Zaebos
Zaebos (a.k.a. The Unerring Corruption, Discord)
Divine Domains
Zaebos is the Archdemon of Corruption which, in this context, refers to a soul's descent from virtue to depravity and humanit's predisposition towards evil. This domain places on a similar level as Gods of evil like Apophis and Kakia, though the Archdemons' ability to challenge the Gods has not been tested. This domain also means that she's one of the few beings in all of creation that can force a soul to become a demon, though she prefers to corrupt people the long way as it tends to be more permanent.
Holy Books & Codes
The Diary of Hiram Borsch is a red herring placed in the Petrov home weeks after the demon and Masie had become one. She imbued it with enough dark magic that anyone but the most sharp occult investigators would be fooled into thinking it's a genuine book of dark magic.
Physical Description
Special abilities
As an Archdemon, Zaebos has cultivated a number of powers linked to both her infernal heritage and chosen domain which she then can utilise through her host beings. These include enhanced physicality, resistance to damage, telepathy, telekinesis, levitation, teleportation, limited shapeshifting, the ability to summon and control hellfire and lesser demons, and Zaebos' own everpresent aura of corruption that slowly takes effect on locations and creatures that are not already under her control, turning them into twisted versions of themselvs that answer only to her. Zaebos, as an archdemon, also has acute control over her plane of Hell, finding herself practically omnipotent there and able to bend the demiplane to her every desire.
While possessing Harmony of the B-team, Zaebos also gains access to Allyson's full suite of abilities, including vastly enhanced hearing (though she doesn't struggle with Harmony's drawback of blindness as a tradeoff), the power to manifest objects of a known molecular makeup and phase through them, though she didn't take her labcoat and doesn't have access to the equipment stored within.
Specialized Equipment
On her way through the Century Holding Facility, Discord picked up several items from the supervillain armoury to reverse-engineer and use for herself. On her way out of the building, the newly minted supervillain took them with her, including a pair of gravity boots, a neural interface chip, phase-shifter grenades, vortex grenades, the Dark Cloak of the Eidolon and the Gauntlet of Elemental Fury.
Mental characteristics
Personal history
Some would claim that the unerring corruption has existed as long as there has been evil in the hearts of men, but that's not quite how archdemons work. Born as a normal demon, Zaebos worked her way up the infernal ranks through acts of depravity and violence, quickly choosing her domain and cultivating a corruptive power until she saw the opportunity to slay the Archdemon before her, claiming his deific power for herself and taking command of his demiplane.
In the intervening years, Zaebos has gone from strength to strength, building up her power and influence until she was sure that it was time to make her first move on Earth. Her corruption spread quickly across the land in the 1200's, and nearly blotted out the sun itself, plunging the world into a neverending darkness over which she would rule. Thankfully, a group of powerful warriors led by a member of The Thompson Family and featuring a recently-immortalised knight were able to banish her back to Hell, knowing that it'd be several centuries before she would be able to claw her way back to earth again.
In the 21st Century, Zaebos' remaining followers on the earth managed to find a way for her to gain a lot of power quickly, beginning her preparations to walk the earth once again. It didn't take long to find a suitable vessel in the form of the young Masie Petrov. Isolated and lonely, with a mother that was already a Zaebos devotee, Masie was the perfect person to fall under her sway with a few promises of social acceptance and academic excellence.
In no rush to get herself detected, when Zaebos was finally able to possess the young girl, she actually allowed Masie to enjoy some of her demonic influence, becoming instantly more popular and gaining access to Zaebos' centuries of knowledge to excell in her classes as Zaebos slowly took pieces of her soul until there was little enough left that she could take full control.
She spread her influence throughout Mary Brennon School, enjoying the feeling of corrupting souls on earth again, even turning Blaze into her own demonic henchman, but it wouldn't be quite the triumphant return she'd anticipated as a meeting with The B-Team saw her confined in the Century Holding Facility, with Masie's body getting marked with all sorts of containment sigils, making her an unviable host for her to continue inhabiting.
Zaebos bided her time for a while, waiting for her opportunity that would arrive with the city-wide blackout that struck the facility soon after. Using her lingering connection with Blaze, she was able to have the young hero destroy the The Century Group's backup generator and release many of the holding facility's powerful supervillain prisoners. The ensuing riot saw her two magical cell guards distracted and, while she still couldn't leave the cell due to a magical barrier, her corruption quickly seeped out and took over the facility.
The B-Team would naturally show up again to ruin her plans, but at this point she was determined to have the last laugh. Using her telepathy, she was able to speak privately with each member of the team, saying that if they provided her a new body, she'd release her grip on everyone else in the facility and, in the case of Harmony, relinquish any lingering influence on her family after the events of the school. Allyson found this reasoning too convincing to pass up and, after a struggle, stepped through the magical barrier, offering up her own form and allowing Zaebos to take over her body.
