Abe Sapien

[Abe Sapien]

The Handler

Name: Langdon Everett Caul but also known as Abraham Sapien
Nickname: Abe, Blue, fish stick, tuna head, lettuce neck, pretty much what anyone can think of, cruel and hilarious as they may be.
Classification: Icthyo Sapien
Gender: Male
Age & Birthday: Though he looks and feels to be a man of mid 30’s, his estimated age is closer to 210, give or take a year. Langdon was born July 24th 1798 but this is unknown to poor Abraham. A simple piece yellowed paper that was found tapped to his tank marks a date of April 14, 1865 and he has simply adopted that.
Appearance: At first glance, it is easy to see that Abraham stands out amongst the normal agent and that’s not just because of his tallness. Standing at an elegant height of 6’4 and weighing in a little under 160 lbs, Abe has a slender build accentuated by his narrow shoulders and elongated arms and legs. His skin seems to be stretched across his frame ever so slightly defining the muscles that define his arms, legs and stomach. As a cold blooded creature, Abe’s skin has a cool touch to it and always has the faint slickness of fish scales no matter how wet or dry he is. A myriad of blues and greens, his flesh is dominantly a sea blue with darker stripes reminiscent of a tiger shark cascade from the top of his head and eventually fade all the way down to his feet. The crown of his head is decorated in varying “wiggles” of lighter blue as if light is being reflected through water. From the front of his neck down to his hips and thighs his blue skin pales to an off white spotted with little freckles of dark blue.

Small salmon and silver colored dorsal fins adorn the back of Abraham’s neck and upper back, the back of his arms, hips and legs and act as little stabilizers when he’s swimming but he also uses them to help in the sharp turns he makes underwater, acting as rudders and basic protection against other water creatures looking to take a bite out of him. Abraham’s head is distinctly egged shaped, from his brow to his jaw it curves inward leaving the man with high set cheekbones. His eyes are alien looking, almond shaped and curve up at the corners where two distinct blue stripes that cross over them. Though it appears he doesn’t have a nose, two oval nostrils mark the otherwise flat section. His mouth is an odd shade of pink, small and shaped in a way that appears as if he is always frowning. His hands while vaguely human fashioned are decorated by long sharp claws that have a hint of purple and blue as if one can see the blood running beneath them. His palms are the same off white as his belly and has forgone fingerprints for various ridges and suction cups. A thin membrane stretches between each finger and mirrors the membrane beneath his arms and toes.

Abe is not without his own scars and though he is relatively free of the larger ones that adorn his brother Red, he has a few across his back and chest that have faded over the years. He carries the smell of the ocean on him, despite living in a tank in the Bureau. Not entirely fishy but rather the smell of salt water and open winds with just a faint sulfuric aftertaste that’s associated with his enjoyment of rotten eggs. He has seen enough of his blood to last a lifetime but whenever it’s spilt it is a strange blue hue and has a habit of oozing rather then pouring from his injuries. As a man without the ability to express his emotions through limited facial movement, Abraham has turned to the rest of his body to convey his thoughts, emotions and feelings.
Attire: Over the years, Abraham’s clothing has evolved over time. Though he still wears the comfortable spandex or leather shorts that hug his nearly non-existent hips around the Bureau, he does on occasion wear the same material shirt despite it squashing his fins. When off duty, the man prefers comfort to style and while black will never go out of style, he seems to wear as little of it as possible. That’s not to say that’s all he has, Abraham has an old trench coat, hat, glasses and fake beard he used to wear on previous missions. Abe enjoys being barefoot and will be whenever he can and wears large contact lenses that help keep his eyes moisturized.

When the call of duty strikes, he exchanges the simplicity for the extreme. Labeled his “dry suit” it is much like a wetsuit that was designed to seal in moisture and keep his body temperature at an even level. It covers his entire body, leaving only his hands, feet and head exposed. Along his shoulders, back and front are little valves where water can be pumped into it if needed. Over his right breast his last name is imprinted in thick rubber in the off chance someone should forget which one is the fishman of the group. His goggles are held it place simply by a suctioning affect, when in place they are filled with water to keep his eyes from drying out. His shoes and gloves are made of the same material to keep everything maintained. Abe previously wore a special breathing apparatus that looked like a large tube that circled around his neck for moving on dry land. It allowed him to breath freely without discomfort, however after being publicly humiliated on a talk show he has forgone it in favor of roughing it. Abe wears the regulation BPRD belt and handgun and in addition has taken into his care, a mini library of ancient text and manuscripts that aid him on assignments.

