- Michael 'Nicholas' Drago was born June 3rd, 1983 in Hell's Kitchen, to Eileen Hannigan, a single mother with a noticable limp courteousy of Mike's father. Despite this, Mike's surname on the birth certificate took after his father's last name, Savio Carmine 'The Dragon' Drago, at the time a mob soldier.
- Despite the angry protests of Mike's father, Eileen moved with her son out to Hoboken, New Jersey in the hopes of raising him in a slightly less violent and corrupt environment. Apparently she could not move any further than that. They lived on a small budget, using the income she got working as a hotel maid. Mike was kept mainly indoors, either in the apartment, at school, or with his mom at her jobs on the weekends with the occasional visit to the library for the primary source of entertainment.
- When Mike was 10, Eileen stepped out of a first floor room she finished cleaning into the path of people who were busy robbing the hotel. The general belief is that she just happened to startle the more trigger happy of the two. A tragedy for sure.
- With his mom gone and the rather absentee father denied custody as he was considered a bit unfit and really, there were limits to what even what crud the courts will do to a kid, Mike found himself being shipped back to New York, this time to live with his Aunt Fiona Hannigan. He also found himself being the target of an abnormally large amount of people wishing to start fights with him for no reason known to him. Fighting became practically a daily routine for him with little to no intervention from local law enforcement.
- As he got older and more practiced, so did the opponents who kept coming out of the woodwork and his confidence in dealing with whatever problems that came with him grew, along with general disobedience. He started attending the nightlife around age 16 with the proper fake-ID in hand and generally started to have fun partying, fighting, and drinking.
- Around high school age, Mike got into a fight where he found himself outnumbered and one of them with a knife. Teetering on the brink of unconciousness, he ended up projecting himself and fighting off his attackers once again, finding his punches to be rather effective in this manner.
- After similar instances occured, even he figured out the whole power things as well as some general side effects, one of which resulted in him being dragged to the doctor by his Aunt after his irritated, sleep deprived self went and got himself expelled from school. The doctor introduced him to the conecept of sleeping pills to treat what was percieved as a sleep disorder of sorts.
- At age 18, Mike legally changed his last name to 'Hannigan' as an official $@^ you to his father. He found himself living on his own, working several low level jobs. One of which was a convenience store clerk position, which resulted in a stabbed arm by a would be robber. At the hospital he meets Rod Donovan.
- Rod and Mike go out on the town for some underage drinking and run into Wade Shaw and Jack Mantley and hit things off. In their infinite drunken wisdom, they decide to start a band they dubbed 'Greysong'. When they sobered up, they realized they actually sounded good. Since their lives were pretty much crap anyways, they decided to go share a small studio apartment together and focus on music. After much debate amongst the members, and with Rob's convincing argument of 'He may be a shit father but that's a damn good name for the stage', Mike adopted a stage name of Mick Drago for performances.
- After a few years of songwriting, recording demos, working bars, and developing a fan following, they get a call for a record deal from Golem Records.
- After experiencing some promising sales of their debut album, 'Social Disease', three of the band members of Greysong head out to celebrate. Mike, although now of legal drinking age, stayed at the apartment due to some 'sleeping issues'. There was a little bit too much partying, and an unwise decision to drink and drive, resulting in a car accident which results in the deaths of two memebers, Jack and Rod.
- Mike slipped away from the public view for about a year, presumedly staying in Jersey for the time being before returning back into the public eye. Behavior toned down quite considerably and promoting an album he had been working on and using the record company he had a contract with to do it. The album 'Private Hell' has spurned some reaction in its content. Unlike Greysong's songs of party drugs and debauchery, the newer album delves deeper into harder styles and shifting to topics involving heavier drug use, death, violence, depression, and hints of derangement. Some believe that the album is more of a critique on the city of New York itself which has made some quite unhappy with the work. But, albums are selling and it is generating press.
