Thode (Fractures Alternate Universe)

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Thode (Fractures Alternate Universe)
Toa
Group	Xian Mercenaries
Element	Plasma
Kanohi	• Matatu (Formerly)  • Great Miru
Tools	• Plasma Shortswords (Abandoned)  • Plasma Sniper
Status	Alive
Location	Fractures Universe
Pronunciation	FU-OAD

"I am not the villain in this piece, neither in this universe or yours. If you seek vengeance, seek the architect, not the hired gun. Do not waste your hatred on a mere messenger – which is all I am essentially."

―Thode, Over Your Shoulder.

Thode was a Su-Matoran who became a Toa of Plasma and later a freelancing bounty hunter, in the Fractures Universe.

History

Early Life

Similarly to most other Toa of Plasma, Thode began his life as a Su-Matoran on Spherus Magna. For a number of years, he aided in the early construction of the Matoran Universe with no worldly desires or true consciousness. After a considerable period of heavy labor, he was placed on the Tren Krom Peninsula, along with a number of other Matoran, endeavoring to carry out his purpose by maintaining his settlement to ensure the continued functionality of the Great Spirit. It was here that Thode took up the profession of a Trapper, a line of employment which required him to hunt some of the more dangerous Rahi in the area to use in everyday life.

Shortly after the successful launch of the Matoran Universe, Thode gained true sentience due to Velika's tampering with the Matoran species. Although he continued his original task, Thode was thus imbued with emotions and became self-aware.

However, whilst trailing a rabid Brakas Monkey out of his village and into a stretch of dense jungle foliage, Thode was caught in the crossfire of a Steltian huntsman, who was visiting the Tren Krom Peninsula on a hunting expedition. A bullet fired from the Steltian Predator Rifle dealt severe damage to the right half of his skull, causing Thode to lose consciousness and collapse. Fearful that he would be accused of the Matoran's murder, the Steltian disposed of Thode's body beneath a patch of shrubbery before fleeing the scene.

Whilst in this state, Thode received severe brain damage and underwent a process of intense change. In his struggle to survive, a primal, more ruthless side of his character manifested in his subconscious mind, causing him to awake two days later as a hardened, immoral, embittered Matoran, when he was found and revived by Kualus, who had ventured out of the village on an evening stroll.

Critically injured and severely weakened by the loss of his mask, Thode was dragged to the nearest settlement, where his injuries were treated and he was given a Kanohi Miru. Gradually, he returned to health and details of his attack were reported to the local Toa Team, who launched a fruitless investigation into the Steltian hunter's activities.

Life as a Toa

At some point around the Great Disruption, Thode was transformed into a Toa. Though details of his home island and actions in this period remain largely unclear, it is also known that Toa Kualus, Tayluu, and Gorta were members of this Toa Team, which was based itself around his original settlement and replaced a previous generation of Toa guardians, who was deemed ineffective and dismissed from duty by Makuta Gorast.

Early in his days as a Toa, Thode held himself responsible for training a Su-Matoran named Varis and played a significant role in nurturing the Matoran's budding interest in projectile weaponry. During this period, there was talk that Thode intended to train Varis to succeed him as the village's Toa of Plasma. However, as these rumors began to spread, Thode was forced to distance himself from the Matoran and eventually stopped training him. This led to Varis feeling he had disappointed his mentor and leaving the settlement to train elsewhere in shame.

Around 40,000 years ago, the team was informed of a disturbance in the Southern Island Chains. Unwilling to leave their region unprotected, two of Thode's teammates - a novice Toa of Water named Gorta and an unknown Toa of Sonics - were sent to investigate the situation. However, they soon discovered that the island had been overrun by Visorak and were swiftly ambushed by a patrol. Gorta was captured and mutated while her partner was killed on the spot. Although she survived the subsequent transformation into a Toa Hordika, Gorta turned sour and blamed her fellow Toa for her mutation, convincing herself of their betrayal. Enraged, she returned to the Tren Krom Peninsula and began to terrorize her former team mates.

Fortunately, by this point, Kualus had been accepted into the ranks of the Toa Hagah and departed the island, leaving the team on shaky foundations and leaving Thode with ownership of his Frost Saber. With the supposed death of Gorta and four members remaining, Thode resolved to leave the island and pursue his own interests outside of the Toa Code.

