Adrian Cabre Knight
Code-Name: Gunner
Ethnicity: Italian heritage
Position: Black Ops, Head Trainer, Silver TL
Sex: Male
Age: 27
Appearance:
Hair: Dark brown, short, disheveled
Eyes: Hazel; metallic silver
Skin: Olive / Light tan
Weight: 258 – heavily muscled, lean
Height: 6 foot 4
Other: When Gunner uses his mutant abilities his eyes turn silver, and often he will have sparks running up his arms and shoulders. Gunner has three-quarter sleeve tattoos on each arm. The designs were created by Clover Young.
Date Of Birth: October 31st
Place Of Birth: Bangor, Maine, grew up in Narragansett Pier, Rhode Island
Education: HS Diploma from Grey Institute, class of 2021. Completed two years of college. Became an official S.H.I.E.L.D. agent in 2025.
Mother
Name: Leandra Knight
Age: 50
Race: human
Father
Name: Jonathan Knight
Age: 43 at time of death
Race: human
Guardian
Name: Melanie Knight
Age: 36 at time of death
Race: human
Other Relatives: Little sister, Marie Elizabeth Knight, 16, human. Ex-Wife, Raquel Knight.
Powers: Electrokinesis. Gunner can project lightning blasts/balls of energy, identify different types and sources of a electric current, disrupt or destroy objects that use electricity, and electrify his body so a simple touch would be painful. Sometimes he prefers to channel electricity through other objects, such as guns. With S.H.I.E.L.D. assisted training, Gunner has gained the ability to travel through electricity when touching a controlled electric current (such as a powerline or wire).
While his body cannot generate its own electricity, his body naturally gathers and stores a supply slowly. He can only detect and absorb electricity within roughly one mile of himself, and while Gunnr can accelerate the gathering process, he cannot completely control it or turn it off - for this reason he drains down the lifespan of batteries, light bulbs, and other technology impossibly fast. Its not uncommon for lightbulbs to blink out and electronic equipment to malfunction daily in his presence. Since electricity is constantly flowing through him, he has an unusually high body temperature and often gives of harmless sparks of static electricity when touched.
Power Limitations: Due to the nature of his power, Gunner's body runs partially off electricity. The lack of it in his system greatly weakens him, often during a fight if his 'storage' of electricity dwindles he suffers great fatigue or sickness and if he were to run completely out he would lose consciousness. If Gunner were in a place without a supply of energy to absorb for an extended period of time he would be next to useless and practically incapacitated. Control collars and power inhibitors have an instant affect on him and he normally passes out.
When traveling through electricity, he must be touching the source of electricity to trigger the transformation, and cannot create this affect at will. He can only travel through one solid current or connected cross currents, its impossible for him to jump between power lines or any other electric source. He cannot take anyone with him through the current. Any injuries are sustained through the transformation. He can only travel in short bursts, no more than 25 yards each time. He can't linger in an electric current and while transformed he has no cognitive thoughts or senses - so he could not 'listen in' or be detected during that short period by psychics. His presence in the wire has no affect on any connected machinery.
Hobbies and Interests: Kung fu, collecting guns and weaponry, hunting, camping. Training or working out, ancient Chinese/Japanese history and legends, video games (usually of a violent nature), poker and other card games, tattoos, football and other competitive sports.... antagonizing people. As a chain smoker, he is never seen without at least one pack of cigarettes on hand.
Background: Adrian Knight was born into a wealthy family in Maine, the first born child of FOH members Jonathan and Leandra Knight. When a way to test children for the early signs of mutant genetics developed among FOH scientists, Leandra took in their five year old son to volunteer for the experiment. Being a high-ranking member of the FOH, she feared the consequences of having a mutant child, and was devastated when her son tested positive. The man that tested Adrian recommended an 'accident' to be rid of him and promised to keep the results quiet if she agreed. There was an incident where Adrian fell down the stairs, but only his leg was broken. Left unsure what to do, her husband Jonathan decided that they should ask a family member to care for Adrian so they wouldn't be associated with him when he discovered his abilities.
