Adam Grayson is the main protagonist of Phantonics. He is the wielder of the Ability known as the World Mirror, created by the Ouderkirk Royal Family of Requiem. Together with Charlotte Ouderkirk and his friends, he seeks out the truth behind his power, as well as the world he lives in.
Appearance
Adam has pale skin, silver-gray eyes, and dark brown hair with light brown streaks. These grow naturally, which is something he has always wondered about. He usually does not care about his appearance that often, shown by his unkempt hair and rather bland fashion sense. He does, however, like to occasionally wear purple galaxy shoes.
Personality
Adam is typically described as a mellow and laid back person. He likes to place himself in relaxing situations, such as constant naps in his bed or peaceful walks around Prelude. Although quiet, he is not afraid to speak his mind when needed. When he's with people he can trust, Adam will talk about anything, even odd topics such as apples.
His personality can sometimes be contradictory or clash against itself. One example is how he can easily be embarrassed about something (trying to activate the World Mirror while yelling in the shower) while being completely okay with another thing (seeming serious with Brandon's joke on wanting to try on makeup). There's no true way to predict what Adam will be down for or what he'll be against doing. This also plays a part in his hatred of puns. He'll show utter disgust in any puns made unless it's "really good", as stated by Brandon Shepherd. It has yet to be confirmed what conditions "really good" would fall under.
On a more serious side, Adam has a dislike of being referred to as a "hero", especially since many people around him tend to point out that he holds these qualities. As a child, Adam had a more vibrant and cheerful personality, even going as far as to do "heroic" acts for people, specifically Faith Roswell. Growing up, this persona faded away upon viewing the true horrors of the world. By high school, Adam had shut himself off from the majority of contact with others. Seeing his friends become more busy with their lives, Adam felt as though they did not need him anymore. This caused loneliness to take root within him, causing a huge strain on his mental health. With his mother deceased and his father never around, he couldn't find it in him to seek help.
After his suicide attempt, Adam has begun to slowly accept his friends once more and is now comfortable enough to interact with them using his new personality. Despite the positive change, when Adam first began using the World Mirror, he felt the darkness begin to boil up within himself. This is shown either through his savageness in battle (such as not caring about damage to himself or his opponents) or acts of violence (such as when he did not hold back in striking Rizzo or destroying the door to Pam's office). He's also slipped into various states of depression in fights (against Derek Sommers and Alexander Strauss, for example) that show he still has a long way to go with his recovery from his inner turmoil growing up. Usually, Adam breaks through these moments with a strong, refined resolve to keep going. However, the constant build up and tear down is starting to wear on him.
Background
Powers and Skills
World Mirror
An example of Adam releasing the power of the World Mirror.
The World Mirror is a mysterious Ability that resides within Adam. According to Charlotte, it was originally created by the Royal Family of Requiem for a purpose unknown to her. Learning the secrets to this power is a common goal of Adam and Charlotte.
It is typically displayed as a calm (sometimes fierce) white aura that surrounds Adam, granting him enhanced physical prowess and regeneration capabilities. This initially had to be unleashed by causing stress on his body, which formed the World Mirror's energy in order to heal himself. He would then use the power in any way he could. By training with Charlotte, Adam became capable of placing the World Mirror's energy under his control, summoning it when he wants. Inside his mind, he pictures the energy emitting out of him in the form of shards of a mirror. He gains control by collecting the shards using hands he forms, dragging the shards back into himself.
Once Adam begins to understand the Ability to a better degree, the way he uses it begins to change. Thanks to a suggestion from Muraco, Adam begins naming certain techniques to help keep track of what the World Mirror can do.
- Outline: After overcoming his mental turmoil he experienced during his fight with Alexander, Adam begins using the World Mirror's aura in a different fashion. Instead of him having it casually emit out of him, it forms a thin, transparent white outline around his body. By doing this, Adam seems to be able to move around and strike at foes much easier, without as much risk to damaging his body.
- Overlay: When Adam wants to channel more energy to a certain part of his body, he uses Overlay. With this technique, the area is completely blanketed in the energy of the World Mirror as opposed to being partially covered by Outline. Adam can use this to have a stronger defense or offense, depending on the situation.
- Impact: Originally, Adam struck at enemies by imitating Derek's Ability, flinging the World Mirror's energy through his body just as Derek flung phantons throughout his. Due to the raw power of his Ability, this would usually cause Adam to lose limbs in the process. One he began to use Overlay, Adam now tends to strike hard using this safe, yet powerful method.
- Redirection (Can also be called "Redirect"): During his second fight with Muraco, Adam had activated a strange power. By storing up the energy from being knocked back by Muraco, Adam could shoot himself right back into the action. He initially compares it to "reflecting" the energy back at the enemy, even going as far as comparing it to a mirror while trying to break through the barrier underneath Minuet. Eventually, he realizes that the energy can be redirected in any direction he chooses, thus creating the true name of this technique.
- Reflection (Can also be called "Reflect"): Adam first discovers this power while breaking through the barrier underneath Minuet. By taking certain forms of "code" (either phantonic, chaonic, or otherwise), Adam can process the data inside his mind. He describes the processed data as something that simply cannot be described in words, yet it allows him to understand new properties nonetheless.
- Overwrite: After processing data via Reflection, Adam can choose what to do with the new information. By using Overwrite, Adam is capable of completely destroying the source if he chooses to do so as he did with the barrier underneath Minuet and Phobos' illusions.
There are other components of the World Mirror that Adam has yet to give an actual name to.
- Regeneration: Adam is capable of healing from wounds he takes in battle. The World Mirror is even capable of regenerating limbs he loses, including the ones he destroys accidentally. Usually, the rate in which he can heal completely depends on how much strength his body has at that current point. If he uses too much of the World Mirror's energy, it can cause his body to slowly destroy itself. At that point, only an outside source of energy could potentially save him.
- Eyes: When the World Mirror is active, Adam's irises change from their natural gray color to a glowing white, similar to the Ability's aura. Initially, he could not control when this occurred, as it naturally reacted to various forms of energy (such as seeing Lucy's spirit inside of Ann's). When he gains control over his Ability, this no longer seems to be an issue. Adam is also capable of seeing forms of energy with his eyes, even if they're invisible normally. An example is how phantons and chaons usually give off a blue and red aura, respectively, yet can sometimes not be detected by the human eye. Adam surpasses this and is able to see the color regardless.
Trivia
- Adam loves apples. He will eat pretty much anything if apples are involved in some way.
- Adam loves coffee as well and struggles during breakfast deciding if he wants to drink coffee or apple juice.
- Adam's favorite activities are napping and going for walks around Prelude.
- Adam hates loud people, yet some of the people closest to him are quite talkative (such as Brandon and Faith).
- Adam is named after a childhood friend of the author who passed away in 2011.
- When it comes to science, Phantonics was the only one Adam was interested in during school. With school in general, he excels at most history courses.