Life as a Bounty Hunter

Having left his native village, Thode situated himself on Stelt, where he protected the island briefly between 35,000 and 30,000 years ago. During this period, the Toa of Plasma took up residency in the lodging with a local Skakdi. Thode's activities during this time were marked by a desire to invoke justice with his new-found role as an amateur mercenary, often committing political assassinations of morally questionable individuals and selectively choosing his targets to ensure that his actions served a greater good. During this time, Thode also directed a portion of his efforts towards keeping track of his former team mates, paying particular attention to the whereabouts of Kualus and Gorta.

On one occasion, Thode was tasked with abducting a Kardas Dragon from a group of Onu-Matoran and delivering it to a Steltian third party for a considerable bounty. Shrinking the Rahi with a Kanoka Disk then delivering it to the meeting point, Thode's conscience appealed to him and he instead elected to release the Kardas. From this point onward, the Toa of Plasma become more selective of his assignments, acting with a degree of conscience. With his Skakdi neighbor infected by a Spine Slug and confined to a medical facility shortly after this failed undertaking, however, the Toa of Plasma's crusade became complicated and he was forced to travel a less savory route to provide for his friend. Around this point, Thode was approached by Varis once more, who broke into the Toa's lodging and stole a number of his possessions, the most notable of which was his original Toa tools. Claiming that Thode was past his prime, Varis offering to return the stolen weapons on the condition that Thode exchanged it for a Toa Stone. As an added incentive, the Su-Matoran also remarked a map on Thode's wall detailing the locations of his missing teammates, claiming that he knew where Kualus could be found. Presented with the first real opportunity to find his missing brother-Toa, Thode considered the offer only to ultimately reject the Su-Matoran, suggesting he left Xia with his ill-gotten loot.

Following the Evolution of the Makuta species, the Matoran Universe was swept up in changing attitudes towards the Toa populace. While the Matoran heralded them as champions of justice and liberty, many of Mata Nui's less-favored creations grew jealous of the affection these peace-keepers were afforded. On Xia and Stelt, two islands with no designated law enforcement, the will of the Toa became disenfranchised with the will of the citizenry and Thode's status as a Toa became problematic for his continued operation. On one particular occasion, the Zeverek bounty hunter known as Skorr was contracted to assassinate Thode, a mission that eventually proved too tiresome to carry out.

Forced to take more drastic action, Thode developed a technique known as the Plasma Hand, where he would charge his fingertips with his Elemental Powers and grasp an opponent's face, melting through flesh and metal with intense heat. Abandoning his policy of non-lethal assignments, Thode would use this technique to commit a string of Steltian murders, thus marking the beginning of his official mercenary career.

Roughly 29,500 years ago, whilst travelling through Xia, Thode played a part in designing and developing a revolutionary long-distance firearm whilst working closely with a group of Vortixx weapons designers. This weapon, which would later come to be recognized as Thode's signature Plasma Sniper.

Around one point, Makuta Krika attempted to hire Thode to retrieve the Kanohi Ignika from Voya Nui, though his mission proved unsuccessful. Fortunately, Thode later claimed he had assassinated an Av-Matoran whilst on the island to justify his failure and entitling him to a reduced bounty. Given Thode's desire to carry out vigilante justice in the name of protecting Matoran, however, the validity of this claim is somewhat ambiguous.

Later into his career, having gained more experience, Thode began to swiftly ascend from his amateur bounty hunter status to one of the Matoran Universe's most unique, elite assassins. During this period, the Toa of Plasma developed a habit of disrupting Dark Hunter operations by shadowing particular agents and assassinating them from afar, making him a genuine irritation to The Shadowed One. He was, however, selective of his pickings, only engaging low-ranking members of the organization and carefully removing himself from the scene afterwards so as to avoid drawing attention to himself and risk the full extent of The Shadowed One's retaliation.

