Name: ShadowStrike
Character Name: Rick Gordon, age 28
Birthdate: July 29, 1993
Birthplace: San Diego, CA
Family of Origin (Parents, Siblings - Names, Age, Where do they live): His parents are Bill Gordon and Sara Gordon. His father is deceased, his mother Sara is 54 years old. Rick is an only child, although his parents had wanted 2 or 3 children. The Gordon's moved to Albuquerque in 1998 when Bill took a job with the Albuquerque Police Force. Sara still lives in the same house but became an angry drunk when Bill was murdered. Rick checks in on her occasionally and has learned to ignore her anger and behavior since you can't argue with crazy.
Significant Other (Name, Age, Where do they live): Rick is chummy with his secretary Bonnie Carter, age 27, who lives in Albuquerque as well. Her birthday is August 12, 1994.
Children (Name, Age): None
Where do you live: Rick lives in a nice apartment within 15 minutes of his office.
Powers: Rick is a martial artist specializing in Kung Fu and has mutant powers of invisibility, teleportation, and reaching across distances.
History: Growing up, Rick's family was middle-class and average. Rick's father, Bill Gordon, was a cop with the Albuquerque police force. His father later retired and formed his own private investigation agency, Gordon Investigations. When Rick's uncle Larry (his dad's younger brother) mysteriously disappeared, Bill tried to find him. After many dead ends, Rick's dad accepted that Larry was probably dead and moved on to focus on the current caseload. When Rick turned 16, his mutant powers manifested. He participated in school basketball and wrestling but had to be careful not to accidentally cheat with his powers. Unfortunately, one of Rick's basketball teammates discovered that Rick had powers. The teammate threatened to tell everyone that Rick was a mutant unless he resigned from the team. Knowing it would bring wary eyes to all the events he was involved in and thus the team, he reluctantly resigned. The team won second place that year. Martha, the girl he was dating, couldn't understand why he quit. He told her the truth and that it would hurt everyone else on the team and their reputation if he stayed. She made the mistake of telling her parents in the hopes they'd help - but they forbade her ever to see "that damn mutant" ever again. When she refused, they moved out of state, and Rick hurt. Needing someplace to vent his anger, he enrolled in a Kung Fu class. Rick's dad asked him if he'd be interested in joining the family business (Gordon Investigations) when he graduated, but Rick said no. He was willing to be a gofer during the summer for gas money, but he wanted to continue his martial arts, maybe open his own dojo one day. But then tragedy happened. Rick's dad called home one night and said something about the current case and VIPER, and then the line went dead. The next day police discovered his body with signs of VIPER's involvement. Rick threw himself harder into his martial arts. His dad's friends on the police force tried to help him, checked in on him, and hinted he should become a cop or an investigator in memory of his father. His mother drank more and more and got angrier and angrier, which made him mad at life and her. He had to get away. One of his dad's policeman friends gave him a garage apartment to stay in, and over time convinced Rick to follow in his father's footsteps. Rick graduated four years later from the University and re-booted Gordon Investigations. He hired Bonnie Carter as secretary and gofer. He had his dad's talent for investigation and his mutant powers and got things done. It didn't hurt that his dad's friends sent business his way when there was nothing the cops could do or didn't have the manpower to spend time on. A few of his cases have tangled with VIPER's criminal escapades. However, at the moment, VIPER only cares about "real superheroes," not some cheap detective getting in the way.
Pay: As of January 2022, the pay for Private Detectives is $150 an hour.