Lazuli Fade
From Unofficial Handbook of the Virtue Universe
| |
| Lazuli Fade | |
| Player: Vheks | |
| Origin: | Mutant |
|---|---|
| Archetype: | Dominator |
| Threat Level: | 30 |
| Personal Data | |
| Real Name: | Liana Fade |
| Known Aliases: | Laz, Miss Fade, Miss Rominov. Jade Costa, Lia |
| Species: | Human (Mutant) |
| Age: | ' |
| Height: | 5'10" in heels. |
| Weight: | 110 |
| Eye Color: | Green |
| Hair Color: | Dark Auburn |
| Biographical Data | |
| Nationality: | American |
| Occupation: | con-artist |
| Place of Birth: | Overbrook |
| Base of Operations: | Port Oakes |
| Marital Status: | Single |
| Known Relatives: | Father : Jonah Fade, in prison. Mother : Anna Rominov Fade
siblings : yes, through Jonah. Unknown relatives : Laz is, as a matter of trivia, married to Giuseppe Costa; of the sicillian maffia. This fact often slips her mind entirely. |
| Known Powers | |
| Telepath, manipulation, and the ability to shoot out kinetic energy blasts. | |
| Known Abilities | |
| Manipulation, lying, lock-picking, pickpocket. | |
| Equipment | |
| Prada heels, a credit card, and a cellphone. Also has a newspaper subscription. Whatever's handy. | |
| No additional information available. | |
- Notes- Currently retired**
Contents |
Affiliations
Redsiders:
- Black Anna - A young hot topic girl; figured by Laz to most likely be a runaway. Orriginally Laz's interests in Anna were strictly business, but as Anna seems to genuinely like Lazuli this paints her into a bit of a corner.
- Alejandro Borrego - A hulking tank of a man, Alejandro was one of Lazuli's tenative business contacts before she vanished back into paragon City. Word on the street has it that Alejandro's brother, Marcos, would like a piece of the manipulative mob princess for himself...
- Benny the Plumber - An old contact of Jonah's, Beneditto Siracusa works for the Giovanni's. He either has a genuine fondness for Lazuli; or his gruffness masks a sincere hatred of the girl. Believed to be deceased.
- Vincent Ravoski - Vincent is a contact of Benny's, who hires Ravoski out as an assassin. Ravoski is a hired killer with a dark secret.
- Heartcry - Morgan Tristram. Because he's a telepath too, he can see through Lazuli's callus indifference to what she's really feeling inside. Just a few minutes with him is usually enough to throw Lazuli's feelings into chaos. As much as she hates this about him, it could be that she craves that emotional honesty even more.
- Edwin Wayland- One of the men in Isabella's employ. He used to run a street gang, but now he flies solo, fighting with a cursed pair of swords. In some ways, Wayland and Lazuli are kindred spirits.
- Vexxin Vega - A charming businessman who owns a bar and pays the Giovanni's for protection. Despite her best intentions, Lazuli's involvement with his affairs only deepened after she left the Giovanni's. He's untrustworthy, and seems to have a knack for finding trouble and may make as many enemies as friends.
- Moone - A soldier and a hunter whom Lazuli was asked to look into.
Bluesiders:
- Taran McAllister : A sometimes volatile martial artist, he has a good nature which makes him an easy mark. Unknown to Lazuli, Taran has recently joined with a Nictus, becoming Strikeshadow
- Cole Snap : Introduced as a friend of Wayland, Jack Cole's visits to the isles have ended up causing Lazuli a little bit of trouble.
- Tetsuryou : Another one of Wayland's friends.
Supergroup:
Personality
Lazuli makes an effort to come across as charming, in truth she is manipulative. She sees being served as her inborn right; to her it's only natural that people should want to take care of her needs. Sometimes they fail to see it that way, and then they just need a little gentle persuasion. When her gentle persuasion fails, though, she tends to become a little upset; throwing a tantrum or sulking like the spoiled brat she is. Given her rather eclectic set of skills, it's possible that even that is a calculated act though. One thing is sure, any feeling she shows is very rarely genuine, and never entirely honest; but rather a deliberate attempt to get what she desires from someone else's hard work. Recently she's begun to change, rumor has it that there's people she trusts, and perhaps even cares about...
