Artemis
Agent Charity Cruce (a.k.a. Artemis)
Charity Cruce, aka Agent Artemis of Daybreak, a covert organization dedicated to peace and stability worldwide. Recruited as a child into a cult of assassins known as the Nightstalkers, Charity fought her way free and sacrificed her own life to redeem her old teammates. Daybreak used advanced technology to revive her, now she acts as a frontline soldier on their war against terror.
Physical Description
General Physical Condition
As part of the Helios technology, Artemis has had large portions of her body replaced with advanced technology. Her nervous system and spine were replace, due to being wrecked by nerve toxin when in the gambit that ended her life the second time. This also caused the failure of several major organs which now have been replaced. Both her arms and her back have been replaced with military level cybernetics, and he skeletal system has been reinforced to support these. Most of the organs in her midsection were destroyed during her battle with Wrath, and this space has been replaced with her link to the Helios reactor. Most of this work is concealed with artificial skin, though due to the power output of her arms they remain as obviously cybernetic.
Charity's heart remains fully human, though augmented by several auxiliary systems. This was done due to her shifted ability having been tied to the organ somehow.
Facial Features
Charity is trying to wear her hair down, letting her long white hair flow freely.In her former life, she would wear it in a braid for utilitarian purposes, but is trying something new. When she feels self concious or critisized, she will often retreat into her old hairstyle. She has also been seen trying out makeup to hilarious effect since she has no skill in it.
Identifying Characteristics
A foot long scar extends down the center of her chest from the childhood surgery.
Special abilities
Vendetta's shifted ability is that of Psychometry, the ability to sense the history (and sometimes future) of people and things she touches. She calls this ability her 'Liminal Heart', and believes it to have been caused by her near death experience as a child. The effect can be overwhelming, and incapacitating in some situations. This ability no longer works through her augmented limbs, requiring other touch contact.
Apparel & Accessories
In civilian life, Charity tends to wear her assigned Daybreak outfit: a neat white, gold and black dress uniform reflecting her association as a representative of the Foundation. These are commonly worn only in formal functions, but she likes to wear hers every day and keeps it meticulously clean. She wears gloves to conceal her augments.
Specialized Equipment
Mental characteristics
Personal history
Vendetta was a founding members and the leader of the Vandals during their initial adventures. During this time they managed to make a name for themselves by taking down the Steel Panthers.
They also apprehended Mother Superior after her violent crime spree, and turned the Nightstalkers away from the dark path their mentor had set for them. She died during this event, choosing to stop her best friend Wrath by using a slow acting poison that affected both of them to circumvent Amara's precognition. She intentionally only brewed one antidote which she made Big Sis promise to give to Amara. This sacrifice made Amara abandon the nightstalker path, as it did her friend Mercy. Mercy interred Vendetta's body in the Catacombs per Nightstalker tradition.
Daybreak recovered Charity's corpse days later, and managed to revive her using Project Helios. She now serves in the Helios Guard.
Sexuality
With a new lease on life, Charity has begun exploring a relation with her mentor Achilles. It isn't going so well, but she steadfastly believes that they will work it out.
Charity harbors a unresolved feelings for her lifelong friend Amara, despite the fact that her old friend more or less murdered her.
Education
Charity is a talented engineer, able to conceive and construct advanced prototypes to reinforce her abilities as a crime fighter.Due to the fact she tends to overreach her gadgets have a high rate of failure. She has mostly retired her gadget making career, leaving it to her more talented teammate Disruptr.
All of this is was self taught, as the schooling provided by the orphanage was lack luster at best. Charity went to great lengths to achieve the most median performance at school, in order to not stand out. She couldn't help but tutor other students to improve their grades, and could probably have taught the classes herself if it wouldn't have drawn attention to her.
Accomplishments & Achievements
As leader of the Vandals, Charity lead her team to down the Steel Panthers and apprehended Mother Superior. In her own heart, though, returning the Nightstalkers to the light is her greatest accomplishment.
Personality Characteristics
Motivation
Artemis has given herself whole heartedly to Daybreak's mission to improve the world, and considers the organization above reproach. As she has done before, she would gladly give her life to further their mission.
Virtues & Personality perks
She does not indulge in drugs or alcohol, and considers such lack of discipline disgusting.
Personality Quirks
Charity finds it extremely difficult to curse, or be around people who do. She will often substitute more acceptable words to use in anger, such as: 'Darn', 'Snot', 'Fudge nuggets', 'Son of a Biscuit' or her favorite 'Shnookerdookies' when she is feeling extremely put out.
Social
Contacts & Relations
On the Vandals, she has trouble with the vices, secrets, and histories of her teammates.
Family Ties
Following reports of gang warfare, a five year old girl was found bleeding to death, cradled in the arms of a dead teenage boy. The child tenaciously hung onto life, aided by skilled surgeons, being whether if be trauma or injury she was unable to identify herself or any family.
