Orbital

Origin

Jules Okafor left a physics degree halfway through and spent two years riding a courier bike through city traffic, which he says taught him more about momentum than any lecture. One afternoon a construction crane dropped a load of steel toward a crowded crosswalk. Jules was under it, and so was a stroller.

He pushed the stroller and shoved with everything he had, and for a second the steel fell sideways instead of down, scattering across an empty lane. Nobody was hurt. Jules spent the next month in his apartment learning why the coffee cup floated when he was frightened.

Powers

Orbital changes the direction and strength of gravity inside a bubble a few meters wide. He flies by falling in whatever direction he chooses, hovering on a disc of shimmering violet energy that is really just the edge of his field. He can make a falling object land softly, lift a car off a trapped person, or give himself a running start straight up a wall.

The bubble is small, so he has to be close, and changing gravity fast makes him badly sick. He has thrown up on more rooftops than he will admit.

Costume and look

His suit is deep violet with silver and chrome panels, built like a flight suit because that is how he thinks of it. Small objects drift around him when he is excited. There is no cape, because a cape in a changing gravity field is a bad idea.

He still rides the courier bike on his days off, and still delivers the occasional package on the way to an emergency.

His rule

Orbital's rule is the courier's rule: there is always a faster line. He is the member of the Universe who finds the way in when the doors are blocked, and the way out when the floor is gone.

He is the youngest of the five and the one who treats being a hero like the best job he ever had. He is an original character of the Next Level Universe, created for this brand.

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