Rhythm

Name: Adrian Montenegro

Former Aliases: None

Age: 21

Height: 5'11"

Weight: 180 lbs.

Hair: Brown

Eyes: Hazel

Birthplace: Miami, Florida

Marital Status: Single

Distinguishing Features: Birthmark on right index finger

Known Relatives: None

Group Affiliations: X-Factor(current)

Powers

Rhythm's body absorbs and metabolizes the ambient sound waves around him. Depending on the amount of energy stored within him, his level of strength increases to superhuman levels. He is also able to tap into that stored energy and release shockwave blasts of sonic energy.

History

Adrian was born and raised in Miami Florida to Cuban parents, Jose and Nancy. The eldest of two sons Adrian was not particularly outgoing in his early years. Although he had above average intelligence and was an excellent student he was also very shy and had an inferiority complex. Mainly just blending into the background he was neither considered a ‘nerd’ nor ‘popular’, this was a very lonely place for him. Noticing his lack of social skills his parents tried to help him by getting him involved in activities that would help build up his confidence. At age ten he was enrolled in gymnastics class and he found he was somewhat good at it, the interest in this faded soon though, since he considered it somewhat sissy. The idea to study martial arts came from his father and Adrian rather liked it. He could definitely see himself as the new Bruce Lee, so ALDO’S KARATE DOJO became part of his weekly routine until he graduated high school. By that time though he had given up on his ‘Karate-Master’ dream and was only using it as a way to exercise. Although Karate was good for him the real ‘ boost’ came when he was about 13. The family was invited to a friend’s wedding and Adrian’s mom decided to teach him Salsa and Merengue so he could enjoy the festivities. So far his dancing had been limited to head bopping to the latest tune playing on MTV, but after that party his life was never the same. The electricity in the air was palpable. Adrian felt an empowering rush while on the dance floor. Little did he know that the ‘charge’ was not only psychological but also quite literal. He liked it, a lot, and from that day forth dancing was a way of life. It gave him confidence a brought out a side of him that had rarely been seen before, a wild side, fresh, daring, energetic. Adrian became a normal teenager, one who had friends to hang out with, and PARTY! At age 17 he found out he was different. It was the senior prom and some drunken punks started a fight. That night Adrian knocked out five guys in two minutes, two of them had their jaws broken. Luckily nobody thought much of it, it was all very confusing and not many remembered who hit whom. But Adrian knew and he was worried. He confided in his buddy Jared who told him to chill out, "Those jerks deserved it man. That don’t make you a freak! ". Jared was cool, a great friend. He couldn’t care less if Adrian was a mutant.

The next couple of years were pretty uneventful. High School graduation, getting a full grant at FIU,

sharing a few classes with Jared, and having the best girl in campus for a girlfriend, Linda. Life was

perfect. Until that day when it all came crashing down. Spring break, great time to be in South Florida. The family decided to take a fishing trip down to the keys. Jared was invited; everybody was there, his dad, mom, little brother Neil and even Linda. The boat left the Bayside marina at 14:00 on Friday. On Sunday at 09:00 Adrian was found unconscious in an isle close to Tavernier Key. There were remains of what seemed to be a boat wreck along the shore were he was found. Adrian had no memory of what had transpired that weekend, not even a vague impression. He did not even remember leaving Miami on Friday. A search turned up no bodies or even further remains of the boat. His family and friends had disappeared without a trace. There was an investigation but it was just a formality. Adrian was never really a suspect, the condition in which he was found negated any signs of wrongful intentions on his part. The case was filed as unsolved pending further investigation. So it was that at the age of twenty Adrian Montenegro became an orphan. His world was destroyed.

One year later and as Adrian sees himself in the mirror the reflection shows a mere shadow of his

former self. His grades have dropped dramatically and he couldn’t care less, he’s dropping out of college anyway. All he cares about now is the next party, the next chance to experience that natural high, to lose himself in the noise and ruckus of the dance floor, to experience the heat and energy of Miami’s night scene, because perhaps then he could forget what he had lost. And then came Operation: Zero Tolerance.

