Kitten America
From Unofficial Handbook of the Virtue Universe
| |
| Kitten's main costume | |
| Kitten America | |
| Player: Wildwind | |
| Origin: | Science |
|---|---|
| Archetype: | Scrapper |
| Security Level: | 50 |
| Personal Data | |
| Real Name: | Serina Willmore |
| Known Aliases: | None |
| Species: | Altered Human |
| Age: | 20 |
| Height: | 5'5" |
| Weight: | 115 lbs. |
| Eye Color: | Red |
| Hair Color: | red (fur white/red) |
| Biographical Data | |
| Nationality: | USA |
| Occupation: | Hero/College Student |
| Place of Birth: | Paragon City, RI, USA |
| Base of Operations: | Paragon City, RI, USA |
| Marital Status: | Single |
| Known Relatives: | None Noteworthy |
| Known Powers | |
| Superhuman reflexes, enhanced senses, increased strength, agility, speed, and dexterity. Dramatically increased leaping ability. | |
| Known Abilities | |
| Altered kinesiology leads to "natural" affinity for claws as a weapon. This skill has since been honed by practice. | |
| Equipment | |
| Two hand-mounted retractable smartmetal claw units, or two Vanguard Talsorian energy claw projectors, depending on costume | |
| Kitten America's powers and feline characteristics are a result of a laboratory accident involving (apparently feline) hero DNA and the Council super-soldier serum. | |
Kitten America is a perfect example of the joke-character gone serious. Well, sort of serious, as Kitten doesn't even really take herself that seriously. The idea began with a simple pun on the name of one of my favorite comic book characters, and as with so many of my jokes, it grew in the telling...
Contents |
History
Serina Willmore was born in Paragon City to middle-class parents. Her childhood was uneventful, but as with any child of Paragon, she had a front-row seat to the ongoing struggle between heroes and villains that played out each day. Being an idealistic and curious girl, she found herself drawn to their stories, and her room as she grew up was wallpapered with pictures of the Statesman and other noteworthy heroes. Sadly, she had no powers, and not even the physical gifts to aspire to "natural" heroism. Unable to become a heroine herself, she settled for watching from afar.
Even so, her fascination with heroes and their extraordinary tales would come to shape her life decisions. Possessed of a near-genius intellect, and being an excellent student, Serina found herself with her choice of study programs when she entered college. Deciding that if she could not be a hero, the next best thing would be to help heroes, she enrolled in the metabiology program at Paragon University. After her first year, her work caught the notice of her professors, who referred her to a work-study program at SERAPH. She applied to the program, and was given a position as a lab assistant. Here, her work gained notice as well, and she was frequently allowed to work somewhat indepently on various low-level experiments.
It was one such experiment that would change her life forever. The rise of the Fifth Column and ultimately Council super-soldier programs was of considerable concern to SERAPH researchers. Particularly of concern was the possibility of the Council persuading a metahuman to undergo their enhancement process... or possibly forcing it on them. Serina was assigned to work on a particular experiment involving captured super-soldier serum and cell samples that had been donated by one of Paragon's prominent heroes.
It is still not known why the lab exploded. It is hard to imagine that Serina could have done anything in the context of her work on this experiment which would cause such an explosion, even given the volatility of some of the chemicals involved in the serum. Some suspect the Council got wind of the experiment and decided to put an end to it, but there was little evidence left in the wreckage of the lab from which to draw conclusions.
When Serina was pulled unconscious from the rubble, the medical staff were amazed to find that she had survived the blast at all. More surprising still, she appeared to be undergoing a radical physical transformation. From the lacerations and the shards of glass stuck through the skin all over her body, the first signs of white fur could be seen. Her shape was changing as well, growing slimmer and taking on a wiry musculature. Over a period of minutes, her ears moved, and reshaped themselves, and her fingertips changed as her nails became retractable claws. Even her face seemed to change a little, possibly to accomodate the fangs that had grown in her mouth.
Within an hour, the change was complete. In addition to the claws and fangs, she had grown a tail. The cat-ears were surrounded by a wild mop of red hair (where before Serina's had been brown), and the white fur was now tiger-striped in red as well.