Destiny War

Due to the absence of Makuta Teridax in the Fractures Universe, the Brotherhood of Makuta's inevitable quest for universal domination became a less-coordinated, wild bid for power. Without Teridax's strategic mind or knowledge of the Matoran Universe's inner mechanics, the Makuta launched an open rebellion. Sensing the uprising but unable to intervene due to the inner turmoil that the Brotherhood's actions had caused, Mata Nui became intent upon returning to Spherus Magna. When the Great Spirit Robot did return to the devastated remains of Spherus Magna, however, Mata Nui's operating system developed a fault. Owing to the universal spread of the Brotherhood's invasion, the inhabitants of the Matoran Universe were unable to fulfill their duties. Thus, Mata Nui fell into a state of disrepair.

Recognizing the extent of this fault, the Order of Mata Nui emerged from secrecy and established a unified counter-rebellion to combat the Brotherhood of Makuta. Thode survived the brunt of the War on Stelt. However, he was forced to flee around 2,600 years ago when the island was invaded by an army of Rahkshi.

Fortunately, he was then contacted in-person by an Order of Mata Nui operative, giving him orders to participate in the conflict. However, when the agent mentioned that it was "his duty as a Toa," Thode crippled the messenger and, in turn, ordered him to return to the Order to inform his superior that he refused to take part in the battle.

Roughly ninety years ago, when the Order of Mata Nui caught wind of a Brotherhood strike team targeting the fortress of Marlott in search of the Kanohi Avohkii, Thode was contacted and employed to both ensure the handling of the Kanohi, and to eliminate Toa Hordika Gorta, his sister Toa who had joined the strike team.

Shortly after his arrival on the Northern Continent, Thode observed the settlement from a distance for some time before finally intervening and rescuing Toa Jekkai from drowning, mistaking him for a Toa of Lightning in the process.

Thode then accompanied Jekkai to the lakeside of the village, where a number of Matoran were being attacked by Toa Leontes and Field Marshal Oltab, two high-ranking Cult of Darkness operatives. Thode proceeded to disarm the Skakdi, then later intervened to prevent him from killing Alika.

Inspecting the damage of the battle, Thode encountered a wounded Onu-Matoran named Kapla, whose Kanohi had been damaged in the battle. Replacing the mask with a variant Akaku mask of his own, Thode won the respect of Alika and made an impression upon Toa Merra, who had been thrown in the later half of the battle. With the other Matoran scattered to the wilderness, the Toa of Plasma formed a brief alliance with Merra, informing her of his mission to extract the Kanohi Avohkii as instructed by the Order of Mata Nui.

Over the course of this period, Thode was known to have come into contact with Gorta once more, who attempted to kill him. However, it would seem that the Toa of Plasma emerged the victor of this conflict and spared his sister Toa.

Metru Nui

Under unclear circumstances, however, Thode returned to his normal life and, most likely, kept personal possession of the Kanohi Kraahkan. Upon catching wind of a new Toa Metru team forming in Metru Nui, he traveled to the City of Legends and swiftly heard of the team's leader, Toa Tollubo.

As Thode had previously made acquaintance with the Toa of Light, who had once attempted to hire his services out to him, the Toa of Plasma kept a watchful eye over his activities. At around this point, he also resolved to situate himself in Metru Nui permanently and took up residence in Onu-Metru.

After being contracted to assassinate a number of illegal weapons dealers and to disrupt a shipment of ill-gotten Cordak Blasters from Xia, Thode became acquainted with Racasix, a female Vortixx who worked for the Xian Secret Service and learned of the political climate in Xia.

The following day, the Toa of Plasma was contracted by a Turaga of Stone in Turaga Matoro's High Council, who requested that he sabotage a delegation between the Vortixx and Matoran representatives, hosted in the Coliseum by assassinating Racasix, who was acting as Xia's official liaison.

The Toa of Plasma was able to successfully infiltrate the Coliseum by posing as one of the Toa Metru and adopted the name "Jovan" after a Toa of Magnetism and was present at the delegation. However, his plan was uncovered by Racasix herself, who then proceeded to engage him in a brief battle, proceeding to shoot Thode with his Plasma Rifle, then stealing the weapon in the process.

Several days later, after the mercenary had recovered from his injuries and the conspiracy to disrupt the negotiation was brought to light, Thode returned to Onu-Metru and resided in the local casino. Fortunately, Racasix decided to show mercy and returned his Plasma Rifle to him in a large crate.