It was a Saturday night like any other, Mango’s, one of the favorite spots in Miami Beach’s Ocean Drive was sizzling with hot music and hot women with Adrian as the center of their attention. He had been dancing for an hour, leading the ‘rueda’ earlier and now he was up on the bar dancing lambada with one of the waitresses. Normally customers are not allowed to do this but Adrian was a regular. The owner, bouncers and waitresses knew him… besides, it attracted customers. The German and Japanese tourists were taking pictures, probably thought the whole thing was part of an act put on by the establishment, which was exactly why the owner allowed this. Adrian joked from time to time how eventually he’d have to pay him for the show. His shirt came off and the ladies went wild, another waitress joined them making Adrian the ‘meat’ in a waitress sandwich, and then the men went wild, this is what he lived for now. It was time for a beer, slow down for just a bit to allow the others time to rest. Not everybody could keep up with his pace after all. Then he saw her, Carmen was it? Yeah, he’d seen that blonde before. She was cute, and nice. They’d even danced together he thought. Was it Carmen or Cassandra? Which ever she was she was coming his way, smiling. Well, there’s my next dance partner, he thought. "Hola, Carmen right? How are you?" "Actually it’s Karla. How are you, Diego, right?" "Actually it’s Adrian, but I take it by your smile that you already knew that…Would you like to dance?" " Sure". The song playing was "Sexual" by Amber, very appropriate for the scene, and the mood. All of a sudden police sirens were heard down the street, followed by a loud explosion. Adrian looked out the door and saw people running and screaming. Then he noticed something was wrong with Karla, she had started to convulse violently. To his horror he noticed that she had started to transform, she was growing in size and there were gadgets and metal sprouting from her skin. ‘This is a nightmare’ he thought, ‘I’ve got to stop watching Star Trek, this chick is turning into a Borg right before my eyes’. The other customers had noticed this and some had started to scream, others simply ran out. Adrian was slowly backing off, still shocked by the sight. " Halt Mutant. You are due for termination". Adrian looked around and noticed that two others like Karla were at the door and coming in. It began in a flash, Karla shot a plasma bast from her hand which Adrian evaded by doing a back-flip, then bouncing off the wall before landing a well placed kick to her ribs. He was up and charging the other two in no time, evading their blasts, jumping all over the place, kicking, punching, tearing. He couldn’t believe this was happening. He’d been in fights before, he knew how to handle himself, but this? His attacks were having little effect, all 3 Prime Sentinels were still coming at him. He had to kick it up a notch. Adrian backed himself into a corner, trying to get a hold of himself, he breathed in deeply and tried to focus on a course of action, he concentrated on the music which was still playing and took it in feeling the rhythm and making it the guideline for his movements. As Karla charged him he just let instinct take over, allowed her to get close enough and then jumped, kicked off the wall, grabbed her head in mid-jump, twisted, turned and used the momentum to hurl her at the others. He didn’t stop, he took the fight right to them, pounding violently until sparks started sprouting from the Sentinel. Karla somehow got behind him, she grabbed his head and picked him up, Adrian heard the humming that indicated his head was about to get blown off by a plasma burst. He panicked, reached up and clawed at her face, then it happened, he felt a surge come from within and the next thing he knew Karla’s head had been blown off by a point-blank blast, which sprung from his hands. The other two sentinels were on him in a flash, Adrian again let himself go and the resulting shockwaves repelled both sentinels into opposing sides of the room, causing noticeable damage in the monstrosities but also injuring some of the bystanders. It was his opportunity for escape. Leaving Mango’s he saw that a similar scene was taking place elsewhere, only the fight had spread into the street. There was panic and confusion everywhere, people running and screaming. He ran into one of the back alleys and disappeared into the night. He didn’t return home that night, things had gone from bad to intolerable. He had hurt people that night, intentionally or not that didn't matter. He had also killed a woman, the fact that she was a mechanical monster trying to kill him was of no consequence. There was nothing for him in Miami now, no reason to stay.

A while passed for Adrian, but one during his travels, he was kidnapped by Weapon X agents as a candidate for the next step in their program. He was freed from their Alaskan compound by X-Factor, whom he promptly joined in their adventures.