Maiden Mars
From Unofficial Handbook of the Virtue Universe
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| Maiden Mars | |
| Player: @Lirene | |
| Origin: | Natural |
|---|---|
| Archetype: | Controller |
| Security Level: | 50 |
| Personal Data | |
| Real Name: | Miraxa Moonblaze |
| Known Aliases: | None |
| Species: | Martian |
| Age: | 22 |
| Height: | 5'2" |
| Weight: | Unknown |
| Eye Color: | Black |
| Hair Color: | Red |
| Biographical Data | |
| Nationality: | Martian |
| Occupation: | Hero |
| Place of Birth: | Mars |
| Base of Operations: | Confidential |
| Marital Status: | Single |
| Known Relatives: | Confidential |
| Known Powers | |
| Spacial Manipulation | |
| Known Abilities | |
| Miscellaneous galactic lore; basic proficiency in operation, maintenance and repair of interplanetary spacecraft and similar equipment | |
| Equipment | |
| Portable scanner | |
| No additional information available. | |
Contents |
History
Youth
While the ability to manipulate and levitate people and objects with the mind is not uncommon among the inhabitants of Mars, some are more gifted in this sphere than others. Miraxa Moonblaze, daughter of a very influential Martian family, was among the most talented in this regard, virtually unrivaled in her prodigious abilities, even by the Elder Council of Mars itself.
This fact alone might have made her a source of pride for her family and an object of admiration to her peers, but for the fact that Miraxa lacked the ability (or was it merely the inclination?) to control her gift. From the time when it first began to manifest itself in her early teens, it proved cause for trouble and embarrassment for all around her. Furniture would violently rearrange itself. Objects would disappear and reappear, seldom in their original location. Even people would find themselves hovering above the ground, unable to move until Miraxa had left (or been removed from) the vicinity.
Ever the wild child, Miraxa never showed much remorse for the turmoil she caused. On the contrary, she seemed to find it a great source of amusement, and many began to doubt that the effects she had were altogether outside her control.
Exile From Mars
The Concert
The sequence of events that led to Miraxa's exile began one evening in which pop idol Velisia Vortex, famous throughout the galaxy as Vixen Venus, held a concert on the Red Planet during one of her many tours. Miraxa, an avid fan and admirer, was among the audience of thousands.
It was during Vixen Venus' second song that things began to happen. Miraxa, standing and swaying with the rhythm of the music, entirely rapt by the Venusian's impeccable voice, raised her arms into the air and began to hover above the crowd. Within a few moments, others began to find themselves hovering as well, floating perhaps a few feet above the ground. Though they were taken by surprise, and several made notice of the girl flying several feet above the rest of them and apparently oblivious to the situation, the audience generally concluded that this was part of the show, possibly accomplished by way of a hidden anti-gravity device. However, as the music intensified, it was accompanied by a series of loud, metallic groans. A moment later, one of the seats was wrenched from the ground and went hurdling through the air. Then, with a brief but bright explosion of energy, one of the lights flew down as though someone had forcefully pulled it from the ceiling. Other objects began soaring through the amphitheater, the people somersaulting helplessly through the air, everything and everyone swirling around and around while Miraxa continued to dance unaware at the very eye of the storm.
Finally, the music stopped as Vixen Venus herself, having been caught up in her own performance, opened her eyes and saw the vortex of men, women and metal that swirled before her. Slowly, Miraxa seemed to awake from her own trance, and the whirlwind began to slow and die, safely, if not altogether gently, dropping everyone to the ground--everyone, that is, except Miraxa, who remained floating conspicuously in the middle of the amphitheater, with every eye on the house trained directly upon her.
The Trial
Miraculously, no one had been badly injured during the incident. However, it was not long before the Elder Council of Mars, having learned of the events of that evening, summoned her and Vixen Venus to stand trial for, among other things, "disruption of the status quo."
