Beta-1 Rescue

Real Name: Matthew Strak

Origin Classification: Technology

Battle Classification: Defender

Rank: Team Leader

Super-Human Powers: None

Combat Expertise: Skilled in the use of hi-tech weaponry.

Notable equipment: The Beta-1 Rescue suit is a specialized version of Matthew Strak's famous Beta-1 battle armor. The suit was specially customized for search and rescue operations. Like all versions of the suit, it protects the user from harm, as well as allowing him to fly. This version also features a new, upgraded sensor array, including a variety of medical and biological scanners; emergency medical equipment, and a powerful force-field array. Finally, the suit's electrical system can be channeled and released in a verity of ways, serving both offensive and defensive purposes.

Other Talents/abilities: Matthew Strak is brilliant inventor, and one of only a handful of people with an IQ of over 200.

Bio: In Paragon City, there are as many different origin stories are there are heroes. Some do what they do to avenge an act of evil. Some do it out of a strong sense of nobility. Some do it to fulfill a family legacy. For Matthew Strak, it started as a simple case of genius envy. Matthew was a child prodigy with an IQ of two hundred and eight. At thirteen, he graduated high school. At seventeen, he graduated with a masters degree in electronics from MIT. By his twenty-first birthday, he had established himself as the founder of a multi-billion dollar technology firm.

        In two thousand, he witnessed an amazing display by Positron at a charity air show. The display, coupled with Matthew's fierce competitive streak, convinced Matthew to start work on his own suit of powered armor. He spent four point eight billion dollars developing the first Beta-1 suit, simply to prove that he could. The suit was completed and began testing in March of 2002. The test was a complete success, allowing him to fly, withstand an amazing onslaught of weapon fire, and contained an amazing array of tactical equipment and energy-based weaponry. Matthew originally planned to sell the design to Hero Corps, but the price necessary to build each suit was deemed prohibitive.

        In May of 2002, the Rikti Invasion began. Horrified by the devastation surrounding him, and realizing the threat the Rikti posed, Matthew suited up in the Beta-1 armor and joined the fight to repel the invaders. By the end of the invasion, Matthew's life had changed completely. He dedicated himself to the battle against evil, establishing himself as a full-fledged super hero.

        In 2004, Matthew was asked to aid in the efforts to reclaim Eastgate, AKA "The Hollows." Surveying the destruction, he realized two things: first, that as is usually the case with Paragon City, there was no shortage of heroes willing to lend a hand. And second, that most of the heroes who focused on The Hollows badly underestimated how dangerous the zone truly was. It was this fact that lead him to form The Hollows Search and Rescue Team. The team is a group of "support heroes" those with extraordinary gifts and talents better suited to rescue operations than combat. The team provides support and rescue to the many heroes that continue the battle to reclaim The Hollows.