With Zaebos now in control of Allyson's body, her powers and her knowledge, she set about a brand new plan, but made a few stops first. She visits with the Greens again to follow through on her side of the bargain. She then decided to try and win Allyson's cooperation by offering her a buffet of people from her history to take her revenge on, including a wizard with whom she has a sordid history, but it's no use and the Archdemon gave up, electing just to keep her quiet and work on her new plan.
With Allyson's knowledge of nuclear physics, Zaebos decides that she could spread her corruption over a vast area by causing a nuclear meltdown at The Nichols Nuclear Power Plant with herself inside, infusing her corruption into the radioactive fallout, and taking command of a recently-arrested insurance adjustor to use his power to enhance the spread with the winds.
The B-Team hadn't been sitting on their hands over the few weeks since their last meeting and when they became aware of the power plant attack, they came prepared. Quickly making their way to the control room where Zaebos was stood, they get into a fairly even battle, but with the arrival of The Trinity were able to open a portal back to her demiplane and kick her through it, with Mercy unveiling that they'd be joining her there very soon for their final showdown.
Sexuality
While gender and sexuality is more of an optional trait for demonkind, Zaebos has always self-identified as female and never shied away from sexuality, embracing the archetype of the wicked temptress that so many puritanical societies feared.
Accomplishments & Achievements
Overthrowing her predecessor Archdemon and usurping his power.
Being one of the Archdemons involved in the deposition and subsequent sundering of Azmodeus's deific form, taking a fragment of his power for herself.
Forcing the B-Team to give up one of their own in order to save the Century Holding Facility's staff.
Failures & Embarrassments
Failed to spread her corruption over the Earth in the 1200's and being banished back to her demiplane.
Suffered an initial defeat by the B-Team when meeting them in the weaker form of Masie Petrov.
Being kicked back to her demiplane a second time by the B-Team and the Trinity.
Intellectual Characteristics
Zaebos was always a highly intelligent expert on all things demonic, with a strong talent for deception and planning, but with the addition of Allyson's scientific acumen they've become something altogether greater. Balancing the scientific with the occult has given Zaebos all knew capabilities and all new plans.
Personality Characteristics
Motivation
Zaebos, like most of demonkind, has only one true motivation; power. Spreading her own corruption over the Earth and laying claim to every soul she can get her hands on, all so that she may bathe in the blood of gods and sit upon a throne made from the bones of Hell's princes. No matter the setback, Zaebos is determined to see her goal fulfilled, no matter how many times she must try, and won't rest until she's either successful or dead.
Likes & Dislikes
Discord loves to play games with her victims, giving them the taste of hope before snuffing it out and feasting on their souls, which she does with a ravening gluttony. Those she doesn't intend to kill she prefers to watch as they gradually succumb to her corruption. She'll often take a back seat and observe as their actions become erratic and aggressive, ostracising them from their friends and family before she steps in to offer a kind word or balm, much like what happened to Masie.
Virtues & Personality perks
Zaebos seems to always take on character traits from the beings she possesses, though they seem to fade with time, quicker if she takes a new host. While her previous hosts are lost to time, her most recent ones have definitely had their effect. Her creativity and out-of-the-box thinking has become a lot more prevalent since bonding with Masie, and her intellect and observation skills have become a lot more potent since bonding with Allyson. In concert, these two traits informed Zaebos' most recent plans and have given her many ideas on how to use the modern world to her own benefit.
Vices & Personality flaws
Just like with their virtues, Zaebos has shown shades of being influenced by her hosts' flaws as well. Masie made her more childish, presenting itself in the form of sadistic games that she likes to play with those she's planning on murdering where simpler methods may be more effective. From Allyson, she's starting to show signs of greater anger and paranoia, hiding elements of her plans from her most loyal servents and lashing out if they ask too many questions, even if revealing more would make the plan more effective.
Social
Contacts & Relations
The Scarlet Bride: Zaebos and the Bride have a history spanning since the beginning of the latter's rule, though it has gone through periods of both alliance and bitter rivalry, demonic scholars have even suggested that they may have been as close as demons get to lovers at some point.
Mannerisms
When hiding inside a normal human form, Zaebos has a tendency to run her tongue across her teeth, feeling for the fangs that she is so used to having. This tends to be less of a problem when she's revealed herself as she'll happily show off her fangs to whomever gets close enough.
Divine Classification
Archdemon
Alignment
Chaotic Evil
Current Location
Species
Conditions
Honorary & Occupational Titles
Zaebos' chosen moniker, and the one many of her followers use, is "The Unerring Corruption," but over several centuries and much like many of her demonic compatriots, she's been known by any number of names. These include:
- The Mistress of Malefaction
- The Darkness in Daytime
- The Soulbreaker
- The Cackling Blight
- The Architect of Ruin
- The Sovereign of the Spoiled
- The Temptress of Shadows
- The Hand of Decay
- The Saccharine Cruelty
- The Grinning Sin
- The Wilting Step
Age
Around two millennia
Children
Pronouns
She/Her
Sex
Female
Gender
Woman
Presentation
Feminine
Eyes
Red and glowing
Hair
Black and smoky
Skin Tone/Pigmentation
Black and white with a smoky texture
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