Mamushi
From Unofficial Handbook of the Virtue Universe
| |
| Traversing Faultline | |
| Mamushi / Mouko | |
| Player: @Iceangel | |
| Origin: | Science |
|---|---|
| Archetype: | Scrapper / Stalker |
| Security Level: | 50 / 23 |
| Personal Data | |
| Real Name: | Eve Helen Ströheim; Amiko Saito |
| Known Aliases: | Anna Fontaine |
| Species: | Homo Sapiens |
| Age: | 31 years old (October 10, 1978) |
| Height: | 5'10" |
| Weight: | 210 lbs. |
| Eye Color: | Blue |
| Hair Color: | Blonde |
| Biographical Data | |
| Nationality: | German citizen; Japanese national with no criminal record, reported missing June 1992. She has no U.S. visa. |
| Occupation: | Vigilante |
| Place of Birth: | Cologne, Germany; raised in Kyoto, Kyoto Prefecture, Japan before being relocated to Tokyo |
| Base of Operations: | Steel Canyon District, Paragon City, R.I. |
| Marital Status: | Single |
| Known Relatives: | Fredrich Stefan Ströheim (father, deceased); Silke Eva Ströheim (née Schwarzberg, mother, deceased); Jubei Saito (adoptive father, deceased); Ryo Takashi (handler, deceased). She is related to the Ströheim family in Germany, and subsequently a cousin of Schattentanzer. |
| Known Powers | |
| All of Mamushi's powers are artificial in origin; see below. | |
| Known Abilities | |
| Skilled in various forms of combat, weapon use, firearms, espionage; knows several languages, computer systems and ikebana. | |
| Equipment | |
| Her primary weapon is the 'Sacred Edge of Heaven', the katana of the daisho she inherited from Saito-san. | |
| Her English is impeccable, but when she speaks any other language it is distinctly accented. Her Japanese is of a Kyoto accent. | |
Anna is my second-oldest character, and has been subject to a little tweaking here and there to make her easier to play. Her basic concept has come along into most role-playing games I've participated in. She's my indulgence into a somewhat anime-based character, combining my love of Rurouni Kenshin with a little of Fatal Fury 2. The character is semi-retired.
Contents |
History
Born in Cologne, Germany, an only child. Her father's family was incredibly well-connected, and she had an idyllic childhood spend being spoiled and cosseted by older relatives. When she was four years old, her parents, Fredrich and Silke, decided to visit Cologne's sister city, Kyoto, Japan, to make contacts for the family business.
While in Japan, the bullet train they were riding in was caught in the cross-fire of two super villains. The wreckage claimed 90% of the passengers, although Eve managed to survive. Her identification papers were lost, and the little girl was too shocked to coherently answer the questions of her rescuers, so she was slated to be sent to a nearby orphanage, to be a ward of the province until she could be identified. A middle-aged Japanese man and retired police official, Jubei Saito, came forward with a wish to adopt the girl, as his own daughter and her husband were killed in the wreck. Jubei felt he and little Eve could begin a new family, to replace their loss.
Jubei renamed the girl Amiko, and slowly began drawing her from her shell. In time, Amiko became just another vivacious child, the horror of the accident healed. She went to school, made many friends, and was generally well-liked by most of the people she met. She especially enjoyed sports, which Jubei encouraged.
Around the age of 14, Amiko's adopted father got on the bad side of a small Yakuza that went by the name of "The Painted Tigers". Jubei, while no longer on the force, still believed in law and order, and tried his best to curb the gang's influence within their neighborhood. To keep the man from further meddling, the Tigers kidnapped Amiko on her way home from school. They would keep her, they said, to ensure Jubei's consistent good behavior.
While in the captivity of the Tigers, Amiko was subjected to several drug concoctions -- while a small gang, the Painted Tigers had managed to blackmail a pharmaceutical engineer, and forced the man to formulate a "super solider" drug. Amiko was one of their first test subjects, and the effects of the drugs were manifold. While it did enhance her strength and durability, the drugs made Amiko violent and uncontrollable. She fought her captors whenever she could, and had to be heavily sedated when she wasn't being tested. More drugs were introduced, and when they finally had the perfect combination, her training began.
