Julius Adamson, also known as Gunslinger, and his twin brother Lachlan are mathematical geniuses, and together they are sometimes known as the Cowboys.
History[]
Early History[]
In around 1989 to 1990, both Julius and Lachlan studied at Trinity College in Dublin, where majored in Cosmological studies, and did some study in ancient history under Max "Wizard" Epper. During this time, they met Jack West Jr and Zoe Kissane.
In 2002, the twins went on a backpacking trip to Easter Island with two American anthropology students. Julius had a crush on one of them, Stacy Baker, and tried to hook up with her during the trip, to no avail.
Some time after the mission to restore the Golden Capstone, between 2006 to mid 2007, Julius and Lachlan met Lily, though how much they had actually been told regarding Wizard, Jack and Zoe's shared mission in unclear.
The twins were later approached by Wizard to assist him in calculating the approach of the Dark Star, a zero-point energy field that could wipe out all life on Earth if it drew too close. Though this was a difficult task since it could not be seen, Julius, Lachlan and Wizard were able to confirm its presence by seeing what it blocked from view, and soon determined that it be on the edge of Earth's solar system by March 20th of 2008.
The Six Sacred Stones[]
In December 2007, Zoe contacted Julius and Lachlan to inform them that the mission to restore the Machine that would repel the Dark Star was underway and requested that they meet her, Lily and Alby Calvin as they prepared to unite the Firestone with one of the Six Guidestones, the Altar Stone of Stonehenge.
As they drove towards the Salisbury plains, Julius and Lachlan asked Zoe to give them call-signs for the mission, but both complained at her twin-related suggestions. Instead, they shared a few theories regarding what they would find when they got to Stonehenge. Upon arrival, Julius helped to restore the fallen trilithons and Altar Stone to their original positions before the Titanic Rising began. Once it began, the twins recorded the event and watched in amazement as the united Firestone and Altar Stone revealed the locations of the Machine's Vertices upon the trilithons.
Julius and the others reunited with the rest of the Coalition of Minnows team at Mortimer Island, where he and Julius shared their findings from the Stonehenge data to try and locate the position of the First Vertex. Once Jack gave his input to reveal it was beneath Lake Nasser at Abu Simbel, the twins helped to note down the Mayan symbols indicating the Pillar-laying dates from the Killing Stone of the Maya. After the Philosopher's Stone was used to cleanse the two Pillars they had, the team headed out to lay the First Pillar, while Julius, Lachlan and Tank remained behind to continue working on identifying the locations of the other Vertices.
At around the time the First Pillar was being placed, the twins and Tank were still working on the Vertex locations, and just as Lachlan was noting something regarding the connection triangle he'd shown Lily and a British Island, Julius interrupted with the revelation of the Second Vertex's position beneath Table Mountain. After he and his brother bickered over the ease of locating the Vertices, Julius were shocked when members of the Japanese Blood Brotherhood arrived to retrieve Tank, and Tank ordered his men bring the twins with them as well.
As Tank and the Brotherhood looked over the twins' Stonehenge data, they occasionally asked them for clarifications. Julius protested the Brotherhood's plans to let the world be destroyed so that Japan could redeem itself after World War II, failing to convince Tank that it wasn't worth destroying all life for honour. Soon Lachlan overheard their captors discuss Jack's apparent death and a mole in Wolf's unit, Akira "Switchblade" Isaki, who would take the next opportunity to derail the Machine's restoration. Knowing they could not let this happen, Julius and Lachlan made their escape, making plans to try and warn the team.
The twins made their way to the team's old base at Victoria Station in Kenya, where they found Jack's falcon Horus and took the opportunity to look into Switchblade's history. When Jack and Pooh Bear arrived, the twins explained the situation. Once Jack asserted that regardless of whether Wizard or Wolf ended up with the Pillar, they needed to be there to help if necessary, he and the twins made their way to Zanzibar to recruit Jack's brother-in-law, the Sea Ranger, to help them.
When Jack introduced the twins to Sea Ranger's men as net-jockeys, one of them teased them by noting their similar "Cow-level" t-shirts and demanding that the cowboys show him how to reach that level. Soon afterwards, the twins were delighted when they were finally given their own call-signs, Julius being named Gunslinger and referred to collectively with his brother as the Cowboys.
The group then began making their way to Table Mountain in the Indian Raider, and Julius accompanied Jack, Sea Ranger and Lachlan into entering the Vertex and followed him through the bridge traps. After Jack was forced to use a maghook to swing out to the inverted pyramid, grabbing and placing the Pillar just in time, Julius watched in horror as Jack fell into the chasm below with Switchblade. Needing to leave before Wolf came after them, the saddened Sea Ranger and twins left the Vertex.