She was taken in by the Church orphanage who gave her the name Charity until she could be placed with a family. The city was flooded with orphans after the event, and no home was ever found.
Eventually Charity found vague memories of her parents and and two older brothers, one of whom she believes to be the boy whose body was found shielding her. Her most precious possession is a necklace which was found on the boys body. The necklace has an onyx stone set in gold sun pendant, bent and missing some of the flared points.
Religious Views
Charity was raised as a fervent Illuminant of the Church of the Golden Sun
Such was her faith that when baptized at ten, she stared into the sun until she passed out rather than shying away after a few moments like the other children. She believes that Illumination is the one true faith, and those who do not believe and follow its precepts are doomed to fall into Shade. She is does not hesitate to remind others of this, or take action when she feels a friend is fading from the light.
Charity strongly believes that people are inherantly in the light of the Golden Sun, and can be redeemed. She does not hesitate to punish the unjust, but draws a line at undue cruelty or murder. Such things only push all those involved further away from the light. One who dies in Shade is lost to the Well of Shadows, from which nothing returns.
She does not, however, subscribe to the dogma of the church as many of her peers do. She rejects the belief that the Shifted are inherantly evil, as well as the edict that high technology attracts Shade. She also tries to accept non-believers as good people who stand in the light, though this can be difficult for her.
Mannerisms
Vendetta has been known to go undercover in gangs under the nomiker 'V', a violent reckless biker. She gets a little too into this persona, cutting loose and focusing more on the reckless violence than the undercover biking part.
Relationships
Shared Acquaintances
History
Wrath and Vendetta were childhood friends who once policed the Saint Anastasia Orphanage and School keeping the peace. Their induction to the Nightstalkers slowly wore away at Wrath's morality, leading to a conflict which ended in Vendetta being ejected from the group.
Shared Acquaintances
History
Mother Superior plucked Vendetta from Saint Anastasia Orphanage and School to be a Nightstalker. When she was kicked out by the chosen captain, Vendetta tried to go it alone with dangerous focus. In order to save her from herself, Mother took her on as a student again, finding her a new group in the Vandals.
Shared Acquaintances
History
Kinetic and Vendetta crossed paths several times while protecting the streets of The Lowlands. Sharing several victories, it wasn't hard for them to solidify the team of the Vandals. Kinetic keeps many secrets from her teammate in order to protect her loved ones. Vendetta doesn't really understand this, she feels it gets in the way of the mission, but she tries to respect her friends privacy.
Shared Acquaintances
Inspiration
Vendetta was largely inspired by the TV show Warrior Nun, especially Sister Beatrice and that awesome hallway scene.
Charity Cruce, devout Illuminate and student by day. At night she dons the mask of Vendetta, leading the Vandals to protect the residents of the Lowlands in Edge City.
Character Location
Alignment
Rebel Good
Current Location
Church/Cult
Age
16
Date of Birth
Unknown
Life
2016 CE
2032 CE
16 years old
Circumstances of Death
Charity has died twice, and returned both times. The first was when she was a child, stabbed through the heart by a knife. Charity then later died in an attempt to turn her friend Wrath back to the light.
Birthplace
Unknown
Spouses
Siblings
Children
Gender
Female
Eyes
Olive
Hair
White with black streaks
Skin Tone/Pigmentation
Amber
Height
5'4"
Weight
120lb
Owned Vehicles
Aligned Organization
Other Affiliations
Ruled Locations
Colt is so full of poop it make me fudging angry enough to curse
2032
Colt is a two timing butthole who doesn't care about anything but his own ding-dong. He's totally cheating on Kinetic right in front of her face, and also bringing this other Rani girl into the lions den to impress her. I hope they both dump him and he ends up sad and alone.
Chiaroscuro
2032
I'm done being a Nightstalker. I bought into their lies for long enough, the necessary evils that lead into Shadow.
I'm done being Charity Cruce as well. I'm done being an orphan. I'm done pretending I'm something else than what I mean to be. When I was a child, a family I never knew was torn from me and I bled out on the concrete of this shade filled city. That girl died on the operating table that day. I'm tired of keeping her alive.
I'm becoming something new. I don't know what that is, but I know what it's not. For once I feel my path is fully in the light. I dare not turn away.
The shadows are closing in
2032
In the darkest days, it only takes a single glimmer to restore hope. I found this in the most unexpected place, in my teammate Disruptr. Not only did she return to the fight after I had given her an easy escape, but she also threw herself in harms way to protect me. Perhaps she is not the villian her mother is.
We were ambushed while seeking answers about the missing girl, and the Steel Panthers caught wind of it and descended upon us. I had hoped to avoid violence, but they gave us no choice. We held fast and felled them all.
Hopefully this helps word get around that we are capable of protecting this neighborhood.