A man by name of Ryo Takashi was her "handler," training her in the martial arts, espionage, and various "hitokiri" techniques. Takashi was also supposed to help the Yakuza reprogram the girl's mind to make her a loyal tool, but his compassion was too great, and he more helped the girl learn to overcome the chemicals in her system. Years passed, Amiko grew, and her only friendly human contact was Takashi.
By 21, Amiko was finally put to use in the field. The Yakuza named her Mamushi -- "viper" -- and set her out to kill rivals. She was very good at it, capable of infiltrating even the tightest security. Sometimes she would do retrievals, other occasions kidnappings, but for the most part she was the Tigers' most efficient assassin. She likely would have remained a mindless weapon had Takashi not made his move. Tired of the hierarchy of the Tigers, Takashi altered one mission of Amiko's, saving the intended victims, a woman and her young son -- Takashi's sister and nephew. The Yakuza got wind of the betrayal, and had Takashi killed.
Amiko, enraged by the death of her mentor, finally struggled free from her bonds and escaped. Over the year following, she hunted down and killed as many of the Painted Tigers as she could, until they made an alliance with several other gangs for protection. Outgunned, Amiko left Japan under an assumed identity and headed for America.
She first touched base in San Francisco, traveling under false identification. She contacted Takashi's sister and nephew -- Kiori and Hanzo -- and from their protectors made connections throughout the city's underworld. She stayed for several months as a bodyguard, until she was contacted by a representative of her birth family, the Ströheims. They requested her presence, and more out of curiosity than anything Amiko agreed to meet with them.
They had watched Amiko's progress over the years, they told her, and were proud of the reputation she'd earned. They offered her a position within their ranks, and having no other purpose at the time Amiko accepted it. While given more independence, she was still performing the same activities as she had under the Tigers, and Amiko soon grew bored.
In late 2004, the Ströheims got word that a long-time rival of theirs had dug a toe into Paragon City, Rhode Island, and decided to send Amiko to help the rival's opponent. Thrilled to be out from under the eyes of her family, Amiko changed her name and became a registered hero. She infiltrated the rival's membership, although was discovered and badly injured. The rival was slain without her help, and his opponent later defected from Paragon City to the Rogue Isles.
Again without a purpose, Anna remained in Paragon City to fight against the evils there. In October of 2006, an urgent message from Hanzo, Ryo's nephew, took her back to San Francisco, where she remained until May of 2007.
Affiliations
She works with Hero Corps and Freedom Corps on occasional missions. She had been hired on by the Neverenders to function as the "official" cook for the airship, but with its inoperative status she no longer works there. She's currently a member of Section VII, on retainer with The Phoenix Company, with a former contract with Adversity Solutions Incorporated. She was, and remains, an assassin for hire.
Legacy
- Smoking Mirrors - Under the urging of Lady Siege, Anna approached Max and offered to refine his swordsmanship. She saw great potential in him, and felt her efforts in helping him would help her find new purpose in her life. He became one of her very few friends, and Anna was slowly learning how to be more emotional. With his disappearance, though, she reverted back to her old mannerisms. While she understood his need to strike out on his own, she felt that his timing was off.
- Hakko - In mid-February, Anna was contacted by a friend still in California, Tatsumi Inoue, regarding a young woman; the former having been contacted by the latter in search of Anna. The girl, known to Tatsumi as Grace Lo, had all the earmarks of a Painted Tiger hitokiri. Far from deterring the girl, Tatsumi directed her towards Paragon City, where Anna had finally settled down. A confrontation between the assassins was had - Grace had been sent by the renewed Painted Tigers to kill their former hitwoman. Anna soundly defeated the girl and in lieu of the usual death, offered the girl a chance at truly making something of her life. Grace accepted, and the women passed along enough evidence to the yakuza that Anna had killed her hunter.
Anna now serves as Grace's teacher, refining her skills and leading her onto the path of bushido.