Themes
- Dysfunctional :
- Names :
Character History
Backstory
Lazuli Fade was born to the Mistress of Jonah Fade, in Overbrook. Her mother, Anna, made sure to provide them both with a luxurious life. They lived in a penthouse apartment, had the best chefs catered in, and were never lacking expensive clothes or fabulous jewelry. All of this was paid for by Anna's 'friends'; with her beauty, grace and compelling personality she was the intimate to a handful of well off crooks, mobsters, and super villains. More importantly than all that, however; Lazuli was well loved. Her mother doted on her, and her father often brought her exotic gifts and lavished her with attention when he came around. It never occurred to the child that they weren't a normal family. When Lazuli developed telepathy by her 5th birthday, it was no big shock to Jonah. He was a mutant himself, after all. But, he should have known things couldn't stay good forever. After Faultline destroyed Overbrook, Jonah moved his mistress to the isles. His current wife gave him an ultimatum, and he chose Anna. Tragically, less than a year after the wedding, the Fed's came down on Jonah, hard. He was thrown in prison for 20 to life. It wasn't long before his oldest son took advantage of the situation; evicting Anna and setting Lazuli up to be sent to prison after their father..
Past Events
When Arachnos blew a hole in the Zig and started hurring convicts out, the prison was plunged into chaos. Initially frightened, Lazuli quickly found her feet and made her way out to the courtyard where the Arachnos flyer's were waiting. After a few minutes of charm and fast talking, she had convinced the pilot to strand one of the convicts on his list; taking her to the isles instead. Had she known then that he'd be stranding her on Mercy Island, she may have chosen to stay in the Zig. Desperate to get away from Mercy, Lazuli contacted an old associate of her fathers, Benny the Plumber. Benny agreed to get her to Oakes, but only after she agreed to help him commit his crimes, along with a second accomplice, Ravoski, who seems to be rotting. From there things have continued to get weirder, but, every day she stays alive may be a win.
Current Story
The Mob Boss's Crazy Psychic Daughter
Lazuli may have taken to the Isles like a cat to water, but the thing about cat's is that they always land on their feet. While more than willing to take whatever protection she could from her father's allies the Giovanni's, Lazuli also began to seek out contatcts of her own. Since leaving the protection of the Giovanni's three of those contacts have remained important forces in her life. Edwin Wayland, Morgan Tristram, and Vexxin Vega. Morgan is another psion, and the two of them became locked in a very strong telepathic bond early into their association. Although this has played havoc with their relative emotional stability, it isn't something either one of them has the power to break away from. They both need the honesty, and the comfort of a companion; as much as they may dislike the sometimes involuntary nature of their bond. Wayland was there the night she left the protection of the Giovanni's. Although a loyal gun, and sometimes sword, for Isabella, he agreed to shelter Lazuli; and so she has stayed with him intermittently since leaving the mob. They were similar enough that they can get along; however they've both been changing more and more lately. Where this leaves their relationship is anyone's guess.
The Vampire's half Italian Gun Moll
Perhaps the strongest influence in her life at the moment is Vexxin Vega. He is a former politician, a business man, and as Wayland would say, a fang. Lazuli's entanglement with him began when she lived off the Giovanni's. Bored, and with a marked lack of direction and need for excitement, she agreed to work for Vega as his paid eavesdropper. While egotistical, smug, and spoiled, Lazuli is not dull. She quickly began to suspect something was off about her new employer; it didn't take her long to realize Vega was a vampire. When she left the Giovanni's, she hoped to leave his world behind her as well, but that was not in the cards. Vega felt she had learned just a little too much about him to be allowed to walk, and so he came after her. Their fight eased into a negotiation; and once it was more clear where they both stood Lazuli agreed to remain in Vega's employ. Spying on dangerous people is a dangerous job, and it's put Lazuli's life in danger more than once. It's unclear whether Vega would let her get out at this point or not; she claims she continues to work for him because she wants to, despite the fact that she's either fighting with Vega, or in serious danger from her "targets" several times a week.
