Fine Print
Sonar backstory hcs
18+ | MDNI ▷ | 👔🦇| ▷
TW: same that apply for the game, Victor’s rap sheet, I don't know how prison works, angst, shameless X-Men references, long as hell
A/N: I overthink my headcanons, but I am free. Written with new fans in mind as well as my fellow bat brain rotters. I wanted to keep it as canon as possible with as close of a timeline as possible. Canon bits noted. Sfw ref links here and there.
AO3 HERE "Half Man" gen lore hcs [HERE] | "Half Bat" Megabat smut hcs [HERE] | “All Freak" Hybrid smut hcs [HERE]
His life trends up and down more than the stock market, but you keep him in the green...
▷ SQUARE ONE
DOB: 5-27-91 (Gemini) / 11-8-91 (Scorpio) [both canon]
- May 27th birthday appears on his flight license
- Nov 8th appears on his criminal record
- His age in the SDN database shows 32 in the game timeframe (July 2023) so the May date seems to be accurate
- Both bdays/signs will be considered, as a treat
- How convenient that we can entertain the attributes of each sign for each form… (Hybrid is Gemini, megabat is Scorpio)
CURRENT AGE: 34
POB: San Francisco, CA [canon]
SURNAME: Vanderpool, making his initials look like lil fangs V V. Inspired by the Vanderbilt family and that he likes to play billiards 🗳️ Community Vote Winner 🗳️
PARENTS: Pallid bat shifter mother and human father
- All in game data shows a DOB and POB with no mention of experimentation or altered means, likely confirming biological origin
- Similar to Malevola being technically hybrid as well, half demon/half human [canon] versus Golem with an unknown place of birth/creation and brought to life by magic [canon]
SIBLING: Older sister, human features in a vaguely Anne Hathaway/Eva Green persuasion, with non-retractable bat wings that extend from her back (a la Nitara from Mortal Kombat)
FAMILY DYNAMIC: Generally supportive but not necessarily close. They value hard work, success, humor, and wealth. Keeping up with the Jones’. Social climbers. Paychecks were always prioritized over anything else, including family time, with both parents often working two jobs. Partially because of how expensive San Francisco is, but mostly, pride. Not close with extended family on either side.
▷ EARLY LIFE
Victor grew up in a predominantly human, average-middle class neighborhood. If he came from money, believe me this mf would mention that trust fund or old money constantly.
Since we don’t know how common powered individuals are, I’m using the X-Men as a baseline. Because of course I would. Very questionable ballpark statistics incoming:
Current mutant global population: ~250k Asia and Africa hold ~80% of the world’s population: ~200k Remaining ~50k split between the other continents: ~12,500 US mutant population: ~6,250 The largest cities in the US are: New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston, and Phoenix, making the likelihood of powered supers in these areas higher than others. Roughly 1,250 per major city metro.
...Meaning, powered people would be uncommon, specifically powered visible non-humans. It’s likely that these families would be concentrated near SDN branches, if not for being employed, for the community and or safety. (Because we know mutants are famously respected, not discriminated against, and beloved by all…)
All that said, our boy was teased in school relentlessly. Kids called him a Furby for like three years. None of the bullying was too physical, because they were also low key scared of him, and Victor leaned into that intensely. He built up his confidence over the years, but still had moments of otherness, second guessing every interaction.
In 2005, he got revenge his freshman year, hacking three of his bully’s MySpace profiles. He switched out all of their pictures for “I have the high ground!” memes and trolled all their comments. He was insanely pleased with himself. So much so, that he did it all through high school.
In the process, his tech skills advanced tremendously. He went from basic html to coding, to building computers and even to early app development over the course of three years. It set him on the tech path for a career.
Attending MIT was his original plan, but even though his abilities were impressive, they weren’t enough to get a scholarship. The initial hurt from that rejection letter was the first time he shifted into his megabat form. He didn’t, couldn’t, transform back for almost two days.
▷ COLLEGE ERA
In those long 48 hours, he decided to leave tech, switch to a finance focus, and pivot his dream college to Harvard. He figured if he could handle the focus of retaining his sentience in his other form, he could handle doing what it takes to be an Ivy League man.