- Several months after Mike returned to New York after a lengthy tour, Mike finds out that his surviving friend, former band mate, and cohabitant, Wade Shaw had been stabbed in the hands during a home invasion. Although blocking the knife with the hands may have saved his life, he would no longer be able to play bass again at a professional level.
- Angry at the invasion of his home and the assault on his friend, Mike is finding himself playing superhero. Or, at least a one man neighborhood watch.
- BLUNT : Although reasonably mannered when working, Mike rarely partakes in the act of 'sugar coating' the truth when off the clock. If he thinks someone is a jerk and he's asked for his opinion on the person, he's likely to say so unless common sense intervenes in time.
- FRUGAL : Due to the years stretching the dollar to make ends meet, Mike sometimes drops into 'frugal mode' (this is the type of guy who can tell the difference between stale dollar store and fresh brand-name chocolate and still would go with the dollar store candy when he's just buying for himself.)
- LOYAL : A friend in need is a friend indeed. This is one thing that could be said of Mike by those who know him. Once someone has achieved friend status in his eyes, there's little he wouldn't do for them if they're in need.
- MOODY : At one point a sweet and introverted child, Mike became the opposite upon his' mother's death. Outspoken, aggressive, impulsive, selfish, not responsible at all,. But upon Rod's death he seems to have blended the two versions of him as his aggression seem to have gone dormant for now as reality has somewhat slapped a sense of responsibility back into him as well as a protective nature when it comes to his friends. Sometimes he can be seen to be a introverted person, but if the situation calls for it, he can easily switch back into his outspoken tendencies.
- PROTECTIVE : There is little he won't do for a friend and it's quite possible that had he been at the apartment during the home invasion, Mike would either have had more cuts to show off or there would be a very battered burglar lying on the floor afterwards. This quirk of his, he's recently discovered to extend even a bit further from just those of the coveted friend status. Perhaps the vacated positions of his other band mates just needed to be filled.
- SOCIALY AWARE : Brad builds houses, Oprah gives cars, Mike does whatever. He's not picky. As with a sizable chunk of the Hollywood and Music notables approaching some form of maturity, Mike has provided his assistance with charities. From Make a Wish to United Way to Disabled Police Officers of America, if they ask for a form of help, he tends to make some form of accomodation.
SELF PROJECTION: The ability to project tangible, audible, sometimes visible, shifting representations of himself while in a trance like state via a psychic link. Although it can be achieved while concious, typically the easiest point at which this state is achieved is while undergoing the lighter stages of sleep, ie. the REM cycle. Due to this, his representations may have a dream like quality to it when visible and can vary from the mundane to the bizzare in appearance.
What the projection can do: Give the appearance of flying as it moves about, Take on different forms, Speak, Physically and cognitively interact with others, concentrate the physical strength of a healthy, active, full grown male to a focal point of the projection for a sizable effect.
What the projection can not do : Produce smells or detect them, It can not taste. It can give the appearance of eating, but once the projection is gone, the food/drink will likely end up on the floor. Lift things that a healthy, active full grown man can not. (No truck lifting), due to the lack of an actual body with organs, the sound of a pulse is not likely (Unless he's having a Edgar Allan Poe 'The Telltale Heart' moment), the projection also does not have a temperature. It does not produce body heat as it lacks an actual body. To anyone who came in contact with the projection, the form would have the same temperature as the surrounding area.
Damage / Fighting the projections : Although it's not truly possible to hurt Mike via interaction with the projections, the possibility of fighting a projection and having an effect upon it, is still there. Particularly if Mike is entering the trance-like state from his sleep. With the projection's ability to interact with others, others have the ability to interact with the projection and the projection at times will compensate it's appearance and effect as a result depending on the nature of the projection. (ie. if someone were to shoot at the projection, the bullet could pass through and the projection starts to give the appearance of bleeding and act, in the mind's best approximation of what one who has been shot would act, like it has been shot. Othertimes, it might pass through and, nothing happens.) Either way, when Mike comes out of his trance/wakes up, he'll be fine.
