Aether Backblast
From Unofficial Handbook of the Virtue Universe
| [[Image:|300px|]] | |
| Aether Backblast | |
| Player: @Resurection Mary | |
| Origin: | Science |
|---|---|
| Archetype: | Tanker |
| Security Level: | 50 |
| Personal Data | |
| Real Name: | Jeanette Charlotte Springer |
| Known Aliases: | J.C., Jaycee, Aether |
| Species: | Metahuman |
| Age: | 20 |
| Height: | 5'5" |
| Weight: | 110lbs (current; decreasing over time.) |
| Eye Color: | Blue |
| Hair Color: | Blonde |
| Biographical Data | |
| Nationality: | American |
| Occupation: | None |
| Place of Birth: | Talos Island |
| Base of Operations: | Paragon |
| Marital Status: | Single |
| Known Relatives: | Unknown |
| Known Powers | |
| Energy manipulation, invulnerability, flight | |
| Known Abilities | |
| Unknown | |
| Equipment | |
| None | |
| Very skilled brawler, if unorthodox | |
Contents |
Personality
Aether is at once an aggressive extrovert and a shy, timid introvert. Talk to her about fighting, about movies, or T.V. and she has no problem talking or stating an opinion. If she sees someone picking on her friends or even a complete stranger, Aether is one to jump in and defend the victim, usually with violence toward the offender. However, if you were to try talking to her about something personal, such as relationships, public displays of affection, sex, or anything of the like, Aether becomes withdrawn and quiet. She is a self proclaimed full-time hero, who only ever takes a break to maintain her mental and emotional stability.
History
Jeanette Charlotte "J.C." Springer was born June 19, 1991 in Talos Island, Paragon to the newlywed couple Robert and Susan Springer. Her parents had known each other since they were children, so it was almost expected of them to marry and begin a family practically right out of high school. No one knew about Robert's temper, or his drinking problem. Susan always had a ready excuse for missing a date with friends, or for a bruise or two on her arms. As is the case for most abuse victims, Robert eventually cut Susan off from any family or friends she had before their marriage and the cage was set. Susan even began to honestly believe this was meant to be her lot in life. As time went on, the abuse worsened. Robert began hitting their young daughter, and Susan began trying to reinforce her own sexist justification to endure on Jaycee.
The child, however, proved to be a bit more resilient than either of them anticipated.
Jaycee rebelled, and did so early. Instead of accepting, she fought. Her mother wanted her to be ultra feminine, so Jaycee entered her tomboyish phase and refused to leave. Her father wanted her to submit, so instead she undermined his authority with loopholes and outright disobedience. The very petite girl had an attitude problem, and it carried over to every aspect of her life. Jaycee lashed out at those around her often and became quite a delinquent throughout her school years, though no charges were ever made. She stopped hiding the bruises, but with all the fights she got in no one batted an eye. As she got older and larger, she began to hit back when her father tried to strike her. She did not escape without her scars, however. The years of domestic violence and emotional abuse left Jaycee with a very low sense of self worth; the only thing she viewed as remotely valuable was becoming a human shield for her mother, who had done so often for her when she was younger.
Jaycee's life changed when she first entered high school. Wanting to prove her parents wrong on at least one front, Jaycee had vowed at the very least to graduate high school regardless of how she did it. So she became a typical schoolyard bully and coerced those she viewed as more intelligent than herself to do her work for her. One such schoolmate was Benjamin Tully, who later proved to be a significant person in Jaycee's life. At first he was just any other victim; then Jaycee saw him being accosted by another group of boys who wanted him to do their work too. Jaycee stepped in for purely selfish reasons, namely if he was swamped with their work he wouldn't be able to do hers. Slowly the relationship morphed into something a bit friendlier, and before she knew it she was protecting the weaker students from the gangs and thugs that plagued them as best she could. She wasn't perfect, however, and occasionally someone would slip past her watchful eye. Such was the case with a group of fairly weak mutants not even the Outcasts would take, but who nonetheless terrified poor Benjamin into following their orders.
