When Antaeus tracked down Protius, in the city of Freeport, Texas, he was almost as hard to find as Aeolia had been, despite the fact that there'd been far more sightings of the water marauder. Eventually, the two elementals met each other, and after a relatively short fight, they agreed to sit down and discuss matters like civilized gentlemen. Protius told the story of having been Wayne Manderville, a boat owner and occasional practitioner of the relatively young hobby of scuba diving. While diving in the Gulf, he'd encountered a strange pattern on the seabed that had blinded him with a brilliant light, transforming him into a liquid creature who flowed out of his wetsuit and up towards the surface.
Antaeus found it easy to persuade Protius to abandon his career of slightly criminal mischief in Freeport and join him and the other members of the Primal Pattern in the Institute. The aquatic lunatic was a frequently disruptive presence on the team, often questioning the strategies that Antaeus devised -- sometimes to the team's benefit, but often just to be contrary. He was also fond of engaging in trickery of their opponents, and of their allies, often coming up with frankly juvenile pranks. The only member of the Institute he never played jokes on was Selkie; despite what his teammates thought, their relationship was never actually romantic, just straightforwardly friendly.
Or at least, as straightforwardly as he could be. In the nineties, once again, Richard Lawson undertook some research into Protius' background. He found records of a Wayne Manderville resident in Freeport in 1960, but no evidence that he'd ever owned a boat or a set of scuba equipment. He'd been a pool hustler and multiple time loser. While he had disappeared in 1962, the last verifiable sighting of him had been more than a week before the origins of the Primal Pattern.
Lawson argued that Manderville had actually been Protius, as his background would explain why someone who'd supposedly owned his own boat demonstrated no particular familiarity with seamanship -- not knowing the definitions of port and starboard -- as he did during a 1967 case. The most likely explanation of his origin, in Lawson's view, was that he'd annoyed someone after winning (or losing) a particularly important game, who then drowned him on the same day as the other Primal origins. But there was no proof of any of this, obviously.
Regardless, his fate was the same as the rest of his teammates, boiled into steam and then dispersed by a wind blast from Stardust. Tiny puddles of unusual liquid were discovered on the ground surrounding the site of his demise, and recovered by the scientists who also gathered Antaeus' and Phoenix's remains. Selkie claimed that enough of Protius' consciousness survived in his steam state that he was able to help her in some unexplained manner, but offered nothing but vehemence as evidence that had happened.
Protius -- PL 9
Abilities:
STR 2 | STA 2 | AGL 2 | DEX 1 | FGT 4 | INT 1 | AWE 2 | PRE 1
Powers:
Transformed Form: Visual Concealment 4, Limited, Only in liquid; Elongation 8; Immunity 12 (life support, water effects); Permanent Insubstantial 1; Movement 2 (Slithering, Sure-footed); Protection 8; Regeneration 8, Source (Water); Swimming 7 (60 MPH) - 52 points
Water Control: Array (20 points)
- Drowning: Progressive Affliction 10 (Resisted and Overcome by Fortitude; Dazed, Stunned, Incapacitated), Grab-based - 1 point
- Water Blast: Ranged Damage 10 - 20 points
Close Attack 3, Daze (Deception), Favored Environment (water), Improved Initiative, Power Attack, Taunt.
Skills:
Close Combat: Unarmed 4 (+8), Deception 6 (+7), Expertise: Streetwise 8 (+9), Perception 4 (+6), Ranged Combat: Water Control 6 (+7), Stealth 6 (+8).
Offense:
Initiative +6
Unarmed +11 (Close Damage 2)
Water Blast +7 (Ranged Damage 10)
Grab +7 (Strength or Dodge 10 plus Fortitude 10)
Defense:
Dodge 8, Parry 8, Fortitude 7, Toughness 10, Will 6.
Totals:
Abilities 32 + Powers 73 + Advantages 5 + Skills 17 + Defenses 19 = 149 points
Complications:
Thrills--Motivation. Inhuman Appearance. Trickster. Vulnerability (anything that boils water also damages him, freezing attacks also Hinder, Immobilize and Paralyze him.)