The Five Greatest Warriors[]
Julius was aboard the Indian Raider as it was heading back for the open ocean when the submarine's sonar operator received an S.O.S. from Jack, who was still alive and had used the twins' new collective call-sign as proof he was not a hostile. Once they resurfaced, Julius, Lachlan and Sea Ranger helped Jack and Alby aboard before resuming their departure from the Table Mountain Vertex. At Jack's suggestion, Julius and the others made their way to Little McDonald Island to rendezvous with Wizard's team, and upon their arrival Julius and Lachlan swapped stories of the past few days with their friends.
Once the whole team was reunited at Sea Ranger's base in Zanzibar to prepare their next move, Diane Cassidy suggested they focus their research on a prophecy in which five figures throughout history known as the Five Greatest Warriors would affect the Machine, the Pillars and the Vertices. As Cassidy explained, Moses, Jesus Christ, Genghis Khan and Napoléon Bonaparte all fit the descriptions in the prophecy, while the Fifth Warrior was unknown and set to be present during the Dark Star's return; Julius jokingly suggested that Lachlan was supposed to be the fourth Warrior instead of Napoléon because of his obsession with his hair.
In any case, Cassidy's suggestion turned out to be quite fruitful, and the team spent the next two months undergoing research to confirm the Five Warriors' connections to the Machine. In addition to undergoing research, Julius opted to occasionally join Jack and Zoe on their morning runs around the island to keep in shape. In the course of their discoveries, Julius and Lachlan showcased their belief in how the Pillars were scattered and where they had ended up, including Jesus's possession of the Sixth in his rumoured tomb. They also revealed how they had uncovered the location of the Third Vertex on Hokkaido's coast with its matching Pillar somewhere within it, and how Genghis had reputedly had a Fabergé Egg with images of the Vertex entrances on it hidden in his lost arsenal.
After Alby's investigations into Napoléon led him to discover that the final Sacred Stone, the Basin of Rameses II, was at the British Museum under a different name, Pooh Bear, Stretch, and the twins were dispatched to London to steal the Basin. While Pooh Bear drew the guards' attention with suspicious activity, Julius and Lachlan donned a pair of gardeners overalls, and when an evacuation was initiated, the twins grabbed the Basin and covered it in moss to make appear as a fountain ornament before wheeling it out to Stretch.
When they finally got in touch with the rest of the team, Julius and the others were saddened to hear of Wizard's death in Mongolia, and Jack set them the task of locating the Spring of the Black Poplar to obtain the water they needed in the Basin.
Julius and the others made their way to Loch Ness, where some research into Isaac Newton suggested the Spring resided. During the journey, Julius recalled the twin's trip to Easter Island, and when he brought up Stacy Baker he noticed Lachlan's discomfort, and Julius realised that his brother had slept with her despite his stated interest. Furious at Lachlan for going behind his back and never telling him the truth, Julius began sulking as they began their search for the Spring and took any opportunity to scold his twin.
After finding the Spring, Julius and the others began heading back into England, and during the train-ride he was elated as he uncovered the location of the Fourth Vertex on Lundy Island and shared his discovery with his teammates. Moments later, however, Royal Marines halted the train and moved in to surround them, and Pooh Bear suggested Julius hold on to the Vertice's location as a potential bargaining chip. When Iolanthe Compton-Jones confronted them, however, the British royal stated she was only there as a messenger.
Iolanthe established a video-call to Siberia, and Julius and the others were brought in on the Russian royal Carnivore's show of prisoners he had at his base, including Jack's team. Carnivore revealed his intention to take the Pillars and their rewards and manipulate everyone else into completing the Machine's restoration for him, offering Pooh Bear the chance to free his father if he and his team placed the Fourth Pillar and gave it to his British relatives.
Reluctantly agreeing to Carnivore's demands, Julius and the others were escorted to Lundy Island by Iolanthe's Marines and made their way into the Vertex. However, as Julius and his brother examined the edges of the city of waterfalls, a flood of water entered the chamber and cut Pooh Bear and Stretch off from them. Seeing from their position that they could guide the twins, they directed Julius and Lachlan down to the inverted pyramid's peak. The fitter Julius soon had to save his twin before he was swept over the wrong ledge, but deflected Lachlan's apology about Stacy given their perilous situation. After simultaneously placing the pillar at the same time as Jack at the Fifth Vertex, Julius helped his worn-out twin back up to the top of the city, having decided to forgive him for his infidelity. As they departed the Vertex, Julius and the others were surprised to find themselves being rescued by their Irish liaison Cieran Kincaid.
