Robbie snuck in to watch Dr. Nicholas Benson’s experiment that tapped an extra-dimensional energy source, and was accidentally irradiated by it when the energy went out of control. The energy gave him superpowers: Whenever Robbie was hit with an impact above a certain strength, he’d become surrounded by a protective kinetic energy field that manifested in the form of a more muscular body, a spandex costume, and floating ‘bubbles’ in the air around him. When he was in “Speedball mode,” any impact against him caused him to bounce instead of being harmed. He could also harness this energy and direct it more forcefully, or alternately use it as a bubble/shield to protect others, catch others, and even stop moving objects, like bullets, in mid-air.