Shortly after hearing this news, Thode resolved to track down the Vortixx and followed her to the Golden Ruki, where he discovered that she had entered a relationship with Toa Tollubo. Fascinated by this unique development, the Toa of Plasma decided to follow her partner, aware that he was in an interesting and highly-coveted position. However, the Toa of Light was then attacked in the street by two disgruntled male Vortixx, forcing the assassin to intervene.

Thode performing his 'Plasma Hand' assault.

When Tollubo had returned to consciousness, Thode had dragged him to the darkened warehouse that served as his headquarters, then revealed to him that both the male Vortixx responsible for his assault had been tortured and maimed as punishment. After a brief discussion about Tollubo's situation and the state of the Cult of Darkness, Thode revealed to the Toa that it was in his interests for him to succeed in defeating the Cult of Darkness, though he made no mentioning of Racasix and eventually allowed Tollubo to leave, the main purpose of their encounter being to scare the young Toa of Light into keeping his distance from Thode and to make it clear that he was not interested in aiding his fellow Toa. However, the mercenary made it somewhat clear that he would be loosely watching over Tollubo in future.

Six months later, the Cult of Darkness received information relating to Toa Tollubo's current actions in the Toa Metru taskforce from a currently unnamed informant. Thus, Vunto, one of the anarchist group's newer recruits, was chosen to hole up in Po-Metru and wait for the Toa of Light to arrive at the manor of a Steltian Trader turned crimelord known as Sidorak then assassinate him. However, before Vunto could pull the trigger, he was ambushed by Thode, who swiftly appeared above using his Kanohi Miru then shot Vunto in the head.

Thode then destroyed all evidence of Vunto's activities in the sand dune and left the Zeverek's corpse in his vehicle, which he then covered with a canvas cloth, but left a flap open that was big enough to attract smaller insects to decompose of Vunto's body.

Some time after Turaga Vilnius' consolidation of power in Metru Nui, Toa Kualus made an attempt to settle the dispute between warring Skakdi mobs and the Metru Nui Law Enforcement. When the Turaga caught wind of this meeting, however, he contracted Thode to assassinate the delegates of both parties. Thode successfully carried out this mission, assassinating both Thok and Axonn before confronting and defeating Kualus. After a brief reunion with his brother-Toa, Thode revealed that he wished to retire from life as a Toa, handing Kualus six supposed Toa Stones to distribute before departing the scene. Upon closer examination, Kualus resolved that the artifacts were in fact Lightstones, believing that Thode had too much unfinished business for him to sacrifice his Toa power.

Thode's current activities remain unknown.

Alternate Versions

In the Toa Empire Alternate Universe, Thode swiftly sided with Toa Tuyet and gained a position of her trust. For many years, Thode enjoyed life as the superior species in the Matoran Universe and often continued his practice of tormenting Matoran, though this was now done at a leisurely pace or at times when his skills as a mercenary were required in order to pick off a particular Matoran or enemies of the empire. During the Battle of the Coliseum, Thode was responsible for destroying Makuta Kojol's essence. However, when the Toa were eventually overwhelmed, Thode was taken captive and, like so many other corrupt Toa, had his Toa Power drained, forcing him to spend the rest of his life as an embittered Turaga of Plasma to witness a new generation of Toa fix the damage that his generation had done to the universe.

Abilities and Traits

Thode using his elemental plasma powers.

Cold, meticulous, and often ruthless, Thode has proven himself to be a capable and highly-experienced Toa. After receiving a cranial injury as a Matoran, Thode is resolute in his vision for the universe, seeking to uphold justice through unsavory means. As such, Thode possessed a tendency to avoid emotional attachments or reliance upon others, making few exceptions.

As a Matoran, Thode possessed a minuscule amount of Elemental Plasma energy, which he could manifest through means of weak heat resistance.

When activated, Thode's powers included the ability to create, shape and manipulate most forms of superheated, highly ionized gas. He could use this power to form molten, gaseous constructs such as weapons or walls. Thode also possessed the ability to absorb heat into his body to lower the temperature in his immediate area. In its simplest form, these elemental capabilities also enable him to fire blasts of heat with concussive force and is able to superheat the air around him at will.