Long story short, they sought to have their power and numbers rival that of other gangs in the area, but wanted a bit of a technological edge. They practically kidnapped Benjamin and took him along on a very poorly thought out raid on a Longbow base nearby so he could identify useful items. Unfortunately, Jaycee figured things out and followed them to save her friend. The raid, of course, went south almost instantly. The gang were young, inexperienced, and generally just not very bright. The Longbow simply were caught off guard someone found the base. In all the confusion, Jaycee managed to find Benjamin cowering among some barrels in a hallway as the "leader" of the gang just finished off a low ranking Longbow member. She fought him, and there was an explosion when his pyrokinetic powers caused whatever was in the barrels to ignite. Jaycee has no idea how she or Benjamin survived, or if anyone else did. This was when Jaycee and Benjamin developed powers, and she left her identity and home behind. Aether, as she became known, was homeless for nearly a year while Nether, as she called Benjamin to protect his identity, went on to college. They kept in touch, and Nether kept an eye on Aether's parents in an attempt to keep the violence from escalating. Eventually a few contacts put her in touch with a group of people known as The Midnight Refuge.
Life at the Refuge
Aether, being awkward in most social situations, didn't exactly fit in at first. For the most part she would just hover around the other members, trying to contribute to the conversation but ultimately feeling as if she didn't belong. The Refuge had a kind of humor common to its members that she wasn't used to and was uncomfortable with. Even so, these people were kind enough to take her in when she had nowhere else to go, and she was damned if she didn't support them if they ever needed it.
As Aether no longer really has to sleep, she's prone to late nights and boredom. At some point, the leader elect of the Midnight Refuge, Xeden, began talking with her. Aether is much better at one-on-one conversations, so it was easier to talk to him. Eventually he invited her out on a mission, and the two found they make one badass Rikti smashing team. A little more comfortable with an activity to focus on and fewer awkward moments, Aether began to feel like she really had a friend. Xeden is the third friend she's ever had in her short life.
Praether
Eventually members of BRO and LSI encountered an entity which was identified, through magical means, as Aether's Praetorian counterpart. Praether, as she was originally called, was little more than a mentally damaged roaming black hole. Praether absorbed most forms of energy, even magic despite troubles doing so. Technology around her ceased to function as power sources were drained dry, and people nearby experienced mild cases of vertigo. Eventually, Fen had the bright idea to lead her into a reclaimator and somehow managed to magically restore her to a flesh-and-blood state and undue her mental instability. She identified herself as Jeanette Charlotte Springer, and was quite different from Aether.
Jeannie is very girly, often described by Aether as having a 1950s housewife mentality. She avoided having anything to do with politics or news in Praetoria, as that was "man's territory" and was neither Loyalist or Resistance. She grew up with very old fashioned ideas of what girls were supposed to be like; timid, soft-spoken, ultimately mothers and homemakers. Jobs are optional. Girls don't fight. Though on occasion certain traits emerge that can be found in Aether as well such as her stubbornness.
For a time Jeannie and Aether were roommates in an apartment in Faultline until Jeannie's marriage to Garret Anderson, and most of their friends seem to prefer thinking of them as long lost twin sisters than dimensional counterparts. Despite difficulties in thinking this on their own, Aether and Praether seem okay with this connection.
Powers
While her powers at first seem to merely be invulnerability, flight, and minor energy manipulation, Aether's powers go far deeper than that. Her ability to control energy is actually her primary power, and is the source of her flight and seeming invulnerability.
In reality, Aether can control and convert any and all forms of energy. Unfortunately (or fortunately, however you look at it) she doesn't understand how her powers work so she can't consciously reach her full potential. Her invulnerability stems from absorbing the kinetic engery of whatever is meant to harm her and redirecting it, usually as a counterattack to her opponent. Her flight is a combination of using kinetic energy and gravitational energy to propel herself around or just simply hover. The energy she balls up into her fists to increase the damage she does is kinetic in nature as well. All of her currently displayed abilities are a subconscious manifestation.
How her powers work
As previously stated, Aether's primary ability is energy manipulation that manifests as other powers due to subconscious desire. By taking a closer look at this, one can determine how Aether's powers can either change or not based solely on her mental state.
- Aether prides herself on her ability to take the hate and keep on trucking. This is because of her own lack of a sense of self-worth. Suicidal? Not so much, but she truely has no hope of ever being anything more than a punching bag. At least with powers, she can take a hit for someone else and spare them some pain.
- Flight is probably a universal sign of freedom. It manifests from a desire to be unshackled and run away from whatever Aether refuses to speak about.