Personality
To be honest, any bit of personality Anna exhibits is a facade. She adapts and adopts, taking on mannerisms acceptable by the people she's with. Her training with the Tigers made her capable of becoming whoever she needed to in order to infiltrate; as such, the baseline Anna is as stoic and emotionless as a mannequin. She can't be ruffled, or annoyed, or have any buttons pushed. Any reaction one gets out of her is assumed, and to make sure she keeps herself as realistic in reaction as possible, she watches a lot of American films.
Time spent in Paragon and the Isles have helped, though, giving her a better sense of herself over the years. She's definitely more "human" now than she had been when she first got to Paragon.
Powers/Abilities
Anna has no powers of her own; all of her supernatural abilities are the result of the variety of drugs the Tigers used while molding her into a killer. While some of the changes are permanent, she is reliant on these drugs to retain the majority of her abilities.
Regeneration
The foremost of her special abilities, Anna is capable of rapid regeneration. Superficial wounds close in seconds, while more vicious ones take longer. Akin to this is a hyperactive metabolism, allowing her to recover from most toxic substances easily.
Muscle Density
One of the many chemicals used on Anna was specifically designed to increase muscle density, but not size. At the peak of her use of the drugs the Tigers used, she was capable of great feats of strength. She could hoist cars overhead, and batter solid steel effortlessly. However, she no longer has access to the specific treatment the Yakuza had used on her, and makes due with a less potent substitute.
The substitute drugs make her as strong as the records for non-super strength possessed by a woman, with the benefit of little size variation. Her musculature is tight and compact, and her weight is similarly effected. No longer capable of amazing feats, she is still nonetheless stronger than most humans.
Learned Skills
Her adoptive father had begun her sword training at a young age, in the disguise of mundane kendo practice. As she'd gotten older, Saito-san had begun teaching her a sword art passed down throughout his family, and she showed great skill. The Painted Tigers capitalized on her training, and expanded it to include firearms of all sorts.
Anna can speak several languages: Japanese, English, Spanish, Russian and Mandarin. Her grasp of German is shaky at best, and the more complex of conversations are beyond her understanding. She knows only a few words or commands in other languages. Interestingly enough, she can only read Japanese and some English.
Although her personality is stilted, she can assume many different roles given enough time to practice. She can play up stereotypes very well, and has passed for a vapid Japanese girl on several occasions.
Weaknesses and Limitations
She is dependent on her pharmaceuticals, and has a stunted understanding of social skills. Her fearlessness means she gets into trouble when it could easily be avoided, and her lack of tact or subtlety when not masquerading tends to offend people. Her stand-offish attitude keeps most people at bay, and hinders her ability to connect with people and develop meaningful relationships. Anna is also off-put by the American mindset, and is often confused at certain turns of phrase or quirks. She hides it well, but she gets very frustrated when she can't understand someone.
Equipment
(More stuff!)
The House of Ströheim
(To come!)
Extraneous
- As this is a realm of fiction . . . Anna's adoptive father is a descendant of Hajime Saito.
- She enjoys reading the Hagakure, and has on occasion quoted from it.
- Yes, she practices ikebana. She's surprisingly good at it, although rarely tells anyone about it.
- It's been a subject of mockery before, but I have no shame in stating that Anna believes in Aku Soku Zan as well as bushido.
- While ambidextrous, she does favor her left hand.
- The player knows only words gleaned from anime and manga; she's much better with German, although not by much.
- To symbolize her bond with The Painted Tigers, she was inked with an elaborate tiger in the horimono style across her back. The procedure used was a mystery to Anna, though she suspects a relation to the Tsoo; the ink normally would have been broken down by her immune system.
- Anna's favorite baseball team is The Hanshin Tigers, and she wears a baseball shirt with the team's logo on it. Until the game gives us a more tigery-looking logo, I've made due.
- She can cook very well, actually, and knows dozens of traditional Japanese recipes.
Anna's Stories
Subject to my muse, I have written several short bits where she's my main protagonist. Some of them are negated by this current version of her I have now, but I like to look back on them for future ideas.
- Most of everything will be over here.
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?
