Glitch

''“It’s different from home, but you get used to Earth pretty fast. The climate is very nice and I like that big blue thing that’s everywhere… the ocean.”'' – Glitch

Origins
Glitch is the youngest child of a pair of Jorumgard scientists from the peaceful and curious race of the reptilian Gekk. They studied the habitat and civilizations of other planets and were on their way to Earth for a research expedition that would last for several years. In light of the long-term absence, the couple decided to bring along their pre-juvenile son, Gl’x, in order to stay close with their youngest child.

In the outer skirts of the solar system however, their craft was struck by a meteorite and the damaged ship was starting to lose vital control components. Forced to retreat into survival pods the scientific crew of the ship set the autopilot to direct the craft to Earth as they hasted into the pods. Gl’x was separated from his parents and the pod put him in suspended animation.

The craft eventually suffered catastrophic failure as it hurtled through the atmosphere and crashed in the Everglades near Miami. The actual scene of the crash yielded no survivors to the authorities that swarmed the place—including the FBI, who removed any bodies and scraps of the craft they could find. Gl’x pod, the only one that ejected from the craft soon enough, survived the crash and landed in the swamp, where the Nightwatch found it after they had been chased away from the main crash site by the federal agents. They carried the pod back to the Kelly Institute and Dr. Kelly brought the little alien around from his semi-comatose state.

Gl’x was immediately terrified to find himself alone amid a group of strange creatures (in his mind, humans were a slightly terrifying race, as on Jorumgard, mammals were generally large, vicious predators) but Dr. Kelly established a psychic link with him and managed to calm him down and communicated to him the fate of his parents. He sunk into depression, was mostly terrified of everyone that came close to him and refused to eat.

Part of Nightwatch
Eventually Ryan managed to get him to eat a hamburger by fooling him—and started Gl’x’s long-term ‘addiction’ to sugary, carbonated drinks. Finally overcoming his resentment, Gl’x started to interact with his human guardians a little more, especially Dr. Kelly, with whom he could communicate. Dr. Kelly and his assistants in the Institute undertook Glitch’s education and habilitation on Earth and human society.

Gl’x became fascinated with human technology of computers and spent a lot of time watching Gabe work on the Institute’s computer network, where he picked up the word ‘glitch’, when Gabriel was complaining about a recently-acquired piece of software. It was the first English word Gl’x uttered and understood, which reminded him of his Gekk name and which he found funny to say. He enthusiastically proclaimed himself to be named Glitch.

From there on Glitch picked up the language incredibly fast and within a few months was able to communicate fairly well. He became interested in the humans looking after him, feeling a kinship with the metahumans under Dr. Kelly’s supervision, who were outcasts of their society—strangers in their world like he was. He was especially close to Gabriel and Ryan, and they often called him ‘little bro’.

Extremely intelligent, Glitch started to function as a support for the Nightwatch, tracking information for them and maintaining a network of communication between them through transmitters that he and Dr. Kelly’s associates developed. The rest of the team agreed it was better for him to not venture out in the field with them, seeing how he was but a child in comparative years—Glitch was about 20 years old but still had the stature, mindset and personality of a 12-year-old, as his species matured slower. His youth and inexperienced endeared him to the team (though in light of the trouble he always got in and the blunders he made, it wasn’t very obvious) and they got quite protective of him.

Soon Glitch became indispensable to Nightwatch and something of everyone’s favorite. He was well-liked by the media in the rare instances that they caught him on camera along the others, but disliked being called a ‘mascot’; Glitch was always treated as an active member by the team.

Eventually the FBI attempted to kidnap him and take him to one of the military bases for research and interrogation but the Nightwatch hijacked the operation that was transferring him to get him back. Things would have devolved into an all out fight with casualties and possibly with the Nightwatch becoming a target of the government, but for the timely arrival of Archangel and several senior heroes who interfered and resolved the situation. Dr. Kelly and the Nightwatch guaranteed for Glitch and persuaded the federal agents that Glitch posed no threat to anyone; he was merely a child under bad circumstances. Glitch was released to their custody and they returned to the institute—except for Gabriel and Ryan who stayed behind to endure some ‘preaching’ for their actions.

