Larry Trainor

"You can't live for other people. You have to be true to yourself."

- Larry Trainor

Lawrence "Larry" Trainor (born 1927/1928 in North Dakota) is a former Air Force pilot who crashed his plane after being exposed to a mysterious Negative Spirit by Dr. Niles Caulder as part of the Immortus Initiative. The Bureau of Normalcy rescued Larry, and eventually, Caulder recovered him, taking him into his home alongside others Caulder had "saved".

Early life
Larry was born in 1927/28 to Gerald and Debbie Trainor, who expressed dismay that they (correctly) assumed their son was homosexual.

Years later, Larry was married to Sheryl Trainor, with whom he had two sons, Paul and Gary. However, being homosexual and only marrying to seem normal, he felt no sexual attraction to women, and had a poor relationship with Sheryl, and so, at some unknown point, Larry began cheating on her with his friend John Bowers, a friend from work in the Air Force.

Larry had enlisted as a test pilot. In 1961, Larry was picked to test out the X-15 as part of the Mercury space program for NASA. While testing it, he flew out far nearly into orbit, where he was suddenly attacked by the Negative Spirit, who latched itself on to Larry. The plane hurtled towards the ground, crashing in a fiery heap in a field. Larry survived, crawling from the heap, burning and horrifically scarred.

Taken from the crashed plane, Larry awoke restrained in a radiation-sealed hospital room. From Sheryl told him she couldn't take this, and that she was leaving him with Paul and Gary. Larry was so distraught that when John came to tell him they could leave and start over, Larry told him to leave, pushing away his last connection to society. Now fully rejected, with all his goodbyes out, the Bureau of Normalcy, lead by Agent Charles Forsythe, pumped Larry's room with knockout gas and transferred him to their headquarters, the Ant Farm.

While in the Ant Farm, Larry was placed in a special radiation suit, even more restraints, and had several physically agonizing tests performed on him. They found that he was immune to extreme temperatures, as well as various types of radiation, and attempted to set him to work as a soldier, though the Negative Spirit, now permanently residing in his body, didn't like this, and killed many of the Bureau's agents as a response. Larry's cell was right next to that of Flex Mentallo, who offered to help escape. However, Larry refused, too afraid of being killed or receiving more torture. As a result, the Negative Spirit tried to help Flex itself, but was too late, and watched as he was brainwashed and memory wiped by Forsythe, helpless to stop it.

Living in Doom Manor
In 1966, Dr. Niles Caulder rescued Larry from the Bureau and invited him to live in Doom Manor. At the time, the only other resident was Rita Farr. While Caulder left to deal with other matters, Rita showed Larry to his radiation-proof room that allowed him to take off his heavy radiation suit without poisoning anyone. Rita directed him to specially treated bandages on his bed that would allow him to walk outside the room without the suit on. Reluctant to hurt anyone, Larry took off his suit, startling Rita with his deformed appearance. Larry asked if she was alright, but she reassured him it was his home, too, and he should feel comfortable. Later walking around with the bandages on, Larry told Rita how much of a fan he was, at first flattering her. But when he revealed it was because he could see the pain within her, she began to melt, startling Larry with her deformed appearance. Larry later apologized, repeating Rita's sentiment about feeling comfortable at home.

Back in in 1966, Larry arrives with Niles at Doom Manor, wearing a heavy suit and using an oxygen unit to protect others from his radiation. Rita is left in charge of getting Larry acclimated in his room as well as with the bandages Niles has left for him. She encourages him to change into the bandages and doesn't look away when she sees how damaged his skin really is. They bond and become friends.

