Aptom

Aptom is a character that features in Guyver.

Biography
Aptom and his colleagues Solum and Dyme were transformed into Zoanoids at some unspecified moment in the past but they did not become a standardized member of the Chronos Corporation but became mutations who's powers were incapable of being passed on or copied. Thus, they became members of the Lost Numbers, special Zoanoids who were experimented on constantly and deployed in battles where their unique powers would give them an advantage. Aptom and his colleagues were summoned into Japan where they served as Commander Richard Guyot personal guard. They waited outside the Makishima residence to prevent any attack from the Guyvers. Whilst waiting outside, they were urgently summoned inside to discover that Guyver III had somehow infiltrated the mansion and attacked the commander. Aptom and his oolleagues managed to chase him off and after the recent failure of the Zoanoids in capturing Sho Fukomachi's father, Aptom volunteered his unit to engage the Guyver. They followed Guyver I and ambushed him where Dyme's power to alter the environment along with Solum's molecular glue was used to entrap him whilst Aptom imitated the Guyver form in order to intimidate the Guyver host. It was only the intervention of Mister Murakami was Sho able to kill Dyme and Solum leaving behind a wounded and angered Aptom. Aptom was willing to die to avenge his comrades but was ordered telepathically to retreat by Guyot as the Lost Numbers had distracted the Guyver long enough for the Chronos forces to capture the Guyver's friends and family.

The wounded Aptom would make his way to Relic's Point where he came under the supervision of Doctor Hamilcar Balcus who attempted to change the Lost Number into the Ultimate Battle Creature that could destroy the Guyver. Once the experiments were completed, Aptom was let loose to track the Guyver but required a special headset in order to recieve a Zoalord's instructions as the experimentation had made telepathic contact even more difficult in regards to Aptom. Aptom continued to observe the battles between the Guyvers and learnt that Sho Fukomachi had lost the ability to bio-boost as he subconsiously refused to do so after killing his father who turned into the second Enzyme. When Sho and Mizuki were separated from their friends and were being chased by Zoanoids, Aptom intervened by morphing into Guyver III and killing them. He then led Sho and Mizuki into a cave where Fukomachi realized that Guyver III was an imposter due to the lack of a control medal. It was then that Aptom revealed his true form and took Mizuki hostage; threatening her life in order to get Sho to transform so he could get his revenge. He turned into a copy of Enzyme II in order to force Sho to change and even stabbed him in the stomach with one of his spear like limbs. Finally, Sho transformed and rescued Mizuki before leading Aptom away fro the cave and into the forest. Aptom quickly revealed his new powers and merged into a composite form of Gregoyle, Vamore and Enzyme II which he used to overpower Guyver I. His regenerative abilities and acidic blood proved to be too much for Sho at first and led to Guyver I's hands being burnt whilst tried to use his megasmasher. A victorious Aptom then attempted to use his biolasers to destroy Guyver I but discovered a Chronos soldier nearby and was forced to kill him as he had alerted the Hyperzoanoid Team 5 of his find. This distraction allowed Sho to telepathically open his chest plates and fire his megasmasher which overpowered Aptom's biolaser attack and seemingly killed him.

An arm of Aptom's would survive the Guyvers Megasmasher attack which quickly regenerated the upper body of the Zoanoid who discovered the true extent of his regenerative powers. After learning this, his first task was to find a Zoanoid to consume in order to fully regenerate his body. As he stalked the woods near where he was defeated, the Hyperzoanoid Team 5 (minus Thancrus) approached. Aptom quickly struck with his arm and absorbed Elegan into his body and revealed that he was no longer under the telepathic control of the Zoalords. He stated that he would have his revenge on both Chronos and the Guyver for what they did to him. His newly developed form managed to cause Derzerb to fall before he promised Gaster that he would come for him next.

Aptom would remain in the woods knowing that while he absorbed a Hyperzoanoid, their power would not be enough for him to enact his plans of vengeance on the Guyver. He decided at this point that he needed even a greater power and plotted to absorb Commander Richard Guyot himself. As Aptom continued his plans, a powerful presence would appear that killed three Chronos soldiers with but a thought. This new force knew of Aptom hiding in the woods and quickly defeated him; thinking him dead, this individual left not knowing that enough of Aptom's body parts remained that he once again regenerated. Taking the body's of three Chronos soldiers that were slain by the unknown entity and used them to infiltrate Relic's Point.

