Rusti Piotrowski

Russell "Rusti" Zidkijah PiotrowskiCode-Name: AzazelPosition: X-Men (Reserve), Head Medic, Refugee IntermediaryEthnicity: Polish-American

Sex: Male

Age: 24

Appearance:

    Hair: Brown, curly, starting to get shaggy

    Eyes: Dark Brown

    Skin: Olive complexion, lightly tan

    Weight: 138 lbs, lean body type

    Height: 5'11

    Other: Rusti wears a necklace with a silver cross under his shirt. He does his best to be presentable and well dressed despite their situation. He has come to terms with a little scruff.

Date Of Birth: February 11th

Place Of Birth: Albuquerque, New Mexico

Education: Degree from Bonanza High School, graduate of University of New Mexico (majored in Journalism).

Mother:

    Name: Tesia Piotrowski

    Age: 49 (deceased)

    Race: Polish, human

Father:

    Name: Jacek Piotrowski

    Age: 54 (deceased)

    Race: Polish, human

Other Relatives: Older brother, Trenton Piotrowski. Grandfather, Marcin (deceased). Aunt, Katja Piotrowski (mutant). Cousin, Charles Piotrowski (mutant).

Powers: Possession-- Rusti can possess a person after making eye and physical contact with them; his eyes flash black, his body turns into insubstantial black smoke and typically enters the subject through the mouth. While he is possessing, Rusti has access to all of that host's powers including physical, mental, and magical, meaning anything the human/mutant knows how to do, he will know how to do. This does not transfer into memories, or thoughts - while possessing someone Rusti has no telepathic access to their minds. The mind of the possessed may still be consciously aware but will not be able to control their bodies.

Alter Mind Persuasion- Rusti can influence decisions or actions with vocal suggestions after a touch. When hearing his request, the person will feel compelled to comply, or simply become very agreeable. The influence will generally last five minutes after the touch happened, or if his request is a task, his influence lasts until the task is performed or completed. Even after the affects wear off a person will usually never realize Rusti was persuading them.

Power Limitations: Possession-- Rusti's ability to possess depends on both eye and physical contact with living beings; if he is blinded, the person's eyes are closed, or the being he attempts to posses is not a organic creature, his power fails. The touch is important because it triggers his body's intangibility to pass into the person's body and is not hindered by clothes or body armor. If the possessed body was to be badly wounded, or fall asleep/unconscious, Rusti is automatically ejected from their body. If leaving the body naturally the person is often disoriented and groggy, and Rusti needs a resting period of five minutes between possessions. While it is possible for him to possess a psychic he could be forced out of the body quickly.

Alter Mind Persuasion-- His persuasion on the other hand does not work on telepaths at all, they may not be able to detect his power but are simply not affected. He has to touch the person, and to persuade someone he must be able to vocally speak his requests, if he was unable to speak aloud or the target could not hear or understand him it would not work. A person can never be influenced to do something they are completely against subconsciously, so he could not suggest someone kill themselves or hurt another person unless subconsciously they are willing to do so. He also has to be careful how to word his commands, as the person tends to take him literally and for example, asking for 'the truth' may give him more information than he wanted. While possessing someone, he does not have access to this power.

Hobbies and Interests: Rusti has always loved people and social events, and is usually at the heart of organizing get-togthers. After joining the X-Men he became interested in medicine and medical practice, which he takes very seriously. He likes current pop music, sports, news, a little celeb gossip and current events - all things that have become nonexistent since the war. He is not an outdoorsy person and has little outdoor survival skills to speak of, leaving Rusti feeling like a fish out of water since the base was destroyed. Some possessions Rusti always keeps close are his medical bag, a journal he writes in every day, and a bible. He is a practicing Roman Catholic.

Background: Rusti grew up in Albuquerque, New Mexico, with his mother and father, grandfather, and older brother, Trent. His parents were immigrants with the rest of the extended Piotrowski family scattered throughout Poland and Germany. Rusti rarely saw any of them, with the exception of his aunt Katja and cousin, Charles.

