Buried inside the Cheyenne Mountain Complex, Rot was subjected to an experimental biological-weapons program designed to force the human body to survive Tabes Accelerata—an engineered necrotic process that should have destroyed him.
The experiment worked, though not as intended. Rot survived. Part of him did not.
One arm remains permanently blackened and desiccated, functioning as the primary reservoir for the condition now living inside his body. Direct contact can trigger catastrophic cellular collapse, rapidly withering organic tissue into a dry, smoky particulate mist. Under extreme exertion, Rot can temporarily spread the effect into his other arm—or potentially farther—delivering a substantially greater dose. His straitjacket serves as both restraint and containment, keeping the corrupted limb buried until Rot decides to pull back the sleeve.