The Creation

Name: Blue
Power List: Psychometry, telepathy and physical tetrapod mutation
Detailed Power: Abraham’s psychometry is a touch of a psychic ability where he is able to obtain viable information from the people he touches. However he is not just limited to people but objects as well. Due to his unique frontal lobe, Abraham is naturally gifted with this ability though he had to learn like everyone else to maintain and master it. With over thirty years to do so, he is able to push deep and far to the point where it’s become second nature. He is able to see, hear and even smell the memories that come attached and they roll out like a home movie. Abraham cannot affect the memories nor interact, he is merely a spectator on the sideline.

The touch telepathy is a tie in to his psychometry, bordering on a empathic touch. He can merely sense how a person is feeling, physically and mentally. Abe usually will not read a person’s mind on a moral standpoint but if coerced into it, it is more of a stronger empathic fee. For example, if someone was directing their hate at something in particular, Abraham would not be able to hear the “I hate so and so” but rather feel the emotion of hate directing itself at a certain area.

He isn’t a fishman for nothing, with his mutations have come with a few physical modifications. He has a streamline body built for swimming with little rudder fins along his back, arms and legs that help steer him with little movement. Abe has a set of gills that allow him to breath fresh and salt water with ease. His digestive system is able to break down the unconventional food and process it much more finely then a normal human. His large unnerving eyes make up with the ability to see color and through murky waters and like fish he has a sensory receptors called lateral line system that allows him to sense currents, vibrations and movement around him. Normally for water use, Abe has adapted it to his daily life outside his tank.

The Potential

Alignment/Occupation: BPRD, Field Agent
Personality: The polar opposite of his big brother, Abraham is a quiet and gentle soul. He is a contemplative and peaceful man, taking stride in the name calling and finger pointing. There is an understanding he has come to that the weird will always be viewed differently. Call it a passive approach, he is infinitely patient and the mediator between fights. His humor is odd, sprinkled occasional with light sarcasm and unless you really know the fishman, the teasing can be easily overlooked. An easy man to approach and warmly receives everyone like long lost family, he readily gives out brotherly advice and comfort. He is not one to judge as it is not his place. There doesn’t seem to be a mean bone in the man, it’s not in his nature to hate. He can dislike and has done so in the past but his view on hate has never proved to be beneficial. Nothing good ever comes from hatred. Morally just, he holds his brother Red in high regards in the choices he has been faced with.

Highly intelligent, his smarts have come from the countless books he has read since he came to be and has a healthy appetite for it. He takes great pride in his work and though he knows when it’s time to quit for the night, the yearning to learn more never wanes. Abraham enjoys the simple things in life, a tank to sleep in, a book to cozy up with and the perfectly aged rotten egg. He is easily a man that can be absorbed in a puzzle, mulling over the intricate details while listening to classical music. Abraham does have his dislikes, as few and far as they are, he is not a enjoyer of sushi for obvious reasons. He believes wars can be fought without bloodshed and peaceful negotiations for violence will never the key. How other agents handle affairs, he is prone to lightly scold or give a disapproving look.

His own strength and resolve has been put to the test and an unknown love clouded his mind and though his intentions were both selfish and good, it was a choice he has made sure to never forget. He is a passionate man without the experience, with no memory of his former life Abraham has had to learn the hard way about love. Since meeting the elven princess Nuala, it has awoken a buried desire that no book could fill. She pushed Abe out of his proverbial fish bowl and he can’t put a word to it, but every time he’s with her, the butterflies start flapping and his heart pounds. It is a bewildering love that he is slowly working through. He has never viewed himself as charming like Myers or rugged as Hellboy and despite a brilliant mind, the fact that someone sees him as someone outside of a brotherly or scientific way eludes him. But he knows when he’s away from Nuala, he wants nothing more then to be by her side and to protect her.
Skills: As a man devoured by literature, one would think it’s the other way around, Abraham has amassed an extensive knowledge of the paranormal from the simple childhood faerie tales to the more arcane and less known fables. List off a myth and Abe usually knows a detail or two about it. Reading over four books a day, Abraham is well read and educated An all around history buff, he has taken a fancy to recently focusing his attention on the late Middle Ages and gothic architecture. Like the paranormal, Abraham has dabbled in a little of everything having the time, energy and resources at his fingertips.