Rusti was raised in a strict and conservative Roman Catholic home. He was close with his family and very involved in the church, he was in the choir, an alter server, and seriously considered priesthood for several years. His parents approved of the idea, in fact his parents praised nearly everything he did. This was the manifestation of his first power, the alter mind, which went into affect at a young age.

Being a child it was difficult to understand such a gift and its consequences, and Rusti often abused it. It wasn't until he was thirteen he considered he might be cursed. The first time he possessed someone it was a cashier of a convenience store - he had no idea how to leave the woman's body and ended up trapped for hours. The experience truly terrified him and he was convinced there was a demonic presence inside him for weeks. Eventually he came to terms with what he really was and hated the word for it - mutant. He never told his family and started to pull away from the church. He still believed but there was no place in the priesthood for him anymore.

Rusti graduated early from high school - teachers were always willing to supply him with a passing grade - and was accepted at the University of New Mexico to major in journalism. The first time away from a sheltering family made him run a bit wild in his first year but he quickly returned to his religious roots, and tried his hardest to do right by his powers. He saw them as nothing short of a curse, and after each attempt to control his powers failed, he learned to simply be very careful what he said in close contact with others.

In his final year at University, Rusti was walking back to his apartment and witnessed a fight in the streets. A large mob of people were overpowering a lone guy and beating him. Rusti jumped in the middle of it and after the first punch convinced the attackers to leave them alone. When the man, Pietro, refused to go to the hospital he didn't have the heart to leave him so Rusti took him back to his apartment to help with his injuries. Pietro was drained and tired and slept for much of the first few days, and Rusti didn't understand why he wasn't getting better until Pietro was forced to explain he was Atlantean, and needed to soak in water to help the healing process. The story was certainty hard to swallow but Rusti couldn't deny how much better he was after a simple bath.

After that, Pietro just stuck around for awhile. He didn't have a place to stay and Rusti had room and didn't mind. Pietro was the first person Rusti had ever met that was different like him, and so he could talk about being a mutant without fear of repercussions. Even so, Rusti never dared mention his alter mind ability, something he was too afraid to admit to anyone. The two became fast friends and then lovers; despite struggling with his beliefs he was truly in love for the first time and everything seemed perfect. They were happy until one night Pietro disappeared without a word, having taken all his things. He had no other choice but to try and it let go.

After graduation, Rusti went to visit Trent and was captured and forced to defend a military base along with other mutants. He was at the base for months, poorly treated, sometimes tortured, and crudely trained. During that time he befriended a soft spoken girl named Kat - everyone else seemed unwilling to talk to him, and she was the only friendly face. The situation was bad, Rusti missed his family and his old life - Kat had her own worries and the two only had each other. The two were not an official couple but were together in every other sense.

One night Fort Holden fell under attack, and Rusti and the other mutants being held captive were brought out to defend the base. The enemies were other mutants, and Rusti was surprised to see Pietro among their ranks - he decided to grasp the opportunity to escape with Kat. With the X-Men he reunited with his brother Trent, and was surprised when Pietro began pursuing him again as if they'd never been apart. Rusti was bitter for being left behind but Pietro was persistent and explained his reasoning. He was torn briefly between Pietro and Kat, eventually choosing Pietro. 

At the X-Men base, Rusti studied under Noelle and Asal in the medical field, starting off as a inexperienced medical assistant. When the two nurses had taught him all they knew, he attended regular classes at a local university under a fake name and volunteered at shelters and hospitals. Whenever he could, he researched and studied, wanting to be confident in his skills, in case the life of someone he loved was ever in his hands.

During an attack on Livingston Island, the team took the lives of many soldiers, Rusti having killed two men himself, even if on accident. The teams involvement as well as his own name was highly publicized, marking him as a wanted criminal and a murderer. Having killed another human being, he struggled with his own guilt and had difficulty accepting the morale decisions and actions made by the X-Men, wondering if he was on the right side. Rusti's life and his relationship with his parents seemed to fall apart all at the same time. Unable to cope with everything he'd done Rusti tried to kill himself. Though he nearly died it was a failure, one that brought his powers of alter mind to the forefront of the team and Pietro, creating a rift of trust and suspicion like he always feared it would. Afterward he was deeply ashamed and embarrassed with himself, a burden he still carries and struggles to repent for in many aspects of his life. Since then, he does not like to appear weak willed or fragile, and makes every effort to remain steadfast and helpful to others when they are struggling. 

Even though what happened at Fort Holden and Livingston still haunted him, he tried his best to live with himself, his teammates, and the X-Men's decisions, so he could continue to be a help to the movement. When Noelle and Asal were transferred to other bases, they named him head of the medical staff, confident of the knowledge and experience he'd gained over the years. He also helped better the X-Men base whenever he could, including organizing a counseling department for anyone that needed it. He had the idea for the garden and basketball court on the theater roof, and set up a modest library in one of the spare storage rooms in the base.

Rusti's life was shaken when his long time friend and ex, Kat, was killed by the Purifiers. She'd been shot, and by the time she was brought to the medlab there was nothing he could do. She was the first patient he'd been unable to save. Kat's death hit him and the rest of the team hard, as she had been a sweet girl and not much of a fighter. No one took her death harder than her boyfriend Finn, who Rusti was very close to, and it eventually lead to Finn leaving the base and disappearing.

As time went on, Pietro and Rusti grew closer and while Rusti had doubts at first, the two decided to get married.   Thankfully the marriage was accepted by Atlantis and the two were wed there. The two wear rings but also upheld the Atlanean custom; they both received matching tattoos in glowing blue and green ink. The symbol is of union and is located on their upper back, between their shoulder blades. His religious family refused to attend the wedding and this caused a rift between himself and his parents for the first time in his life. It was difficult for him as he had always been very close with them, especially his mother. His family refused to speak to him for months, and he did not have a chance to make amends before Apocalypse made his appearance in the West and his family was killed in the crossfire. Rusti tried to warn them, but it was too late. Despite losing the most important people in his life, but he did his best to keep up on his duties for the base, to stay strong for the others, and press on.

As the situation with Apocalypse worsened, food resources and supplies became harder to come by. With the mutant detection systems it was becoming increasingly more difficult for mutants to walk the streets, even to buy food or clothing. With Trent's permission, Rusti appointed several qualified members of the base to handle the issue - he wanted the base to become more self sufficient. He helped convert the green roof into a more practical garden with fruits and vegetables, and Georgia and other members went hunting for game. Others were assigned to stock up important supplies such as clothing and toiletries.

Atlantis was not spared from prosecution and it wasn't long before they were made a target. Pietro was called away to help, and ended up being gone for months. This became a theme in their relationship as Pietro was torn between helping mutants in the United States or siding with his own kind. He often left to help and Rusti never knew how long he'd be gone, or even if he would return at all.

With the fall of the U.S. Government and the take over of Therizo, the United States was becoming a war zone. Therizo and Apocalypse fought with no regard for civilian lives, with a rising death toll in the tens of thousands. The X-Men organized countless missions and relocated hundreds of survivors, humans and mutants alike, with Rusti and the healers doing the best they could to help the wounded. Their safehouses became less and less reliable as all the other X-Men sanctions were targeted by sentinels and fell one by one.

Rusti lost countless patients, and some of his closest friends and allies to the war. Some of their most trusted teammates deflected to join forces with Apocalypse or Therizo, including Noelle, the woman who had trained him and his brother Trent's long time girlfriend. What made everything harder was Pietro had left again, and his continued absence was putting a strain on their relationship and Rusti's patience. Even when he returned, the two fought more often than not.

Even with the world falling to ruin around them, the New Orleans team had always had the base as a safe heaven, and to Rusti, a home. The attack from Therizo could not have been prevented, and the home they had made was completely destroyed. Many of those who had become his family were dead or missing, lost in the rubble. Those who survived were on the verge of giving up but Rusti would not. He did his best to be supportive to those who had lost loved ones, and slowly but surely the team gathered up whatever belongings and supplies they could find and pressed on in search of a shred of hope.