If Glitch ever doubted the Nightwatch’s affection for him, the incident with the FBI changed his mind and he referred to them as his second family.

Recent Developments
As the team became better known to the elder generation of superheroes, Glitch started to realize they were not always well-received due to their ‘methods’ and attitude. He also had chances to meet other extraterrestrials stranded on Earth, which made him feel less lonely and more comfortable. He turned down a chance to return to Jorumgard, stating he was continuing his parents’ research on Earth in the best possible way and had made Earth his new home—which he now considered much more fascinating than his home-planet.

Glitch’s cheeky and cheerful attitude while on communications served as a solace for Nightwatch while they patrolled the city and dealt with its deep-rooted crime problems. His innocence and naivety became a form of their hope for a less-troubled world.

The return of criminal master-mind and serial killer Russell Richards from his imprisonment in Alaska brought dramatic changes in the team; Ryan finally confessed to the fact that Russell was his maternal grandfather and they were all being targeted because of it. Russell had maintained control over his old group, The Syndicate, now counting new 'students' in its ranks, including foes like Tauro, Cottonmouth and Drama Queen, as well as familiar enemies of Nightwatch, Rozencranz and his brother Guildernstern.

Glitch lost his own nerve, seeing Ryan struggle to not fold under the pressure; he always looked up to Ryan’s perseverance and seeing him falter made Glitch feel uneasy with what was to come. This crisis almost broke the team apart but Uriel, Samedi's Envoy and Troll managed to keep them together and prevent Nightwatch from disbanding. When Russell first attacked the team and overwhelmed them, severely injuring Ryan, Glitch had a break down while operating the communications and monitoring the battle from the Institute. He went into shock when he saw how badly Ryan was hurt and went mute and almost catatonic for a few hours.

He recovered from the shock but remained depressed seeing how badly shaken everyone was left, especially with Ryan considering quitting as the whole experience had left him a wreck.

What made him recover somewhat was the incident involving XSTNC. He was present when the Green Lanterns warned them about XSTNC and when Archangel used a special tracker to locate the psychic alien. After Ryan was located and the team set off to find him, Glitch became worried about the potential of such an even happening again and began working on software that could do something similar in the future. He was left waiting for the outcome of the situation, worried about his friend and idol.

He became distraught again when he was told that Ryan was so badly hurt and broken that he would stay in a coma for a while. He nearly turned depressed but for Dr. Kelly assuring him Ryan would recover faster if Glitch let him know that everyone was there for him. Glitch ended up spending the most time at Ryan’s bedside, as the rest of the team regrouped and returned to duty—what Ryan would have wanted them to do. He was present when Ryan woke up from his coma and the first person that Ryan spoke to. Ryan told him he was glad to see him and that Glitch was holding it together well—at which point Glitch just acted like the child he actually was and broke down crying in relief.

Upon Ryan’s recovery, his decision to pass leadership to Gabriel and take a sabbatical, Glitch resumed his post at the computers of the Institute, while he began developing with Gabriel software that would better protect the secret identities of the members of Nightwatch.

Personality
Glitch has a personality that suits his age; he is a child by human and Gekk standards and thus is quite innocent, emotional and naïve despite his intelligence. He is awkward and clumsy in way of human society and is often bewildered by even the most common human habits. He has great curiosity about life on Earth and one of his favorite pastimes is watching documentaries—about anything.

As an alien to the planet, he often feels cut off and isolated but his time with the Nightwatch has dampened his loneliness and he has forged very strong bonds with them. He is loyal to a fault and detests fights, often crying when he thinks his fellow Nightwatchers are fighting—even small arguments make him upset.