Range Limitations: Projections initially appear within three miles of Mike's real body, however, the projection can wander further off than that. It just can't automatically start at that point. So, if Mike's projection needs to be 5 miles out? It better start walking/flying.
Appearance Limitations: The restrictions upon the appearances the projection can take are soley on Mike's mind. That said, there is need to know that the human mind, although amazing to what information it can hold, is not perfect when it comes to remembering every single detail there is. Taking on the forms of various types of people, animals, and objects would be possible, but the likelyhood that the details would be exactly right are slim. He doesn't study animals, it's VERY possible that he gets a creature's proportions wrong. What he's taking on are his mind's approximations for what makes something. Imitating specific persons around those who would know them would be near impossible as the likelyhood that he forgets an important detail unique to that person is there. He could do angry wrestler type. But he wouldn't be able to recreate Triple H convincingly. There are exceptions to this. One of which is achieving his own form which, considering how much time he has to stare into a mirror for stage makeup, it's not that surprising he'd know those details. Another would be that of a raven. (There is a reason why Poe got referenced earlier.) So, with the exception of him imitating HIMSELF or a raven, there's no need to worry about him imitating specific persons.
Time Limitations: Due to the nature of the ability, the life of the projections are directly related to how long Mike can maintain the trance like state. (For example: Someone finds Mike's real body and shakes him out of the trance, Mike wakes up from a REM-cycle induced trance or slips into one of his rare deep sleep cycles) On average, Mike can achieve 8 hours of a consistent projection if he is achieving his trance like state via sleeping. If he's awake and attempting it, it's highly dependant on the area around him on whether he can focus properly. (A crowded subway is not the best of environments to try and get into a trance like state while awake)
Effects on the Sleep Cycle: Also due to the nature of how his ability works and general make up. Mike's deep sleep cycles are few and far between. This is a mixed blessing as although this prolongs the trance like state that fuels his power, this does cause for some health issues (See flaw: Sleeping Disorder).
DREAM TRAVEL: Phantasm, not Mike, can step into the dreams of others and traverse from dream to dream. While within the dream, he can interact with it but he does not control the dream environment. Just his own self within it. If within the range of the initial self-projection range, he can even step out of the dream and be in the location of the dreamer. If the dream he's currently in is about to end, he gets booted to another nearby dream or if range permitting gets dumped into the waking world as a self-projection
What he can do:
- Form control : Because he was able to do so in the waking world as Phantasm, Phantasm can control his form and abilites within these dreams.
- Interaction with the environment: If it's something he could normally do in the waking world he can do it here. This means things like talking or gesturing to things, not altering buildings and general physics. (ie. Phantasm believes he can fly, so he flies. He does NOT levitate the other elements of the dream, but maybe, just maybe, he can talk the dreamer into having the element do that.)
- Hop in/Hop out: Imagine dreams as little thought bubbles. Now imagine Phantasm jumping from thought bubble to thought bubble. That's pretty much how he can travel between dreams.
- Last call: When a dream is about to end, Phantasm basically gets booted from that dream into another or if within the starting range of the self-projection, booted to the waking world. This may seem harsh but it's a much better outcome than if he were caught inside a dream when it collapses.
- Back to reality: If within range of his initial self-projection ability, he can pop out of the dream to the place of the dreamer who had the dream.
What he can't do:
- Control the environment: The dream's environment is a creation of the dreamer and theirs to control, not Phantasm. He is not going to be levitating dream elements with his thoughts, nor is he going to be igniting things on fire by his power alone. (Now, if the dreamer causes it to happen by some hint placed by Phantasm, that's another matter.)
LIMITATIONS
- Range : This ability is restricted to dreams within 250 miles of his body.
- Stepping Out : The 250 miles is great for dream travel but there's this little issue of the range for the starting point of self-projection being 3 miles. So, what happens if there is an attempt to exit out of the dream travel when well beyond 3 miles? Well, instead of exiting out, Phantasm would end up getting plopped into a nearby dream. He couldn't actually exit the dream travel into the waking world unless he 1) was in a dream within 3 miles of his body or 2) Woke up/stopped concentrating.
