Parthenea

From Unofficial Handbook of the Virtue Universe

Photo by a rescued reporter. The only one to appear in newspapers so far.
Parthenea
Player: @Chimerique
Origin:	Mutation
Archetype:	Defender
Security Level:	22
Personal Data
Real Name:	Kaylin O'Keeffe
Known Aliases:	None
Species:	Human
Age:	23
Height:	5'2
Weight:	110 lbs
Eye Color:	Grey
Hair Color:	Brown
Biographical Data
Nationality:	American
Occupation:	Crimefighter, Musician
Place of Birth:	Santa Cruz, CA
Base of Operations:	Paragon City, RI
Marital Status:	Single
Known Relatives:	Mother: Ellie O'Keeffe, Father: Braden O'Keeffe(Deceased)
Known Powers
Empathy, minor Telekinesis (Empathy/Sonic)
Known Abilities
Confidential
Equipment
Confidential
No additional information available.

History

Kaylin has only vague memories of her father: A gentle smile, big bear-hugs, an easy laugh. From what little her mother has ever said of him, she knows he was an Air Force pilot and is now missing in action after leaving for an important mission, the details of which were classified. Her mother never said anything else about him, and Kaylin, understanding heartache even at such a young age, never asked.

For all of that, her childhood was happy. She loved the sunlight, the morning fog, the trees and the beaches of California, and, being a serious, unusually responsible child, she was given the freedom to do as she pleased fairly early on. The unreserved use of her empathic abilities is another freedom she remembers from those days, before she learned that these abilities were unusual. Not everyone, she was shocked to discover, found it easy to understand simply by wanting to know how someone else felt. Not everyone could just reach inside and gently soothe away things like anger, fear, hatred and pain. And even though she'd never used her abilities for anything other than to comfort and heal, she learned that she had to hide them, or others would fear her just for having them.

Following this realization, she went through middle school and high school shy and withdrawn - it was often difficult for her to sort her own emotions from others', and she had to actively concentrate not only on quelling her natural instinct to use her abilities, but even to know when she was using them. It made her quiet and a little awkward, personality traits which have stuck with her to this day.

This is also when she discovered music. Getting a job at a local organic foods store and thus having her own money to buy CDs was part of it, but she also picked up her first guitar and found that when she was playing, her feelings were her own, and she could hear nothing but the music. So she began learning to play, and has kept at it since.

College passed much as one would expect it to. She majored in music and minored in cultural anthropology at UCSC (ignoring her mother's complaint that this was an odd combination), moved from her job at the store to a better-paying one as a factory worker. She played her guitar in coffee bars and on street corners during the weekends, and met her fiancee, a chemistry major named Alex. She thought that after the awkwardness of high school her life was beginning to fall into place, but a couple of years later, it fell apart instead.

Just before their wedding, Kaylin and Alex had their first argument. He was frustrated with her, actually working to pick a fight, claiming that it would be a miracle if he got anything from her other than her usual insipid agreement to everything he said. He wanted a spark, a fire, a storm, anything other than the wet blanket he'd discovered her to be. Hoping to help him understand, Kaylin told him about her abilities. That was the last straw. Alex went from anger to bitter silence, saying before he left that now he understood how he'd fallen for someone so boring. She'd obviously manipulated his feelings, and he would never forgive her for it.

After he left, Kaylin took stock of her life and realized that she hated it. There had to be something more. Somewhere inside her there had to be that spark Alex had wanted, a fire, a storm. Her father had been a man brave enough to risk everything he had to help keep others safe - if that wasn't inner fire, she didn't know what was, and as his daughter, shouldn't something of that flame belong to her as well? The very next day she left for Paragon City, and she hasn't looked back since. She hasn't garnered any real fame there, but then, that's not really what she's after.

Personality

Kaylin is quiet, shy, and gentle. While she has learned to control her abilities, particularly strong emotions can still sometimes get through, including things like anger and hatred, so she avoids conflicts and arguments as much as she can. She has also learned that her abilities are not something to be ashamed of, and though she refrains from using them against others out of respect, she no longer feels that she has to hide them as she once did. She is who and what she is, and though part of that is a shy young woman who would rather bend with the wind than stand proud against a tempest, she is also a competent hero, capable of profound strength when protecting others from harm. It takes her a while to feel comfortable around others, but once she considers someone her friend, she is loyal and generous to a fault.

Powers and Abilities

Kaylin is a psychic. More specifically, she is an empath, which means that she has no telepathic abilities to speak of, but can feel and influence the emotions of others. As a hero, she uses this ability to heal her allies, and when she has to, she can cause a villain sufficient emotional distress to incapacitate them, bringing all their fears to bear as a weapon. She also has some small telekinetic ability which she can use to fight, but mostly uses to hover and fly.