Darkest Mercy
From Unofficial Handbook of the Virtue Universe
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| Mercy | |
| Player: @Canvas | |
| Origin: | Mutant |
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| Archetype: | Mastermind |
| Threat Level: | 6 |
| Personal Data | |
| Real Name: | Mercy Johnson |
| Known Aliases: | Darkest Mercy |
| Species: | Homo Sapiens Superior |
| Age: | 22 |
| Height: | 5'8" |
| Weight: | 84kg |
| Eye Color: | Brown |
| Hair Color: | Bright Pink |
| Biographical Data | |
| Nationality: | English |
| Occupation: | She has two-thirds of a law degree, and no job. But she's got a sugar daddy, or three. |
| Place of Birth: | Manchester, England |
| Base of Operations: | Confidential |
| Marital Status: | Has been claimed by River, and freely admits to being a slut. |
| Known Relatives: | Unknown |
| Known Powers | |
| Pheremones | |
| Known Abilities | |
| ' | |
| Equipment | |
| ' | |
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About Mercy
Powers
Mercy doesn't know she's Evolved/mutant/special. She does know that she can make almost any man do almost anything she wants, that she has a decent singing voice, that she has fantastic legs, and that when she sets out to seduce someone, she very rarely fails.
As far as she's concerned, the 'hero' is Alex, a man who attached himself to her fresh on her entry to the Rogue Isles. This has happened to her before, and she tends to take it for granted. Weaker willed men basically prostrate themselves at her feet, wishing to prove themselves heroes to earn her approval, eager to do anything she asks. Her 'occupation' as such is flirting, acquiring sugar daddies who are more than happy to provide for her various needs. Alex requests her presence on the jobs Kalinda has sent him on, because he says he fights better with her there, and the other guys fight worse. Mercy's pretty sure he just wants to flex his muscles at her, but she indulges him because when she doesn't, he gets hurt.
In truth, Mercy's powers make a great deal of difference. She emits, more or less constantly, powerful but subtle pheromones. It is this that makes men flock to her, and ensures she has at least one worshiper on call, any time of the day or night. It's also why Alex fights better with her there - her pheromones act on those attacking her and her allies, and their subconscious resolves that they don't really wish to hurt this girl. The conscious mind remains in control, of course, but the subtle war between the one and the other degrades their accuracy and damage, as they pull their punches or instinctively aim away from killing shots. Similarly, the people supporting Mercy are bolstered by her pheromones, as their subconscious moves them into a protective mode not unlike a warrior protecting his mate, or a parent protecting their young. They feel more heroic, they shake off damage more quickly, their adrenalin runs higher because she is there.
Mercy, however, rarely if ever throws so much as a punch.
History
Mercy had what she would consider a fairly normal upbringing. She had the fortune to be both good looking and reasonably intelligent, which meant that high school was less of a nightmare than most teenagers find it. She went to college to study Law, but dropped out in her third year of study, after flunking several classes. Apparently, staying out at clubs all night is not the best way to progress in either college or the legal profession. She did, however, become a rather fine bartender before she would even be considered legal to drink in the United States.
Predisposed to like most people, with an easy-going nature, a wry sense of humour and a lust for life, Mercy tends not to make many enemies. She does, however, have a Wrath button, and it is labeled 'emo'. Mercy loves life. She wants to devour as much of it as she can, eager for new experiences. Her claim is that she will try anything twice - the first might have been a fluke. She's very aware that both the planet and the society have limited resources, and equally aware that the world is a fascinating place. Study biology for a couple of hours. Or psychology. Or evolutionary engineering. Or a hundred other different Natural Sciences, which she would probably have been far more suited to than the legal career she never finished, and you'll see evidence of how amazing the world is, and how whacked out the things are that nature has created and provided. Life is short, even if you live to be a hundred. You can't possibly go everywhere, see everything, and learn everything the world has to offer. Consequently, Mercy has no patience at all for people who waste their time and hers; whose contribution to the world is consuming its limited resources.
It was for this reason that she entered into the terminal care ward of Manchester's General Hospital, and euthanised every patient in it. Most of them were on life support. None of them had any hope of getting better, and their quality of life had deteriorated to the point that they could not exist outside of hospital, and were going to be doomed to eat hospital food for the rest of their life. As far as she's concerned, Mercy saved them from a fate worse than death, as well as saving the taxpayers several millions dollars and the resources of the planet a tiny but meaningful percentage of wear.
Understandably, the law didn't see it that way, and although Mercy had done the research and had planned out a defense that seemed reasonable to her... she did kind of flunk out of her law degree. She was convicted of multiple murders, and sent to jail.
After the third time the guard on duty let Mercy out of her cell, found her clothes for her, and was in the process of signing the discharge papers, Mercy was transferred to Ziggursky Prison, the highest security facility available. She was utterly unsurprised when she was told Arachnos was breaking her out: there'd been an Arbiter that visited the prison the day before, who had liked the look of her. It was only a matter of time before he acted on her behalf.
She had barely stepped off the boat in Mercy, with Ben faithfully by her side (an inmate of the prison who had attached himself to her in the escape) when the Rikti attacked. Ben died trying to protect her, and Mercy's knuckles were split open on the armour of the attacking aliens, when River swooped in from above and saved her. He looked like a guardian angel in bondage wear, and he was the last sight she saw before she succumbed to unconsciousness. When she woke, he was in the hospital waiting for her, having carried her there after he defeated her attackers - and to complete his Prince Charming-Rescuer image, he whisked her up out of the battle zone to Nation, a space station far above the beleaguered Isles, inviting her to stay as long as she wanted, and gifting her with a rose he generated out of a drop of his own blood.
And then they met up again at the D, and were flirting, as she does... and she kissed a gorgeous redhead in front of him, and rather than reacting with jealousy, he joined her, the redhead and the redhead's succubus sister for an orgy. And she discovered that he tastes like ambrosia, and can keep going for sixteen hours. It was around about then that she was hooked.
Waking up with his mark etched into her skin, a tattoo of indelible ink that grows and lives and blooms and perfumes her world with his scent was only confirmation of what she already knew. He's claimed her, and the feeling of having a man control /her/, rather than bow to her every whim, fills a part of her that's been empty and aching for far, far too long.
Trivia
- The gorgeous redhead in question was actually looking to scare up a meal - Lust being a highly charged emotional state - and as such, Mercy and River supplied a banquet for her. Oh, and she thought Mercy and River were both incredibly good kissers. For a 4,000-year-old demoness, that's high praise indeed, pheromones or not. -- Soul Train
- Mercy is only in Nation because Agony sent River to find her. She was snatched up because the Nation Mastermind has some insidious scheme in mind for spreading her pheromones across the Rogue Isles!
- River was sent to find mercy because 'River needed to fill a niche'. Mercy was a convenient and willing 'niche'.
- The first time River met Mercy, he was almost convinced she was a disguise of Soubrette's.
- Mercy's mother was one of the patients she euthanised in the event that earned her the name 'Darkest' Mercy.
Add any rumours you know about Mercy here... or make some up!