They turned to Jonathan's younger sister Melanie for help. Not yet married or with children of her own, Melanie was thrilled and delighted when they asked her to care for their child. She hadn't known the real reason they asked, and had no idea agreeing to be his guardian meant she would be cut off from the rest of the family forever. After leaving him, Adrian's parents pretended to have forgotten about him and ignored any phone calls or letters they got from Melanie. Eventually they tried having another child and were relieved when they had a normal baby girl who they named Marie. Living in Maine they had a normal, wealthy life with their daughter who has never been told about her mutant brother.
Despite the consequences, Melanie took Adrian under her wing and together the two of them moved to Rhode Island. They never had a lot, but Adrian didn't go without what he needed. Adrian never took well to his aunt or those around him though, and quickly became wild and reckless, often demonstrating violent and unacceptable behavior. In school he was constantly getting into fights and causing trouble that his aunt and the teachers were unable to keep under control. For a time, Adrian was sent to a military ran reform school. During this time, Melanie's long time boyfriend who ran and owed the local Kung Fu training center known as Master Yao, moved in with her.
Riyuun Yao saw something he liked in the boy, an untapped potential underneath his wild demeanor, that could be harnessed if he was properly controlled. So after Adrian was kicked out of reform school, Yao began training him and disciplining him to extreme extents. He claimed his techniques, not all of them ethical, were all for the best and his aunt started to believe him when Adrian's outbursts in school became fewer and fewer. Gunner grew to hate and fear Yao and spent as much time away from home as possible.
At fifteen, Adrian's long time friend Tamara became his girlfriend. She'd been involved before with a boy named Jake Matthews, who after the break up often antagonized Tara at school. Once the bullying came to a point, Jake attacked Tamara and assaulted her. While Tara was still in the hospital, Adrian confronted Jake and his powers made themselves known when Adrian channelled electricity for the first time. Jake didn't survive the encounter and the town went into a black out. Afraid of the consequences, he left Rhode Island with little more than a note to his aunt and didn't have a chance to say goodbye to Tamara.
As a high school drop out Adrian earned money working odd jobs and construction. In time he tracked down his real parents and found out they were FOH members, within the rank of the highest twelve, and suddenly why he'd been dumped off at his aunt's became very clear. In an attempt to contact them he meant the students of the Grey Institute, who were on a mission against the FOH for attacking the mansion grounds. After getting captured and helping some of the students escape, Adrian was invited to attend the school.
Once joined, Gunner took on the task of being the school bully, and enjoyed the life of making those at Grey miserable. Even though he pretended to hate almost everyone at the school, Gunner was fiercely loyal and protective of them all. During his first year at the Grey Institute, on March 31st, Adrian received news that his aunt Melanie had been murdered. Her death was horrific, she'd been beaten to death by his uncle, Yao. He was arrested and Gunner was asked to attend the trail as a character witness against Yao. Gunner returned to Rhode Island to tie up loose ends and attend the funeral, speaking to Tamara again for the first time in years. He resented his parents even more for not showing at Melanie's funeral and himself for always causing her so much trouble.
Shortly after his aunt's death, another mission involving the FOH surfaced, having to do the X-Men infiltrating a illegal holding center for mutants with no basis for their imprisonment. Gunner volunteered with revenge on his mind, with Jean or the other students none the wiser to his connection to the Friends of Humanity. Behind their backs, Gunner hired the Sheiken Kyougi using every dime of savings Melanie had left him along with the money from selling her house. He hired them to track down and identity as many of the FOH's highest Twelve and to reveal all of the organization's hypocrisy to the media. Dagger and Pandora did deliver results, along with the deaths of ten FOH officials and politicians as a "courtesy," his father included among them. The Sheiken Kyougi also arranged the opportunity for Gunner to kill his mother, but he was unable to go through with it since his little sister, Marie, was also there.
