(7th Grade) Original:
Karnie was born to 2 circus freaks. He was raised by them until the age of 8 when he was shipped off to a new type of Karnival located in Rhode Island.This sort of circus was much different than any other circus imaginable. The performers were completely made up of mutants. These mutants would show off their powers and tricks.This was the average life of a performer in this Karnival. However, Karnie's experience was different. With his natural power of fire extremely dangerous, he had to learn how to control it before it got out of hand. Unfortunately, when Karnie attempted his first performance as a 'circus freak' his powers spun out of control. That day the circus tent as well as many other attractions were ruined in a fiery inferno, killing hundreds of people. Karnie was then labeled an 'outcast' and was forced to set out roaming the streets with only a half-burnt picture of his parents and his old circus costume. Throughout that year he attempted to improve his reputation. He began to become a hero, not just a circus performer. One day Nacht Twigdeath, a mentor, a fellow hero, and a friend, pushed him towards joining the Sixth Column. Although the Sixth was an organization filled with mostly former 5th Columnists, Karnie decided this could be a new start for his new life. Over the years he improved his powers by a great deal, and also developed many new friendships with members of the Sixth Column, as well as other hero's within Paragon City. He lived happily within this organization; a place where he could be accepted by his peers for his unnatural talent.
(10th Grade) Edit:
Andreas Bleistein was born in 1992 to an impoverished family composed of his two parents, them working as circus clowns to provide for their son, and Andreas. At the time Andreas, and his parents when they weren't raveling, lived in a small shack in Murmansk. Known by friends of his parents as 'the accident', he never received much attention, and was left to his isolated self during the time he presided in his family's trailer-park-like home.
Upon reaching the age of twelve, Andreas' dad made the decision to send him off to a traveling circus headquartered in Rhode Island. Following the footsteps of his parents, he obeyed his father's choice and was shipped off to embark on his new life as a 'circus freak'.
One thing that had always separated Andreas from the other kids, as a child, and the other performers at this new circus was his unnatural ability to manipulate and control fire. For him, his abilities were frequently brushed off as his insolence to the real powers of his gift kept him from truly mastering them. However, the set up of the circus tents at performances were a large issue for Andreas as the surplus of fire-lit torches kept constantly, and not purposely, pulling the fire towards him.
His recognization of this resulted in a flurry of thoughts to fill his head. "What happens if the fire catches on to the seats of the stadium?" "What would be the reaction of my dad?" "What would happen to me?" "How can I control this?"
Andreas decided that he 'play sick', for the first few performances and use that spare time to meld and shape his abilities. For the first four weeks of travel, Andreas used lighters and sticks to practice his powers. He would not put the attendants in danger, and he would most certainly not let the death of thousands be his fault.
Time passed and Andreas' control over manipulating fire blossomed like a flower in the spring, and the time soon came where he felt comfortable participating in the performances, not to mention the skepticism of the ring leaders towards his 4 week long illness.
So, Andreas began to be a part of the daily shows. Acting as a gymnist, his abilities were not utilized, but as long as the audience was safe from harm, his mind was clear. This routine schedule went on for some odd two years, until the 'final performance' had arrived.
The success of the traveling circus was second to useless regarding the monetary benefits for the owners. Though the performances were all but monotonous and boring, performer demands of higher salaries and low ticket prices kept profits low, and as time went by and Andreas' powers matured, the welfare of his circus deteriorated. Thus, his group chose to make one final performance to leave a lasting impression on the fans they had earned over the years.
For the final performance, the motto was 'make it big', and this is exactly what would happen. With attendance reaching over 40,000, Andreas was all but calm. His excitement and elation with the quality of the performance resulted in an overly-stimulated piece of mind, which not only would affect his gymnastic performance, but would also result in one of his biggest mistakes of his life.
While the spotlight was on Andreas, he performed his specially performance gymnist routine with vigor and ecstaticism. The crowd "OOO'd" and "AAAAH'd" as they watched his masterful moves through the thick air of the circus atmosphere. Andreas' please with the crowds response was welcomed by him, but we wanted something more, something to really culminate his two-year circus journey.
He chose to terminate his performance by exposing his real powers and encircling himself with flame and then spitting it out into the space around him. After landing his vaulted triple-back flip corkscrew, he did just what he desired. Surely he thought, the crowd would applaud for him. They would cheer until their voices became sore and their hands became callused. This was all but what happened.
Upon spewing out the fire into the air like he had planned, the wisps of the eruption had overshot his estimations, and landed in a circular-like pattern along the walling of the circus tents. The flames roared like the circus tigers as the tent burnt to a crisp. The wooden seating caught aflame as people scrambled to evacuate the building in a frenzy of panic; there was no hope.
In the aftermath of the accident, close to only 3,000 people remained. Charred, blackened bodies lay in the area inside where tent was previously held, ashes covered the grounds around them, and smog thick enough you could cut it filled rapidly filled the atmosphere. Police vehicles and ambulances were scattered around the scene, making haste to record the bodies still identifiable. Newspaper companies and their reporters were filming on-site, depicting the 'gruesome tale' to audiences all around the country.
Andreas lay sulking on sorrow amidst the activities going on a round him. He lay in fear thinking of what would happen next; what would happen to him, and what would it mean for the rest of his life. All he had known for his some 14 years was the life of a circus freak, nothing more, nothing less. This terminating blow would end his career for sure, nonetheless his popularity among the ones who so lovingly adored him and his performances. And all he could say he had to conclude his 'journey through the circus' was a seared face.
In the following days he was labeled an outcast. He went into hiding to avoid the inevitable court appeal for, in the best situation, involuntary manslaughter, begun to preside under bridges and in boxes within Newport, Rhode Island, a city close to where he first began his life in America, and scavenged for money to make end's meat on a day to day basis.
Subject: Karnie's Backstory 
Fri Jul 10, 2009 4:24 pm
