Cooper Barnes

Background: Born in Minot, North Dakota, Cooper was a happy child. His mother often talked about how he never crawled or walked; one day he just stood up and started running.He was an athletic boy, fearless and full of energy. To help burn off some of that energy, his parents enrolled him in a tumbling class, then gymnastics as he grew older. He had a certain natural knack for it, which only seemed to grow more profound as he approached adolescence and began to dominate in youth gymnastics competitions. It wasn’t until his parents caught him flipping over the edge of the roof and bounding effortlessly off of the garage to the ground – and realized that a resulting cut on his arm had healed before dinner – that they realized he’d inherited his father’s mutant gene. His dad and grandparents encouraged him to explore his newfound abilities and to learn to harness and control them. His mother stocked up on first aid supplies.As he learned to control his gifts, his father would often take him out to empty buildings or warehouses to practice his runs and acrobatics. His favorite place was an abandoned amusement park. He would scale the old rollercoasters, then race and swing along the empty trellises. He loved the unique challenges offered by taming the park’s forms and structures. Racing along the top of a rickety, rusty, 150 foot high gantry was simultaneously exhilarating and terrifying.Shortly after he graduated from high school, the “mutant problem” grew more intense in their area. His father decided it was time to leave and head toward a more stable, friendly area. They were on the road for weeks, staying one step ahead of the troubles as they searched for a new place to call home. During their travels, Cooper and his grandfather became separated from the rest of the family when the small Missouri town they were passing through was leveled in an attack. The attack was devastating, killing his grandfather outright and wounding Cooper as the town collapsed around him. With no expectation that either of them could possibly have survived, Alex Barnes threw the rest of the family in the car and sped off. The last Cooper saw of his family was the back window of the SUV as it disappeared over a hill into the distance.With his life on the line, Cooper forced himself to press on despite the pain and injuries. Without the luxury of rest and additional calories, his wounds healed slowly. He was on his own for two weeks, hiding during the day, traveling as best he could at night to put distance between himself and the devastation around him. Fortunately, he encountered a band of mutant survivors from all over the Midwest, who took him in and watched over him as he healed.He forged strong friendships with the group and, as he finally healed, he decided to join them in their trek to find someplace safe, with the hopes that he could eventually find his family. They traveled together for almost a year, largely avoiding trouble, working together to ensure the safety and survival of their little community, occasionally picking up other strays. Eventually, they came to an abandoned city that was at least partially intact. As they drove through and scouted the area, their vehicles died one by one and they found themselves stranded. They began searching for supplies and equipment to repair their vehicles when they came under attack by a pack of wild, ghoulish mutants.

Unable to repair the vehicles, or even leave the confines of the makeshift fort they constructed without coming under attack, they found themselves fighting just to stay alive. They made multiple attempts to leave the city, but each found them retreating right back to their shelter as they took withering casualties from fierce mutants who seemed to heal as quickly as they could be wounded. Eventually, they discovered that not all of their attackers were mutants – at least not originally. They learned that there was a mastermind at the heart of the Nest who they nicknamed “Drac.” Drac had the ability to turn others, human and mutant alike, into the beasts they called “Igors.” Igors were cunning, strong, and deadly hunters, with powerful healing factors which allowed them to recover quickly from even mortal wounds.

Cooper lost complete track of the months as they wore on. His friends taught him the rudiments of hand to hand combat, and the use of bladed weapons, as they fought to survive the Igor siege. Week after week, Cooper and his friends found their numbers dwindling. Some were taken to Drac, turned, and forced to join the ranks of the Igors. Others became dinner. Eventually, he was all that was left. With no one else to stand guard or gather supplies, and with utter exhaustion setting in from constant attacks, he knew it was only a matter of time before the Igors broke through and killed him, too.

As luck would have it, another group of mutants rolled into the city. It wasn’t the first time since he’d been there that he’d seen others arrive; none had survived. But this time, he was able to get to them just ahead of the Igors and warn them of what was coming. As they fought off the attack together, he asked them to take him with them, to at least get him far enough out of the city to be clear of the Igors. He didn’t know at the time that he’d just encountered part of the last of the X-Men – or that his willingness to work and become part of a team might give him an opportunity to join.

Personality: He and his brother are very close. He is five years older than Tanner and, although he was very protective of him, he often grumbled at the unfairness of the younger boy’s height.

Despite everything he’s been through, Cooper is a cautious optimist. He believes – hopes – that his family is still alive, somewhere out there, and that he may see them again. He is amiable, albeit careful, in forging new friendships. He’s lost so many friends and family in the last two years, he finds it difficult to open himself up to the risk of losing more.

After so much time on his own, he has a bit of a phobia of being alone. He prefers to create his own personal space in a high, out of the way spot that gives him a bird’s eye view of his surroundings and helps to remind him that there are others around.

Special Notes: Played by: Michael Hamm