Brutal Badger
From Unofficial Handbook of the Virtue Universe
Shield
Character History
Childhood
At the age of four Sonya Ruiz had discovered she could manipulate electricity and magnetism. Her parents, Mathias and Emila Ruiz, took note of her abilities and told Sonya not to use them in public for fear that the Arachnos or anyone else may take her for their own purposes. They were not greatly protected living in the Rogue Isles and as hard as they tried neither of them were ever able to get US citizenship and move to Paragon, the closest nearby city. As hard as they tried Sonya was only a curious child and used her powers during school one day to show off to her friends. The teacher took note and contacted the Arachnos police letting them know about this super powered child. Arachnos had an idea on how to use this child as a living weapon. The Ruiz family had a knock on the door and to Emila's disbelief it was an Arachnos Arbiter. He told them his name was Arbiter Diaz and that this child was going to be used to keep the city safe once she was old enough after her training. Emila tried to kick the Arbiter out but he then instead took the child. Sonya screamed and kicked to get back into her family's arms but it was to no avail. This was the day that changed and darkened her life forever.
Training
First Steps
As soon as Sonya was taken from her home she was thrown into the Arachnos training for special children. She cried for days wanting to just go home however Arbiter Diaz would not have any of it. He forced her to do the classes even while she cried through them. Diaz would go with her to every class ensuring that she was attending and participating against her will. After a few months past Sonya started to calm down and follow directions as she came to understand she was never going home again, breaking her spirit. Arbiter Diaz took Sonya out of training class one day and asked her to show him what she could do. Sonya was apprehensive at first however he pursued her to do so. She collected all the electricity around her and let it explode, letting her feelings of hate, sorrow and rage out at the same time. Arbiter Diaz was pleased with what she could do so young and offered her a special treat. Sonya happily ate her special gift from Diaz and began to train harder to impress Diaz. Maybe she would be rewarded if she just listened and followed their rules.
Top of Class
As time passed on and Sonya grew she began to excel in her class. She wouldn't stand down to anyone, not even her superiors and this pleased Arbiter Diaz. Sonya took her training seriously now and followed everything Diaz was beginning to teach her, how to control her powers and use them in battle. He would take her on his missions given to him from up top. She felt honored to follow him into battle and he was truly proud of what she was turning into. She was his personal weapon, he had brought her down as a child and built her back up in his image. Sonya fought her trainers day and night, trying to find the best way of attack and survival. She was feared by the rest of her classmates and Sonya enjoyed this because Arbiter Diaz was proud of that fact. She became a ruthless force in the class for any of the other students and it was then that Diaz decided she was ready.
Redback Unit
New Recruit
Arbiter Diaz, having decided that Sonya was ready took her out of her class and training. He informed her trainers, Talon and Spinner, that she was done with their courses. They nodded and understood that he was ready to take her out into the world. Diaz brought Sonya to his headquarters to meet her new teammates. Sonya glanced at each one trying her best to calculate how to destroy them all, if need be. "Welcome to your new world." Diaz said to Sonya and with that everyone else jumped on Sonya and brought her down with a furious beating she had never experienced before. "Remember my sweet little girl, Pain is only in the mind." Diaz told Sonya as she was pinned down. Sonya repeated his words to herself as the group threw punches at her. She was defenseless but she would do as Diaz ordered. Sonya tried several times to stand up and face her attackers, but they would kick her back down. There was five of them altogether against her, this lesson was one of the hardest ones to learn. They continued until Sonya collapsed on the floor unable to move or get back up. Sonya was to go through this for a week until she could stay up and fight them back. Her teammates then had respect for her and had no issues with this new recruit.
Birth of The Brutal Badger
Now that Sonya had finally earned her place in the Redback Unit, Diaz thought it would be time to get Sonya her own look. Sonya looked through a bunch of outfits that Diaz had picked out and was about to choose the velvet red when her eyes came upon the black and white armor. It reminded her a bit of Ghost Widow, she had instilled fear into the masses and perhaps these colors would do her the same. She picked it up and decided as well to take some face paint to go with it. She wasn't sure as of yet what to do with the face paint but only time would tell. She proudly dawned her new outfit knowing there were not many within Arachnos that had the special honor of having their very own look. The Redback Unit was running smoothly, taking out anything that came through their path or that they were ordered to take down by Arbiter Diaz. Sonya was enjoying her time with them.
