Aglow

(Note from the Author: The following information may be unsuitable for minors or those with sensitivities to sexual assault. There's no easy way to say this: I do not use the following in casual disregard to give my character some random traumatic experience and I was so afraid it'd be perceived as much, that this much of her history has not yet been shared. Please do not use the information in-character and all I ask for is respect, not just for myself/my character but for the victims of said repugnant crimes. Thank you.)

She hadn't always been afraid of the dark. Such phobias were ludicrous to her when she had faced far more worrisome things. Over the years Lilah had managed to gain a sense of her limits and weaknesses to her powers. True, she didn't see her best at night, but she did well enough with street lamps to guide her way.

It was her sophmore year at Steel Canyon University. It was a time of finals, of stress, of sleepless nights and non-stop studying. She did her best to be as 'normal' as a student as she could, minus her vibrant appearance and glowing eyes. Mutants and metas weren't unheard of in Paragon City and it being the 'City of Heroes' made it easier to blend in, especially considering she was not a registered hero and had no moniker to uphold.

Maybe that made her a target; sticking out like a sore thumb when the clock struck two in the morning. She stuck to the more well-lit areas as she made her way toward a 24-hour Cuppa Joe coffee shop but in a city where crime was rampant, it wasn't enough.

More than anything, Lilah despises feeling vulnerable and helpless and that was exactly how she felt as her assailants covered her face with cloth, leaving her blind. She thinks she screamed that night, but she cannot remember if she resigned to her fate or fought back. Gut instinct tells her she did.

Hours passed after they left her there to rot, or it could have merely been minutes until Lilah gathered the courage to stand and pull her pants on and calmly continued her walk, this time ending at the after-hours clinic located within the campus and quietly informed them of what had happened.

She can remember the staff and police attempting to comfort her as they questioned her, yet all she could think about was how soft the cloth over her head had been compared to the faces of those who were trying to help. How bleak and black the dark had truly been. How she had wanted nothing more than for a beacon of light, that fragile hope.

She was sent home that early morning with little still intact. Lilah did not want to be a victim. She wanted to be the light in the dark for others, to be what she herself did not have. To give a glimmer of hope, to protect. To give others a reason not to fear the dark as she now did.

The next day Lilah withdrew herself from her courses and found herself face to face with the registrar in the Atlas Park City Hall, and new identification in hand. They took so much from her that night, the ability to have children, little pieces of herself she'll never have back, and left her with an all-consuming hate, a fear of the dark and most importantly, a light at the end of a tunnel.

Born from the dark came a new beacon of shining hope, Lilah Shay Brenner became the hero Aglow, the light in the dark.

→Light Manipulation

• The ability to control, direct and manipulate light and color in such fashion is a both conscious and subconscious act of mind. Considered a psychic, Aglow’s powers are limited to psionic use only. She cannot read minds nor does she have any sense of clairvoyance or precognition. At times, unconsciously may she project her own thoughts or illusions; this most commonly occurs when she’s sleeping and not actively shielding herself.

• Psychokinesis is the ability to move (lift, agitate, vibrate, spin, bend, break, or impact) visible life forms or objects and control photonic energy (lightwaves/particles). The duality of psychokinesis and Aglow’s illuminating abilities, she can conjure various forms of photonic energy, including blinding flashes and concussive photon pulses. At rest, these plasmoids of energy float around her in what she endearingly refers to as ‘drunken fireflies’.

• Simpler hypnotic patterns made out of her rays of light can produce trance-like effects in her targets. A display of chaotic pulsing strobe effect of sparkling lights and colors severely upset other people’s equilibrium and bursts of light which causes temporary blindness with it’s brilliance. Low levels of light generate a glow, higher levels can create blinding flashes and can make light that burns skin on contact which has proven useful in soldering wounds.

• Directing her blinding light from her eyes and hands, she can generate bright bursts of multi-colored psychic energy, approximating laser beams, with which she can cut through virtually anything.

• The mental manipulation of light also gives her the ability to bend the light around herself or others to grant a degree of stealth and invisibility. This can further lead to protective shields, however the latter is excruciating upon her endurance and often leaves her drained and void of regenerating.

• Causing precision bursts of light inside a human brain, simulating the effects of a massive stroke and creating a protective force fields with laser light that can deflect or vaporize oncoming objects.

• If/when powerful enough, Aglow can also perform disillusion and exposition, allowing her to negate optical illusions or to reveal otherwise invisible objects.

→The Everlight:

A non physical entity that is the horsepower behind Aglow's abilities. Everlight is Aglow, and Aglow is Everlight.

Lilah refers to Everlight as 'It'. The power that powers her; for sometime she wrestled with herself in regards to surmising it was her soul and still believes her soul and her power are one and the same.