Once inside, he made use of the carnage that was being wrought inside as a means to an end. His three bodies split up in different directions, one of them waiting in ambush in the corridors whilst the other made his way to the control room and the thid being held in reserve. The Hyperzoanoid members Zx-Tole and Derzerb were attacked by the one in the corridors but managed to easily defeat this foe. However, this distraction allowed another part of Aptom entered the control room and devoured Gaster. Using his form, he approached Zx-Tole and Derzerb, appearing as their wounded comrade. A concerned Derzerb went to help him but this brought him within range for Aptom to infect the large Hyperzoanoid. Despite Zx-Tole destroying the Gaster infected body, it was too late for Derzerb who's body was transformed into an amalgamation of Elegan and Gaster's body's making Aptom much more powerful. With his new powers, he wounded Zx-Tole greatly and sent him flying down several levels through his liquid missile attack. With victory apparently in his grasp, Aptom wished nothing more then to devour Zx-Tole as well and gain his pwoer. It was then that Zx-Tole revealed his powerful Tempest beam attack which vaporised half of Aptom's new body. A weakened Aptom would have been destroyed had not his final copy arrived and infected Zx-Tole's leg but the Hyperzoanoid blew up his own leg rather then be infected.

The two Aptom's merged and used the cell sample from Zx-Tole's leg to create a new body for themselves. The new Aptom sensed a great power within the mountain and managed to survive the destruction of Relic's Point. His time after this event remains unknown except that he went to Tokyo where he began to shadow Sho Fukomachi's friends who were keeping a low profile as Chronos had unveiled itself and taken over the world. Aptom's hope was to watch over them and keep them safe so that they would lead him to Sho in order for Aptom to kill the Guyver. This combined with his past actions made him a fugitive who was hiding from Chronos. He was regularly involved in absorbing the bodies of Zoanoids that got too close to Sho's friends. Eventually, he saw that he was being shadowed and went into a construction site where he challenged his stalker who turned out to be healed Zx-Tole. Despite Aptom's confidence that he would defeat the Hyperzoanoid, Zx-Tole revealed that he had been re-Optimized into a much more powerful form that combined his old team mates abilities with his own. Thus Aptom and Zx-Tole battled in the skies of Tokyo where the former leader of the Hyperzoanoid Team 5 proved to be too powerful for Aptom. His cell invasion techniques were also incapable of absorbing him as he had been infected with a virus that stopped Aptom's ability to consume Zoanoids or regenerate. Furthermore, he learnt that Zx-Tole was no longer a Hyperzoanoid but had been turned into a Lost Number in order to get the revenge he wanted.

Despite his struggles, Aptom was badly wounded in the struggle and defeated by Zx-Tole. He only avoided his death due to the arrival of Guyver III but even a Guyver Unit lacked the power to defeat Zx-Tole even with Aptom's help. Death seemed to await both Aptom and Sho's friends but the sudden arrival of a transformed Sho into a Guyver Gigantic saved them from Zx-Tole's wrath. During the struggle, Aptom regenerated by consuming the bodies of a Zoanoid scout and told Tetsuro to tell Sho that they have a score to settle after which he disappeared into the city.

Personality and attributes
Due to his development into a Lost Unit and the tortorous experimentation he faced under the Chronos Corporation, Aptom has a great deal of hatred for those who transformed him into a failed Zoanoid. This combined with the rejection the other Zoanoids saw in him made him a bitter and lonely soul. However, he managed to cope with his existence through the companionship he made with his fellow Lost Unit members and was deeply loyal to them. After their death at the hands of Guyver I, Aptom had a single goal which he worked for which was revenge. At first this was solely against Guyver I, however, this extended to Chronos as well for being the source of all his grief.

As such, Aptom is considered somewhat of a rogue. At first, being a loyal member of Chronos and eventually striking out against his fellow Zoanoids in order to kill Guyver I. After his second defeat, Aptom decided that he needed more power and decided to maliciously attack his fellow Chronos Zoanoids. This was because he discovered the power to actually absorb the abilities as well as bio-energy of other Zoanoids by a simple touch. Seeing this, he decided to attack the Hyperzoanoid Team 5 in order to incorporate their abilities and even dared to think of attacking a Zoalord in order to gain their abilities. He even entertained thoughts and attempted to try an absorb a Zoalord; specifically Commander Guyot in order to attain his powers but he never came close to achieving this goal.

These actions made him a primary enemy of the corporation and Aptom found himself in the ironic position of protecting Guyver I's friends. He somewhat justifies these actions as stating that he wants to kill Guyver I solely and demonstrates this by killing anyone that attempts to kill Guyver I. Later in the manga, he and Sho eventually become allies and Aptom joins Sho's group.

