Vortak

"I sense she is closer than you think. Soon, I will hum to the screams of those I burn... including HER!"- Vortak commenting on his upcoming battle with Hydro-Girl.

Vortak is a character created by theryanjake11 who appears in the HydroVerse series of comics, he is the main antagonist of the original Hydro-Girl comic as well as Hydro-Girl: Remastered.

A gigantic weapon built for war by the people of Lucifero for use against the Aqua-Iravians, Vortak became self-aware and took control over the planet which allowed him to subsequently become ruler. Eventually, Vortak became the arch-nemesis of Hydro-Girl and their mighty confrontation was depicted on many walls within the planet of Aqua-Irava.

Despite his great power and immense size, Vortak cannot enter a planet on his own and must be given an object of invitation which he will then merge with and hide his true form.

Appearance
Vortak's true form is never clearly shown in the HydroVerse, it does however appear silhouetted in flashbacks as Hydro-Girl tells Eileen of Vortak's origins.

After merging with the ram skull that granted him access into Earth, Vortak took on the appearance of a giant demonic creature with black, rocky scales. He possessed a tail with a tip ending in a spear-like shape, Vortak also possessed bone-like wings.

Vortak had clawed hands and feet, the ram skull enlarged to fit his body and was also given black eyes that had an orange aura.

Early Life
On the fiery planet of Lucifero, it's people grew jealous of another planet known as Aqua-Irava as they saw it as a paradise unlike their miserable rock. The Luciferians eventually reached their limit and came together to use the power of their planet's ancient artefact: The Sikring of Fire.

The Sikring's raw energy succeeded in birthing a powerful entity that cast a shadow over the blazing mountains of Lucifero, his sheer size and power was seen as a useful weapon to use against all of Aqua-Irava. The Luciferians called their new weapon of war Vortak.

Attack on Aqua-Irava
With their new weapon ready, Lucifero invaded the peaceful planet of Aqua-Irava and let Vortak loose on the planet. What used to be a glowing dreamland, was quickly decimated by Vortak's blazing path of destruction. The combined efforts of sisters Omeka and Kino were enough to fend off Vortak and the Luciferian armies.

Something unusual then happened during the attack, Vortak showed an ounce of self-awareness as he moved away from blindly laying waste to the scenery and instead attacked sisters Omeka and Kino.

In the aftermath, Vortak had taken the lives of many Aqua-Iravians including men, women, and children. It took a couple of years for Aqua-Irava to eventually heal from its wounds, with Omeka and Kino providing all the help they could. Sometime after she was born, Hurihiko was told stories of Vortak's attack on her home planet.

Taking Control
After their attack on Aqua-Irava, the Luciferians retreated back to their home with Vortak. Little did they know, Vortak's self-awareness had grown and he eventually believed that he had potential beyond being a simple tool for the Luciferians. After discovering his newfound desire for power, Vortak turned on his own people and began to rule with an iron fist.

Vortak would over time become the new supreme ruler of Lucifero, watching as the beings who once controlled him grovel in fear at his intimidating aura and immense size, Vortak would also eat his own people as an act of dominance and to instil fear. Stories would then get told word to mouth throughout Lucifero, with Vortak learning of an event where a great saviour of Aqua-Irava would vanquish him from existence with the power of light. Vortak naturally took this a challenge, and prepare for his upcoming battle with the one they call Hurihiko.

Despite his vicious nature, Vortak was no stranger to the feeling of loneliness as he would often sit by himself on the mountains of Lucifero watching over the brimstone valleys. Vortak wished for someone he could talk to and love, so he begged the Sikring of Fire for such a thing. The Sikring heard Vortak's request and generated a tiny flame into a humanoid form, the daughter of Vortak whom he would name Mura.

Finding a Way Back
Decades later, Vortak would make contact with a black hearted Sigma scientist known as Dr. Newman (using a cow skull from Dr. Newman's collection) who struck a deal with the giant demon. If Dr. Newman were to use his portal-focused Sigma Research project to seek out Aqua-Irava and bring Hydro-Girl out into the open, Vortak would give Dr. Newman access to the powers of Lucifero for his own gain.

The two would keep in close contact in secret, with Dr. Newman making progress with his team on finding Aqua-Irava year by year. After three long years of intense research and portal experimentation, Sigma Research would eventually manage to open a gateway to the caves of Aqua-Irava. Dr. Newman assigned both Eileen Howells and Slick to enter the portal and see what they could find. Both Eileen and Slick are knocked unconscious by an unknown entity, which would then transfer itself into Eileen to keep her alive.