- Aether's energy punches are probably the only part of her powers that give the observer a glimpse of hope into her personality. As run down and hopeless as she seems about her own future, the ability to strike back and fight for what she believes in is still within her. She can grow and change, if given a little help.
So if Aether's current mental state ever changes, her subconscious desires alter, so too will the manifestation of her powers. For example, if she's pissed off enough to go into a berserk frenzy, her invulnerability will drop, she'll not fly and her damage output will skyrocket.
People Aether Knows
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Friends
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Neutrals
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Enemies
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Fun Facts
- Aether publicly denies most forms of physical affection, generally hugs. In reality, she /loves/ hugs. Those who pay attention will notice that she only lets certain people hug her, though, and uses this as a sign trust or some other emotion depending on the situation since she isn't very good with words.
- She doesn't handle compliments very well. Normally she either freaks out or just complains and denies them and acts all grumpy. This is toned down when Cale compliments her, however.
- Aether loves most forms of junk food. Until recently, she was highly allergic to most of it. But with a Djinn's intervention and a free minor wish, Aether was able to overcome this little problem.
- Aether likes to roughhouse. It's something she developed from the days she refers to as "when I was a punk" and hasn't quite dropped it; however, most of her pokes, prods, and even punches are never meant to harm. It's easy to tell when one is.
- Aether has a very low opinion on her intelligence, but she actually has an average intellect at worst. She's just the product of public school and a troubled home life.
- She always wears a green choker and a fuzzy black hat with ear flaps, regardless of whether or not it goes with her outfit. The only time she doesn't is when she's out on patrol doing her hero thing.
- As a gift for their one year anniversary, which neither of them remembered the exact date, Cale gave Aether a necklace with a sphere shaped glass pendant; inside this pendant is a glowing heart that seems to pulse with multicolored energies. She gave him a holographic recording of a fireworks display she performed with her own energies.
IC/OOC Comments
Yeah, you know the drill. Leave comments. =D
((WIP))
"Aether is one of those people with an attitude you can't help but love (so long as you're not a jerk), with a mentality you have to find adorable. She's one of my best friends, and definetly one of the most dependable people who come to mind. I'd die for just about anyone if it did some good. With Aeth, I'd do it multiple times." -Xeden
"AETHEEER. Uh... She's, like, really awesome. I think I scared her at first, but by now I think she's used to me. She's really really into her job, which is stellar and stuff - And she lets me hug her! Plus, even though she's really quiet she's also hilarious. So, like, she'll open her mouth and say something so fucking funny you want to piss yourself, and you'll be like 'Where'd that come from?' But then you're like, 'Oh yeah, it was just Aether, bein' a silly goose.'" - Becca
""Aether is great folk, generally looking out for everyone's well-being. She's helped me through a few tough times and I'm thankful for it. She's got this habit of poking and pickin' at me though and she better watch out, or I'll start pickin' back. "" - Fen
"I haven't known Aether too long, well... I've known her for awhile. She claims to be a bully, but I don't buy that one bit. She seems to delight in picking on me a little bit, but I can take it. Bring it on!" - Cale millers
"Hah, Aether. I love that cow. She's awkward, yeah, but she'll say the best shit when y'least expect it. I swear to God, though...I'm about ready to super glue her to the ground. STOP FUCKIN' HOVERING, YOU CREEP!" - Sage
"I hate you! I HATE YOUUU! I'll kill you, I swear!...BITCH!" - Collin
"You're a good kid, Aeth... You deserve better than the hand you've been dealt. Stand firm." - Seere
"Aether can be, at once, strong and remarkably insightful. While she is a little impulsive at times, it hardly detracts from her ability to deal with stressful, or emotionally charged situations. I'm glad to have her on the team." - Kasun
"Aether is pretty cool. I mean, she ran with me in this secret team of badasses, and we were like BFOOM BOOSH KRRPOWWW. Then Aeth was like, "I don't wanna blow stuff up if people get hurt," and I was like, "Wut," and she was like, "Yeah," And I was like, "Fine, we'll blow it up once everyone's left already. She's a good person, but I don't think she's supposed to have a face." - Web
"Oh, sure, Aether's a good person. No doubt. I'm sure she'd be somebody you'd want at your back. Her problem is that she takes things too seriously. Woe to anyone who's joke offends her sense of morals. But, if that's the only issue with her, that's not so bad. So kudos." - Jack Wellington