Powers and abilities
Aptom was originally a Lost Number Zoanoid who's ability's were incapable of being recreated despite numerous experimentations. His original Zoaform allowed him to transform from his Human appearance to that of any other form. This shapeshifting ability was imitative in nature allowing him to take any shape including that of a Guyver but it lacked the capacity to duplicate the forms abilities. Thus, he was incapable of taking on an accurate representation of a Guyver Unit's control medal. Furthermore, his attempt at mimicking the high frequency blades allowed him to create blades by his elbows but these lacked the sharp nature of a true high frequency blade which meant that they were capable of easily being cut. As such, Aptom's original Zoaform meant that he was more of a psychological weapon as well as an infiltrator which meant that he had to work in a group with his fellow Lost Number commandos. His Lost Unit nature meant that his link to the Zoalords was reduced compared to that of normal Zoanoids or Hyperzoanoids.

Upon being Optimized by Doctor Balcus into the Ultimate Battle Creature, Aptom's shapeshifting powers were enhanced to the point that his power was no longer imitative but capable of transforming into another form with their abilities. He thus gained the power of Self Optimization allowing him to transform into any other Zoanoid and possess their power. All that was required was a cell sample of the Zoanoid in question after which he was capable of transforming into their form and use their powers. Not only that but he was able to merge the different forms allowing him to combine three Zoanoid forms into a much more powerful body. He was not only capable of taking their form but amplifying their natural abilities as well. Furthermore, his shapeshifting powers allowed him to take a more accurate representation of a Guyver Unit allowing him to masquerade as them.

After his transformation by Balcus, Aptom also gained a high level of regenerative abilities. Damages caused to his body or body parts that were severed were quickly regenerated making him a much more dangerous opponent. As long as a part of his form survived, Aptom was capable of regenerating from the smallest sample back into his normal form. However, the energy used up in the process meant that he was required to use his cell invasion techniques to consume the bodies of normal Zoanoids. A simple touch meant that he was able to infect their bodies and use their biomass not only to provide him with a new body but increase his energy reserves as well as gain new abilities. He was also capable of infecting multiple recently dead bodies and using them for a common goal. These were not copies of him as such but were single parts of a colony that worked under Aptom's consciousness andwere as much a part of himself as the other bodies. A newly developed virus by Doctor Balcus was, however, capable of negating Aptom's infectious nature and also retard his regenerative abilities allowing only a small number of Zoanoids immune to Aptom's most dangerous power.

His shapeshifting abilities and power to infect other bodies makes him a dangerous foe for he was capable of taking on the appearance of comrades in order to reach close enough to use his powers to consume powerful opponents. Furthermore, his second regeneration made him immune to the thought waves of Zoalords which meant that he was a rogue amongst the Zoanoids.

Zoaform variations

 * Form 1; the first form he is introduced in is that of a Zoanoid copied form of a Guyver which he used as a psychological weapon against Guyver I. In this form, he strictly only possesses the ability to imitate and cannot copy abilities.


 * Form 2; an improvement over the original by Dr Balcus which gave him the ability to copy both form and ability. He was also capable of merging different Zoanoid components. He demonstrates this by transforming into a merged form of Gregoyle, Vamore and Enzyme with abilities such as improved strength, acidic blood and biolasers. He attempted to use these powers to defeat Sho Fukomachi but was defeated.


 * Form 3; finding out that he can reform from the smallest component part, Aptom's third form demonstrates a reduced telepathic link to the Zoalords. His new form was created after absorbing Elegan and his body is a that of Hyperzoanoid but the addition of a single Vamore bio-blaster on his right shoulder and his normal face.


 * Form 4; after deciding to attack the remaining Hyperzoanoid Elite 5, Aptom absorbed Gaster and managed to make contact with Derzerb allowing him to gain their abilities. His body mutated into a new form which possessed the body of Derzerb, the bio-missile shoulders of Gaster as well as his chemical launchers on the bodies arms along with Elegan's tentacles and tail.


 * Form 5; a newer form that came when Aptom managed to gain Zxtole's leg and merged with his damaged Form 4. This new entity was much smaller and compact, resembling Zxtole but possessed tentacles. This form of Aptom possessed all his other form abilities, his arms possess Gasters organic missiles and he makes use of wings to fly. His forehead has an organ that can fire energy blasts.


 * Chaos Form;


 * Evil Form;

Appearances

 * Guyver: