Facade

Alain Facile

The son of French cosmetics magnate Camilla LeClare and her husband Henri Facile, Alain grew up a child of privilege and wealth, noted for his good looks and charm. His keen intellect and family connections got him into the most prestigious private schools; his behavior got him thrown out of them. Although athletic and well-read, his ambitions never extended beyond inheriting a great deal of money and finding fun and exciting new ways to spend it.
Tragedy struck one night when Facile left a nightclub in Ibiza severely intoxicated and climbed behind the wheel of his sports car. Two other people in the car with him were killed in the ensuing crash, one crippled for life, and Alain Facile left with second- and third-degree burns over ninety percent of his body.
His desperate parents spared no expense in his treatment, including a radical and experimental skin grafting procedure using genetically enhanced and cultured skin cells. It worked miraculously, but with unexpected side effects. Facile was able to mold and shape his skin and hair, even causing it to change color, allowing him to take on almost any appearance. His jubilation was short-lived however, since he also discovered he “shed” his new skin roughly every 24 hours, taking some time to regenerate it. Facile was a freak. He was also being brought up on charges for the accident that led to his condition.
So Alain Facile arranged his own “suicide”— shedding his old life like he did his skin. He disappeared and the spy and saboteur known as “Facade” made his mark on the criminal underworld.

Physical Description

Special abilities

Facade has the ability to mold his epidermal layers (including his hair) simply by concentrating, with about the effort it takes most people to clench a muscle. He can likewise change the pigmentation of his skin, hair, and even eyes. Initially somewhat crude, he has practiced his unique ability to the point of being able to effect an incredibly convincing transformation in moments. A natural actor and mimic, his skills have improved to the point where he can often fool even close friends of his chosen target.
Facade’s primary drawback is that once he sets his outward appearance, he cannot change it without shedding his entire outer epidermis, much like a snake sheds it skin. His enhanced skin regenerates quickly, and he can once again shape it, but it still takes a short time between transformations. His skin naturally sheds each day as well, roughly 24 hours after his last regeneration. Facade can feel this coming on and takes pains to be in private when it happens. Still, it can potentially compromise his impersonations.
Because of the regenerative properties of his enhanced skin, Facade also heals quickly from most injuries.

Mental characteristics

Intellectual Characteristics

Spoiled and arrogant, Facade feels entitled to take whatever he wants. Embittered by his transformation, he lost what little ability he had to care about the feelings or lives of others. People are just playthings to him, to be enjoyed and discarded at his whim. He holds to certain professional standards because they serve him, not out of any real sense of honor, but prides himself in his work and reputation.
Facade takes a sick pleasure in ruining other people’s lives, inflicting the same kind of loss he suffered. He disdains work as a hired killer, but will gladly involve himself in acts of character assassination. For the most part, he uses his abilities as a thief and spy, getting close to people and into places to acquire his target, then disappearing.
Facade throws himself so deeply into his adopted “roles” partly because they allow him, for a brief time, to forget the freak he has become. He has an aversion to his former identity as Alain Facile and rarely, if ever, takes on his original appearance.

Social

Contacts & Relations

A sociopath like Facade has no allies, only clients and targets. He’s virtually incapable of forming real relationships with other people; everyone is just a part of the endless masquerade his life has become. He’s widely connected in the criminal underworld, having worked for clients from governments and corporations to organizations like SHADOW.
Facade is on the most-wanted list of numerous law-enforcement agencies, from Interpol to AEGIS and UNISON. The few times he has been apprehended, he has managed to escape, leaving nothing behind but a rapidly disintegrating discarded skin.