Saint Anastasia, grant me strength
2032
Right on the heels of the Mother shaming me from my lack of control of the team, I find myself in utter awe of the lack of discipline and stubborn stupidity of these people.
Big Sis and her brother appear to have followed that son of a biscuit Disruptr into a criminal lair with the goal of cavorting with them...what did I do to deserve this? We have an innocent who needs protecting, and their choice plan is to draw the ire of one of the most powerful gangs in town? Why was I saddled with this task! I guess I'd better go in before they get themselves killed.
Fudge nuggets.
Good Grief
2032
Were it not for the fact we succeeded, I would hardly call tonight a success.
We received word that a crane operator named Jamie Pierce witnessed a crime, something serious enough to warrant the attentions of the Steel Panthers. Worse yet, she was running into the arms of the Syndicate who would as likely sell her out as leave her dead in an alley. I called in the team, but hung in the shadows to observe. Sis and Yeti descended into immediate horseplay, thumping chests and insulting each other. Disruptr arrived next, stealthy as always, but friendly. I still suspect it a ruse. Finally, Kinetic...who always seems to be the last to show and the first to leave.
We moved to Finley St station, where the target was easy enough to spot. Sis was quick to jump in and butt heads, it is a constant effort to keep her sliding into Shadow. But she is thankfully quick to prove herself a fool, and easy to distract, so I set her and her brother to task distracting the bikers. I set Kinetic and Disrupter on the Syndicate coyotes. By the suns light, both teams succeeded admirably, though I'm shocked Sis didn't get herself killed. She is lucky to have Yeti at her side.
I made my move on Ms Pierce, and everything went skotádi. Before long I was being drug through the streets for all to see, defeated by Calamity when I should have had the upper hand. By all accounts I had the villain dead to rights, but I somehow manage to muck everything up as usual. Kinetic swept into to save the day. I suppose she is reliable when it counts.
In the end the failure was one of my own hubris. I should have trusted Kinetic with our ward from the outset, and been humble enough to perform the minor tasks myself. The Mother Superior would take me to task had she seen me. I must do better. I will sleep in the darkness tonight and meditate on my flaws.
We will see what Ms Pierce has to say, we can only hope she'll trust us enough to protect her.
A new Dawn
2032
I have to admit I had misgivings when Dutch revealed his plan to me.
When Wrath delivered her judgement and cast me out from the Nightstalkers, I had assumed that the Mother Superior had blessed this decision. But she returned to my light, lifting me from the Shade when my fall was inevitable. She told me she witnessed me reaching for the light, and that signaled the Golden Sun had faith in my redemption. But my path was no longer that of a Nightstalker, it was something new. She told me that the lake of shadows she pulled me from was a reminder to be humble. The only hubris I was allowed was that I was a tool of the Golden Sun, a weapon of justice.
Dutch was not one whom I thought would be a friend to the Mother. He was as much machine as man, an ex-lawman who now rebuild fancy machines. But they seemed at ease around each other. I was curious about the machines in shop, the tech was intruiging and unique. Mother slapped my hand away and once again reminded me that my fascination was the call of the Shades.
Dutch said he was building a team.
So here I am, having gone from a family I was more or less born into to a family I have found. Somewhere in between I found I was not suited for walking in the darkness alone, I brought very light to those who desperately needed it, and almost got myself killed. I am certain had even I survived that moment, another would have gotten me down the road.
But this team...I'm not so sure about them.
Kinetic. She fights well, her style seems very familiar but I can't quite place it. It will come to me sooner or later. Her shift is useful, it makes her slippery and dynamic in a fight. Hard to engage directly. I'm not so certain about her commitment though, she left our initial meeting almost immediately saying she had business elsewhere.
Big Sis is a complete creature of Shade. Indulging her impulses as if they were the air she breathed. So unkempt as well, she gives off a stink that makes her hard to be near. But she is a force to be reckoned with, a wall of flesh and bone that is devastating in a fight. With the proper handling she could be something wondrous, if she could only get her head out of her own b-hole.
Her brother Yeti Boy is somewhat more palatable. He seems somewhat in control of himself. He lives completely in his sisters shadow. I wonder what happened to them when they were locked away in that lab. What they were before that. It may be the key to bringing them back into the grace of the Sun.
Disruptr is problematic, Wendy Baker, the daughter of Scarlett Fox herself. I still bear scars from the beating her mother gave him, had I not been caught on wires and fire escapes it would have been my final sunset. She doesn't seem so wretched as her mother, and has shown me nothing but kindness and respect so far. But she looks so much like my old foe...I guess the saying 'keep your enemies closer' holds true here.
None of them seem to have any training, other than Kinetics martial prowess. Disruptr seems to be a thief through and through, but a skilled one at least. Yeti and Big Sis are proverbial Bulls in the China Shop. I suspect I will be apologizing for their recklessness before long.
But it's something to start with. And I could use some friends right now.
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