He is very shy towards strangers and easily impressed and awe-stricken. Impressionable as he is, he often measures others by standards of ‘coolness’ until he has the chance to think it over better, something that Ryan finds amusing as Glitch is always impressed with his blood constructs. He has an extremely hard time hiding his feelings, even getting rude on occasion when he faces someone or a situation he doesn’t like. He also tends to throw some tantrums.

His childlike demeanor makes him giddy and susceptible to humor—he laughs a little too easily but Dr. Kelly encourages him to maintain some of that innocence in his life as it keeps him safe from the troubles that could hurt him in his duties as a Nightwatcher. Glitch takes his work with Nightwatch quite seriously and enjoys it, speaking to them in often comical and light-hearted terms through their communicators.

He often misses his home but has come to love Earth and the people he has met here profoundly, to the point of turning down a chance to return to Jorumgard. He is fascinated by the ocean (Jorumgard has no such large expanses of water) and has a fixation with rolling on grass (which Jorumgard also lacks). He has developed an obsession with sugary carbonated drinks and cartoons and collects comic books—his favorite series being “Commander Rex and the Space Saurs”, a comic series about anthropomorphic dinosaurs in a Star-Trek like setting.

Although mostly timid and even easily intimidated by villains, Glitch has also displayed great bravery when confronted with danger or the possibility of losing someone close to him. This extreme loyalty of his kick-started his species’ venom-spiting defense mechanism earlier than most Gekk when he defended The Weatherman from Glutton.

Allies
Abaddon (Ryan Gaven)

Uriel (Gabriel Rivven)

Feral (Ashley Caradyne)

Samedi’s Envoy (Demos Savoy)

Troll (Troy Svetrowski)

The Weatherman (Jibran Haytham)

Razorspark (Jin Young)

Belladona (Izzy Marinou)

Dr. Evan Kelly

Abby Strandford

Archangel (Michael Rivven)

Smoke (Mark Caradyne)

Powers
Gekk Physiology


 * Glitch is a typical Gekk, exhibiting the bodily characteristics of his species and all its physical attributes. The Gekk are a short, reptilian, highly intelligent and curious race, predominantly omnivores.


 * Superhuman Strength: Although small by human standards, the Gekk are a physically strong race and Glitch is able to press about ten times his weight and easily lift as much. He does not fight often but he is fully capable of bringing a grown, well-exercised man to his knees with minimal effort. As he grows older he will definitely get much stronger than a human.
 * Superhuman Endurance: Glitch is a reptile and can operate under arid and extreme conditions of heat, aridity or moisture without a problem and go without water for almost a week and without food for longer. He can work tirelessly for great periods of time and although he is looked after by his fellow Nightwatchers, he proved resilient enough to endure a severe beating from Drama Queen and scuttle away on his feet before help arrived. His scales are strong enough to shield him from a fair amount of blunt damage, protecting his body.
 * Regeneration: Glitch is fully capable of regenerating lost limbs (frill pieces, tail, legs and arms) within a relatively short period of a few weeks. His muscles react when a limb is severed and squeeze the veins so that minimal blood is lost. His limbs re-grow completely functional soon afterwards. He habitually re-grows his tail when it becomes severed as a defense mechanism of the Gekk—their tail automatically falls off if something grabs it, to grow back later. Like certain reptiles he also constantly grows new teeth that replace dull ones which fall out over time.
 * Adhesive Feet and Hands: Glitch’s feet and hands have specialized setae which allow him to cling and move over any vertical surface and even hang from a ceiling. He is able to change his limbs’ stance to a sprawl like a real lizard in order to cling to ceilings and walls without sticking out. It’s easy to pull him off any surface but he is able to sustain his own weight and that of most equipment that he carries.
 * Superhuman Agility: Glitch’s agility is phenomenal and distinctly reptilian. He moves and reacts very quickly, with the slinky movement of small lizards. He can also perform incredible leaps, able to jump about five times his own height in length and height. This allows him to skit about incredibly fast and makes it very hard to capture him.
 * Longevity: The Gekk can live for up to two centuries old (by human standards) and as a consequence, mature more slowly.
 * Night Vision: Like all his species, Glitch has a form of night vision, enabling him to see in the dark and very low lighting.
 * Hypersensitive Smell and Taste: Glitch has a very sensitive sense of smell and taste—like snakes, he smells with his tongue as well as his nostrils, which allow him to analyze scents down to a molecular level. An unforeseen side-effect of his over-sensitive smell and taste is that he has an extreme reaction to high concentrations of capsaicin. It makes him sneeze and excrete a lot of mucus.
 * Prehensile Tail: Glitch’s tail, about as long as himself, is very agile and strong, enabling him to hang from anywhere while easily supporting the weight of a grown man. Glitch has knocked out adult, able fighters like Rozenkranz with one hit of his tail. It’s very likely that his tail is his strongest body-part.
 * Claws: Glitch’s claws are sharp enough to cut flesh and allow him to latch onto surfaces and people.
 * Venom: The Gekk possess potent venom used to defend themselves from the large mammalian beasts that roam Jorumgard. The venom is toxic for humans as well. The Gekk do not inject their venom through biting but rather spit it at the face of any attackers. Their venom can cause blindness unless immediately treated and has a severely caustic effect, damaging hair and skin leaving chemical burns and bacterial infections in them. Glitch developed the ability to produce venom sooner than his age would allow due to stress and used it to rescue Weatherman from Glutton by spitting in the brute’s face.