Diaz's next order was to take down the protesters in Mercy by any means. Sonya argued the cause with him, stating that this would not go well with the Arachnos or public favor. Diaz did not handle it well and took it as a personal insult that Sonya would dare argue against him. Sonya knowing better than to incur any more of his wrath willing went with him to a room he escorted her to. It was a dark room with a large avian bird cage inside of it and Diaz pointed to her to go inside. Sonya obeyed and decided to just let it be until Diaz calmed down. A few hours passed and Diaz returned, he turned on the light and saw Sonya patiently waiting on him. He then turned away from her, shut off the light and walked back out. Sonya wasn't sure what to make of it and called out to him to come back. With no response she sat once again awaiting his return. A whole day had passed now and Diaz once again came in and checked on Sonya. She seemed a bit more distressed and was glad to see him. She called to him and he once more turned around and walked out. Sonya screamed out for him to return, she was hungry and alone. She couldn't bare the loneliness, even killing someone would have been some company. After sixty eight hours passed Arbiter Diaz returned and opened the cage, letting her go and then giving her some food. He then gave her the order once more to kill the protesters and she nodded in acknowledgment. Diaz smiled and sent her off to the helicopter after her meal so that the Redback Unit could start their next task.
During their flight Sonya took out the face paint she had taken, her face did not look well and that would not help instill fear into her prey. They were dropped off on a small isle off of the Mercy coast. The Unit spread out and began their task. During their mission Sonya noticed a man taking pictures of everything and as soon as she went to grab him he vanished. She let it be and continued on her killing spree. The next morning one of her squad mates Alexandra, the night widow, came up to Sonya and showed her the morning newspaper. Sonya could see the pictures of herself and some of the rest of her unit murdering the protesters. Sonya asked Alex to read it to her as they all knew their own strengths and weaknesses. "Redback Unit and their new Brutal Badger seen killing innocent people and creating mass panic." Alex read on telling Sonya how the public thought she was a monster created by Arachnos. Sonya did not take the news very well, but Alex decided it was best to just ignore it all. The public knew nothing of the good they did for the Isles, what they were meant to accomplish. Soon after Alex and Sonya became close, they had each others backs in a fight and they called each other partners.
One morning when Alex was not around Sonya thought that perhaps she should go out on her own. She grabbed her attire and headed out for a walk. Along the way people stared at her, watching her every movement until someone shouted, "Monster!" All hell then broke loose. The people began to throw rocks at her and she made her electric barrier shielding herself. "If you want a monster, I'll show you one!" Sonya flew through the crowd as fast as a lightning bolt, massacring anything in her path, letting out a scream of rage while other screams could be heard running away from her. On top of a nearby building Arbiter Diaz, unseen by Sonya, smiled. He had created the perfect weapon, his Brutal Badger, his monster.
Traitor
It had only been a few days after Sonya's encounter with the public when she saw Alex on the computer talking with someone. Sonya couldn't recgonize the man's voice and peeked her head in silently to see a longbow agent on the other end. Sonya pulled her head back and couldn't believe it. Was Alex a traitor? She would certainly ask her some questions later. For now, she thought, Diaz would be best off not knowing.
Arbiter Diaz was preparing the Redback Unit for their next round of attacks when he saw Sonya walk by. He called her in and began to explain his newest idea. Sonya listened but Diaz knew something was distracting her mind. He questioned her about it and Sonya just told him she was a bit exhasted. He led her to her quarters so she could get some rest before they prepaired for their next mission.
After much thought and some rest Sonya was ready for Diaz's next task. She would confront Alex about this after, learn the truth. Maybe the Longbow agent had gone rogue and it wasn't Alex. Alex and Sonya once again fought side by side as they usually did and nothing seemed any different during their mission. After they killed the last of the Councilmen Sonya turned to Alex and was about to talk to her about what she saw when Diaz rushed over to the two. Diaz called out Alex and demanded an explination on the transmissions that Arachnos had recovered from her computer. Alex began to speak but instead struck at the Arbiter and he grabbed her arm, twisting it until she screamed. Diaz turned his head to Sonya and stepped back. "Kill her." Sonya didn't know what to do, she just stared for a moment until Diaz shouted to kill her. Sonya turned to Alex trying to find the words to say to her. Alex just looked into Sonya's eyes, "Sonya free yourself, there is another world out there where you can belong. Don't be his pet." With those last words she shoved the end of her shield into Alex. Sonya watched as her friend collasped and stopped moving. Sonya looked at the Arbiter in disbelief, this couldn't have just happened. He gave her a smile and nodded, "Good work."
