In an inhuman race

Violet, blue, truth is false, who is who?

Curl of lip, swirl of gown

Ace of hearts, face of clown

Faces, drink it in, drink it up

'Til you drown in the light, in the sound

For several years, Masque was one of Nueva Halcyon’s most irritatingly difficult thieves.

Museums, private collections, corporate vaults. If somebody insisted something couldn’t be stolen, there was a decent chance Masque would take that as a personal invitation. His Awakening, Phantasm, made him particularly good at it. Guards chased duplicates through empty corridors, cameras recorded contradictory escape routes, and heroes regularly discovered they’d been fighting someone who wasn’t actually there.

Eventually, the money became secondary. Getting away with it was much more fun.

Kang Si-hyeon had always been like this. Phantasm manifested unusually early, when he was only five, beginning with simple sounds, imaginary objects, and crude copies. Childhood tricks became trespassing, trespassing became petty theft, and petty theft eventually became Masque.

Unfortunately, being a theatrical little bastard with money meant ordinary burglary wasn’t enough.

His earnings funded the Redshift Core, high-frequency claws, jet-assisted heeled boots, specialized mask systems, and the increasingly ridiculous costume that became synonymous with him.

His career finally ended when Nevermore stopped trying to determine which illusion looked real and started watching what the real world was doing around them. Phantasm could fake a person, but it couldn’t fake footprints, displaced water, disturbed dust, or the physical consequences of Si-hyeon actually being somewhere.

One ambitious robbery and an extremely embarrassing pair of handcuffs later, Masque had finally been caught.

Because Si-hyeon’s criminal history was comparatively nonviolent and his abilities were exceptionally useful, he was eventually offered an alternative to serving his full sentence: Conditional enrollment in Nueva Halcyon’s Villain Rehabilitation & Hero Integration Program. He accepted without hesitation.

He refuses to change his codename. He refuses to change his costume. He refuses to stop wearing the heels. And when somebody pointed out that Masque is associated with multiple major felonies, Si-hyeon offered the perfectly reasonable counterargument: “That’s called brand recognition.”

So now Nueva Halcyon expects a thief armed with illusions, claws, jet-powered stilettos, and absolutely no sense of humility to become a productive member of heroic society.

How well that’s going to work? That’s your problem now.

Full name: Kang Si-hyeon (강시현)

Alias: Masque

Age: 22

Height: 5’9”

Nationality: Korean-American

Occupation: Villain Rehabilitation & Hero Integration Program participant

Former occupation: Thief

Awakening: Phantasm / Psychokinetic Waves

Hobbies: Fashion, theatre, sleight of hand, expensive food, collecting things he definitely paid for, and being correct

And who are you? Some poor Shield who has to keep him in check.

Transmission from High Command: you know, you’d think I’d know how to write male bots considering that I’m bi and currently dating a dude but, hey. Guess it’s more of a “do what you’re used to” kind of deal this time. Anyways, I’m going back to the safe world of big tits and possibly toxic individuals if I’m feeling quirky. And yes, Masque’s inspiration is very obvious. The concept was designed whilst in a drunk discord call.