Jacob Herschz



Name: Jacob David Herschz
Codename: CopyCat
Age: 21
Height: 5'6"
Weight: 167lbs.
Eyes: hazel
Hair: brown

Birthdate: July 22nd
Known Family:
---Richard Herschz (Father)
---Maria Herschz (Mother)
---Daniel Herschz (Brother, older)
Alliance: Undecided

Intelligence - 2 = Normal (varies depending on catalogue)
Strength - 2 = Normal (varies depending on catalogue)
Speed - 2 = Normal (varies depending on catalogue)
Durability - 2 = Normal (varies depending on catalogue)
Energy Projection - 1 - None (varies depending on catalogue)
Fighting Ability - 2 = Normal

    Current Copy List:
    (see "POWERS" below)

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HISTORY -

Jacob Herschz was born to Richard and Maria Herschz and is the younger brother of Daniel Herschz. He loved and idolized his brother, older by seven years, throughout his early childhood. He always aspired to be like him...even after Daniel turned out to be a mutant. Jacob was five when Daniel revealed to their parents that he was a mutant, and could control light. Unfortunately, Richard and Maria Herschz turned out to be the “mutant-hating” types and Daniel was thrown out of the house, disowned. Jacob didn't quite understand what was happening, only that Daniel and their parents were very angry at each other. Though his parents were over-reluctant to discuss the matter with him, Jacob eventually got them to talk when he was older, thirteen to be exact. They explained to him the mutant "threat" in the world and how they are dangerous, unrelenting villains bent on destroying all of mankind. They used the news coverage and negative media perception that mutantkind was receiving to strengthen their point.

Jacob felt sorry for his brother when their parents threw him out of the house just because he was a mutant. Jacob secretly disagreed with his parents about the mutants. After all, how could they all be bad if his own, beloved brother had been a mutant? Daniel sure wasn’t bent on world domination. Though little did Jacob know that he, too, would undergo a similar situation to Dan’s when he discovers that he, too, has the X-gene in him.

Jacob’s powers manifested when he was walking home from school, and there was a mutant attack in the streets. Jacob hid nearby and watched it unfold. As he watched, through all the adrenaline, his eyes changed...and he could suddenly see the energy waves and patterns to the powers being used before him. It then became a sort of second nature...he knew to copy it, to save it, for later. The mutants turned toward him, and started to attack...so Jacob fled. Once he got home, Jacob experimented, trying to duplicate the mutant powers he saw. Jacob realized over time that he could imitate almost any kind of mutation once he's seen it, as long as it didn’t interfere with his physical body. He also learned that there are reprocussions for attempting to copy a very powerful mutant's ability.

So Jacob hid his ability from his parents, fearing they would disown him as they did Daniel. He worked with his new abilities as much as he could in the time frame he had when he was alone in the house everyday...but, of course, how could he keep such a huge change from his parents. They soon found out after prolonged suspicion from neighbors hearing strange things when Jacob was alone in the house, or teachers from school suspecting he could be a mutant (who could resist showing off just a little bit?). Jacob had turned sixteen one month prior to his parents discovering his abilities, which gave him two years of practice time. Jacob, fearing confrontation and a lifetime of bitter resentment with his parents, packed up and left home...in search of his brother. Jacob did not go back to school, as Daniel had.

He spent a couple of months searching the city, looking for his brother, for he knew that Daniel could help him cope with his new lifestyle and his new abilities. He knew it was a longshot to find one person in such a big city, but he always had hope. Unfortunately, like his brother, Jacob had to resort to some unorthodox methods of living. He was homeless, and had no money for food or shelter. So, Jacob ended up finding Dan's old employer, Raoul Rodriguez, and hoped that, despite Raoul's lack of morality, he could help him survive on the street. He ran with Raoul's "Crew" for a long time before realizing how much he disliked the dishonest work...and he tried to run from the job. Unfortunately, that put a target on his head for all of Raoul's Crew. Luckily (and unluckily) for Jacob, the shape-shifting Mystique found him and took him in (after shooting him in the leg). Jacob found protection here, with her, and confided in her why he was running. She concocted a plan and took Jacob's form to go and murder Raoul at one of his own, infamous parties.

Witnesses all pointed to Jacob, "CopyCat", as the murderer. Jacob was horrified when he discovered what Mystique had done. He ran from her and, after nearly being shot to death by revenge-driven members of Raoul's Crew, found a mutant named Alan Lockheart, who could turn invisible. Alan saved Jacob's life and, in turn, Jacob gave the fledgling reporter a story New York City will never forget. He twisted the details to leave Mystique out and took full responsibility for killing Raoul Rodriguez. The story was published in the Daily Bugle...and Jacob found himself in court, facing prison time. Jacob's detective friend, Isabel Vasquez, went before the judge and was able to convince the man to let Jacob off as long as Jacob attend and board at Xavier's Institute For Higher Learning. He has been there ever since.

