Such a child probably would have killed most parents. Fortunately, Burt and Monica Roper were far from most parents. In the 1970s, they were known as Tank and the Speed Queen. He was incredibly strong and nearly invulnerable. She was a nearly invisible blur of martial arts violence. Together, they formed one of the Southern United States' many small-time metahuman criminal teams. They limited themselves to robbing cash and other valuables from institutions that could afford it, and they were very careful to avoid serious casualties. Most heroes spent their time on more dangerous and newsworthy villains, so the duo avoided capture throughout the latter half of the decade. Their criminal ways ended abruptly when Monica became pregnant and the pair surrendered to the authorities.

When their son was born with powers, the Ropers knew they had trouble on their hands. By the time Burt was out of prison, Travis was already more capable physically than most adults. Teasing in school led to fights, which led to broken limbs and parents howling for the Ropers? heads. Finally, they pulled their son out of school and began educating him themselves.

While he studied the three Rs, Travis' parents also taught him other lessons. From his dad, he learned how to control his strength and the consequences of using his powers on people less resilient than himself. His mother taught him kung fu and the self-reliant calm that comes with martial training. They also let him know, as he grew older, just what life was like for a supervillain—especially for a supervillain who couldn't easily hide his identity.

As time went on, Burt and Monica encouraged Travis not to wear a costume. Instead, they suggested that he could make good money using his powers as, for example, a high-risk construction worker like his father. For a time, Travis agreed with them, but the glamorous allure of the superhero life called to him fiercely when he became a teenager. Eventually, he could be seen leaping across the rooftops of Houston, clad in his kung fu outfit and looking for trouble. For nearly a year, he fought petty crime throughout the Texas city. He did a few interviews with the local media and started making a name for himself.

Finally, as he was beginning to get bored with proving that he could easily beat a few thugs armed with knives and pistols, Travis stumbled across a supervillain in the midst of a crime. Warpath wasn't a big name bad guy, but his military training and cyber-enhanced body made him a pretty even match for Crimson Dragon at the time. The villain and his henchmen pushed Travis' fighting prowess to the limit, and he was eventually forced to let Warpath get away. Even so, the young hero found the experience exhilarating.

Upon graduation from high school, he received a scholarship from the University of Texas and moved west. While there, he majored in law enforcement and began preparing himself for a life of professional crime fighting in earnest. Most of his free time was spent either practicing kung fu or keeping the streets of Austin safe.

He graduated about six months ago, and has been trying to set himself up as a hero for hire in Houston. He's done a few jobs guarding precious artifacts, and once spent a week as a starlet's bodyguard. What he's known for, however, is his "pro bono" work, in which he's proven himself to be a serious threat to some of Texas' toughest villains.