A few days passed and each time Sonya saw Arbiter Diaz she wanted to confront him about what had happened. She was afraid of the reaction he might have after the disagreement about the protesters. During her units next training session Diaz addressed Sonya's odd behavior in front of everyone. She explained how she felt having to kill her own partner. Diaz seemed unsatisfied telling her that she was weak for feeling sad over a traitor. Sonya snapped back at him telling that she was the only person who she could trust in the field, the only person to have her back and that Alex didn't even get a chance to explain herself. Diaz hit Sonya across the face and called her out to a duel to the death. Sonya could no longer argue, she was fed up with everything, this control and this life. Sonya took to the training circle and braced herself for Diaz's first attack. He punched her as hard as he could and Sonya just stood there, taking the blow. Diaz screamed at Sonya to fight back but Sonya refused, she wanted it all to end. "Diaz, kill me." Diaz took the baoynette off his rifle and cut across Sonya's face, leaving a deep gash letting the blood poor onto the floor. Sonya refused to move and Diaz was growing more annoyed by the second. "You want freedom? Let's see you try on the real world." With that Diaz kicked Sonya through the window letting her drop seven stories to the ground. Sonya slowly picked herself up from the ground, she noticed her arm and ribs were broken but without a thought she used her electrical energy to send herself away from this place. Diaz stood above the window watching her run away. He smiled as a woman entered the room and stood next to him. She looked out over the Isles with Diaz. "Our plan is working well my love." Diaz turned to the woman and smiled. "Yes, phase 1 is complete. Now you are to stay hidden until your part in phase 2. You did very well Alexandra."
NAM
Sonya ran as fast as she could make herself go. Across the Isles and even down the water. She had to get away from Arachnos and she knew there was a place across the waters called Paragon where heroes gathered. Perhaps she would be safe there. At last she could see land appearing once again and she made her way to the beach. Once she touched land and stopped herself she felt herself becoming really weak from the pain, hatred and energy spent running this far. She collapsed in the sand sleeping for several hours until she finally had enough strength to pick herself back up and explore. She walked closer into the town she was near. She could overhear conversations around her and she caught that this place was called Talos. Sonya wandered around unsure of where to go or who to talk to. She decided to follow some heroes onto the train and headed to Atlas. Once they stopped there Sonya continued to follow wondering where they were headed. She saw them stop at a huge statue of a man carrying a globe on his shoulders. She saw more heroes gathering here and she felt a bit nervous, she had after all killed a few heroes and longbow in her time. While she looked around confused and unsure of this place she felt someone bump into her. She jumped and growled at the man. "Whoa... chika sorry there." Sonya thought this man curious, he did not hate her right away, he didn't even seem scared of her. She looked at him as he brushed himself off. "Name's Voltium. Say are you a mutant?" Sonya explained that she had been born a mutant but she would not explain anything further about her past. Voltium smiled and instead of hatred or fear he offered her a place within his ranks. Sonya wasn't sure how to take the news, but decided to go along with it. She needed a place to stay and perhaps a hero to lead her from Arachnos to a new life. She would listen to his orders, follow his ways and then leave when this was all over. She'd find freedom eventually but it had to start somewhere and any help she would need. Voltium smiled and greeted her on his comm to let his comrades know of her. "Welcome to the New Age Mutants Badger."
Personality
Sonya is an outspoken harsh woman. She cares not for who she offends. Her view on life is obscured because of her time and training in Arachnos. She only is concerned with the looming battles ahead, training and thinking of ways how to beat any opponent, even her own friends in a fight. She hates to be bored sitting around for too long, because of this Mr. Shade has put her in charge of training Orthrus Agents and infiltration into hero groups. For now she masquerades herself as a lone hero fighting to save the innocent.
Vulnerabilities
The people she cares for in harms way she finds it hard to let go. She is a bodyguard for Mr. Shade and would be distraught should anything happen to him. She is completely immune to mind control/telepathy or any psychic interference. Mr. Shade implanted her with a device to ward off such things to make sure such heroes as Replacer could not find out her true intentions. She is at the mercy of Mr. Shade's Dark Matter infusion and will use it as he commands her to.
Abilities, Weapons and Equipment
Shield Defense
While training with Arachnos Sonya was tried, tested and bruised beyond the normal human tolerance. During a fight with another "student" she was almost stabbed when she created her own shield from the electric fields she uses. She uses this as her primary defense shield. She has come to perfect her electric shield as a circular motion of electricity flowing through her hands.
