Mazkertis

Mazkertis, also known as Subject 08, is a human wizard from the Dark Mirror Universe and the primary antagonist of The Mazkertis Paradox (also known as TMP). He appears as a crimson-eyed man wearing a black cowl and cloak that cover his whole body, a white skull-like mask with an emblem in it center, dark gloves with runic inscriptions on them, and onyx boots. Mazkertis fought against D-Klak, Zev Raregroove, and several heroes over the Keruvim in Year 150,032, resulting in his imprisonment at the hand of the Order of the Great Beings a year later. He spent the following five decades being tortured and experimented upon (as seen in the story "Subject 08"). This drove him insane, and increased his desire for revenge against D-Klak. He was released by Figlio di Armechio, and set off to absorb the life force of hundreds of people to power a spell that would rewrite the history of both his home universe, and the main BZPB universe.

History
The puzzle that is Mazkertis' past is largely classified, but it known that he was born in a human-inhabited planet in the Dark Mirror Universe. At some point in his adolescent and adult life, Mazkertis had accrued significant amounts of knowledge and training in magic, martial arts, and chronal manipulation. He turned to a life of crime and used his powers for such purposes, claiming that he was "righting wrongs." At some point, Mazkertis ran into D-Klak, and the two became nemeses.

Fifty years before TMP, he hatched a plot to steal The Keruvim and use it to power a spell that would rewrite history for a cryptic purpose. Recognizing the danger of this, the Knights of the Keruvim and Knights of the Great Beings tasked D-Klak with stopping him. The Kestora united a group of warriors from both his home universe and other realities, one of which was Zev Raregroove, to take on Mazkertis and safeguard the Keruvim.

The battle was vicious despite the heroes' strength in numbers. Many of the participants were wounded, including Mazkertis himself, who lost his vocal cords thanks to D-Klak's hook blades. The warlock was captured and brought to a tribunal formed by the Great Beings, where he was labelled a Class-X Offender (one who is extremely dangerous and attempts to change reality), and sentenced to imprisonment in a nether cell in the interdimensional space between the Original BZPB Multiverse and the Dark Mirror Universe.

Subject 08
A year later, he was placed under psychiatric rehabilitation (pursuant of Protocol 3B, under Council Law GB-312). Figlio di Armechio secretly presided over this project, coaxing Dr. Earl Lascovitz into conducting psychological evaluations of Mazkertis. The Rider also put in place several cruel interrogation methods and twisted scientific experiments. Some of these were meant to discover his true intent behind rewriting history, and others were for Figlio's own fascination with pain. At the behest of Commander Slate, leader of the prison guards (many of who had been killed in Mazkertis' frequent outbursts), the experiments and studies continued. At some point, however, they ceased.

Despite these inhumane conditions, Mazkertis was allowed to bathe, eat, drink, etc. at frequent intervals (though some did not occur in his nether cell).

Prelude to the Paradox
After nearly 5 decades had passed, Mazkertis was transferred to Supermax 429 as his prison was being cleared out. A group of mercenaries sent by Pirate Lord Ozar and led by Fourteen had passed by the wizard's prison cell, but decided not to tamper with something that was clearly dangerous. Some time later, a Blackwatch frigate transferred Mazkertis to the frigid world of Coryza, where several Knights of the Great Beings were waiting to put him back in his nether cell. This transfer would end up being for naught, as Figlio di Armechio himself would end up freeing the wizard to wreak havoc across the galaxy while HYDRA continued to grow in size and influence.

The Mazkertis Paradox
TBD.

Abilities & Powers

 * Super-strength and agility: Due to years of training and magical enhancements, Mazkertis has become an agile and strong warrior, making him a threat even in old age.
 * Magical Expertise: Mazkertis has accrued significant amounts of knowledge of magic over time, and it has primarily manifested itself in two ways:
 * Offensive Magic: Mazkertis employs the use of energy blasts, fireballs, shadow bolts, and other attacks to directly attack his foes.
 * Chronal Magic: The human wizard, with enough energy, is able to somewhat manipulate aspects of time itself. In the past, he has used this to either temporarily reverse time to prevent the attacks of his foes, or to heal himself from any wounds that cannot be healed by normal "cure" spells. However, upon accumulating enough energy, Mazkertis will gain the ability to travel backwards and forwards in time, allowing him to change certain (but not all) events in history. All of these abilities have catastrophic effects on the timestreams in which they are employed.
 * Energy/Mana Absorption/Life Absorption: Such tremendous magical power comes at a cost. Unlike other wizards who gain all of their power from ambient magic, Mazkertis must absorb it from other individuals. Should he touch a victim, he will either absorb their mana/energy (as seen when he nearly erased one of Kakamu's powers), or their life force (killing them). The wizard may also conjure a green, maleficent storm to drain the life force out of innocents.