Synapse

Synapse

Steven Berry, aka Synapse, was just an average man, until Crey Industries got hold of him.

Steven was an accountant at Crey industries when he found traces of funds that were being funneled into a secret project.

He decided to dig deeper and try to uncover what was going on. Little did he know, however, what Crey Industries was capable of.

After uncovering more information, Steve was taken from his office at gunpoint and brought to the research lab of Dr. Rudolf Bein, where he became one of the first test subjects for the very project he uncovered; a radical procedure to induce super powers into ordinary human beings known as the Revenant Research Project.

Steve was subjected to high doses of electricity during the "experiment", and as the amount of electricity was increased, the power coursing through him began to amplify the natural electrical energy in his body.

The amount of electricity pumped through Steven's body should have killed him, as it was never Bein's intention for him to live. Fortunately, Steven was able to harness the power surging through his body and used it to escape Crey's clutches by shorting out the lab where he was being tortured.

To this day, Crey executives deny any knowledge of the incident in which Synapse was an unwilling participant.

Unlike his roommate, Dr. Raymond "Positron" Keys, who embraced being a superhero, Synapse never wanted the life of a hero. He feels it was forced upon him, and as a result, refused to use his powers unless absolutely necessary.

Steven resents when Key's tried to convince him to help him form an organized group of hero's and rejects the idea until his friend's life was in peril. This event, along with the events leading up to the formation of the new Freedom Phalanx, changed Synapse's mind regarding using his powers.

Deep down, however, he still yearns for a "normal" life without superpowers. Ironically, when Lord Recluse dampened all superpowers in Paragon city, Synapse found that he felt incomplete without his abilities.

Synapse is one of the fastest heroes in Paragon City due to the experimentation Crey Industries performed on him. The experiments also gave him the ability to manipulate electricity at will, creating arcs of lightning to fire at foes and electrifying his own body in closer-ranged combat.

It is speculated that Synapse can move so fast that he can bend time and space and literally be in two places at the same time. This theory has yet to be proven, even though the rumors of this ability are widespread.

Synapse is very close to a young superhero named Mynx. Katherine Stevens was also the unsuspecting subject of Crey Industries unethical procedures.

After volunteering as a research subject, Katherine was injected with a volatile serum that transformed her into cat-like creature with feline features and characteristics. Synapse discovered the young girl after she managed to escape from Crey Labs.

Still haunted by horrific memories of the torture he was put though while in the clutches of Crey's Scientists, he immediately empathized with Mynx's ordeal. Synapse bonded quickly with Minx, understanding what it is like being ripped from a normal life only to have superpowers thrust upon you unwillingly.

This connection, coupled with his own disdain for Crey Industries, has led to a very close relationship between the two. Synapse continues to do everything he can to help Mynx develop control of her heightened reflexes and animalistic nature, while encouraging her to live as normal a life as possible.