Shield Offense
During a mission with the Redback Unit Sonya stumbled upon a Council member with a very unique shield that she adored. During the battle with him she grabbed his shield and ripped it from his hands. The Council member struggled to get his shield back only to be stabbed in the chest with it by his foe. She uses this shield she obtained as a weapon of brutal force. She has had no quarrels about using this item as a weapon instead of for defense. Many bodies have been victims to this item that Sonya loves.
Electricity
Since childhood Sonya was able to sense the electric fields around her. Through her training she has learned how to harness this power and use it to create a deadly force such as herself. She is able to pull the charges to her to create her own field of electric energy to disperse as she so chooses. She can also use the electrical fields around her to propel herself forward to speed herself up and she can also release all the energy at once if in battle. Sonya can charge the electric energy in her fists for a more powerful punch as well as sending it through her enemies bodies creating a chain effect.
Magnetism
Sonya has the ability, through using the electric fields around her, to magnetize someone to her. She projects herself as a force of lightning touching someone and changing their polar charge to the opposite of hers attracting the person to come to her location be it friend or foe.
Dark Matter
Mr. Shade found that Sonya's body was adaptable to punishment and energy. He put Sonya under a project infusing her with Dark Matter. After the experiment Sonya could emit Dark Matter when Shade asked her to and gave her an infused shield. He is able to control her output of Dark Matter even if Sonya is unaware, making her able to frenzy at his whim. Sonya is able to summon Dark Matter to assist her or even mix it with her electric powers.
Allies
Voltium: The previous leader of NAM (New Age Mutants), he's one of the very few Sonya feels she can trust. After her life in Mexico she hopes to get back in touch with him and try to convince him to join her. She does not want to have to take him down with the rest of The Challengers.
Genetik: Once a fellow member of NAM, these two didn't usually see eye to eye but out of respect for Voltium she kept the peace until Genetik challenged her one day in the base. The two gained respect for one another after their battle, which came out a tie. From what she knows Genetik disappeared once NAM broke apart.
Spectralwing: Sonya's adopted father. She respects him and stops by from time to time to say hello but leaves him out of her duties. She'd rather not get him involved in her dangerous lifestyle with Orthrus. She knows he'd not approve.
Ferreter: Sonya met this companion and ex-fiance of Spectralwing's when she awoke in their apartment. Despite Sonya's attitude, Ferreter has been very kind to her, even opening their home to her. She loves seeing Ferreter in action.
Styce: A very reserved and calm hero that Badger feels comfortable around which is very odd for her. His kindness and nonjudgmental behavior towards her makes her feel more normal than she truly is. She has yet to hear anything about this hero since her return. She knows he would more than likely not like her new lifestyle.
Star Sheath: Star is Ferreter's younger brother or so she's told. Their relationship at first was rocky until Star saw there was another side to Sonya. She's confides in him and thinks of him as an uncle like figure.
Chilong: One of Star Sheath's friends that Sonya came across. The two passed threats and almost blows until Chi was asked by Star to help them. Chi was the one to snap Sonya out of her frenzy when she was first injected with the mutagen. She warned Spectralwing and Styce that this was not a permanent fix. Sonya was thankful to Chi for helping her out and is pleasent to Chi.
Shadow Rabbit: One of the old Sentry members Sonya didn't actually mind talking to. Rabbit seems shy which makes Sonya feel more at ease around her. Sonya has yet to meet back up with Rabbit since her return to Paragon.
Lady Amplifier: Sonya respects the hell out of Lady Amp even if she annoys Sonya at times. The girl has guts that's for sure!
Enemies
Arbiter Diaz: The man who took Sonya from her life as a normal child and threw her into Arachnos. He is a ruthless man however behind all that he claims that Sonya is like a daughter to him. After his faked death Diaz has not made contact with Sonya, knowing he may now be out of his league with handling her.
Arachnos: This group used to be her family but now they want each other's blood. She has no quarrels killing anyone involved with them, she takes pleasure in ending their lives.
Widow Twilight: Sonya hates this widow with extreme prejudice more so because Widow Twilight taunts Sonya about her past and tricks her to get riled up. Sonya has not seen this Widow in some time and knows her new path steers her away from conflict with WT.
The Challengers: Anyone who conflicts the work of Mr. Shade is considered an enemy. Sonya hopes to convince Waypoint to join them before it's too late as she still cares about him. They've all been a thorn in her boss' side for a couple years and some even betrayed him. Her biggest targets to take down Red-Havok and Replacer. Should any of the others not involved in the previous Infiltrators get in the way she would not hesitate to take them down as well.
Credit to the Artists
Brutal Badger profile done by Tovio911
Everything else done by yours truly. <3
