Nerve

Mohammed Salem always believed that being a police officer was about more than carrying a gun or chasing criminals — it was about being the wall between chaos and order. Born in Sri Lanka, and later moving to Calmest Hills with his family, Salem grew up in a community where trust in authority was fragile at best. 

On the day of the *Mall Gas Incident*, Salem was off duty, shopping with his younger brother. When the alarms rang out and the poisonous mist began to spread, Salem didn’t run — he stayed. He pushed people toward the exits, covering his brother’s face with his jacket. But as he sprinted through the smoke, his body began to betray him. His muscles seized, his nerves fired uncontrollably, and he collapsed. He thought he was dying. Instead, something inside him changed. The gas had rewired his nervous system, giving him a terrifying new connection to his own body.

At first, Salem didn’t understand the extent of it. He found he could shut down pain with a thought, slow his heartbeat until it was nearly undetectable, or force his muscles into overdrive for bursts of incredible speed and agility. But the most shocking discovery came when he touched another man — an injured civilian — and felt the electrical impulses in his body like sparks in a wire. With concentration, Salem shut them off, briefly halting the man’s spasms. That night, Salem realized the truth: he could manipulate not only his own nervous system, but the systems of others. With a touch, he could calm, paralyze, or disable anyone.

The transformation was both gift and curse. Salem feared what he had become — the ability to stop a man’s body with a single gesture was more terrifying than any gun. He questioned whether he should even continue serving as a police officer. But when he saw how the gas had corrupted others, turning them into criminals and killers, he knew he couldn’t step away. He designed a suit of deep blue, traced with glowing red lines resembling the human nervous system. He became *Nerve*, a hero who moved faster, hit harder, and fought smarter than anyone else. To the people, he was a savior. To his enemies, a nightmare.

Yet, Salem still wrestles with himself. He knows he can kill without leaving a mark. But he also knows the world needs people willing to stand in the storm. As Nerve, he runs headfirst into danger, not because he is fearless, but because he refuses to let fear dictate his duty.