Mao Mao

As a three-foot-tall anthropomorphic cat, Mao Mao has the abilities one would expect of him, such as high levels of agility and excellent senses of smell and hearing, as well as the typical night vision provided by his reflective eyes. He is also double jointed, affording a higher range of movement than most.

Mao Mao is a seasoned practitioner of the martial arts, including both hand-to-hand combat similar to real world Asian styles as well as his preferred style, the use of a katana. He is very proud of his skills, but does not always utilize them to their fullest- especially with an audience, as he tries to impress rather than finish a fight efficiently. He is also left-handed, but trained ambidextrous. Likely never to come up, but still.

With his light body, soft paw pads, and fur to muffle noise, Mao Mao is already a natural at moving silently, but has further honed this skill to nigh-perfection. He is also able to blend in flawlessly with shadows in the dark of the night... so long as he remembers to close his highly reflective eyes. However, his greatest feat is the vast array of disguises at his disposal, meticulously- some might say obsessively- prepared to resemble every person he has ever met, matched only by his impeccable vocal mimicry. He is also able to fit into much smaller spaces than one might expect due to his natural flexibility, and can break his own bones with concentrated effort should the need arise.

With the power of lots and lots of intense training, Mao Mao can run as fast as a common car, lift things the size of a large truck, or even knock giant monsters into the sky by using his sword like a baseball bat. However, this seems to be tied to chi control, as his abilities flag when he is flustered, distracted, or otherwise mentally compromised.

The Sword of Everlasting Light, or Geraldine as Mao Mao calls it, is one of several legendary golden weapons passed down through his family. Its blade is able to absorb any form of released energy such as light, heat, plasma, or even chi on contact, then store it to be unleashed later. This can range from mundane things like providing light in dark areas, to more exotic effects like imbuing the blade with elemental powers or even "cutting" through energy weapons. Mao Mao's most powerful technique, Lunar Lash, releases all of the sword's stored energy in a single wave capable of obliterating a giant monster, but leaves Geraldine completely drained and needing to build up energy again over time.

A one-wheeled motorcycle capable of rocket-powered flight, fueled by a magical gemstone containing tremendous amounts of energy. It can start itself and fly to Mao Mao's location at the sound of his whistling, and is armed with a pair of machineguns that can switch between solid rounds and energy bolts. In times when extra speed is needed, there is a hidden button that activates a "turbo mode" that he rarely uses because the upgrade isn't exactly... legal.

Worth noting are infiltration tools Mao Mao sometimes brings with him when expecting to, well, infiltrate someplace, including the usual array of lockpicks and rope with grappling hooks and the like, but also a bag of plaster and trowel for making casts of things for purposes of triggering hidden passageways and traps. Binoculars and personal radios are likewise part of this arsenal, though not limited to infiltration runs.

One of Mao Mao's stranger skills is swallowing objects to store in his stomach, then regurgitating them later in lieu of a pouch or bag. The objects most commonly held in such a way include sunglasses, binoculars, and a copy of his family's Hero's Code handbook. Anything of similar size or smaller can likewise be stored in such a way, should the need arise.

Mao Mao is skilled at coordinating groups from two- or three-man teams up to a small town militia, whether it's organizing defensive tactics against an invading force or simply coming up with plans of attack on the fly to take down an enemy with a group effort. He also has experience quickly training new warriors using methods akin to a drill sergeant, though long-term students will find him more sensei-like.

If anything is worth doing, it's worth doing in as flashy a way as possible, which can leave gaping holes in his defenses... or worse, he'll take his eyes off his enemy to make sure whatever audience he has is watching. Worse still, he takes it personally when someone /isn't/ impressed with his combat ability, and may go out of his way to try to find something that /will/ impress them. This takes his attention off of more important matters, and can degenerate into obsessive stalker-like behavior if not brought to his senses.

An aspect of Mao Mao's over-idealized vision of what a hero should be like is that they are perfect in every way. He is a hero, thus he is perfect, incapable of being wrong and even more incapable of having flaws. This leads to him expending time and resources to prove himself right no matter how half-baked or ludicrous his conspiracy theories might get, until presented with absolutely irrefutable evidence otherwise. He also has a habit of butting heads with people, even close friends, over minor differences in opinion (i.e. whether cooking is more of a science or an art), stubbornly refusing to back down until the matter is inevitably settled in some overblown melodramatic display.

Mao Mao is... abrasive. He doesn't respond well to affection from anyone but close friends (and even then only sometimes), be it verbal or physical, and he has a habit of speaking very bluntly without regard for personal feelings. One of the few times he has tact is when dealing with royalty, and even then he absolutely won't hesitate to raise his voice to or manhandle a king if he believes there is danger afoot, to say nothing of those of lower classes. Making sure everyone is safe and accounted for is priority above all else, which can even cause problems when he mistakes simple imaginary fun for an attempt to spread chaos and lies. And yes, if no other choice presents itself, he will allow personal property to be destroyed or even do it himself in order to get someone out of harm's way, without a second thought.

Mao Mao is a man of the law, both following and enforcing it at once. He will do everything in his power to uphold the laws put in place by whatever governing body rules any land he finds himself in, and follow direct orders from said governing body without question. It takes a lot to subvert this, such as a close friend being in immediate danger, and it generally takes outside influence to push him over the edge. If he is not in direct conflict with the lawmakers of the land (i.e. a corrupt government or tyrannical king), then Mao Mao will willingly submit himself to whatever punishment is deemed fit.

Mao Mao has an over-inflated sense of ego when his need for attention is sated, leading to a nasty habit of underestimating his enemies. In the case of foes he fights on the regular, he may even lapse into a sense of complacency, claiming he has everything under control even when he clearly doesn't. He also has a habit of over-embellishing tales of his adventures to hype himself up, often downplaying the part others may have played.

Should Mao Mao owe a debt to someone, be it something as mundane as monetary value or as grand as owing his very life, he will make absolutely sure that debt is repaid as soon as possible. Everything else goes on hold until then, even his duty as sheriff and dreams of being a legendary hero, though he will of course be far more reluctant to perform illegal or villainous acts for the sake of such a debt. That doesn't mean he won't do them at all, mind...