Dallas Andrew King
Code-Name: Vortex
Ethnicity: Caucasian, Irish ancestry
Position: X-Man, French & Italian Professor
Sex: Male
Age: 26
Appearance:
Hair: Blonde and unruly (past shoulders)
Eyes: Dark green
Skin: Tanned
Weight: 193 lbs - lightly muscled /lean
Height: 5'10
Scars: Two nasty scars ( 127 stitches ) along the curve of his right shoulder. Besides that, just a few dings from falling out of windows and cars while doing stupid things he'll most likely do again.
Other: His favorite color is yellow, and he wears it a lot when he is actually dressed. Dallas is somewhat of a nudist – but after getting in trouble several times he normally sticks to boxers as long into the day as possible.
Date Of Birth: July 26th (Leo)
Place Of Birth: Covina, California.
Education: High School Diploma from Grey Institute, class of 2020. Graduate of the Massachusetts Academy, class of 2025, Linguistics major. Dallas is fluent in the Spanish, French and Italian languages. He also has a good grasp on Slavic languages, such as Russian, Polish, and Bosnian.
Mother:
Name: Amy King/Young (remarried)
Age: 45
Race: human
Father:
Name: James King
Age: 52 at time of death
Race: human
Guardian:
Name: Kurt Wagner (Nightcrawler)
Age: 56
Race: mutant
Other Relatives: Clover – half sister through his mother. TJ Wagner (Nocturne) - adopted sister through Kurt. Four children with ex-wife Faith Jewell; Tatiana Elizabeth Jewell, Trista Ashley Jewell, Davis Colbie Jewell (deceased) and Jimmy Tweedle Jewell, all seven years old.
Powers: Astral Teleportation. Vortex cannot teleport instantly, but is able to teleport through open portals. Other people and objects can move through the portal without injury. He's a long distance teleporter and is able to teleport to most locations as long as he has once been there or knows the longitude and latitude of the area. While others can't, Dallas can see and hear through his portholes and when they are open they emit a sound similar to crackling thunder (louder or quieter depending on the portal's size).
Dallas has the help of a small computer mapping GPS system he can attach to his wrist (looks like a watch) that Nightcrawler designed. It allows him to search for different degrees of longitude and latitude of selected locations. Every X-Man is given a communicator with a built in tracking device, and Dallas's GPS system tracks these signals for easy extraction and pick up.
Power Limitations: Dallas is unable to make portals wider than fifteen feet in diameter and cannot open multiple portals with different access points at the same time. The minimum distance Dallas can teleport is two hundred miles; if he were to teleport a closer distance it would knock him and anyone else traveling with him unconscious. It could also cause other complications, such as port breaks, (a port broken before the desired destination), or port disruptions (a port ending in a completely different location than desired). This is also the case if Dallas overexerts himself and continues teleporting anyway, but in that situation more commonly a headache or weakened state is the only side affect.
Hobbies and Interests: He loves night life, crowds, and a good party. He also enjoys kick boxing, different kinds of music, food, and wine tasting. He loves to travel and is fascinated by different cultures and languages. After closely studying phonology, syntax and semantics for his major he can decode meanings in writing or speech for most languages and finds the study of language invigorating. He loves foreign book and films, in a films case the more subtitles the better. He is a Buddhist Modernist.
Background: Dallas was born in Covina, California, a surprise that forced his parents into a shotgun wedding shortly after he was born. When he was three, his parents got a divorce, and his father was rewarded custody of Dallas and he lost contact with his mother after the divorce. Dallas's father was a successful lawyer, so at a young age Dallas never had to worry about money, a place to live, or clothes, because he always had it. However Dallas had to learn how to take care of himself; his father was always gone on business trips or case studies so he rarely spoke two words directly to his dad for months at a time. He was constantly alone and when he wasn't always felt as if he was in his father's way, making for a lonely childhood.