Limitations While Asleep
- Wake up and you're done: The trance like state that help make these abilities possible comes naturally when asleep. But like the concentration aspect of the awake limitations, if you wake up, regardless of the reason, that trance like state that was fueling your abilites goes away. And whatever you were doing just gets dropped. Hopefully there wasn't anything important going on on that other side.
Limitations while Awake
- Concentration: When awake, this ability requires more concentration than the self-projection. It's a bit harder to focus on this in the places where he can get away with self-projection. And it is better to try the ability in a quiet location. There's also the issue if someone purposefully distracts you via, shaking you, screaming at you, etc.
- Headaches: They suck. They're distracting. And if he is focusing on using this ability while awake, it's not a matter of if, it's a matter of when he'll get a headache. And once the headache kicks in, well, there goes the concentration right there. Kaput. Please wait some more before using this ability again. Or go find some place to take a freaking nap.
BRAWLING: Who says all those years of delinquincy didn't pay off? He can hold his own against a thug or two in person. So long as they aren't snipers or other types of long range fighters
DRINKING: Able to drink large locomotive (engineers) under the table, able to down bottles of beer in a single gulp, he's Irish-Italian Musican Guy! With the head start he's had with underage drinking and the non-stop party that is celebrity and genetics is it any wonder that he's developed quite a tolerance for alcohol?
MUSIC: Exceptional with Drums, vocals, guitar, and percussion instruments in general. Mike works to ensure that he's adaptable in this so he may continue to get an income. Along with this desire to expand on his technical ability, he presents another, more intrensic approach to his art. Through the manipulation of sounds and setting of the underlining mood of a song, fans have claimed he is able to entice listeners to have an emotional reaction to his works.
SKETCHING: Although no Da Vinci or Michelangelo, Mike's capable enough with pencil and paper to draw people. And not just headshots. Even the accursed hand drawn to scale task is a no brainer.
SONGWRITING: Separately the songs are addicting but combined, Mike's songs are a drug of their own and seem to get even better when the album is played straight thru. Feeding off of each other they apparently evolve through the progress of the CD, building up to the final song. Yes, it is a song about the horrors of murder and how wrong it is. But darn it all, why can't you stop singing and dancing along to it?! It's not you, Mike's just got a knack for writing addicting songs.
PARTY SENSE: Possibly from all the years of unchecked fun with fake IDs, Mike has been conditioned from experience that he just seems to know when and where the best parties in the city will be. At least, by his opinion. Coupled with his celebrity status, he may actually be allowed IN to these bashes now. Those who tag along with him on these trips are sure to find a good time at some point.
PICK UP ARTIST: Whether it's from the looks, music career, or the way he carries himself, Mike has managed to be rather successful in meeting the girls. Keeping them is another matter.
STAGE PRESENCE: As an entertainer, it is Mike's responsibility to maintain the attention of the audience, to assure them before a note is even struck that the money they pay to see him live, was well spent.
BARGAIN SHOPPER: Yet another part to the frugal nature means he is not afraid to seek out a good deal on something. He's getting rather good at finding good stuff at low prices.
ANDROGYNE: A person who does not fit cleanly into the typical gender roles of society. Although Mike gets into fights, he allows for his hair to grow long which coupled with the angular features of his face have lead to some visual confusion for those who see him. Oh if maintaining this look wasn't so marketable in the music industry!
ALBUM SUCCESS: With his current successes with 'Hell' and the increase in sales of 'Social Disease' due to the release of his solo album and some less than desirable events occuring generating publicity, along with the monetary benefits of his lengthy tour, he does have a bit more money than most. However his finances are still a limited suply and is more a means to maintain a comfortable living in his studio apartment until he gets sick of the city and moves to a state with a lower cost of living.
STUDIO APARTMENT: With just two people sharing the apartment now, this one room, quasi-kitchen, one bathroom apartment seems quite spacious. Although, the occupants would prefer it much more if the other two former occupants were still there.
