Characteristic

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51

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24

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Xu was born just prior to the Cultural Revolution in China and his father, and then his mother, were imprisoned for involvement in counter-revolutionary movements.  Xu was sent to an uncle where he grew up as a virtual house servant.  Neither his mother or father ever left the prisons, reports of their deaths ranged from accidental causes to disease to suicide.  Xu had become accustomed to his new existence and never questioned what he had been told.  When he was fourteen, however, he was abducted by a man calling himself Chuang Tang, and taken to a reclusive monastery near the Tibetan border, where he was introduced to the mystical paths of Hua Ren.

Astrologers had indicated that Xu would play an important part in the liberation of the Chinese people, but his training was disrupted by the Red Army which discovered the monastery's secret purpose and destroyed it.  Xu escaped with a handful of others and travelled to Tibet where he came to learn the teachings of Buddhism.

But the teachings of Hua Ren would not leave him, and Xu began to attract all kinds of unusual creatures and situations, so much so that his peers began to avoid him and called him the cursed one.  Nonetheless, Xu continued to learn the ways of Buddha, and found some semblance of peace.  It was 1990, and Xu was now a young man.  He decided to return to China, and although he had only mastered a hint of the mystical powers of Hua Ren he felt that enlightenment could be found by further study of magic.  He travelled throughout the western regions of China searching for teachers, but none could offer him any advanced insights.  He had already surpassed them without formal training.  And so, Xu turned to the spirit world.  He made pledges to ancient spirits of dubious intentions and managed to gain further knowledge.

The spirits had managed to twist his mind in a way, turning his nights into living terrors.  During the day, Xu was calm and philosophical; but when he slept, he battled the darker side of his humanity and the assembled dark spirits.  Rather than go mad, however, Xu saw this as a kind of balance which would bring purity and peace.  He would be in control of his mind and life during the light, and would have to battle to maintain that control during the dark.

When the Immortals were being reorganised, Xu happened to have made a public appearance in Shanghai, beating back a wave of dark rodent-like demons.  He normally battled against evil in his secret ways, but the media had taken an interest, and through them, the government.  Xu was hunted down and offered a position on the new team.  At first he had thought to decline, but then he realised his life was a constant process of change, and that such a change as working with a government sponsored team might lead to further enlightenment.

Xu is a powerful mystic, having trained with Master Hua Ren before his death, as well as the unnamed spirits of chaos.  He is able to manipulate, or weave, the magic into a variety of effects.  in addition to his knowledge of Chinese sorcery, Xu also possesses a magical reed rope which is able to ensnare even the most aggressive and violent of opponents.  He is also, incidentally, a master of Kung Fu.

Xu is an athletic man in his early forties, but is stronger and more resilient than many men half his age.  He has shaved his head since he was twenty-two and keeps his body free from harmful substances or other violations.  As Monkey, he wears form-fitting black trousers with the Monkey symbol, but is otherwise naked.  Out of uniform he wears robes of varying colour.  He can appear older or younger, depending on his current disposition.