Rather than being a result of multiple personality disorder or possession, it is more or less the dormant psychic abilities becoming so completely self aware that her powers began over-compensating for what Aglow has long since suppressed, thus in itself creating an entity, an intangible force that drives Aglow.

It is more than her subconscious, as it has become cosmically aware even when Aglow herself may not be alert. The Everlight is untapped potential, extremely powerful and unstable from the result of being suppressed for far too long.

There are moments when Everlight overrides Aglow and the first clue is in Aglow's change of appearance: her brightly colored hair bleeds white, and the glow spreads from her eyes to encompass her entirely, shifting hues from pink to a cool, ultraviolet. This gives her an overall ethereal appearance, similar to an apparition. Secondly, the powers and energies of all organic life (especially those who are offensive psychics) may fluctuate, pulse, ebb, and flow. Everlight seems to absorb the endless supply of power rather greedily.

She is a divine sense of the Quintessence Force, granting her the ability to generate pure energy from her own body without the need to 'pull' from those around her. She may emit vibration-like waves of such power. This power cannot be replicated through means of power mimicry, because the energy being used comes from the self, not from the outside world.

In this form, Everlight is a master of Twilight manipulation; the mixture of light and darkness. Everlight seeks out dark matter, overcasting such bright light to consume the power, resulting in an eclipse of power, and ultimately allowing her to control the essence between light and dark.

The Everlight is a powerful psychic. Her mind is laid open with no resistance barriers to all those with psychic and telepathic abilities. However, much like a spider web, if sensing the entry of another psychic, the psyche of Everlight immediately overcomes the intruder and holds them hostage, trapping them within her own psyche.

At this moment, the intruder (or hapless psychic) may be overwhelmed by the eclipse. They may experience blindness, disorientation, dizziness and worse, could suffer strokes, seizures, and/or aneurysms. Depending on the severity of the assault, the former side-effects may only be temporary with no long-lasting issues. The entire process is not gentle and the victim is often held helpless and vulnerable to Everlight's whims.

Aglow’s telekinesis also becomes stronger during this time; with the ability to push, shove, and render people and inanimate objects unable to move. This feels like an overwhelming amount of pressure bearing down on those who are succumbing to it. She may appear invulnerable to many attacks, especially against those that are energy based.

During these spells, once Everlight recedes, Aglow will have no immediate recollection of events. Later, she may have flashbacks and with time, the Everlight and Aglow will merge to become one. For now, Everlight remains a once-dormant part of Aglow's psychic abilities that have manifested itself into it's own existence and awareness.

→Weaknesses:

• Reflection and/or mirroring manipulators: The users of these abilities can easily trap Aglow within a mirror and force her into a trance-like state as she reflects light back onto herself. If this were to ever happen, it could mean Aglow's end unless the dazzling spell is broken through interference. However, interference of organic life could mean death for the one wishing to break the vicious cycle of unending reflections.

• Gravity manipulation is another weakness as gravity can bend light, making her powers ineffective or reversing them back upon Aglow.

• Trapped in a enclosed space with no viable light sources (say caves, rooms with no windows, etc) use her power, she gradually loses any output she has, leading to a total loss of power with no supply to meet demand. The dark to her is like a candle is to being put out. Without the oxygen, the candle eventually suffocates and the flame goes out. Such is the same with light and dark, concerning Aglow.

• Disorientation from explosions, collisions or large crowds render her momentarily useless. In these times, her light will flicker and waver, displaying a growing weakness the longer she remains unsteady.

• Her inability to act when faced with her phobia of the dark is also an issue, making Aglow her own greatest weakness and enemy.

→Special Abilities:

• Manipulation (bending) of light around her to give tactile defense of concealment and invisibility. Those with infrared or ultra-violet vision abilities will see her as a dispersed ‘mist’ of color. However, this allows her to remain undetected on most optical tools such as surveillance cameras, binoculars, and more simply – glasses.

• A great and entirely focused form of concentration, Lilah can 'disperse' herself, dematerializing and becoming an intangible form of light and energy. In this incorporeal form, she can travel vast and far distances at the speed of light. However, it comes at a cost. After dispersing, it takes time for Lilah to become corporeal once more, and can leave her ineffective. While her combat ability is enhanced, allowing for greater energy output, she is impossible to touch or be touched. Upon rematerializing, Lilah is exhausted of power and vulnerable.

→Travel Mode:

• Means of travel are generally through flight; conclusive with the ability of telekinesis and psychokinesis, Aglow can move herself through the air at long distances, often leaving a trail of light in her path. She has often been mistaken for a small comet or shooting star for this very reason.