Given the lethal nature of his powers, Thode rarely resorts to using them in combat. He has, however, been known to produce a Plasma Hand, a technique in which he produced Plasma at his fingertips then pressed his hand against the face of a target. In addition to causing fatal injury, this application of his powers also damaged the Core Processor of a target, preventing them from being revived in the Red Star. Frequently, Thode often utilized the Plasma Hand for assassinations so as to prevent his victims from being revived a matter of weeks after he has been contracted to kill them.

Mask and Tools

As a Matoran, Thode wore a powerless Kanohi Matatu, though this mask was damaged and replaced with a Powerless Miru. As a Toa this mask was transformed into a Great Miru, granting him the power to levitate and limited flight capabilities. In conjunction with his Plasma capabilities, Thode often used his Elemental Powers to propelling himself through the air by generating thermal updrafts.

Thode's original weapons were a pair of Plasma Shortswords, which he could use to channel his Elemental Powers through. However, he abandoned these weapons when he arrived in Stelt and, instead, donned a series of projectile firearms, eventually choosing a sniper rifle, of his own creation, as his primary weapon. Currently, he does not possess a Toa Tool through which to channel his powers.

Forms

Picture	Form
	Thode's original Matoran form whilst residing on the Tren Krom Peninsula.
	Thode's Toa Form, which he chose to model after one of the Matoran Universe's earliest known Toa.

Quotes

"When there are too many Scholars taking up the job vacancies in the Knowledge Towers you take to the streets far below."

―Thode, Zero Hour: Chapter 4.

"I keep tabs on all you Toa, making sure you don’t ask me to join your little band of losers."

―Thode to Tollubo, expressing his disdain towards returning to the Toa, Over Your Shoulder.

"These two fine, Xian jerks were there and took it as a personal insult. By chance they left before you then hung around and tried to, as one of them so poetically phrased it before I removed his tongue – ‘teach that damn Toa-scumbag some respect for his betters’."

―Thode, Over Your Shouler.

"Do not adopt such tones when addressing your savior. I have some spare chains left over and a short temper for the youth of today’s Toa. Remember, Tollubo, I have been a hero for far longer than you. I am your elder, and you are never too old to receive a spanking."

―Thode threatening Tollubo, Over Your Shoulder.

"Make no further entreaties of me. If you are incapable of dealing the final blow, I shall do so in my own time. One must never expect another to extend the hand of mercy on his behalf."

―Thode, Over Your Shoulder.

"It is not an easy task, being the most feared individual on an island like this. I have had to work for my reputation. But I am only an occasional assassin. When I'm in the mood, or if an old acquaintance asks. Most of the time I kill for my own reasons. I am a pioneer. I was one of this universe's first serial killers, back in the days before it was fashionable. For more than 40,000 years I've blazed trails others can only dream of. I have adopted more guises than the oh-so-benevolent Order of Mata Nui can count. I've taken life in every corner of this world, rich and poor, young and old, male and female, Turaga and Vortixx. I kill because I am a killer. It is that simple. It is who I am, what I do. When I kill, I am being true to myself. There are no hidden motives, no perverse longings. Do you think it is wrong, Toa Tollubo? To be true to oneself?"

―Thode describing his motivation, Over Your Shoulder.

Trivia

• Originally, BobTheDoctor27 intended to feature Thode as a Turaga of Plasma and write a short extract at the end of Whispers in the Dark where he was murdered by Toa Gorta, leaving her intent on tracking down Kualus. However, this idea was scrapped as too much planning had gone into Thode's history as a Toa for such a minor part. He was thus given a more pronounced role, later developing into one of the component characters in the Fractures Universe storyline.
• Chicken Bond wrote a short story called Perspectives featuring Thode, which remains the Toa of Plasma's only stand-alone story.
• Thode owns his own Airship, which will be utilized in Judgment Day.

Appearances

• Tragedy of Knowledge - First Appearance
• Zero Hour
• Perspectives
• Over Your Shoulder
• Frozen Calling - Mentioned
• Vendetta
• Judgment Day

See also

• Thode's Brickshelf Gallery