He knows his way around the Bureau medical bay and has been called forth on more then one occasion to perform an emergency medical surgery and examination. He’s usually the one patching up his brother Red when the big lug comes wandering in. Abe is equipped in basic first aid and CPR certified though he prefers the use of instruments and a sterile room, he can in a pinch work out in the field with his surroundings. He speaks fluent French, German, Russian and Latin and has started learning a few more of the fantastic languages, focusing his attention on the elven tongue. An incredible swimmer, while he is naturally built for it Abraham has kept himself in top physical condition and could put an Olympic swimmer at a disadvantage.

Though Abe prefers to fight his battles with civilized conversations, he has adapted the art of Capoeira into his past teachings. It is a Brazilian form of martial arts that is mostly associated to being played out to music. It is distinguished by its fluid acrobatic play, feints, and extensive use of sweeps, kicks, and head butts. He has also incorporated the less frequently used techniques of elbow strikes, slaps, punches, and body throws. In addition to his skirmish talents, Abe is a fairly decent marksman with his handgun. A good seven times out of ten he can hit the appointed target.
Strengths: His biggest strength is his knowledge, very few people can rival him in brainpower and he is always willing to step up when needed. Abraham, despite his fantastical appearance, is an easy man to get along with. He’s there to help in any way he can and genuinely enjoys talking and working with his fellow men and women. His good nature seems to be naturally born and he is a shining example of what a really good guy is. A pacifist, some may not consider it a strength, but he will always try to solve a problem without the use of violence. Abe excels in water based missions and is at his prime in the water.
Weaknesses: Though Abraham posses gills he does also have a secondary set of lungs he uses for regular air breathing. He has learned through years of practice to use the normally unaccustomed human lungs but in times of high stress, Abe has reverted back to gills and his breathing can become labored and intense. His psychometric abilities stop at looking; he cannot change or alter what he sees unless he can physically chance the future by going about something differently. However, this has proven disastrous in the past and Abe is not one to mess with the future. It is the same with a person’s mind; he can merely look but never touch. Abe is not a fighter, thus often remains behind the scenes of action and drama. Doing his part and stepping back is what he does best.

The Story

History: Abraham Sapien was born Langdon Everett Caul, a normal pink skinned human in Charlottesville Virginia during the Victorian era. Though he never grew up on a plantation like many assumed, he was still brought up in the agrarian life of the South. As the youngest son of a wealthy family that made their fortune in running trade ships along the East coast and Canada, he was expected to grow up and excel in several masculine qualities and virtues such as hunting, horseback riding and business. However to his family’s dissatisfaction, mostly his father's, Langdon spent his time doing various odd things such as growing mushrooms in the cellar and catching fish and turtles on the family estate.

At the age of ten, Langdon started a journal to place a mixture of his thoughts, observations of the plant and animal life on his property and occasional poetry. He filled his first journal before the end of the month and from there it grew into a steadily climbing library of his thoughts. When he turned twelve, his father found the journals and disheartenly brought them to his mother to convince her that he should be sent away to work on one of their family ships. The boy’s father called it learning through difficulty through various manly activities and the icing on the cake was when he called his son names. Langdon never forgave his father.

Caul was taken aboard a ship run by a man named Edward Henry. With no children of his own, he took a liking to the boy and for over the next seven years Langdon accompanied him on various trading seasons and during the dry seasons, boarded with Edward and his wife. The couple allowed the boy to explore and indulge in his science excursions and his return to studying zoo and biology. Jean-Baptiste Lamarck, the French scientist, became a avid role model for Caul whom followed his evolutionary theories. When the young wife of Edward became pregnant in 1815 Caul bid his good friends adieu and returned home. Sadly, during his time on the sea, the years had not been as kindly to his family. Two of his brothers passed while the third had been gravely injured and lost his leg to gangrene and his strong father had whittled away to an old man. Upon his return, Langdon’s father begged him to stay and take over the family business but the young lad had fallen in love with the sea and still remained ever hopeful of pursuing his scientific interests.

In the summer of 1816, Langdon left Virginia to travel the Eastern seaboard where much like he did with Edward, worked during the trading seasons. Missing his good friend, he traveled to the man’s home after several months at sea but only to discover the man had been lost at sea and his wife had died in childbirth. Heartbroken at being bereft of the only family he knew, Langdon set his sights for New York and signed up to become a deckhand on a ship run by the British merchant whaler Elihu Cavendish. Unlike his former captain and good friend Henry, Elihu was rough, cruel and demanding. He was a man that kept to himself even on his ship and though his men respected him, they would whisper behind back on numerous ongoings and rumors of black magic. Especially when Elihu would vanish off port with odd and strange men and return with various packages.