To say that this was a shock to Serina when she awoke would be an understatement. Optimistic as always, however, she quickly realized that with the new body she'd gained new abilities as well. No longer would she have to stand on the sidelines and watch heroes fight evil in Paragon... now she had the tools to be one herself as well!
Pooling her accumulated savings (and surreptitiously adding a bit of her scholarship money as well), she went out and bought herself a new costume and some gear. Taking inspiration from her red-and-white stripes, she opted for a blue costume and the patriotic moniker "Kitten America".
Thus, a new hero was born...
Personality
Before her transformation, Serina was a cheerful, irrepressible young woman. Friendly and extroverted, if a bit geeky, she was well-liked by fellow students and teachers alike. Some of them might have thought she was a little crazy, or at least a bit scattered, but they generally found her pleasant company nonetheless. Innocent and idealistic, she believed strongly in doing the right things... and could tend a bit toward hero-worship when one of Paragon's defenders came around.
Serina had a strong interest in the sciences and other "nerdy" pursuits, including comic books, science fiction, computers, and the like. Her scientific interest spanned all areas, but her chosen field of research was metabiology, the study of superhuman beings and what makes them superhuman.
Being turned into a catgirl affected more than just her physique, however. While she's still a happy, pleasant, extroverted girl, she's taken on some decidedly feline characteristics.
Where before Serina was relatively straight-laced and innocent, Kitten has displayed a strong mischievous streak. She's constantly engaging in playful banter, seems to revel in getting into trouble, has almost completely abandoned any sense of modest dress, and likes nothing more than pushing her newfound powers to their limits. Whether it's running rooftops in Steel Canyon, dashing between cars on the highway, or stalking some unsuspecting villain in the dead of night, Kitten America loves what she does. It's in her work as a hero that the feline attributes really come to the surface. She loves the hunt, tracking and stalking her prey and waiting for the chance to pounce.
Even more than that, though, she lives for the fight. While not particularly bloodthirsty, she enjoys the adrenaline rush of pushing herself to her limits. She tends to be even more catlike in combat. In a small fight, with a couple of street thugs she doesn't really consider a threat, she tends to play with her quarry a bit. Witty banter is the norm, and Kitten has been known to grandstand a bit against lesser or even equal opponents.
As a fight becomes more serious, or more desperate, or when Kitten becomes angry, the feral aspects of her nature start to take over. She talks less, growls more, and generally becomes more aggressive, throwing herself fully into the heart of the melee. It's in this state that she becomes most dangerous; more than one villain has learned the danger of a cornered Kitten to their peril.
For someone as generally cheerful and even innocent as Serina, one might expect that her newfound ferocity would bother her. Apparently the changes in her personality run deeper than just combat, however, because she seems at peace with her feral side. In fact, she has embraced it.
For more insight into Kitten's personality, see The Girl in the Picture
Physiology and Powers
Kitten's transformation has wrought dramatic changes to her body. Not only is she vastly stronger and faster than before, the kinesthetics of her entire body has been altered. Her altered joint structure and lithe, compact musculature lend her a degree of agility and flexibility very few humans could ever dream of attaining, and combined with the aforementioned increased strength and speed she is capable of remarkable feats of acrobatics.
Kitten can focus her enhanced strength for dramatic bursts, giving her a truly phenomenal leap. As she has been known to say, she can "leap small buildings in a single bound". Her running speed has increased substantially, and she is remarkably quick, both of nerve and body. Her reflexes, combined with her increased agility, allow her to anticipate and avoid even energy weapons fire in most cases. As she is only marginally tougher than most humans, this is a great boon.
Her healing is somewhat faster than a human's, and given enough time she'll heal any wound completely, provided that wound is not fatal. She takes well to cellular regeneration treatments, and even major injuries will not keep her down for long.