Abilities
High Level Intelligence


 * Glitch is considered a child prodigy by both Earth and Jurumgard standards. His intelligence and logical thinking are profound and his talents where computers and technology are related are beyond question. His intelligence is only dampened by his young age and childish demeanor—but he actually prefers that.

Bi-lingual


 * Glitch speaks Gekk and English.

Technological Prodigy


 * Glitch has knowledge of Gekk technology and shows an intuitive understanding of human technology principals, enabling him to comfortably work with both and even combine them on occasion.

Computer Expert


 * Glitch is highly gifted computer researcher, programmer and hacker, second only to Gabriel.

Strength Level
Glitch is unusually strong by human standards and can lift many times his weight and achieve feats of superhuman strength, agility and intelligence. By Gekk standards he has the strength and abilities of an average Gekk pre-pubescent child that engages in moderate exercise. However, he is more intelligent than an average Gekk child.

Weaknesses
Cold Temperatures


 * Glitch is a reptile and when temperatures drop too low he is unable to regulate his body temperature which depends on the environment. Cold environments make him slow down, causing him to be sluggish and lethargic. Prolonged exposure to cold could easily kill him.

Inexperience


 * Glitch is still a child and easily overwhelmed by circumstances he doesn’t know how to react to. He is also easily intimidated and loses his nerve.  

Miscellaneous
Glitch works with advanced computers, having access to the Kelly Institute's private servers and broadband connection. The systems he works with are comparable to the kind used by the FBI. He has access to vast databases and is able to cross-reference large amounts of information.

Equipment
Costume: Glitch wears specialized fiber clothing that suit his anatomy and scaly skin. It helps regulate his temperature by keeping him from overheating in the hot Florida climate.

Transportation
His feet but he always seems to be getting rides on the back of one of his associates, especially Troll or Abaddon.

Weapons
N/A

Trivia

 * When he gets mad at someone he often opens his mouth and stretches out his tongue along the lower jaw—a gesture considered very rude and insulting among the Gekk.
 * Quite attached to a T-Rex plushie that Ashley bought him.
 * His favorite movie is “Godzilla” and the animated movies of “Commander Rex and the Space Saurs”.
 * Cannot watch a horror movie by himself as he gets nightmares. Collects documentaries.
 * ‘Addicted’ to sugary, carbonated drinks. Usually needs a large bottle near him when working with computers.
 * A bit confused by birds as they did not evolve on his planet.
 * His online screen name is SIASL*3 (the initials for “Stranger in a Strange Land”)