As the years wore on, Caul rose steadily through the ranks. He deemed if he kept his nose out of the captains business and worked hard, he could gain the man’s trust. Ultimately his journal gave way to his inner thoughts of accepting Elihu’s detachment as affection and uncertainty that the man truly liked him. True to form, Langdon eventually became Cavendish’s personal secretary. Caul sailed under the captain for sixteen years and though they were never friends, their relationship was more of a kinship of the love of sea and stories that Elihu would share, usually while drunk. In March of 1833, during his usual bout of drunkenness the captain revealed his secret collection of strange paraphernalia of charms and carvings that he amassed over the years. One of his most prized possessions was a single parchment of paper that was inscribed with a ancient text that either man could decipher. Cavendish spoke of strange creatures, secret ceremonies and a race older then Man itself whose secrets were buried in the Artic.

Though Langdon found the captain’s ranting difficult to believe, the thought of a prehuman race fascinated him and for several days had dreams of vivid ancient races and cities beneath the sea and hidden by the polar icecaps. Despite the fact that Cavendish had shared these secrets, he couldn’t go to the man after he sobered up. He became increasingly paranoid and unstable, even to go s far as accusing Caul of sneaking into his cabin and snooping around. Caul naturally denied the allegations and stayed as far as he could away from the captain until Elihu brought his ship into port on the coast of England a month later. Caul immediately left with no plans to return and instead of boarding another ship, he decided to remain in England to further his scientific endeavors in an attempt to “better understand the workings of the vast stage we call the world.” In London he make friends with a man named Gideon Mantell, a British doctor and fossil hunter. He also befriended several other notable scientists involved in the recovery and exploration of extinct species. Langdon was utterly fascinated by the idea of evolution, that life in earth came from the sea instead of the childhood lessons of God.

His research caught the eye of a Dr Norman Netaunt, an well established member of the Oannes Society and invited Langdon to a conference outside of Oxford in July of 1834. The Oannes Society was a small but highly exclusive collection of diverse men dedicated to the exploration of lost and unheard of civilizations under the ocean. Caul was delighted that he had found people of his interest since the day he turned twelve was ushered out his home. He hoped to create a brotherly bond with the Oannes Society after nearly thirty six years of isolated research and was sworn into the society months later in Paris. He spent eight years studying and traveling the world with his newfound brothers. Though small, the society was well funded and had access to the most advanced technology of their day. When Caul’s father died in 1845, he left his entire state to him which he promptly sold including the family business and donated nearly all of it to the Oannes Society to further their studies.

In the early 1850’s the Oannes Society established a permanent base of operations and Langdon settled down in Littleport, Rhode Island to build a home. The home was designed by specially drafted blueprints and instructions of the society and the entire operation took over eight years to complete and the remainder of Caul’s fortune. Strangely, he was instructed that al work was to be done by foreign works, mainly French. During the construction, he oversaw most of it but took periodical trips to England, France and Australia on Oannes business. One specific trip remained in his memory where he visited London and was witness to a living Egyptian mummy. Once the house was finished in 1861, Caul decided it was time to marry and due to his accumulated wealth and eccentric tendencies perceived by the local families he courted and married a beautiful and sensitive girl named Edith Howard from Littleport.

However, Langdon was not a man to be settled and marriage didn’t change his commitment and loyalty to the society. Edith hardly saw her husband and often wrote to her family about his strange foreign visitors, frequent travels and studies. She even went as far as to tell them about unnatural experiments and locked doors within her own home. Her family worried about their daughter’s outlandish claims, they sent a doctor to evaluate her and he diagnosed her with a mild form of hysteria and prescribed bed rest and lithium. Langdon did his best to stay closer to home to look after his wife but it wasn’t long before a new discover drew him away. He left home again in 1865 after receiving several letters. He promised his beloved wife that after this trip, he would remain home for good. Sadly, he had been gone a little more then a month before his distraught wife threw herself into the sea. Her body was never found.