Establishing contact with Jack, they made plans to reunite and find the tomb of Jesus Christ to recover the final Pillar before Scimitar, Vulture and Mao Gongli. Upon arrival in the Dead Sea, Julius and the others found the Halicarnassus and disabled the guards keeping an eye on Sky Monster. While Pooh Bear and Stretch made their way into the abandoned Roman salt mine, Kincaid, in fact an agent of Carnivore, drugged Julius and Lachlan and knocked Sky Monster out with a nerve agent.
After Jack and the others emerged from the mine, they saw that Carnivore had arrived at their position and Sky Monster and the twins had been handcuffed to the Hali's cargo ramp struts. Though Carnivore and his people managed to get away with Lily and the final Pillar, Jack managed to keep his friends from being executed by Kincaid by killing the treacherous Irishman first. After Julius regained consciousness, Jack opted to head to the final Vertex by himself given everyone else injuries. After expressing shock at how Jack had determined the last Vertex was on Easter Island, Julius and Lachlan helped Jack launch the damaged Halicarnassus in their remaining jeep by controlling the crudely-replaced landing-gear.
After Jack was gone, Julius and the others began making their way back to civilisation, and then proceeded to to Carnivore's base to release the Russian royal's captives from the Living Tombs.
A few weeks later, Julius was present to watch as Jack and Zoe got married in a small civil ceremony.
Between The Five Greatest Warriors and The Three Secret Cities[]
During the course of the next few years, the members of the Coalition team continued largely as they had before, returning to their home nation while making the odd visit to one another. Having become trusted members of the team, Julius and Lachlan were suggested to write a letter or email to be read by Jack and their twin should something happen and they die, which the brothers agreed to do.
After Lachlan married Eriko Kinoshita and had twin children Caleb and Willow, Julius took to teasing his twin about the "mom van" he now drove, but did gift him with a racing number on the side of the van to "make it a little sexier". The brothers remained close, and Lachlan and Eriko allowed Julius to live in a detached flat on their property.
In 2016, eight years after the mission to restore the Machine, Julius and Lachlan began collaborating with the oceanographer David "Nobody" Black on an deep-sea exploration project. When the three of them discovered an ancient gateway in the Mariana Trench with Thoth symbols engraved on it, Julius and Lachlan contacted Jack and Zoe to invite them to take a look, but only Zoe elected to join them.
As they descended into the Mariana trench in Nobody's submersible from the Betty White, Julius and the others used ground-penetrating radar to scan the sunken doorway, discovering that whatever lay on the other side was a large deposit of volcanic stone. Unable to open the doorway, the twins, Zoe and Nobody took photos of the Thoth text carved upon it for Lily to translate later. After completing their examination, Julius and Lachlan departed to return home. When Jack and his allies returned to the farm, Zoe prepared to begin explaining what she and the twins had discovered in the Mariana Trench, but cut herself off when she realised the state they were in.
The Three Secret Cities[]
Only a few days later, Julius and Lachlan were informed by Jack and the others of a new crisis, wanting them to meet with Zoe and Mabel Merriweather and rendezvous with Iolanthe, however, with Lachlan having family responsibilities, only Julius elected to join them in making their way to St. Michael's Mount where the Hall of Royal Records resided. As they approached the Mount, Julius and the others noticed Orlando Compton-Jones and his entourage departing, and so ventured into the dungeon their enemies had emerged from. After finding and releasing the severely tortured Iolanthe, Julius, Zoe and Mae gathered the Royal's notes and returned to London to meet up with Jack's group at a safe-house.
As the team discussed the locations of the Three Secret Cities, a commotion on the Thames led them to discover that a Black Hawk was dangling Lachlan's car over the river. As they watched the hacked news feeds, Julius was horrified as Jaeger Eins of the Knights of the Golden Eight detonated an explosive in the car that killed Lachlan and his family. As Jack and Lily prepared to go confront the Knights, Julius armed himself and insisted on joining them, but relented when Jack asked him to be Zoe's spotter for the confrontation. As Zoe observed Jack and Lily approach the Knights' tank, Julius was left with his own thoughts, and soon, unnoticed by Zoe, vanished.
In the aftermath of the attack, the distraught and broken Julius read Lachlan's Message from the Other Side letter, in which Lachlan wrote that Julius was more than his brother but also his best friend, and also that he be avenged. Recalling Iolanthe mention that the Knights' base was at Aragon Castle, Julius made his way to Rome and then hired a chopper to fly out to the castle.
Intentionally crashing his chopper near the castle to get the Knights' attention, Julius feigned injury before killing the two squires sent to investigate. Proceeding into the castle, Julius managed to ambush two of the Knights before continuing to make his way to the inner sanctum before he was caught in a trap. When Eins advised Julius to put down his weapons, Julius retorted that the Knight could come and take them himself, only for Eins to refuse and fill the room with a gas that knocked Julius out.