The FOH suffered greatly politically and financially, and while their credibility as a striving political force will mostly likely never completely recover from the scandle, they are certainly not gone. Leandra Knight was stripped of her title as were many of the other publicly outed members of the Twelve, splitting the FOH's loyalty between the popular commander and the other higher ups. Since then, Leandra has disappeared, and even with Gunner's revenge a success, it wasn't sweet, in fact it left a bitter taste in his mouth. Feeling no better than the FOH themselves, Gunner's senior status as an X-Man was stripped from him and for awhile he was no longer trusted by many of the students and staff at the Grey Institute.
After the second school year started Gunner, Lydia, David and Wil were out for Lydia's birthday and a sanction of FOH members loyal to Leandra attacked them. Gunner was shot in the chest several times by his mother and left for dead. Pronounced dead on the scene, he was barely saved by Apollo reversing time around him - the feat caused Apollo to go into seizures, but then the X-Men's healer, Thomas, was able to save Adrian. While he was grateful to still be alive, the situation left Gunner unsure of what to make of his teammates or the entire experience, and he hated having his family issues out in the open for everyone to comment on.
Another figure from his past surfaced shortly after, his ex-girlfriend Tara, whom he hadn't seen since his aunt's funeral and years before that. She had turned out to be a mutant and had no place to go, and came seeking him out. At first he was weary of her joining the school, he worried about being seen as a coward not only by her, but the others if she told them what happened, and he struggled with guilt for leaving Tamara all those years ago. Eventually he came to terms with having Tamara around and the two were able to mend bridges and become good friends again. Since then, Lydia and him had a falling out and broke up, but instead of ending up with Tara another person caught his eye - Raquel.
Life at the mansion didn't change much, each passing day full of its ups and downs, disappointments... and everything else. The one consistent person in Gunner's life became Raquel, and the two have remained together through thick and thin. While their relationship has had its own bumps in the road, Gunner has grown to depend on her and love her very much. After two years, he decided he wanted to make their commitment official, and the two were married on January 7, 2023. His best men were David, Vincent, Wil, and Raquel's brother, Micah. The honey moon was a week spent in a simple cabin in upstate New York, and the two have remained living separate from the mansion in their apartment together.
Gunner has become an official trainer at the school, focusing mostly on hand to hand combat and weaponry, and he has gained some favor with Sage and Mimic, who have a more militaristic view of the school that his personality meshes well with. After Aisha left the school to pursue an opportunity with Excalibur, Gunner was assigned as the leader to the Red Team. He felt pretty smug about about this promotion, but on his first chance to prove himself, Raquel and Raphael were taken and held hostage by Belasco. While the team was eventually able to get them back unharmed, Raquel was in a coma in which no one seemed to have an explanation for. She was healthy, but she just wouldn't wake up.
Gunner didn't do much besides stay at Raquel's side, eventually resulting in the loss of his job outside of the school. Unable to afford the payments to his apartment, and not willing to take any help or charity from anyone, he was forced to move back into the school. He was given one of the largest rooms in the attic, but he spent most of his time with Raquel in the med lab. When she finally woke up, over a month later, Gunner still didn't want to leave her side. The two have remained living at the mansion for several more months, saving money to try and get back on their feet.
After a very public battle between the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants and some X-Men at the Mall of America, the team came under scrutiny by the government, the media, and S.H.I.E.L.D. The area suffered thousands of dollars in damages and many civilians were injured in the attack. The Grey Institute was sued and David, Dallas and Aaron sent to prison on charges related to the incident. With the school on the brink of being closed down, 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.
While most were reluctant and angry about the changes, Gunner was in full support of SHIELDs involvement with the school. He was in disagreement over this with his wife, Raquel, but his support paid off when he was promoted to head trainer, and allowed to retain his leadership position of the Red Team. A few months down the road, it was revealed Agent Danielle's was a part of the FOH and had played a part in taking down Raquel's home, the Mountain, and he had since hired assassins to try and kill her. When each attempt failed, Danielle's snapped and attacked Raquel at the mansion, nearly killing her. Danielle's escaped capture, and Gunner's guilt and anger about being wrong hung over his head for a long time.