Though shortly after the Daily Bugle's article on "CopyCat," Jacob ran into an old acquaintance of his from his school days, Vincent White. The two spoke briefly, but briefly enough for Jacob to copy Vincent's mutant ability - the Darkforce, a branch of the shadowmancing powers. At the time, this act meant nothing to Jacob, and Vincent was not even aware it had happened...and they parted without incident, and Jacob did not use the Darkforce energy at all in the months to follow. Despite this, Jacob began experiencing subtle mood swings and the tiniest of personality changes. He would think differently...darker thoughts passing through his mind from time to time, especially when applicable (i.e. doing wrong instead of right). Then, over the course of a week, the spiral steepened and Jacob found himself speaking rudely and out of turn without even being aware of it. He would often find himself mid-sentence before realizing what it actually was he was saying. Jacob grew concerned as the problem escalated even more...to the point where he was ready to brutally beat up another Xavier Institute student who had accidentally shot a cue ball at him.

Realizing that this was getting out of control, and not knowing the reason why this was happening to him, Jacob sought help and found telepath Betsy Braddock (Psylocke), who encouraged Jacob to enter a meditative state. Together, they discovered that Jacob's mind had been under the influence of Vincent's Darkforce energy...and it was getting worse fast. Betsy then brought Jacob with her into the Shadow World (she, herself, being a shadowmancer as well) so Jacob could "burn off" what he had copied to get rid of the ability without risking injuring anyone. However, once Jacob began using the Darkforce, it nearly took over his entire body and mind...and linked him directly to the Shadow World itself for more power. He could not deactivate it, he could not "delete" the power from his catalogue and before either of them knew what was happening, the Darkforce warped Jacob away from the Shadow World and took him all the way across the country to Los Angeles.

Jacob did not know it, but he had pictured Vincent's face in his mind, and the Darkforce, linked with the Shadow World and Jacob's ability to see mutant energy signatures, reached out to find Vincent's own Darkforce signature, which was in Los Angeles, and took Jacob there via shadow-stepping (a form of teleportation).

Here, Jacob knew he had to find Vincent and obtain his help in ridding himself of the Darkforce energy that had built up and completely taken over his mutant catalogue (not to mention his mind). Though their meeting was not a joyful one...and Vincent ended up stabbing Jacob in the side, below the ribs, during a fight. Jacob healed in a Los Angeles hospital before being picked up by Betsy Braddock and taken back to Westchester. Here, a new doctor, Shinji Mori, helped Jacob with his stitches until he healed fully. After learning about Jacob's mutant abilities, Shinji became interested in Jacob, wanting to know his limits and the such. Jacob agreed to help Shinji with her mutant-gene research and the two have been meeting, discussing and demonstrating Jacob's powers. Jacob has grown somewhat fond of Shinji.

Jacob continued to carry the Darkforce energy inside of him ever since first copying the ability. Even while the black power was dormant and inactive, and Jacob was relatively normal, the energy grew and consumed him from within. Jacob even believed, for a time, that the ability had purged from his catalogue after he was stabbed. This was not so...for one day Jacob was waiting for the train and was attacked by another mutant named Sylar. This mutant was another power-copier like Jacob, however, unlike Jacob, he would continue on to kill the original mutant and, supposedly, eat his brains. Jacob was able to fend Sylar off...but the evil mutant successfully copied Jacob's entire catalogue, including the Darkforce energy. When Jacob saw Sylar display this forgotten ability, Jacob realized that it must still be inside of him.

After that frightening realization, he quickly began the downward spiral that occurred before. Jacob convinced himself that because of what happened at the train station, he was responsible for taking down Sylar. He felt he could do it, and expressed as much to Shinji, confiding in her. She, however, strongly advised he not go near Sylar again, for his own well-being. Jacob does not listen, and leaves the Institute in search of the evil copier. His search yields no results and Jacob ends up finding his way to his childhood home - whether by his own knowing or because the Darkforce had attached to his mind, memories and emotions so intensely that it led him there is anyone's guess. His brother, Daniel, found him here, in Jacob's old room, and the two connected briefly before Jacob's emotions flared and the situation unraveled faster than anyone could think. Their parents came in to the room, and the Darkforce began taking Jacob over, using his buried anger toward his mother and father to become more and more powerful. Jacob attacked, and Richard (their father) hit him with a bat. Jacob disappeared into the Darkforce, healed and returned to swallow the room in darkness and take Daniel and himself out.

Jacob brought Daniel to an old, run-down factory and tied him up, blaming him for everything that has happened in both of their lives. The two argued, stressing Jacob immensely, until Jacob finally revealed the root of this all: he harbored feelings of abandonment from when Daniel was forced to leave their home when Jacob was five. The Darkforce completely took over Jacob, and he attempted to kill Daniel, but Daniel's ability to control light exploded to full potential. Light and Dark faced off, and Daniel seemed to be near victory when Gabriel Summers, Vulcan, appeared and took control of the situation - momentarily switching off Dan's powers and taking down Jacob. Gabriel phoned his detective friend and had them successfully delivered back to the Xavier Institute...but not before Gabriel was able to forcibly pull the Darkforce energy out of Jacob completely.