Julius awoke hours later to find himself in a cage next to Alby's, suspended over the sea and manacled by his hands and throat. Confronted by Eins, Julius was mocked for his attempt for vengeance and had both of his hands by the Knight's filament weapon, both as punishment for killing the other two Knights and as a demonstration to Lily of what would happen to Alby. Despite the pain, Julius called Eins out for killing Eriko and the children despite their innocence and calling him a sick fuck. In response, Eins dropped Julius's cage into the sea below, and as he began to drown, Julius's last thoughts were of reuniting with Lachlan in death.
After Death[]
Following Zoe's apparent death, Lily urged Jack not to give into despair, reminding him that the loss of Lachlan had consumed Julius and made him reckless in his fatal attempt to seek vengeance on the Knights.
After Alby and Aloysius Knight were captured and brought before Jaeger Eins on the Red Horizon Star-4 oil rig, Eins taunted them by claiming that he had liked Julius before cutting off his hands and drowning him. As the tables were turned and Alby got ahold of Eins' filament weapon, he severed off the Golden Knight's lower jaw and hands, and then kicked Eins out into the rushing waters below, killing him and avenging the twins. (The One Impossible Labyrinth)
Personality[]
Julius and his brother are very much alike in personality, being as equally cheeky and intelligent, and both are almost child-like in their love of games. Once some of Wizard's students at Trinity College, the twins proved themselves to be brilliant in the fields of mathematics, cosmology and anthropology, which makes them just as valuable to the team as anyone else.
One of the few notable differences between the brothers is Julius's more active lifestyle and occasional jogging sessions. Despite their occasional conflicts, Julius cares about his twin deeply, considering him his best friend, and will forgive him for just about anything.
Skills[]
- Master Mathematician: To Be Added.
- Expert Astronomer: To Be Added.
- Expert Historian: To Be Added.
- Trained Marksman: Presumably as a necessity to protect himself during the team's various dangerous missions, Julius has at least been trained in using pistols.
- Trained Pilot: Julius has apparently been trained in the piloting of helicopters, as he was able to competently fly a chopper and intentionally crash it.
Equipment[]
Weapons[]
- Glock: A pistol that Jack loaned to Julius for protection while they were on Zanzibar.
- MP-9: During his attack on Aragon Castle, Julius picked up some of the weapons of the squires he killed, presumably their MP-9s.
Vehicles[]
- Rental Chopper: To Be Added.
Other Equipment[]
- Pillars: The bizarre uncut diamonds the size of a brick that were created by a race of super-ancient people for use in the Machine's restoration. Julius and Lachlan briefly handled a couple of them; assisting Epper in analysing them at Mortimer Island and helping cleanse the First and Fourth Pillars with the Philosopher's Stone, and later laid the Fourth Pillar at Lundy Island with Lachlan's help at the same time Jack did the Fifth.
- Six Sacred Stones: The ancient artefacts mysteriously connected to the Machine's restoration, some of which Lachlan used or helped to locate for the team.
- Altar Stone of Stonehenge: The Stone used to identify the locations of the six Vertices of the Machine. Julius and Lachlan assisted Zoe, Alby and Lily in attaining access to the Stonehenge site and restoring the site and placement of the Altar Stone so that they could witness the Titanic Rising event that showed the locations of the Vertices on the ancient monoliths. During the periods of research, Julius and Lachlan worked over the data granted by the Altar Stone to properly locate where most of the Vertices could be found around the globe.
- Philosopher's Stone: The Stone used to cleanse the Pillars before their placement in the Machine, which Lachlan and Julius both assisted Epper with in cleansing the First and Fourth Pillars.
- Basin of Rameses II: The Stone used to give the last three Pillars their second cleansing using water from the Spring of the Black Poplar. Lachlan and Julius both helped to steal it from the British Museum while disguised as gardeners from museum, and later acquired the spring water for the Basin, though it was taken by Iolanthe before they could use it.
Trivia[]
- Julius and Lachlan have a habit of wearing competing shirts based on pop-culture, such as;
- Julius wearing a white shirt that claims there is no cow-level of the Diablo video games while Lachlan's is black and claims he has seen the cow-level.
- Julius wearing a shirt that claims Family Guy's "Stewie Griffin is an Evil Genius" while Lachlan's reads "Stewie Griffin for President".
- Each twin wearing a shirt with the insignia of either the Autobots or Decepticons of the Transformers franchise.
- Julius and Lachlan are noted to have carrot-orange hair and freckles apparently typical to most Scottish-born people.