However, even with one bad apple and the tension high, S.H.I.E.L.D. did not pull out of the institute. The next mission to stop Apocalypse from resurfacing turned bad when Wolverine and Elisa Grey were both killed in the battle. The mansion was also destroyed by one of the Horsemen. Devastated over the loss of her husband and daughter, Jean Grey decided not to rebuild the school. The team split, most students transferring down to Emma Frost's Massachusetts Academy, while the full time X-Men continued working outside of the SHIELD helicarrier.
Gunner continued to work closely with SHIELD, decided to go through the motions of becoming an official SHIELD agent. The training was grueling, but Gunner excelled in the physical tests and continued to impress his superiors. While his career seemed to be taking off, there was trouble in his marriage. One night when Gunner was visiting Tamara, the two got wasted and ended up sleeping together. Gunner felt instantly guilty, since cheating was not something he tolerated and he never thought he'd make such a mistake. He wanted to blame it all on the liquor but he knew how long he had cared about Tara, which only made him feel more guilty.
Gunner told Raquel right away, not wanting to make it worse by waiting. He knew he could never keep such a secret and he didn't want to. Her reaction was something he expected, and he didn't blame her for being pissed off at him. Even still, when she left, he thought she'd forgive him and come back eventually. But weeks turned into months, and they were unable to get past what happened. The situation was made worse when he found out Tamara was pregnant. While she wasn't telling anyone it was his, he decided not to ask, and she didn't tell.
Gunner threw himself into his work, and became an official SHIELD agent in late 2025. After a year when Raquel still didn't come home, he filed for divorce. He almost hoped it would help open up communication between them again, but Raquel signed the papers without a peep, making the divorce official. Gunner knew he was to blame, but the divorce hurt him more than he'd ever admit and he resented Raquel for being unwilling to forgive him.
When David and Aisha were in talks about reopening the school, Gunner could care less. He wasn't interested in working at the school again so he was annoyed when Sage, now the director of SHIELD, assigned him to be head trainer there. He was also made team leader of the Silver squad, and was kept on the Black Ops team to preform more questions missions for SHIELD. The pay and accommodations were impressive, but the team was too public now, and he hated being in the spotlight. It was also strange being around people he hadn't seen in years. He tried several times to get transferred out within the first semester.
With such a public image, the Black Ops members had to double their efforts to keep things quiet. Problems escalated when due to Gunner's actions a major villain got away, one who had identified both Bear and David of the team as members of the group. The villain managed to leak a video claiming the X-Men had come to kill him, causing a number of issues for the public face of the X-Men school. While they eventually managed to take the villain down, it caused a number of problems and put a huge strain between Gunner and David. The two were no longer on speaking terms.
At the beginning of the second year, SHIELD located some information that proved the Friends of Humanity were not only fully reformed but the Twelve, the mysterious council that ran the group was back together and had filled its vacancies. The information allowed them to intercept an anti-mutant attack that was lead by none other then Gunner's mother and her new husband former Agent Danielles. A bit shell shocked, Gunner returned home only to hear news of Raquel returning to the Grey Institute to work.
Personality: Gunner is very suspicious of others until they have proven themselves trustworthy, so he likes to try and scare off new recruits whenever he gets the chance. He doesn't like being told what to do and instantly hates anyone with any power over him. He has difficulties knowing how to act around people, so instead of being rejected by an acquaintance, he'd rather be a detestable bastard. He appears to be an arrogant self-centered asshole who's impulsive, rude, and quick tempered, but Adrian is also very thoughtful, loyal, and rather strong.
Special Notes: He hates being called by his first name, but will allow those close to him to use it - sometimes. Its best to just stick with Gunner, his code name.