Jesse Nielson [CONTEGO]

Power Index: Power to create astral projection type of force fields of himself.  The larger form takes more concentration and energy until he can master it.  Mild empathic link with Jenna due to being twins.

Family: Duncan Nielson [father] | Delaney Nielson [mother] | Nikki Nielson [step-mother] | Jenna Nielson [sister; twin], Camila Nielson [step-sister

Background: One of the first big upsets in Jesse’s life happened when he and Jenna were nine.  It was shortly after he had gotten out of the hospital after having a ruptured appendix that their dad got a raise and was able to make more money.  Everything was flipped on its head when Jesse woke up to Jenna listening in on their mom on the phone, sounding ready to break down.  He didn’t know what had happened until later when his dad didn’t come home…until five years later when he got out of prison for being involved in a gang responsible for stealing merchandise from warehouses over the past few months.  The twins dealt with their father’s prison sentence very differently.  While Jenna got quiet, Jesse got surly.  He’d often verbally lash out at his mother after a particularly hard day at school when the kids got through teasing him, then would slink out from brooding in his room after having been sent there to apologize and try to help around the house.  He only snapped at Jenna once and regretted it soon afterwards; though she could get on his nerves sometimes, Jesse never wanted to hurt his twin’s feelings given how close they were.  He had to put up with other kids making fun of him for his dad being in prison, and treating him like he’d end up like a criminal too, which led to the fights and suspensions.

The second big thing that happened was his powers showing up.  The shock and trauma acted as a trigger for both of the twins as Jesse began to exhibit force field type of powers when under stress.  He revealed this discovery to Jenna around the same time she recognized her own burgeoning abilities.  His powers manifested as a kind of astral projection of himself, acting like a second barrier when he got into fights that he only figured out when the hits from his opponents bounced off.  Seeing this as something to get excited about, he began to look into ways to use his abilities to help out others, trying to see if there were any hero teams around he could join…and drag Jenna along with him.

He didn’t share his sister’s eagerness when their dad came home five years later, being openly hostile with him and going so far as to blame him when their mother filed for a divorce and left two weeks later.  Duncan and Jesse got into frequent–loud–arguments due to Jesse’s behavior, causing a lot of friction for the family.  The reason why father and son had such a big fallout when Duncan got out of prison is because they were so close beforehand.  Jesse sees his father getting arrested and actually being involved in criminal things he can’t deny as a HUGE betrayal of his trust, and he can’t forgive him for it until he earns his trust back.  As a way of trying to keep some distance, Duncan takes a night shift security job, which creates even more distance between the family with him being gone all night and sleeping half the day.

Jesse was still working on honing his powers outside of the home and in places where he was sure no one would see, when he was approached one day by an associate from Jade’s Hall.  He was hesitant about talking with the man at first since Jade’s Hall’s reputation had been tarnished by the scandal of what Bradley Jade had been doing before he was removed as Director and arrested.  The associate didn’t try to pressure Jesse into anything, instead explaining what Jade’s Hall was trying to do now, and the Youth Hero Teams they were starting up as a way for kids like Jesse to train in an environment with other superhumans.  His interest piqued, Jesse took the contact information and pamphlets and immediately dragged Jenna into meeting a Jade’s Hall spokesperson later on to let her weigh in on what he said.  Eager to work with others like him, Jesse made up both of their minds when he had them join.  When Jesse found out that Jenna was seeing a boy, he didn’t think much of it until he found out that the boy was Johnny Fenton, a rich kid with the reputation of being a delinquent, and so he went out of his way to butt in whenever he saw the two lovebirds hanging around at school to shoo Johnny off.  After Jenna finally introduced Johnny to their dad, Jesse had to be decent to him for his sister’s sake.  He was glad to see that Duncan was suspicious of and didn’t like Johnny either, which was at least one thing they could agree on.

