Influenxa
From Unofficial Handbook of the Virtue Universe
| |
| "Don't touch me." | |
| Influenxa | |
| Player: @Triska | |
| Origin: | Science |
|---|---|
| Archetype: | Corruptor |
| Threat Level: | xx |
| Personal Data | |
| Real Name: | Katherine Barker |
| Known Aliases: | Influenxa, Flu |
| Species: | Human |
| Age: | 22 |
| Height: | 5'2" |
| Weight: | 120 lbs |
| Eye Color: | Yellow |
| Hair Color: | Green |
| Biographical Data | |
| Nationality: | US Citizen |
| Occupation: | Freelance Villain |
| Place of Birth: | Paragon City |
| Base of Operations: | Unknown |
| Marital Status: | Single |
| Known Relatives: | Maria Barker (mother, deceased) James Barker (father, deceased) |
| Known Powers | |
| Disease Control | |
| Known Abilities | |
| Can infect humans with an extremely deadly supervirus through skin contact or her breath. | |
| Equipment | |
| Blast goggles, modified gas mask, uniform, combat boots. | |
| If she isn't wearing her gas mask, she is considered extremely dangerous and should not be approached under any circumstances. | |
Contents |
History
Katherine Barker was just a normal girl trying to get by. No mysterious past, no abusive parents, no vendetta to fulfill. She was just a typical girl- blonde hair, brown eyes, and shy- working a summer job at a drug store earning some cash for college in the fall. Unfortunately, she'd been experiencing a bit of odd fatigue, so she wasn't quite at her peak of health. Indeed, coworkers commented on her pallor and weight loss, but they all figured it was just a flu, or perhaps a sinus infection, or something. When she started having nosebleeds, though- serious ones that ended with her fainting in aisle four- they started to worry, and took her to the hospital.
Katherine was diagnosed with leukemia.
Not one to just roll over and die, she quietly began searching for specialists. She couldn't quite afford extended treatment- she was on limited funds, after all- but luckily for her, the genius Dr. Daniella Seigal was working on an intriguing project- curing as many diseases as she could in her lifetime. Leukemia happened to be pretty high on the list, so Katherine was accepted as a test subject for Dr. Seigal's treatment ideas.
Unfortunately, Paragon is the proving grounds for Murphy's Law. A robbery took place during one of her routine treatments- just some petty thugs who though they might be able to pawn off the medical supplies or disease samples. One of them attempted to strip scrap from some of the machines, which resulted in the device exploding and causing a radioactive accident that destroyed much of the lab.
Crawling from the wreckage and struggling to breathe the smoky air, Katherine was unknowingly exposed to all of the virus and bacteria samples that had been shattered in the accident. Oddly, the effects of the intense radiation combined with the multitude of diseases entering her lungs and bloodstream at once caused several interesting reactions. Her skin was forever bleached deathly pale, her hair became a venomous neon green, and her eyes paled to a sickly, almost luminous yellow. In addition to the mere cosmetic changes, she was also permanently infected with these plagues- the virulent cocktail quickly coalescing into a ludicrously powerful supervirus.
She managed to stagger to her nearby apartment, meeting her parents there, who had rushed to see if she was unharmed. They embraced, grateful for her safety- but little did Katherine know that the diseases were not merely dormant. The skin contact, as well as her infected breath, quite successfully infected both of her parents with the horrific plague. They writhed and withered to nothing in mere moments,
With nowhere else to turn, she made her way back to the still smoking research center. With a tattered scarf wound around her nose and mouth and a pair of gloves hastily pulled on (being intelligent, she had figured out her contagious state), she found Dr. Seigal sitting rather dazedly in the remains of her lab. The good doctor had not escaped unscathed by the ordeal either- apparently fused with one of her lab rats, the woman now sported pointed grey rat ears, slight claws in place of her well manicured nails, and a long, hairless tail. Thankfully for the both of them, Dr. Seigal deduced Katherine's state in a matter of moments from the girl's frantic retelling of recent events.
Leading the shaken child to a colleague's lab, Dr. Seigal quickly designed a suitable solution- a gas mask. Modified to purify outgoing air rather than ingoing, it would prevent Katherine from slaughtering anyone she happened to walk by. After this handy device was given to her, though, the shock and numbness caused by the accidental deaths had worn off. After Katherine fled, Dr. Seigal had no choice but to issue an alert to the heroes of the area, warning them of the girl's uncontrollable powers and tormented emotional state while requesting they deliver her unharmed in hopes of finding a cure.
Unfortunately, the media twisted the innocent inquiry into an elaborate fabrication, claiming a full-scale manhunt for a dangerous and possibly insane plague carrying biohazard. Feeling betrayed and with her life in shambles, Katherine knew that a societal danger and murderer like her really had no place in Paragon City. She adopted the name Influenxa (Flu for short) and made her way to the Rogue Isles where she is currently working as a freelance villain in order to keep a roof over her head.
Powers Overview
Flu is a carrier for an extremely dangerous supervirus. She has the ability to infect humans with this malady via her visibly plagued breath, skin-to-skin contact, or contact with any bodily fluids. Unfortunately for her, she has no way to turn this power off- anyone exposed is flooded with everything she has, quickly overwhelming their immune system and resulting in a very fast, very painful death.
Weaknesses
- Other than the plague in her body, Flu is essentially normal- just a sickly human girl. She can be hurt or killed easily with conventional weapons. If caught off-guard, she would be easily overpowered.
- As a carrier for the virus, Flu suffers from minor ailments such as headaches, nausea, dizziness, et cetera. These symptoms seemingly occur at random with varying severity, but Flu is essentially always slightly ill in some way.
- Flu has no control over her powers. She can certainly infect someone by breathing on or touching them, but since she wears clothing designed to prevent accidental deaths on her part, it takes her a bit to remove her mask or gloves to fight. Plenty of opportunity to take her out.
- Flu also has no shielding on her mind. Psychics can easily read her.
Personality
Flu is deeply self-loathing, feeling that she is a terrible, deadly monster and a sin against nature. She never asked for her powers and is very resentful of her situation, but knows she really has no one to blame. She is grudgingly grateful to Dr. Seigal for designing a proper mask for her, but thinks that she was betrayed to the authorities, so she has a difficult time trusting others. Her necessary deprivation of human contact has left her quite lonely and craving affection, but her self-imposed isolation is unlikely to end- unlike many villains, Flu is actually terrified of hurting innocent people. She has become rather paranoid as a result of this, constantly checking her gas mask and gloves to insure she won't accidentally infect someone.
This article about a character is a stub -- a small, but growing, work in progress. If you're the creator of this character, why not consider expanding it?