The A+ Secure temp agency; Overbrooke, Paragon, RI
Laz played her part far too well it seems; and those around her chose not to question the inclination or ability of a whore such as her to become a house wife and foster mother. Either that, or they assumed that as -she- had a pulse, she would naturally be suited for the task. And so, Laz found herself in a situation that was terrifying, and stifling, with her freedom at stake. She could either remain the consummate actress and stay the course; or run at the first opportunity. Opportunity knocked when one of her mother's businesses; a corporate spy network, ran into trouble with the law. Lazuli returned home to do damage control, and eventually to destroy all evidence of the Temp Agency's existence, as well as delete all records of its employees. As the final hours counted down, she could have escaped. And returned to her gilded cage in the isles and a life that she already hated. Instead, Laz awaited the Longbow agents that night, and allowed them to bring her in for questioning like any good citizen would. They suspected who she was, and who her connections were; and so a day turned into weeks turned into months... Lazuli toyed with the officers, but made no attempt to contact her allies or to free herself. And then, one day, her "lawyer" arrived at the longbow offices...
The not so Supreme Society
Lazuli had a brief lived connection with Agonus of the Supreme Society. Under the impression that he needed professionals to make his orginization's problem with the media dolls of the Gemuse Force disappear, she offered her services to him. His underlings however, were inexcusably rude; General Eiko-chan in the forefront as she boasted "why would I need you to deal with them discretely. I've defeated Countess Crey more than once. I will crush Gemuse Force when they become a problem". While Lazuli might be too much of a professional to be offended by their idiocy, they had made it clear that they'd rather deal with a collosal media mess rather than have their problems quietly brushed aside, and so she terminated relations with the Society.
Powers
To Lazuli, manipulation isn't second nature, it's her only nature. With her telepathy, she can send her foes into fits of apathy, tear at their minds with blinding pain, levitate them with telekinetics, or simply convince them to betray their allies and fight along side her. These are abilities she's honed since she was old enough to walk, and they're usually effective. All this mental stress creates a build up of energy. Perhaps she stumbled across her second attacks on accident, but at some point Lazuli learned she could discharge that energy in blasts, knocking her foes back to inflict physical damage.
Vulnerabilities
Lazuli relies heavily on her ability to manipulate people verbally and telepathically. Physically, she's weak, and takes damage easily. When around other telepaths, she's usually unable to block their thoughts and emotions, and runs the risk of being overrun by their feelings.
the bond
Lazuli has formed a permanent telepathic link with at least one other person, Morgan. While their thoughts remain their own, their feelings and circumstances often bleed into each other. This can be an advantage; or a liability, depending on how it's used.
"I've been told, that 90% of what a telepath has to learn is how -not- to listen to the world around them. When you first get your powers, its all very deafening. Immagine standing in times square, or a giant sports arena, that is packed with people. All of them talking at once. And you can hear them -all-... Part of control is tuning all that out. But then, you have to learn to hear what you want to.
"So, when you have the person there to focus on, some sort of contact, then its easy to 'hear' them. But, you can learn to hear one person's voice.. to listen for it.
"They say a mother seal can single out the sound of her own cub even on a beach filled with hundreds of seal cubs. Who's to say this is any different. You learn the sound of someone's mind. You learn to listen to it. And then, when they're hurt, when they need you, when they call out, you can hear them. Even over the croud. And, they begin to respond to your mind more. Perhaps, on some level, they yearn for that contact? I don't know. I haven't asked.
"Then.. there's the others. Other telepaths, I guess.. it's like the sound of a bell, that you can hear over the loudest croud, and even covering your ears won't block it's sound... It vibrates in your bones and you echo it back whether you want to or not. That, in itself, is the most amazing, exciting, beautiful, sensual, and the most painful thing you can ever feel. Not just for your mind. Your heart too... And that's what it is to be a Telepath." -- Lazuli Fade.
Rogue Gallery
People who hide in the sewers. People who drag her INTO the sewers looking for people who hide in the sewers. Anyone who ruins her Prada.
To contact this character's creator
@Vheks
Creator Notes and Trivia
"Is it still her room when it's empty? Does the room itself have purpose?" "the plan is not to shoot you. The plan is to get the girl. But, if there's no girl, the plan... it's like the room." Jubal Erly; Firefly.
She's fairly cold and uncaring, the type of person who can use even the truth as a ploy to get what she wants. She's very good at giving others what they need, should it suit her. When she's around other telepaths, particularly Heartcry, the conversation likely has two levels. What they say out loud, and a constantly waged low-key psychic battle.
Rumors
She'll listen to them, but generally knows better than to spread them. For some reason, it seems that any time anyone tells her something personal, within five minutes they've also called her an uncaring heartless excuse for a human. Perhaps that's because it's true?