CRAPPY CELL PHONE: More out of the insistance of the record company and his bandmates, Mike has invested in a phone. It's a simple Nokia, candybar style phone that simply makes phone calls and can technically send and recieve text messages. There is no camera feature on it as that would have meant paying beyond the actual phone plan, and the screen that would display the text messages is kind of squished up due to it being somewhat messed up from being run over. But other than the fact he can't really read text messages on the display and only can see the mail notification icon in the upper left corner teasing him, It still sends and recieves phone calls and in Mike's eyes that means it doesn't need to be replaced.
RECORDING STUDIO: home to a lot of high quality recording equipment, the recording studio Mike uses is nothing but the best for the product he wishes to produce. This is one expense he won't compromise on. Particularly since the recording label is footing the bill.
SPOT LIGHTING: Yet another necessary expense. If people are paying tickets, they are going to get not just an earful, they'll get an eyefull as well.
TOOLS OF THE TRADE: Not everything he uses for his career are kept in the studio. As with most musicians, he does bring some of his work home with him. In the apartment that he shares with Wade resides a drumset, a pair of acoustic guitars, basic maintenance supplies for the instruments, a music keyboard, a tape recorder, practice drum pads, and some sound proofing panels that a nearby studio was 'going to throw out anyways' (Or so the living Greysong members claim)
TV OLDER THAN MIKE: Hooked up to a converter box, this TV has seen better days, this Magnavox boasts the capability of 16 channels but currently has 5 programmed into it three times and also has wood paneling on the side. The remote that came with the TV has long been lost and the door covering the volume and picture controls is missing as well.
WADES LAPTOP: Alright, technically the laptop in the apartment belongs to the roomie and not him, but kind hearted Wade has set up a restricted access user account JUST for Mike so he may go online and do some browsing. The laptop is of good quality and is quite capable of running the sound intensive programs that the true owner of the laptop uses but Mike doesn't directly use them anyways.
SOCIAL CIRCLE: With the success of his newest album, along with the press he has received from the incidents surrounding Greysong, there have been numerous persons from the wealthy class who have wanted to 'hang out' with him. Granted most of them do it to get a little bit of his press for their own, but there are some who do it out of actual interest. He has managed to hook himself into several social circles within the entertainment and in some aspects, political industry which is beneficial for his career and influence.
WADE SHAW: With Mike's approach to friendship, Wade benefited greatly from Mike's treatment after the home invasion. Still working to get his hand back up to par post-surgery, he has not gone back to playing guitar professionally as of yet but instead has moved into sound production with Golem Records. He is also splitting the cost on the studio apartment he still shares with Mike and acts as first in line to critique Mike's work.
GOLEM RECORDS: Going through his solo break-thru, he is still very much affiliated with the same recording label he cut his last album with. They provide the staff for recording his albums, the initial investments to produce his albums, and have also, come to the aide of his friend Wade Shaw in giving him employment. While Mike continues to sell, this company will continue to cater.
FAME: Whether through the consistent play time on the radio waves, exceptional music reviews, the plastering of posters in most major cities advertising concerts during his last tour, or the supermarket tabloids speculating on his love life, his dealing with tragic events, or the Bro-mance that is WadenDrago. Mike is not exactly an unknown.
INNATE TALENT FOR MUSIC: While some people pick up on math quickly, Mike has picked up music in such a manner. Although he does practice, there's a bit to what he does in music that's more instinctual than something learned through practice.
FOOT MEET MOUTH: 'Think before you speak' is a known rule, but when you're too tired to think, this rule can often times be ignored. This 'foot in mouth syndrome' developed in his time growing up in New York, basically the result of the stress of his life being uprooted, incessant fights, and the increasing irritableness of not getting enough sleep. When people got on his nerves, he was apparently too tired to even consider being tactful with his words and often would just speak his thoughts as they popped into his head. By the time the causing factors for this was treated, Mike and those around him were so used to his manner of speaking that there really was no reason to start practicing self-censorship even then.