Ever since he’d gotten out of prison, Duncan had allowed Jesse to backtalk and get away with being disrespectful to him.  However, once he started putting his foot down then stepping into the kids’ lives to actually be there for them, Jesse backed off from being so hostile and slowly began to open up; he’d missed out on having a father in his life for five years and was angry about it since they were so close before then, but also grateful to have his father back once he started acting like a responsible parent.  Jesse also makes an effort to be more forgiving and less antagonistic on his end since he sees his dad trying to reconnect and knows that he’s genuinely trying to make up for his mistakes.  It was slow at first, but they eventually got back to talking and doing sports activities together as Duncan started to get back into shape.  Being too distracted with school and Jade’s Hall stuff, Jesse didn’t pick up on anything strange concerning their dad and how his job hours suddenly shifted, something Jenna was more keen on investigating when Jesse dismissed her as being nosy.

Things come to a head when Jesse, Jenna, and the Jade’s Hall team they’re on are tasked with containing a superhuman threat downtown from a tip sent their way–where the new supervillain who’s been popping up on Jade’s Hall’s radar—Kaos—is, among his fellow Enforcers.  Some of the Titans arrive on the scene as well, and just as things seem to be getting serious, Kaos turns on his fellow teammates.  Kaos goes out of his way to protect Jenna and Jesse when Enforcers try to level lethal attacks at them, something Jesse only appreciates when Kaos’s mask gets ripped off and he recognizes the new villain as his dad.  He’s stunned to a standstill at that point, unable to fully comprehend what’s going on so that Duncan has to yank him out of the way of an enemy attack.  Jesse had only heard vague reports of Kaos and what he’d done, but one thing that stood out was that he’d killed before, which made him a threat that needed to be contained.  When the dust settles and Duncan turns himself in, Jesse can only stand back in shock as Jenna pushes her way through the Jade’s Hall team and other agents on the scene to see their father, since he’s among those being arrested.  He overhears negations going on between The Titans’ Arcanus and Director Jade, which involves The Institute taking temporary custody of him and his sister before he’s ushered to where his father and sister are and given a few minutes to say their goodbyes.  He lets Jenna and Duncan do most of the talking before blurting that he doesn’t want the family split up again as he fights back tears, suddenly feeling ten years old.  Duncan reassures Jesse that he’s strong and given what he’s seen the boy is capable of, he’ll bounce back, and they won’t be separated as long this time.

When at the Institute, Nikki Connor-Tavares takes the twins under her  wing; she helps them to process all that's happened and lets them ask  her about her own journey since she's the only other hero they're aware  of (at the moment) who started out as a supervillain before reforming.   While Jenna is quick to bond with Nikki and the others who consider the  Institute their permanent residence, Jesse continues to keep people at  arms length.  So much has happened to him within the past year and a  half that he needs time to himself to actually process it all, and he  doesn’t start talking to The Institute’s resident therapist, Cara  Simmons, or Nikki until Jenna twists his arm.  He doesn’t open up right  away, but he does start talking, which he finds helpful getting all of  his concerns and frustrations out there instead of letting them fester  so that he’ll snap at people.  When Duncan is allowed visits at Jade’s Hall, Nikki takes the  twins as a chaperone, and Jenna is able to pick up on the sparks  happening between the two adults with each visit.  The two seem to hit  it off, especially more after Duncan is handed over to The Institute for  a sort of "house arrest" situation where he's required to stay on the  Institute's grounds for a year.  Nikki becomes Nikki Nielson a year and a  half later, making her their new stepmom.

Personality: 

• Absolute hothead of a boy
• Overprotective of his sister and who she hangs out with; since his dad was out of their lives for such a big chunk of time, he feels obligated to look out for Jenna’s wellbeing
• Uses sports–soccer–to get out his energy
• Trust is HUGE for him.  Takes a long time for him to trust someone if they break it
• Really likes puzzles and games that involve that sort of thing.  He can spend a whole day working on a puzzle and enjoy every second of it; one of the few instances when he can sit still for prolonged periods of time.
• Super competitive; used to knock over board games if he lost, but now just gets pissy and claims that whoever he was playing with was cheating, or demands a rematch until he wins
• Respects his dad now, but will tease him relentlessly if he finds out something that will embarrass the man
• Quick to form judgements about people so that they have a stigma attached to them until he gets to know them better

Goals: Look out for his sister’s wellbeing and try to become the Junior Members team leader.