Miraxa was restrained throughout the proceedings, a psionic inhibitor strapped firmly to her forehead. The Council questioned her and, given her history, was largely dubious to her insistence that she had in no way intended any of the damage she had caused on the night of the concert. There was some debate as to who ultimately should bear the blame. While all were convinced that Miraxa was the primary culprit in this particular incident, most agreed that Vixen Venus herself had been responsible for "corrupting the Martian youth" with her wild and provocative music. Parallel to the discussion as to what should be done with Miraxa, there was talk of implementing a planetary ban on the Venusian's music, videos, and anything else bearing her name or likeness.
By the third day of the trial, things had begun to look bleak for Miraxa. It had been suggested by one member that as Miraxa's power represented a significant threat to civilized society in its entirety, the only proper course of action was a speedy execution. It was just as they were about to put their verdict to a vote that would almost certainly have been unanimous, when Velisia Vortex herself made her appearance.
Dramatically bursting open the outer door with a flurry of sound, the Venusian gracefully strode to stand next to the chair in which Miraxa was restrained, directly before the Martian Elder Council. The Council attempted at once to restrain her with their collective will, but she emitted a low hum that seemed to create a sort of sonic barrier around her, which they found they could not penetrate. Finding themselves at an uncomfortable stalemate, they were forced to hear her out.
Vortex demanded at once that Miraxa be released at once, to which the Council made an emphatic refusal. It was not until she began to make threats involving the Venusian government that they began to bend. Though not a government official in any capacity, Vortex argued, she was widely loved and influential enough that her opinion could have considerable pull in diplomatic relations between Mars and Venus. After much negotiation, it was finally decided that Miraxa Moonblaze would face not a death sentence, but a five-year exile from Mars, after which she may return for an examination of her fitness to re-enter Martian society.
Vixen Venus' Harem
Before her departure from Mars, Miraxa thanked Velisia Vortex profusely for her intervention during the trial. It was at this point that Vortex revealed that her motives may not have been wholly altruistic. She, like many prominent members of Venusian society, kept what is known colloquially as a "harem." Despite the implications one might perceive in the word, a Venusian harem is a group of individuals, men or women, who live together and willingly see to the needs and desires of a single person. Hardly a position of shame or humility, to be chosen by a Venusian for her harem is generally considered an honor and a privilege. Vortex, perhaps somewhat eccentrically, had ambitions of having for her harem one native of every planet in the solar system (with the exception of Earth, which was deemed too barbaric for civilized interaction). After a brief but thorough examination, Miraxa was welcomed into the harem of Vixen Venus. For Miraxa, this was nothing less than a dream come true.
Adventures Abroad
As a member of Vixen Venus' entourage, Miraxa saw a good portion of the galaxy as she accompanied her idol and mentor on tour after tour. The shows, however, were but a small part of the tapestry of their travels. Venus was as much an adventurer as she was a singer, and was fond of visiting dangerous or uncharted locales. On several occasions she and her harem engaged in acts of smuggling and space piracy, taking aboard valuable cargo or prisoners whom they would later ransom for a reasonable fee. Seldom did Venus and her harem find themselves in any significant legal trouble, as not only was Venus generally admired all the more for her sense of flare and derring-do, but their prisoners were treated with the utmost of hospitality. Many, when their ransoms arrived, found themselves reluctant to leave the "captivity" of these eight beautiful women.
Return to Sol
By the time the duration of her Exile had passed, Miraxa had begun to master her abilities, utilizing them for practical (to her) uses rather than random mayhem. Though with a heavy heart, she decided at last to return to Mars. And so, after bidding her friends and companions good-bye, she set off in her personal saucer back to her native solar system.
But by the time the Red Planet had appeared on her viewscreen, Miraxa had begun to have second thoughts. While she did miss her home, her old friends, and her family, she wondered just how welcome she would be back on Mars. She'd have to face the Elders again--hardly an attractive prospect. Would they deem her fit for society after all this time? Would they sentence her to another five years of exile? Or worse, would they have her seized the moment she touched down, to be executed now that her only defender was light-years away? And why wouldn't they? Clearly, they'd been envious of her power from the start, had wanted to get rid of her more out of jealousy than anything else. That could hardly be expected to change now, now that she had nearly full control of her power.