In 1995, he befriended Cliff Steele, a new resident, helping him learn how to walk again. He was present when Crazy Jane returned to the mansion, causing hell for Dr. Caulder. Shortly after, she convinced all of them to go into town with her, with the Chief out of town. While there, Larry opted to go to a bar, where he reluctantly ordered a beer. Believing he was being stared at, due to his societal anxiety over being gay, the Negative Spirit grew restless, and as he rushed outside, it simply left his body, causing him to pass out. He remained unconscious while a gelatinous Rita wreaked havoc across town, before the group of them returned to the Manor. That night, the Chief returned, scolding them for what they'd done, and explaining that enemies would be on their tails. Due to this, they decided to leave, only Cliff choosing to stay and help the locals. The rest of them eventually acquiesced, and they joined Cliff in the middle of town, staring down a rather unusual albino donkey.

A portal began to open up, sucking the town, along with Jane and the bus, into it. Fearing this to be because of their intervention, Larry left and went to the bus depot the following morning. He attempted to buy a bus ticket to as remote a location as possible, but the Negative Spirit continually stopped him, regardless of where he tried, causing him to give up. He returned to the Manor, finding Rita using some of his bandages. He admitted that he'd ran away from her during her outburst in town, but she forgave him. Deciding not to get involved with the town's predicament, they went downstairs, finding Cliff and Cyborg bringing in an unconscious Jane, acquainting themselves with Vic. Later that day, when Jane started to go crazy, Larry and Rita went outside to get some fresh air. They were joined by Vic, who inspected the albino donkey. Discovering that the donkey's throat was a keyhole, they decided that Rita was the only one who could discover what was beyond it, and so she eventually conceded. Accidentally losing her in the donkey, the two men followed after her, all finding themselves in the White Space. Before them were headphones from "nobody", who began narrating their actions. Larry was suddenly sent into a dream-like world, returned to his previous form and piloting a plane. He continually gave in to his urges, before eventually deciding to give up despite nightmares of a deformed John Bowers. The Negative Spirit eventually removed itself from Larry's body, taking him back to the alternate dimension, before returning everyone to the real world. That night, Larry decided to set some ground rules with the Negative Spirit, writing a note for it, before allowing it to leave his body to read the note.

California: 1961
Larry's youngest son Gary brings his dad a model version of the plane he flies that he has made himself and he's so proud of it. Larry however, finds fault with it and tries to correct the placement of a part. Thus hurting his son’s feelings umbeknownst to him at the time. In the present, Larry is later taken to his son Gary, now an adult who is suffering from depression. Larry further notices that his son appears to be preparing to kill himself. Sadly, some time later, Larry learns that his son killed himself.

Reuniting with his living son
While everyone else is busy dealing with Jonathan Tyme, he attends the funeral for Gary, one of his sons. Eventually, he decides to speak to his only living son, who eventually invites him back to his late son’s home. While there Larry sees the reminders of a life consumed by conspiracy theories. His son Gary believed him to be alive and followed numerous rumors and plotlines in an effort to prove it until ultimately his own anguish caused him to commit suicide. While Larry was moping around for fifty years, his children lived and were inadvertently hurt by his selfish actions to not see them again after the accident. However, just as Larry is heading back from the funeral he sees a whole group of butterflies courtesy of the villain Red Jack. Sometime later, while talking with Rita and Dorothy, a bunch of butterflies show up at the manor with an "invitation" for Niles from Red Jack and one of Larry's bandages. Niles convinces Rita to go with him and tells her if they get separated to follow the butterflies. In Red Jack's palace, Larry is suspended by chains, his bandages begin to unravel, which exposes those in the room with him to his radiation.

In Indiana, Paul reveals to Larry that his late wife is the one who got Gary into conspiracy theories about him. While Paul is packing up his recently deceased brother’s belongings, Larry decides clean about him being gay and in love with John. He explains that his wife Sheryl knew about it, but he never gave her an out. Paul eventually tells Larry about how Cheryl was a wreck after Larry was presumed dead. She eventually moved on, but one of the men in her life told her about how Larry was likely alive and just part of a government cover-up. Cheryl became obsessed with conspiracy theories and even got Gary into it. Paul instead got out and tried to be a hero.

