Matron X
From Unofficial Handbook of the Virtue Universe
Contents |
Affiliations
Magda Orsini is a member of Foundation X. She is also associated with DIADEM and graduated from that institute's specialized training program for mutants.
Backstory
Magda Orsini came to the United States from her native Italy in 2000 when she was 15. Her parents suspected that she was becoming a mutant, possibly with uncontrollable telekinetic or other psionic abilities. Whenever Magda was getting upset people around her began experiencing painful and debilitating headaches. At first these headaches weren't connected to Magda's emotional state, but one evening when she yelled at her parents they both collapsed due to the pain they experienced. Objects would sometimes fly across the room as well, and her parents were beginning to fear for not only their safety, but Magda's as well.
Magda was brought to Paragon City and examined by officials from GIFT. It was determined that Magda was a mutant, and her parents agreed to allow their daughter to remain in GIFT's care until she was able to safely control her abilities.
Magda remained with GIFT until shortly after the First Rikti War. During her classes with GIFT Magda befriended another mutant named Matthew Winters, a young man with the ability to project blasts of energy from his hands. Matthew was invited to join a new program for mutants sponsored by the Duchesne Foundation in 2003, and he asked Magda to accompany him as well. This program was the Duchesne Institute for the Advanced Development and Education of Mutants, also known as DIADEM. Magda was already becoming comfortable with controlling her powers under the care and instruction of GIFT's professors, but DIADEM seemed to offer her something more. She agreed to enroll in DIADEM's programs and eventually graduated from the institute in 2008 with a B.S. in Psychology.
Upon graduating from DIADEM Magda joined Foundation X, an all-mutant security consulting group that works directly for the Duchesne Foundation. Adopting the heroic identity of Matron X, Magda now works with other mutants in their effort to make Paragon City and the world not just a safe place for mutants, but for everyone who would call either place home.
Powers
Psychic Blasts
Magda can focus her will upon a target and project blasts of psychic energy directly into their nervous systems. These blasts can cause extreme discomfort or excruciating pain depending upon how forcefully she concentrates. These blasts do not appear to be limited to a telepathic nature, and Magda possesses powerful telekinetic abilities as well. She can send objects or persons flying across a room or knock them backwards by projecting her will toward them, and her psychic blasts have been tested to reveal that she can rend apart solid objects as well.
Mental Manipulation
Magda can also manipulate the minds of others around her to some degree. Magda can not control others' minds or alter memories, but she can turn their minds and perceptions against them to confuse them briefly or hold them in place for a time. Magda has not displayed any ability to read minds or to communicate with others on a telepathic level.
Telekinetic Flight
As a psychic with rapidly developing telekinetic abilities, Magda can attain flight by sheer force of will. While there are limitations to the speed and altitude Magda can attain, DIADEM analysts theorize that Magda can fly at the speed of thought. Magda is limited by the forces of friction that could theoretically ignite her, much like an object that enters the Earth's atmosphere at high speeds, but Magda is able to resist these forces by moving matter out of her way as she propels herself through the air. Magda is also limited by her ability to breathe in the upper atmosphere, and she has no innate resistance to cold. Although Magda can use her telekinetic abilities to surround herself in a bubble of oxygen, she will eventually run out of oxygen and cannot remain at high altitudes for extended periods of time. Magda can also use her ability to quite literally fly underwater by forcing water molecules out of her way and creating a bubble of oxygen around her. Magda isn't able to remain underwater in this manner for long, but this ability has proven quite useful during water rescue operations. It isn't known how far underwater Magda can travel without succumbing to the extreme pressures and cold of the deep ocean, but DIADEM believes that with time her telekinetic abilities could allow her to reach the deepest recesses of the ocean floor.