He had the grades and SAT scores, but what got him in was the fledgling business he created. He called it Nightlight, and it offered financial planning to students for a small fee*.
*For the first 30 minutes and recurring charges would auto bill at a higher than introductory rate.
Predatory, of course, but he was a student in need too, after all. Victor graduated high school a year early in 2008, and with a scholarship in hand, headed to Boston.
The city was a bit of a culture shock from the Bay Area, but he adjusted quickly. He didn’t exactly leave any friends behind back home. Here, he felt more like a novelty than a target, and that allowed him to focus on his finance degree.
At first, he put everything into school, but over time, the burnout crept up. And cynicism. Victor is a smart guy. He knew he could be a financial success by flying through a few loopholes and getting creative with his justifications. Get them before they get you mentality. Competition.
That’s what he grew up with, whatever it takes to win. A few side schemes started up here and there, and the slow integration to the fratty financebro crowd. With his extreme academic success, he pitched ideas to companies back home, already getting offers for positions upon graduation.
This was the most social, ego-boosting point of his life. He was the Silicon Valley promising talent first, half-bat hybrid second.
Parties throughout the week, a drug buffet now at his fingertips. He lost his virginity at his 20th birthday party listening to Party Rock Anthem on the bottom bunk of his shared dorm. Unsurprisingly, he finished before the song did. He thought it went great. She did not. And she did not enjoy the ringing in her ears from his screeches that lasted hours afterwards.
Encounters that weren’t just dares or pure curiosity were paper thin, but casual hookups were fine by him. Except our poor boy does not have the game he thinks he does. The uncontrollable chirps around anyone he liked didn’t help things. The uncontrollable urge to talk about investments, his market strategies, and his portfolio really didn’t help things.
He had one situationship that lasted for a few weeks, but ultimately ended when she learned he didn’t have the yacht he said he did. However, lines didn’t care about what he had. And strippers didn’t care either. Those were boobs that embraced you as you are. And Victor loved that.
▷ CRIMINAL ERA
A few MLM schemes kept his new habits barely funded while he finished out his degree. Crypto conversations ramped up with his friends and how they needed to be "on the ground floor of something big". Victor was all in, especially with graduation around the corner.
Unfortunately, he didn’t have the cash they did. (See above regarding strippers and blow.) After discussions about the capital he didn’t have, Victor was nervous about not living up to his namesake. He’s a winner. He couldn’t let this opportunity go by.
Things went downhill from there.
Threatening to eat someone if they didn’t front the remainder of his share of the investment wasn’t extortion in Victor’s megabat eyes. But in his ex-business partner’s, whose mom was a lawyer? Different story.
Graduation was May 7th, earning him his degree in finance, summa cum laude. Victor had a week to go home and visit family to celebrate their Harvard grad they were so proud of. All of his work had paid off, and he was going for the top.
Then, the next paper he earned landed him in court.
— May 14, 2012 - Extortion - 2 year term [canon]
—
He refused to tell his family about the charge and sentence. Instead, he served his time and was able to get out early, testifying he was simply too ambitious and anything but dangerous! After all, he just graduated from Harvard!
After being released, Victor left Boston and returned to San Francisco. All of his money was tapped out from legal fees, and the best he could do was get a shitty apartment in Sunnyvale. After a few GoFundMe scams, and a touch of embezzlement through a sketchy start up he worked for, he slipped on a new suit and into his golden boy era.
From 2013-2016 he worked for a few notable companies in the financial sector. Unbeknownst to his bosses, he was also on the clock creating investment fraud schemes that lined his pockets for his vices.
Once he hit the year mark, he was onto the next position. Each addition to his resume only made him more valuable for the next company. The rush was addictive, each bit of embezzlement and money laundering kept him pushing the envelope. He couldn’t lose.
By day, it was presentations based on bullshit, office jargon, and elaborate spreadsheets. By night, it was black tie schmoozing parties, pretentious overpriced so-called art gallery shows, and pills in every color. His apartments got bigger and eventually he moved to Menlo Park. Extravagant, luxurious, infuriating spending. The money came in faster than he could count.
But then, hubris came to collect…
— Nov 6, 2016 - Wire Fraud - 1 year term [canon]
—
He could easily afford a lawyer that prevented the sentence from being longer, but Victor did find himself out of a job again. And now with two strikes on his background, it was overshadowing his credentials and resume. Things weren’t so golden anymore.