• Telekinesis has also been showing to giving her greater jumping distances and running speeds, though these two are much more less frequently used as they require a higher expense of energy to do so.

→FRIENDS AND COLLEAGUES

The Crux Enigma: If Lilah Shay were to have someone similar to herself, it would be Rosie. The pale woman shares many overlapping similarities with Aglow, both in power and life experience. Perhaps that is why Lilah finds it so easy to tell her things she doesn't tell others.

First Player: Miles is a tech-genius and completely relaxed to boot. Lilah often calls upon Miles when she needs some tech work done.

Foxy Ferret: Another one of The Challengers, Lilah greatly respects this woman's work and endeavors. She is a prime example of never giving up.

High Score: A previous client of Lilah’s, Casey gives clear definition to the ‘a few good women’. Casey is also one of Lilah’s few close friends and you’re more likely to find them giving each other a hard time rather than squealing about shoes together. Still, Casey’s one of the people she likes having on her side.

Impact: Upon joining the Peacekeeper front, Aglow and Impact were blanketed by brooding tension. As time passed, the two heroes expressed their feelings for one another and quietly dated for the better part of a year. Differences caused a split between the two and due to other circumstances, have hardly spoken since.

Johnny Turbo♥: The Ego on Two Legs, Johnny Turbo and Aglow met a couple years ago after he approached her for help on a suicide mission. Over time, Lilah has grown close to Johnny, their friendship evolving into something slightly more. After much dancing around, Lilah has accepted the fact that she is in love with the Fastest Man Alive. Johnny is a good balance for Lilah; helping her to lighten-up or relax, and she helps him slow down just enough to enjoy life.

The Masked Renegade: He just stares at Lilah a lot.

The Noisebomb:WIP.

Paul Ooshun:WIP.

Red-Havok:Having worked along his side on a number of occasions and shared the responsibility of a hero's work with Red Havok, Aglow would choose no other person to stand beside or to have her back in battle as she has done for him. Not only does she respect him as a fellow colleague, but Aglow also respects Red Havok's ability to lead such an inspiring group as The Challengers.

Replacer: Replacer, known as Grant and once, Rave spider, is one of the most splendid heroes that Lilah has had a chance to work along side of. His sense of humor is refreshing and she thinks he is attractive. Multi-talented, Grant never ceases to amaze Lilah. Lately, more and more Grant has been a voice of reason and comfort for her. She believes their friendship is gradually and continuously growing, and she's thankful to know a person such as he.

Shadowtrick: Aglow’s half-sister, Pilar Mendez is the biological daughter of Dane Robinson. The pair are very yin and yang in physical appearance and powers. Their abilities negate each other’s, making them useless when together. However, personality wise, Pilar and Lilah get along smashingly well and share some of the same habits.

Sovereign Fist: WIP.

Trem: A big guy with an even bigger heart, Trem is quite the teddy bear. Strong, loyal, and fiercely protective of his mates and Paragon citizens –Lilah not only adores him, but looks to him for guidance and friendship.

Ultimogirl: Tammy is the blonde bombshell; the girl most envy. Charismatic, drop dead gorgeous and athletic, Tammy is only hindered by her insecurity. She is easily one of Aglow's closest friends, and the person she runs to when she needs a night of drinking and girl time.

Voltium: Volt is likely one of the most genuine people Aglow has ever met. Not afraid to express himself or his thoughts, she finds Volt hides behind no mask and is comfortable sharing who he is. There are days she's left thinking there's no way anyone this day and age, could be as good as he is. Volt has increasingly become a brother-like figure to her and has recently begun dating Aglow's sister, Pilar.

Xanatos:For some time, Lilah thought Xanatos was a myth as she had never met Paragon's finest hero. While she has respect for the legendary hero, she sometimes wonders at his decisions.

→FOES AND ARCHENEMIES

Carnival of Shadows: WIP.

Codename Devilfish: Mercenary. Assassin. Soldier. Lilah had looked past those titles to form a close bond with someone she only regarded as a man and nothing more. Her high expectations would seemingly leave her disappointed, however, when Devilfish betrayed her by siding with with some of Rogue Isles' most dangerous villains known as...

Phanto, Baron Blitzman, and Trioxin : Three notorious villains, who with Codename Devilfish planned to set off a psychic bomb. The trio came close to success with the aid of the repugnant group United Underworld. Phanto had even went as far as to create the illusion that Aglow had been kidnapped while Trioxin manifested the psychic bomb. Phanto also had her hotel room destroyed, leading to the destruction of many personal valuables and memories. In the end, the villains were defeated yet Phanto made his escape with Trioxin's help. Baron Blitzman was incarcerated for sometime before he was broken out of the Zig by...

The Zodiac: WIP.