Deciding that she didn't want to take any such risks, and that Mars was a dull and suffocating place to live anyway, she lightly tapped the controls of her ship, sending it in the direction of that blue planet she'd heard so much about.
Hero Registration
Miraxa landed near Paragon City and quickly discovered that the natives weren't quite as barbaric as she'd been led to believe. Sure, they were primitive. They were backwards and ignorant in many ways. But they were decent enough. They seemed almost like... people.
She soon learned of the heroes of Paragon City and their constant struggle against the less wholesome elements of the population. She learned that the city was perpetually calling to aspiring individuals of power or talent to join in the fight against villainy. Well, she was every bit as powerful and talented as any of these heroes, if not more so. Why not join up? It was sure to be good for a laugh, at the very least.
And so she registered as a hero of Paragon City, taking as her name a tribute to Vixen Venus, her long-time idol and friend. Henceforth she would be known to the people of Earth as Maiden Mars.
Personality
The fact that her powers and ability to control them have matured over time should not leave one with the impression that she herself has abandoned her youthful exuberance. While she is not without a conscience or sense of right and wrong, and may, when pressed, admit to a developing fondness for Earth and its inhabitants, her acts of heroism seem generally motivated more by a love of danger and fun than genuine altruism.
She can be found on the dance floor of Pocket D nearly as often as on the streets of Paragon, and in that environment has been known to casually consort with individuals of a more shady demeanor than are generally found among the heroes of Paragon. She does, however, seem to have a strong personal code, and is easily outraged at perceived injustices, particularly those perpetrated by powerful authority figures against relatively powerless individuals.
Despite her obviously-powerful mind, Miraxa can at times exude an air of naivety, especially in regards to Earth and Earthling culture. She has, at various occasions, been heard to refer to Earthlings as "dumb," "weird," or "cute," apparently dependent on her own mood at the time.
Powers
All of Maiden Mars' metahuman powers are derived from her ability to bend, warp, or otherwise manipulate the fabric of space in one way or another. While there are several ways in which she regularly uses this ability in combat, it should be noted that the utility of her power is such that she uses it in myriad ways throughout her day-to-day life, and its effects are not limited to those described below.
The most common uses of her power may be said to fall into three categories: Gravity Control, Force Fields, and Translocation.
Gravity Control
One of her favorite tricks is to heavily condense the space above above an individual, thereby causing a momentary pocket of gravity which cause them to forcibly rise upwards, only to fall back to the ground when the pocket inevitably dissipates.
She can also wrap dimensional space densely around an individual (or, with some concentration, a group of individuals), essentially holding them in place, unable to move.
With considerably less effort, she can dramatically increase the gravitational pull in a large area, rooting her opponents to the ground and causing mild to severe damage in the process.
In addition to her force fields (see below), she can protect herself with a "cushion" of gravity that will hinder and slow blows and projectiles, thereby softening their impact.
Maiden Mars herself seems generally unaffected by Earth's gravitational pull. While when unconscious or otherwise incapacitated she may fall to the ground as any normal person would, it has otherwise become second nature to wrap herself in an anti-gravity field, so that her feet are seldom seen to touch the ground. She is able, with some concentration, to expand this field to about sixty feet around her, lifting nearby allies in the air while leaving them with the ability to move about at will.
Force Fields
Maiden Mars can create pockets or bubbles of "force", essentially serving as barriers to hinder or prevent passage in and/or out. The most common use for this is the protection of herself and her allies from enemy attack. However, there are any number of other uses to which she may put these bubbles, including but not limited to imprisoning an individual for a short time, or even as a powerful but non-lethal weapon to be propelled at an enemy.
Translocation
Maiden Mars is also able to create momentary wormholes in space, through which she can propel objects or people. Individuals who undergo this experience are generally unharmed, but it's a rough ride, which tends to leave them on the floor, stunned and disoriented. While it's theoretically possible that she could transport herself and others great distances, perhaps even galaxies or dimensions, the art of translocation is as yet her most unreliable ability, and she uses it for little other than teleporting random objects to propel at people or teleporting her foes short distances.