Caul never learned of his wife’s death as days before he had discovered a egg like artifact on a dive to explore and study underwater ruins. He brought it back with him and to a secret laboratory in the subbasement of the St. Trinian’s Hospital in Washington DC. On April 4th, 1865 Langdon and four of his society brother attempted to make contact with the entity inside the egg via a séance. They slipped into a synchronized trance like state and during the ritual, four of them unconsciously wrote in a ancient language while Cal was briefly possessed by the entity. When the four men awoke, the egg crumbled to dust and Caul fell unconscious when another strange entity merged with him. When he didn’t awake his coma and instead began to transform into a amphibious fish man, his society brothers dubbed him “Icthyo Sapien” and moved him into a tank of water for further studies. However on the 14th they were forced to flee America due to their societies connection with the assassination of President Lincoln. The basement was sealed with the promise that they would return when it was safe. A few days later, several foreign men were observed by neighbors and reported to have removed several boxes of the man’s belongings. When Edith’s family tried to claim the property they were denied as specified by his will. He had left his entire state to an Alexandre Gasquet, a French weapons manufacture who left the house empty.

The hidden tank that housed Langdon remained so until the year of 1978, more then a hundred years later. November marked the cold months and when a pipe froze and busted, plumbers were sent down to fix and upon their arrival they discovered the secret hidden room that housed the now fully transformed amphibious Langdon. Their only clue to the unconscious but still alive was a yellowed piece of paper that was tapped to the front of the glass tanks that read “Icthyo Sapien – April 14th, 1865”. Fishman, tank and all was transported to the BPRD headquarters in New Jersey for further testing while the plumbers that found him were paid for their silence. The scientists that studied him gave him the nickname Abe Sapien due to the date on his tank being the exact date of when President Lincoln was murdered.

Abe remained unresponsive to various test and attempts to awaken him until scientist used electrical stimulation as a last step measure before they would dissect him. It worked and the man was revived but was forced to remain in his tank and would have remained as a test subject if Hellboy hadn’t have intervened. Abraham was overall healthy if a bit disorientated and responded quickly to human contact, particularly Hellboy and despite having no memory of his past life, he was able to converse with other in perfect English. Like a babe, he took to learning about the new world quickly and with it came the discovery of newfound abilities. His first psychometric flash was when he touched his first paranormal text and the scratching of a quill against paper, the heady smell of ink and the inner monologue of a female’s voice as she wrote, detailing the accounts of vampiric attacks on her little town and the women that would vanish. It was both frightening and fascinating but the scholar from his past could not be entirely forgotten and it awoke a hunger to learn in him.

He formed a friendship with Hellboy and Liz, a brotherly affection towards them both and it was a kinship that would last the ages. Professor Broom became a mentor and teacher and though he wasn’t quite a fatherly figure, it was a respected relationship, one of gratitude and warmth. Along with his touch telepathic abilities, Abe’s aquatic amenities aided him and were a talent that would serve well in the field. It was Hellboy that convinced the good Professor to allow the fishman on some of the simpler assignments. His first assignment was to investigate a wrecked ship off the coast of Spain but disaster struck and several agents lost their lives. However, Abraham had proven his worth and was made a full agent several months following. Over the years, his participation on missions increased and on several occasions fielded a mission on his own. The Bureau had become his home and refuge and for a while, life was simple and good.

Then, Grigori Rasputin walked into their lives. From the shadowed memories of Broom and Hellboy, the mad monk and his followers turned the Bureau upside down in attempt to gain the power of Red’s stone hand to release a hell upon the earth. They lost the professor and Abraham was injured fiercely in the line of the duty. He was ambushed by Sammael creatures while retrieving several eggs of the beast and nearly lost his life if it hadn’t been for the quick rescue of agents. He spent weeks recouping and missed out in the big fight to save his brother and the world but the stories and memories he had been given were plenty. The relationship between his good friends had grown and strengthened to the love that he knew they had for each other.

As soon as he was well enough to get around on his own, Abe fell back into his old routine. He was perfectly content to the brains of the Bureau, the one remained behind while everyone strove ahead for a little part of the action. That is until he met the Princess. Suddenly, he was thrust into the same scenario as his brother Red with Liz, the new awkward feelings confusing and a little frightening. What he wanted to do and was suppose to do muddled together. With Hellboy backing him up, they managed to persuade their own commanding leader Johann Krauss to offer the princess amnesty at their bureau while they contended with her brother. Fishman and princess shared the same gifts and through the short time they spent with each other, it was easy to see their affections for one another.

When Nuada came for his sister and nearly killed his brother Red, Abraham was the one to find the last remaining hidden crown piece. He selfishly hid it away from his fellow agents and returned it to the prince in order to spare Nuala’s life and free her. He was ultimately tricked and with a newly healed Hellboy, the two princes fought each other and in the end, Nuada’s life was spared after being defeated. He returned to his kingdom and Nuala remained with the bureau. Abraham has taken it upon himself to watch over the princess and every day, they grow closer.