A PR flack for an ethically dubious pharmaceutical company, Ethan Anders found one of their drugs that had astounding effects. Already morally inert, he had no problems murdering to get and hide it and becoming an assassin.
Anders killed the scientist who invented the stormform drug, stole all her notes and made sure that he, Ethan Anders, was the only one who could become the heart of the storm. That was more than a decade ago, and since then Killer Storm has been an elite assassin for hire amongst the higher ups of his former employer - there's always some nosy reporter or lawsuit bearing patient or clever competitor who is getting to close who needs to be struck by lightning, have a car accident or be lost at sea. Killer Storm has no compunctions about any of it, as long as he gets paid. Sometimes the CEO of the pharmaceutical company will pass along Killer Storm's number to other ethnically dubious peers in other fields, so Killer Storm has a decent client base.
His services are paid for through BS marketing consulting. Anders maintains a fictious position at a skeleton marketing firm that produces confidential marketing strategies that are eyes only for the CEO or whoever at the organization has hired him. Clandestine meetings then take place where Killer Storm (whose mist form is more effective than any mask or costume) makes quiet suggestions about options. And then someone suffers an accident, and the marketing consultant firm collects a fat check for the report. The firm even has some legit customers and employees who have No Idea what's going on. (With Anders intelligence and skill set, it's even useful information!)
Anders used to need to take a pill to make the transformation happen, but when he realized he had a finite supply he tinkered with what was left with the notes, his native intelligence, and his own on-the-job pharmacy training to make the power permanent. This worked, even if he needs the outside weather to be sufficiently strong for him to jump start the transformation.
Indigo Montana battled Killer Storm at the climax of her first adventure, and he left her for dead. He's not likely to make that mistake again, but she has upgraded her devitalization arrows where the toxin should infuse with his fog body and give him a nasty shock.
Creation Notes
I decided to kick up another Powers character, so 3 powers rolls, 2 skills rolls and a device. The device ended up being the same as one of his powers, which was a nice bit of inspiration for someone who used to need a device and now doesn't. I contemplated keeping both Non-Corporeality powers and let him be able to become non-corporeal himself and turn lots of other things non-corporal with the device (similar to the original Ghost from Iron Man) but I liked the idea of him being mist in the storm more. Hence the historical tidbit about him having needed the drugs before; again, this designing the campaign with a history makes these longer-term character bits possible.
I like the idea of him overpowering Indigo on their first encounter, and him being in for a nasty shock on their second, when her pure Devitalization Ray gas attack rounds, against which Non-Corporeality does diddly, star to rip into his Power Score. This will hardly make him ineffective, but it puts them on a much more even playing field, which is exactly what I want for my two fisted gadgeteer weapon hero.
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