When Dallas turned seven years old, James's younger brother Brandon moved in with them. Dallas instantly looked up to him and Brandon was always doting on him, giving him the attention he had so desperately needed. After only a few short months, the attention began to turn sexual, a situation that escalated and continued for several years following - until shortly after Dallas's tenth birthday, when James found out. Brad was arrested immediately, and the next year was a whirlwind of preparations for the trail. He did testify against his uncle as expected, who plead guilty and was sentenced to seven years in prison. Dallas and James already strained relationship never recovered from the day James found out. Well into his teenage years, Dallas could never quite separate need for nurturance from sex - all his relationships were almost always based on sex. He became very compulsive, whether it was inappropriate sexual encounters, a dangerous stunt to impress his friends or experimenting with drugs. All these things only frustrated James more, so when Dallas started having headaches and dizzy spells, that no amount of meds could get rid of, the idea of telling his father he might be a mutant was last on his list. Unfortunately Dallas made the mistake of showing his girlfriend a portal and the rumors spread around the streets and school like wildfire.
James was furious when classmates started vandalizing the house with mutant slurs and threats, but Dallas convinced his father he wasn't a freak. Since his school reputation was ruined, Dallas asked his father to send him away to a different one, and did some research, finding the Grey Institute. He told James it was just a normal school and convinced him to let him go there, because then he would be out of his father's way. That was probably the only reason his father let him go, and as easy as that, Dallas was on his way to New York.
Dallas was one of the first students to arrive at the mansion upon its reopening in 2019. After starting classes to help control and develop his powers he decided Xavier's Dream was something worth fighting for. Along with the friends he eventually came to think of as family, the Grey Institute was no longer just a school, or a way out of California, it was where he wanted to be for a long time to come. During his time at the mansion, his girlfriend Sarell gave him the codename Vortex. He joined the ranks of the senior team and while he was always serious about being an X-Man he never really stopped getting into trouble.
Towards the end of his first year at the Institute, Dallas was visited by his father who was not pleased Dallas had lied to him not only about being a mutant, but also about the school and it's purpose. In a turn of events and a few well spun lies, James managed to get both Dallas and Sarell arrested for assault. Sarell, whom was legally an adult, was bailed out of jail the next day and eventually got the charges dropped. Dallas on the other hand, still a minor, was transferred from Juvenile Detention to a rehabilitation center in California for his severe 'drug addiction and emotional problems.' Despite Jean's best efforts she was unable to get James to see reason, so Kurt eventually decided to adopt Dallas and after the paperwork was filed, Dallas was released.
Dallas hated the fact Clover told him after being disowned and adopted that she was his half sister he'd never known existed. He didn't believe her at first, but she was very convincing - she had pictures of his mother he hadn't seen since he was a toddler. The two fought and argued and weren't on the best of terms at first, but Clover was a sweet girl, and Dallas eventually came around to her and her parents Amy and Wayne. Still, he refused to participate when there was talk of legally adopting him from Kurt. He didn't want to go through that mess again, and he didn't feel as if he really fit in with Clover's family.
After graduation and over the summer, Dallas fell in with a bad crowd and delved deeper into drugs. A guy he'd meant at the Las Palmas Behavioral Modification Center, Eddie, was released from the program and immediately started using cocaine. Eddie was a person disconnected from the worries of the school and the X-Men and a breath of fresh air for Dallas; a friendship without strings attached. When it rains, it pours, and Dallas has never been accused of doing anything half way - so when he crashed, he crashed hard. He disappeared for two weeks, then appeared in the middle of the night on David's doorstep with breathing and heart abnormalities that landed him in the hospital suffering from an overdose. It was quite the wake up call, and while the scene was not without repercussions from Kurt, Dallas was grateful for the second chance.
In August of his first semester in Grey college classes, a rescue mission to Genosha went wrong when his longtime girlfriend and now fiance, Sarell, was killed in a fight. Shell shocked from the experience, Dallas had trouble coping with lingering depression about lost friends and his family situation. Although he appeared the picture of happiness to the fellow students, he dropped out for the 1st semester for a much needed break. He did eventually enroll again for classes in second quarter in an attempt to piece his life back together.