Dr. Newman would then take flight to his base of operations which sat on Devil's Island, Dr. Newman notifies Vortak of their discovery of Aqua-Irava which received great admiration from the demonic being. However, Dr. Newman questions how they plan to track down Hydro-Girl but Vortak suspects that she is now closer than they think. After managing to both capture and subsequently kill Eileen whom he found out harboured Hydro-Girl within, Dr. Newman flew back to Devil's Island where he prepared the portal for Vortak's arrival into Earth.

Entering Earth
Hovering inside a helicopter near the top of Devil's Island's volcano, Dr. Newman tosses the cow skull into a giant black hole in the sky that's activated by a fellow Sigma operative. Dr. Newman watches with sheer excitement as a gigantic, clawed hand emerges from the portal which is then followed by huge wings and a gigantic body which latches onto the top of the volcano.

Vortak's black smoke-emitting form appears before all who witness, he then spreads his wings and takes flight away from Devil's Island and begins making his way towards Downpour City to "let off some steam." Dr. Newman decides to aid Vortak in his attack by tricking the US air force into coming their way, a squadron of jets arrive and are shocked at the sight of Vortak. The jets take formation and attempt to attack Vortak, but the unexpected situation gets the better of them and Vortak manages to take them all out with shocking might.

A fallen pilot is rescued from the water by a passing Hydro-Girl, who spots Vortak flying above and is horrified at what she sees. Hydro-Girl and Kevin decide to follow Vortak to stop him from causing any further harm to humans. Vortak eventually makes landfall in Downpour and unleashes his destructive abilities, incinerating everyone and everything within the vicinity.

The Final Showdown
Hydro-Girl and Kevin eventually arrive in Downpour City and through the strength of their friendship and a teardrop from Kevin's eye, Hydro-Girl is able to form the Ukala which will help her in the final battle. As Vortak continues his assault on Downpour, Hydro-Girl approaches the giant demon and confronts him before pushing the Ukala into her abdomen. Vortak mocks and backhands Hydro-Girl which sends her flying into a river, but she then rises and has increased in size due to the Ukala's power.

Vortak reaches behind his back and pulls out a flaming sword before charging towards Hydro-Girl who also charges back, the demon attempts to slash Hydro-Girl with his sword but she manages to duck underneath it. This proves to be of little help as Vortak slashes Hydro-Girl upside her back which causes her great pain, Vortak then pins her to a building through her shoulder and claims that she will watch everything burn.

Kevin calls out to Vortak and tells him to stop what he is doing, Vortak hears the child and begins walking towards him and prepares to "teach him not to interfere with grown-ups". Vortak raises his clenched fist and prepares to crush Kevin as he wishes not to waste his fire powers on a measly human, but Hydro-Girl manages to pull the sword out of her shoulder and deliver a strong kick to the face of Vortak.

Hydro-Girl then delivers a strong punch to Vortak's face and attempts to land another one but her hand is caught by Vortak, she knees him in the chest to undo his grip before punching him in the face a second time. Hydro-Girl recoils as her fist begins bleeding which allows Vortak to catch her by the throat and raise her off the ground, telling her that she has no fight left in her heart and that she has let the humans down. Vortak finally threatens to attack Aqua-Irava again after he is finished with Earth before smacking Hydro-Girl aside.

As it begins to rain, the raindrops begin giving Hydro-Girl energy that enables her to climb back to her feet and slowly charge her powers but Vortak notices her and prepares his own abilities. Vortak launches fire through his hands at Hydro-Girl, she blocks it using her arms and he eventually stops his assault. Vortak briefly converses with Eileen and asks if she's willing to perish for Hydro-Girl, Eileen confirms this before Hydro-Girl launches a stream of energy at Vortak who launches a stream of fire.

This results in a clash of the two beams, but Hydro-Girl is weakened by the absorption of fire and ultimately collapses into the river. Kevin runs to Hydro-Girl as Vortak claims that emotion has clouded her capabilities. Kevin's belief in Hydro-Girl delivers power to the Ukala within Hydro-Girl's body, causing her to start absorbing the river and gets back up to an annoyed Vortak. Hydro-Girl begins to emit a bright blue glow from her body and tells Kevin goodbye, a pleading Vortak is engulfed in the blue light and completely disappears along with Hydro-Girl.

Vortak's defeat causes all of Downpour City to reform, and all the flames disappear as people come out from their hiding spots.

Legacy
Despite his death, Vortak's daughter Mura returned to kill Hydro-Girl after their first battle during the Vietnam War. Their battle resulted in Hydro-Girl vanquishing Mura once and for all.

After the battle of Downpour where Hydro-Girl and a band of heroes joined forces to defeat Corvus' Malum form, Vortak appeared to a mentally damaged girl named Alice Karven.

He influences her to find a portal which had formed deep within the outskirts of Downpour's ruins, this would result in Alice becoming his queen and the portal's activation would result in Vortak's people coming through.

List of Appearances
Hydro-Girl

Hydro-Girl: Remastered