being. Despite his change after the spider-bite, he is still human. If not, then the next best thing.

Abilities
After the fateful day he was bitten by the spider, Beckett gained powers not unlike those of Spider-Man:

- Wallcrawling

- Natural Warning Mechanism (Dubbed “Spidey-Sense”)

- Enhanced Agility

- Enhanced Speed

- Enhanced Reflexes

- Enhanced Metabolism

- Enhanced Durability

- Minor Healing Factor

- Accelerated Vision

In addition to those, he possesses two of his own:

- Spatial Awareness (Gives Beckett the ability to sense objects or people in his vicinity)

- Spatial Distortion (Which is used to change the direction of his webbing)

Influence on the story
TBA

Quotes
TBA