Brandon Burlington is a high-functioning autistic heroic homeless man who is renown for his widget-making, crafting and kit-bashing items he makes and sometimes sells, all the while aiding his fellow homeless brethren and his band of vigilante-like homeless heroes, 'The Trodden'.

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Brandon was born into trailer-park poverty in Oakland, California. His father was originally a garbageman, his mother...well, she was a party girl that quickly realized, after learning of Brandon's autistic nature, that she wasn't cut out to be a wife or a mother and left them.  To this day, Brandon's mother has still to be found, seen or contacted.  The father worked double shifts to get by. Since the school system required Brandon to get 'special education' (costing more money), the father instead decided he could 'home school' Brandon...although due to Brandon's condition, was nigh impossible for the father to effectively perform.  As such, he'd take young Brandon with him on his daily garbage runs (garbagemen (still) don't make enough for day care). Brandon had to entertain himself at the dump, but while there, he'd pick through the trash finding unique pieces and would start putting things together, making little gizmos, gadgets and widgets.  For the most part, these items were of little value, but to Brandon, they were a gateway to learning. In the evenings, Brandon would watch old UHF TV stations with public education services, shows and 'how to' series on fixing things (somewhat like 'Mr. Wizard' shows).  With that, Brandon quickly learned how to fix, repair and make things by the age of 12.

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Brandon's father, who wanted more for his son, took to crime and sadly got shot and killed during a robbery.  Brandon was taken to a state-run group home, where he remained for the next year until January 2000...that's when the alien Soltan Star Empire invaded Earth.

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Brandon's group home was quickly cut off from power and water after the first wave of the Soltan attacks. The kids in the group home were basically abandoned by the adults working there, leaving the kids to their own fate. Most stayed in the home, but food and water quickly became a concern. Thanks to Brandon, he was able to tap other active water mains to bring water to the group home and also deduced how to access (ok, raid) a volume store (i.e., Costco) and get everything they needed, including lots of toilet paper.

 

For the next several months, the abandoned kids in the group home survived. By the time the invasion was over and Earth's forces had chased the Soltans off-world, the authorities discovered the group home's status and arrested the original caretakers who'd abandoned the kids. This didn't help the kids who now had their home demolished (it was already old and practically dilapidated) taken away and were now placed in homeless camps in and about the bay area.  Brandon was taken to a San Francisco-based homeless shelter. Due to his autistic mind, this was a major disruption to Brandon's life and as such, he digressed into himself.  Eventually, it took several homeless adults to help Brandon 'get his bearings' and become familiar with the area to break him out of his digression.

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Within a few years, Brandon was back to himself, making gadgets, gizmos and widgets for others, mostly for his fellow homeless folks; things that would help them out like jury-rigged hand warmers, radios, TVs, toy wind-up robots for the kids, and so forth. Sadly, during this same time, ruffians and thieves would raid the homeless camps in search of stealing their government-rationed food supplies and/or steal homeless children for child trafficking profiteering.  Brandon, who was either called 'Burley Bran' or 'Widgetmaster', took it upon himself to start making defensive widgets for his fellow homeless people, things like electrical 'zappers', cattle prods, traps, alert mechanisms and even steam-powered portable electrical generators that he'd hook up to lights to prevent any thieves from not being seen in the dark.  As such, 'Widgetmaster' became a lauded member of the the camps.

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Over the next few years, Widgetmaster made even more powerful widgets, making his own steam-powered electrical generator backpack and incorporating it into what he called a 'zap pack' that could shoot electrical blasts, electrify his coat and/or make electrical shields. He started using them to help defend his fellow homeless, sometimes going from camp to camp in the area (overcoming his fear/mind set of unfamiliarity of strange locations).  As such, he became a bit of a hero.  He has since aided the vagrant hero, Homeless Archer, and his other fellow homeless heroes known as "The Trodden" on several occasions.  He likes his Trodden teammates and are the only ones he truly considers as his new 'family'. 

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Today, Widgetmaster still lives as a homeless man in San Francisco, making gizmos and devices for his fellow homeless to use as needed. He's also learned to be a more 'assertive' man with a more passive/aggressive manner in response to those that dare upset or anger him.  He likes using his 'widgets' to help save, protect and/or aid other fellow homeless folks. 

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