At the beginning of March, Dallas ended up in an fairly short but rocky relationship with Elisa Grey after a drunken night, where the two slept together. He received some static from some of the other students over it, and more than enough guilt and regret from himself. It seemed too soon after Sarell, only eight months, but then again it certainly hadn't been planned. Trying to remain friends after the break up went well, except for the time Elisa shot him during a mission, which he still wasn't completely convinced was an accident. He made light of life whenever he could, but after having more issues with drugs and general unreliability, Dallas was put on behavioral probation for six months, including over the summer, where he was unable to use his powers due to a control bracelet, had to take monthly drug tests, and attend ethic classes and counseling.
Dallas managed to stay sober after a fall out with his friend David, not wanting to keep letting all his friends, the X-Men, Kurt and all the people who'd helped him down. Part of what helped him was when he found out Faith, a girl he'd been with once, was pregnant. Dallas loved kids and wanted to try and be responsible presence in their lives. Faith had other plans, and was very independent and didn't want to have a man around. Still Dallas did his best to be there for her, especially once the four children were born. Faith was reluctant at first but eventually Dallas won her over, and while she refused to date much less marry him the two remained close friends with Dallas was always visiting the kids or helping babysit. Faith named Dallas in her will as the children's guardian if anything ever happened to her.
The coming year was full of stress for him. Seraph from the Brotherhood tried to use a shapeshifter in the form of Sarell to get him to turn against the X-Men - and the worst part was, it almost worked. During the fight, Seraph stole his and Sarell's engagement rings, a fact Dallas greatly regrets. Later in the year there was an attack on the graduation ceremony that left his little sister Clover severely wounded and two other students, Daniel and Zahra, dead, both of whom had been good friends of Dallas's. Dallas continued to be an active member of the team and tried his best to cope in his own way. He always tried to take everything like a grain of salt - life sucks, but you gotta make the most of it.
Over the summer, Dallas helped SHIELD, David, and some other X-Men stage an attack on the Brotherhood to capture them that was very successful. He also had a short lived relationship with fellow teammate June Yu, failing partially because he couldn't seem to get over Sarell, and because she thought he was drinking too much. He felt like no matter what he did it wouldn't be good enough for his friends or family, which had been a consistent feeling throughout his life, and so in some ways, he gave up on sobriety. He dabbled again in recreational drugs, but stayed away from anything hard - or more addictive. Most people he knew didn't approve, but Dallas had gone beyond the point of caring.
A mission in Limbo ended with his good friend Raquel, whom he'd been the 'Man of Honor' in her wedding, in a coma. She was unconscious for over a month, and when she woke up was suffering from Alexia, an affliction caused by brain damage that made it impossible to read or recognize symbols. While she was struggling to keep up in classes, Dallas helped as much as he could, discovering he loved to teach. That and his continued interest in languages sparked his decision to change his major to Linguistics, in hopes of eventually teaching others.
Nearly a year after being incarcerated, some members of the Brotherhood escaped the SHIELD prisons, including Seraph and Cae. Months later, Dallas, David and Aaron were at the Mall of America when they ran into the villainous couple. Enraged by the two of them wearing his and Sarell's engagement rings, Dallas attacked them. Seraph caused thousands of dollars in damage to the area while many civilians were injured. The X-Men were sued for damages and loss, and shortly after Dallas, David and Aaron were all arrested. She-Hulk acted as their defense attorney and David and Aaron were released until the upcoming trail. Dallas, as a teleporter, was held as a flight risk.
From jail, Dallas heard news that the school was on the brink of being closed down over the incident. Authorized by the government, SHIELD stepped in to take over. Several staff members including Mimic and Sage were fired, and new regulations were put into place as the Grey Institute became a government funded and controlled team. Dallas couldn't help feeling guilty for starting the fight, and when the trail came around Dallas was given the harshest sentence. It didn't help his father, James, had tried to be on the prosecuting attorneys team before being deemed a conflict of interest and removed from the case.
Dallas received a harsh letter from his father while he was in prison explaining his reasons for trying to personally prosecute him, with page after page detailing on exactly what James hated about him most. It was the worst thing Dallas had ever read, and he should have ripped it up, but instead he read the letter over and over. Every day. Dallas was released on October 1st, spending a total of one hundred and ninety days in a SHIELD prison. He kept the letter for months until it was found by his roommate David, who convinced him to burn it.
Dallas readjusted quickly to life at the mansion and continued to pursue his degree while working as a part time X-Man on the senior team. His life was shaken once again when a mission against Apocalypse resulted in Seraph taking his ex-girlfriend Elisa's life, right in front of him. Dallas retaliated without thinking, and killed the Horseman using his portals, taking his and Sarell's rings back. Once the team returned home with Elisa's lifeless body, they found the mansion had been destroyed by the other Horseman. Wolverine's life was also lost in the battle.
Shortly after the funeral, Jean decided to not rebuild the school and instead put up a memorial for fallen X-Men in its place. Those taking classes at the mansion were given the option to transfer down to Emma Frost's Massachusetts academy, and Dallas took it. He was in a haze for a long time after Elisa's death, just going through the motions of class and continuing with his degree. He dropped out of the X-Men for a time, who were now stationed out of a SHIELD complex.
A year later on February 3rd, Dallas and Faith were married, who been dating on and off for a time. Dallas moved in with her in California, using his powers to easily teleport across the country for classes and work. The two had been married only four short months before Cae, Seraph's former wife, attacked Faith and the kids while Dallas was gone. They were kidnapped, and Dallas recruited the X-Men and Hellions to help track them down. While they were able to save Faith and three of their children, Davis was killed by Cae to avenge Seraph's murder. Faith was also depowered by Cae.
Unable to handle what happened, Faith committed herself to a mental institution, leaving Dallas to care for the kids. For a long time Dallas wanted to find Cae and make her pay for what she'd done, but eventually realized there was no point in constantly trading out revenge. He tried his best to let it go, and live in his own regret without spreading more hate around. Faith eventually returned home, but when they were unable to move past Davis's death, the two were divorced.
Dallas graduated from the Massachusetts Academy, class of 2025, with a degree in Linguistics. He rejoined the X-Men ranks officially, but continued to take language classes at another university, and eventually earned his high school teacher certification. He returned to the Massachusetts Academy for a semester to work as a student teacher and supported David and Aisha's idea to re-open the Grey Institute. Once that was done, Dallas applied to act as the school's linguistics teacher, choosing specifically to teach French and Italian.
Dallas's first year of teaching went smoothly, despite another short and disastrous marriage to Faith. That summer he was delivered news his father had died of a heart attack at age fifty two. It was a complete surprise when he was left all of James's possessions, including a house, several cars, stocks, and hefty sum of money, bringing him into a small fortune of his own. There was never any explanation in the will as to why he'd been left everything, but it made him wish he'd spoken to his father before he died.
Dallas sold most the possessions, having no use for cars and not wanting to keep the house he'd grown to hate as a child. He kept the stocks and donated some of the money, putting the rest into a growing college fund for his kids. While getting back together with Faith wasn't an option, the two have remained friendly and Dallas sees the kids all the time. He's continued to be an X-Man and work at the Grey Institute through the first semester of his second year, really coming into teaching.
Personality: Dallas is care free, optimistic, and tends to ignore or put off problems, often avoiding too much responsibility along the way. He usually assumes the role of the entertainer/performer and seems to live to accommodate other people, sometimes at his own expense. He is very good at hiding negative emotions he feels as unnecessary, so even when in the worst of moods he is very outgoing and friendly, a spontaneous person that is easy to get to know and even easier to get along with. He is very intelligent despite his jovial attitude and knows when it's time to quit fooling around. In these moments he is incredibly loyal and level headed, a huge asset to the team and can always be seen with a charming smile, on or off the field.
Special Notes: Dallas was prescribed medical marijuana to help treat the severe migraines he has as a side affect of his teleportation powers. He is very loose about this information, and may or may not abuse the privilege he has to smoke without legal repercussions.