Jacob was involved in sports, soccer mainly, at his school while he attended and even participated in gymnastics, so he’s agile and quick on his feet. He has the trophies to prove it. He’s a bright kid, well-spoken and quick thinking, but shy and reclusive.





POWERS -

Jacob fashioned a name for himself while living on the streets, so he wouldn’t have to give out his real one: CopyCat, and, as the name implies, his mutation is that he is able to imitate and mimic another mutant’s abilities just by seeing them.

His retinas and nerve pathways to his brain are mutated so that he can perceive the energy waves given off by the X-gene when a mutant uses their power. And, of course, every mutant has a signature to their genes, so each energy wave given off by an individual mutant is unique. Jacob's brain interprets these waves and then, in turn, copies them onto his own X-gene...allowing him to use the other mutant's unique signature, or power. Thusly, if he were to be traced by any leftover fragment of energy, it would lead to the original mutant and not to him. Jacob must "see" the mutant power happening, either at the source or the destination, to perceive the energy signature and copy it. His "catalogue" of mutant powers also suggests another mutation to allow for this, an ability to retain massive information and memory. For instance, Jacob is able to remember each and every ability that he has copied, with just a thought. Going through the catalogue is like flipping through a Rolodex for Jacob.

Though there are limitations. Jacob cannot alter his physical form too drastically. If the mutation specifically involves growing three feet taller or twenty pounds larger or if it changes the color of his skin or hair or changes his bone-structure, he cannot use it. Also, the power won’t be exactly as strong or potent as the original’s...at least not until Jacob matures more. But remember, he's had his powers for two years now, and he's had a lot of practice, so he knows his limits and he knows what he can do. If the ability involves something not directly related to appearance, like telepathy, telekinesis, pyrokinesis, or super-strength, super-speed or healing etc., Jacob can use it.

If the mutant's abilities are numerous, Jacob cannot choose just one ability, as they are all on the same X-gene. If he chooses to copy this mutation, he retains all of the abilities on the mutant's X-gene. If some of those are physical mutations, those are blocked and are unusable. Jacob will only have access to those powers that are not physical.

Jacob's state of body has a good deal to do with how well he can function copying abilities. But, strangely, if he's being hindered or attacked by a mutant power, he can take those energy waves, creating a sort of feedback loop, and use it back...therefore rendering the abilities useless for both himself and the mutant. As he grows, Jacob's strength and quality of his copied abilities will grow. At the moment, he can mimic an ability at about %72 functionality, but he has the latent ability to reach %94 under dire moments of stress and need. Once Jacob has copied the mutant ability, it is stored in a sort of facility in his brain, for instant use at any time.

DETAILED POWER DESCRIPTION -

Jacob possesses the ability to mimic and copy another mutant’s X-gene signature. This act of copying is entirely voluntary. He has complete control over what he copies and doesn’t copy. His ability is, however, limited to non-form-altering mutations and to mutants only...not meta-humans, evolved humans or altered humans.

He can create a feedback loop, taking the energy signature of a mutant power being used against him, and laying back on itself, cancelling it out and creating that feedback. Once this happens, neither mutant is affected by the ability and it cannot be used.

Jacob, currently, can use one copied mutant power at a time and still be at "full strength." Jacob has the potential to use two copied powers at once, but if he does, the second ability will be inhibited: about 50% of his own maximum strength level.

Jacob’s catalogue storage capacity is as follows: he can only store up to 16 copied abilities at any one time. Jacob can tap into these at any time, and use them. The 16 catalogue slots are taken up based upon what the Mutant Class Level of the ability is. If the ability is Class 3, it takes three slots. Class 4 takes four slots and so on. He must be in close proximity to a mutant power, either its source or target, to be able to copy it.

Jacob's copied abilities work like fuel. Jacob can use them sparingly and keep them longer, or use them quickly and burn through the copied DNA quickly. But once it is used, Jacob loses the power and must re-copy it. Or Jacob can selectively delete copied abilities to make room for others. If Jacob wants to replace an ability with another, he can delete however many he needs to make room for the new one. If the power cycles out - is deleted - Jacob loses the power and must re-copy it.

Jacob can mentally "sense" another mutant's strength capacity, similar to Callisto. Here's where it differs: He cannot tell the Class level or what power they have, but he can sense their maximum output level, how strong they have the potential to be in their ability. So, he can tell someone's a mutant by actively sensing them. There are a couple of quirks to this mutation:
While in proximity to a Class 6 or 7 (Omega) mutant, Jacob experiences a mild, vibrating headache. Just being near them, about a train car length away.
If Jacob actually senses the power output of a Class 6 or 7 (Omega) mutant, he experiences what is called a "spike" or "flash" headache. This is an excruciating headache that lasts for about a minute or three, going away as quickly as it came. This way, Jacob knows that their power is very dangerous to copy for himself.