Kitten's senses are every bit as acute as the tiger whose form she has taken on... in some cases, even more so. Her hearing is sharp enough to hear even soft speech from across a large room, and a even a whisper from a good six or seven yards... provided the auditory conditions are good enough. She can in fact hear a pin drop... but she can't hear a pin drop in the Pocket D. Of course, her enhanced hearing is not without its drawbacks, and the Pocket D is a good example. She can only take so much of the loud music before it gives her a headache... and overhearing other people's conversations from across the room isn't always exactly pleasant, either.
Her vision and sense of smell are every bit as acute as her hearing; a human would consider her farsighted, and yet she has little trouble focusing on nearby objects. She is still learning to recognize the details of individual's scents, but with practice she is getting better at that too. Certainly she could identify any of her friends when blindfolded, and even a number of people she's only met once or twice if they were distinctive.
Not to be discounted are the appearance changes that came with her transformation. Serina was never a tall girl, but Kitten is downright short, especially when she falls into one of the crouching stances that seem so natural for her. She is covered head-to-toe in white fur, with a red tiger-striped pattern that served as part of the inspiration for her hero name. Her hair itself is the same red as her stripes, and tends to be unruly unless she's put a lot of time into making it otherwise. Kitten has retractable claws of her own; while sometimes she may use these for utilitarian purposes, she's never actually employed them for combat. Finally, she has a cat's tail, red and white like the rest of her.
Costuming and Equipment
Kitten's original costume was relatively simple, consisting of a loose blue shirt and shorts; she didn't have much money to work with, and her combat claw units cost most of what she had. This had the advantage of being comfortable, and her red and white striping made for nice decoration of its own. On the other hand, it wasn't very protective. As her fame and resources grew, she added additional costumes. The first was a tight blue dress with white stripes patterned like her own... she liked how this looked, but it was not so comfortable and offered equally little protection.
After doing one too many sewer missions, she came up with a full-body costume in patriotic scheme. Even her tail is protected in this costume, which is entirely watertight. The initial version of this costume was highly uncomfortable to wear; further refinements have led to a lined version which is soft against her fur and much less irritating. As her security level rose and she found herself facing more heavy weaponry such as flamethrowers, grenades, rocket launchers, and machine guns, she has had this costume reinforced, bulletproofed, and fireproofed. It now serves as her primary costume.
A fourth costume, of recent development, has recently been added to her wardrobe. Applying a somewhat retro style, she has adtoped a blue synth-leather jacket and skirt, with a red armorweave shirt beneath. The armorweave is soft enough to be comfortable against her fur, but provides an additional layer of protection beneath the heavier jacket. Somewhat more modern gauntlets incorporate her weapons, and boots to match complete the set. A white cirlce of stars, with a larger star in the center, adds patriotic symbolism. Where the inspiration for the new threads came from, Kitten only knows; when asked, she responds with a mischievous smile, and answers only that it's a cat tale yet to be told.
For her work, Kitten carries only a few pieces of gear. The first is a subspace storage unit made by an inventor from her supergroup. The device allows her to carry a number of items without having to manage their weight or bulk, but its capacity is not infinite. She also has her cell phone, one of the new special-issue ruggedized hero models which integrates with the communications rigs built into her third and fourth costumes.
Kitten carries two different types of weaponry. In her first and second costumes, she still uses her original combat claws, which strap to the backs of her hands. With a double-press of a trigger in her palm, they will deploy up to three eighteen-inch smartmetal claws. The design of these claws allows them to be flexible, and they roll up inside the unit until deployed. Upon deployment, a nano-catalyst hardens the metal into unbreakable blades. When she retracts them, the metal softens again as it retreats into the unit, again assuming its rolled form.
In her newer costumes, Kitten has had the new Vanguard Talsorian blades incorporated into her gauntlets. These energy blades provide superior performance against hard armored targets such as Rikti power armor and Malta Titans., with the additional benefit of not needing to be cleaned. Furthermore, against soft targets they provide partial cauterization of the wounds, meaning her defeated foes are at less risk of bleeding to death before they get medical attention in the Zig.
Friends and Associates
Trouble Incorporated
Kitten is a charter member of the supergroup "Trouble Incorporated". Given that she can be something of a loose cannon once she gets wound up, she fits in pretty well with the rambunctious crew.
((more data on this coming soon))