When he was released, his target was clear. Brad fucking Connors. The whistleblower. Had he ever gone through coke withdrawals in jail? No! For that alone, Victor saw nothing but red. It was dramatic, and petty, waiting until Christmas Day to destroy his house, but Brad ruined his life.
— Dec 25, 2017 - Destruction of property - 3 year term [canon]
—
While serving out his sentence, he would bide his time reading all sorts of business grindset books, listening to crypto podcasts when he could, and keeping his focus on coming out on top, somehow. Unfortunately, through the investigation, more came to light. All of the fraud schemes initiated now three years ago, were in front of a judge.
— Jan 26, 2020 - Investment fraud - 5 year term [canon]
—
He remembered seeing bits of the news with his mugshot:
“The Menlo Park resident, former CFO of Nightlite and financial advisor the of popular app Seventy, now known as ‘Batboy Conman’ has been charged with: forgery, embezzlement, perjury, and investment fraud. Experts estimate over 93.2 million dollars in investor losses so far, making the Batboy the single orchestrator of the most effective, and detrimental, investment frauds in Silicon Valley to date.”
The inmate in the common area belted out a laugh.
“Ha! Imagine how goddamn stupid they must feel to be ripped off by a fucking rabid flying rat pretending to be a man.”
Victor didn’t remember, not really, his orange jumpsuit tearing as his body gave way to wings and red eyes. And that he took a bite. A big one.
By the time security came in, Victor had shifted back, blood on his face.
He didn’t kill inmate #356, he just didn’t care if he bled out by the time the medics came.
— Jan 26, 2020 - Second degree murder - 9 year term [canon]
—
Of course he took the plea bargain, citing his megabat nature as simply a slip. He wasn’t a bad person. He went to Harvard.
Two years later, Victor found himself on a miraculous probation through his defense team. And said miracle left him broke again.
He didn’t know if his family ever caught the news, the story fell out of the news circuit after a few days for the next headliner. But despite it all, he walked somewhat free again, behind nearly a decade of brilliantly devastating white collar crimes. (And one, not so white.)
The luxury apartment? Gone. The art? Gone. He sold what few valuables that weren’t seized and packed the rest in an IKEA storage container. The reality that the cost of living was too much for him now was a huge hit to his pride.
He was so, so close to being the poster boy of success. But still, after everything, he was no quitter. He moved south, outside of LA where things were slightly more affordable and fell back into old comforts.
A little too much.
▷ HERO ERA
His vision was blurry, then dark, and he realized how bad the floor smelled. He could barely hear distant voices:
“Oh my god there’s some dead thing in there!”
“Like what?”
“Like a guy-creature-thing, kind of? I don’t know. I’m not going in.”
“Babes, stop being dramatic, I’ll go in.”
Before he realized it, his torn jacket was being hauled across the floor by a red-skinned hand. The hand of a devil with the soul of a savior.
When he came to, he was propped up in a booth at the club. Right, this is where he was first. The woman with the horns told him what happened. Non judgmental, but warning. Genuine.
She wasn’t human, at least not wholly, he remembered. She had no idea who he was or what he’d done, just that he was someone needing a bit of help at a low, low point.
They were fast friends after that, his first true friend. Someone like him too, in more ways than he realized. They shared rap sheets and how they planned on stepping over their mistakes to move forward.
Eventually, Malevola became his NA sponsor [canon], inviting Victor out for dinner with her and her girlfriend when he felt the pull to do something overly destructive.
Emphasis on overly.
Mal herself loved a good time and was no stranger to vices. They still partied and indulged from time to time, but always pulled back.
Victor got back into investing and crypto, growing confidence again. With a roommate, he could now be in a slightly above mediocre apartment. He felt like his luck was finally turning around.
In February 2023, Malevola convinced him with what he called, “a pretty solid elevator pitch”, to join a second chance organization for people like them, the Phoenix Program [canon].
Upon joining, she said no name worked for her new hero persona and that her actual name was fitting. Victor, on the other hand, embraced his nature and his apparent talent for finding his way through the dark.
Sonar.