Unfortunately, it soon becomes apparent that Paul doesn’t believe Larry belongs in society and calls the the Bureau of Normalcy to come get his father. As soon as Larry is surrounded, he sends the Negative Spirit to attack. This leads the trigger-happy SWAT team to fire. Rita is able to protect Toby, but Paul’s son is hit. An angry Paul tells Larry he has brought nothing but trouble to his family, Paul pretty much disowns his father as Rita and Larry attempt to escape.

Continued journey to self-acceptance
In the present, Rita finds Larry and as Red Jack begins to turn them all into butterflies for his collection. She risks herself, exposing herself to his radiation to save him by using her powers. Niles kills Red Jack before he can fully transform them. While Rita and Larry free the butterflies who were all Red Jack's victims. Once they are back at the manor, Rita tells Larry that lost causes aren't lost if there's someone to fight for them and that right now she's fighting for him.

Eventually, he meets Valentina Vostok, who explains that she also has a Negative Spirit within her. Larry learns that she also was horribly irradiated with her experience with the Negative Spirit but learned to live harmoniously with her Spirit and thus contain the radiation. All of which only took her five years to accomplish such a feat.

Powers

 * Metahuman physiology: Larry Trainor was "accidentally" sent into a field of cosmic radiation while testing an experimental jet in the stratosphere. When he crash landed back on earth his physiology had changed permanently and requires the Chief's bandages to protect those around him from his radiation.
 * Radiation production: Larry has the ability to release the Negative Spirit, a being composed of an as of yet unidentifiable form of radioactive energy. The being has it's own free will, and can come out at any time it pleases, though this is evidently easier when Larry is under stress. While the being is out, Larry goes unconscious, his mind inhabiting a dream world created by the Negative Spirit.
 * Flight: The Negative Spirit can fly at a unknown speed.
 * Dimensional warping: The Negative Spirit inside Larry was able to transport and take Larry and company between the White Space and an hallucinatory dimensions created by Mr. Nobody, before also taking them and the town of Cloverton back to the normal world.
 * Delayed aging: Larry's powers seem to have granted him some degree of slowed aging as he possesses the same body fifty years later as he did when the accident occured with no sign of change.
 * Possession: The Negative Spirit can take possession of both people and objects. Obviously, it took possession of Larry Trainor but, it was also able to possess a device built by Niles Caulder. This device was designed to allow the entity to communicate with humans but, the machine was overloaded by its power and the spirit was enjected back into Larry.
 * Mind melding: The Spirit was able to connect Cliff Steele and Kay Challis’s minds together. This allowed Cliff to enter her mind, to interact with her various personalities and help her, after she had fallen into a deep coma.
 * Phasing: The Negative Spirit can phase through solid matter such as walls and people.
 * Temperature immunity: Larry is shown to be able to withstand extreme temperatures, ranging from -100 to 220 degrees Fahrenheit.

Abilities

 * Expert pilot: Larry was once one of the top pilots in the U.S. Air Force. He was chosen to fly the most advanced and most experimental jets and planes.

Weaknesses

 * Power instability: Larry is not able to control when the Negative Spirit comes out, and when it does, it leaves his body unconscious, while his mind is forced into a vision created by the spirit. While this vision is typically torturous, it doesn't have to be, as the Negative Spirit does sometimes try to make it pleasant for Larry.

Season 2

 * "Fun Size Patrol"
 * "Tyme Patrol"
 * "Pain Patrol"
 * "Sex Patrol"
 * "Finger Patrol"
 * "Space Patrol"
 * "Dumb Patrol"

Trivia

 * Larry is 91 or 92 years old, as it is mentioned in a video recording in "Cult Patrol" that Larry graduated from high school in 1946, and since graduation age is 17 or 18 in America, meaning that Larry was born in 1927 or 1928.
 * Larry grew up in North Dakota.

Behind the scenes

 * In the DC comics, Larry Trainor is a former test pilot for the Air Force, and a member of the Doom Patrol known as "Negative Man".