MEDICINE RELATED VULNERABILITY: For Mike, deep sleep cycles do not come easy. The issue is not life threatening but severe enough that he had been prescribed medication to allow for him to regulate his sleep. If he doesn't regulate his sleep using this method, his irritability goes up and his general sense of powers control goes down. If he does regulate his sleep, during the times at which he is using his medicine, his projection ability becomes pretty much unuseful to him during that time period.
MOB CONNECTIONS: One could argue with Savio's interference within the music industry that Mike had gotten an unfair leg up in the music industry. This can lead to some forms of resentment there. On top of that, with Savio pulling strings for the 'benefit' of his son, there is likely a debt being built up somewhere. And someone will eventually have to pay. Knowing of the arrangements or not.
WATCHED BY THE MOB: Mike may not be aware of it, but even when the courts told him to stay away, Savio has been very active in influencing Mike's upbringing using what mob ties he has. From arranging for his mother's demise, the trouble to come Mike's way growing up, the initial record deal, to even Wade's job with the company, he's been crafting things in the background. Is this the wish of a father wanting the best of his son, or more an investment that will bring about more for Savio? Whatever the reason, Savio's string pulling involved more than just him and that brings Mike's relationship to Savio to the notice of people he'd likely not want to be noticed by.
IGNORANCE: What Mike knows of his father is that he is an abusive, no good crook and that his mom hated him. That was more than enough for Mike to know he didn't want anything to do with Savio. He certainly does not wish to get to know him which leads to him knowing quite little beyond 'he's a crook'. As far as he knows, Savio's a burglar or a mugger type. Perhaps if he knew a bit more about the whole mob ties thing or of Savio's influence, maybe he'd be a bit more cautious about what he says and does. And certainly he wouldn't be using a stage name that advertises his connection to those who know of his father.
CELEBRITY: What is Mick Drago? A talented figure who has undergone some personal tragedies to make something of himself? A product of the music industry capitalizing upon the tragedies, preying on the sympathies of music consumers? A selfish party hearty musician who adjusts his persona to what he thinks is more profitable? Perhaps a man who likes to upset people with inflammatory lyrics crticizing the great city of New York or a man who truly wants to change the city for the better? There are a lot of interpretations to what Mike may be out there and it comes with being a celebrity. People who don't have time to get to know the real you, will make judgements based off of what snippets they can get. Mike doesn't get to meet all the people who have formed opinions of him. He doesn't get to have a chance to find out just who and how many may have less than favorable ones of him. Nor does he get the opportunity to at least defend himself from these judgements. Such is the dirty side of Fame. Judgement without the defense. And sometimes the formation of an enemy without the heads up.
PAPARAZZI AND TABLOIDS: What is worse than having a really bad day? How about having a really bad day and having a picture commemorating that in the Enquirer? It seems that with certain types, respect for one's privacy does not rank high. Who Mike hangs out with, where Mike likes to go, even so much as what he may like to eat or drink. This is considered fair game for these vultures with cameras to report on. People who keep to themselves or maintain a low profile, may not feel comfortable around Mike when these leeches start to show up.
PROTECTIVE OF WADE: In Mike's life he's had two people who have reached Best friend level, and both times they have been taken from him. As a result of knowing what it's like to lose them, he treasures his friends and puts their comfort over his own needs. One such example is Wade Shaw. With his track record involving friends, Mike wants to protect this one. He's continuing to live with the guy, basically helping to keep the cost of the apartment down, he's involving Wade with his work. There's likely little that he wouldn't do for Wade.
HATES HIS FATHER: Even with what little information he has, He has an extremely low opinion of his father and does not make this a mystery. Nor does he wish to be associated with Savio. As far as he's concerned, Mick Drago is a stage name that he likely would not have chosen had his friends not encouraged it and when he's not doing anything related to the music career, he'd rather not be called by that. He does not like talking about his father.
