Quicksilver Crane
From Unofficial Handbook of the Virtue Universe
| |
| Lily without her hair dyed | |
| Quicksilver Crane | |
| Player: Quicksilver Crane | |
| Origin: | Natural |
|---|---|
| Archetype: | Scrapper, Brute, Blaster |
| Security Level: | 50 |
| Personal Data | |
| Real Name: | Lillian Chou |
| Known Aliases: | Lillian, Lily, Lilith, Quick |
| Species: | Vampire |
| Age: | 26 Actual, Awake for 20 |
| Height: | 5'1 |
| Weight: | 105 lb |
| Eye Color: | Black |
| Hair Color: | Black, often dyed purple |
| Biographical Data | |
| Nationality: | American of Chinese ancestry |
| Occupation: | Freelance Bum/Hero |
| Place of Birth: | Washington DC |
| Base of Operations: | Paragon City |
| Marital Status: | Single but looking |
| Known Relatives: | All Deceased |
| Known Powers | |
| Very skilled with the katana, exceedingly good reflexes and reaction time thanks to both extensive training and experimental super solider boosts, minor invisibility powers, super speed, roof hopping, super strength, rapid regeneration, near invulnerability to damage, extremely good shot, low ranking Demi-goddesshood thanks to the Well | |
| Known Abilities | |
| Excellent hearing and vision, good alcohol tolerance, undead, security clearance | |
| Equipment | |
| Impervium ninja-to, Vanguard Beam Katana, several punk outfits, black Longbow spec-ops suit, Fang of Rularuu | |
| oWoD Vampire (Brujah Clan) | |
Contents |
History
Lillian Chou was born in DC on June 22, 1984, a fifth generation American of Chinese ancestry. An only child with a pair of loving but busy and distant parents, Lillian did the best she could to impress them, doing well in school and the like. Though never a particularly popular girl in school she had her own circle of friends, going from the stereotypical egghead middle schooler to a full on nerd in high school. She had always idly dreamed of someday emulating the characters she saw in shows and played as in tabletop games though fully aware that the realities were significantly different from the play she indulged in. And so, Lillian lived her life happily, getting into Cornell and enjoying the remainder of her 12th grade year, the end of it put on pause by the Rikti invasion. Her family was mostly unaffected by it, lucky enough to own a country house in West Virginia that they retreated to, living out the war in relative comfort. That was, of course, until one fateful November in 2002, the Rikti rearguard action of scorched earth leading to the deaths of her parents and other relatives that were taking shelter at her house.
In an instant, Lillian's life shattered. She refused to leave her grandparent's house, with whom she moved in with, spending all her time staring at the wall, unmoving except when hunger gnawed at her. It was one month to the day that she heard the doorbell ring, and ring, and ring, her grandparents out. Finally, fed up with the noise, she managed to make her way downstairs to a man in a dark suit with a briefcase. He said he was from the government, that he worked with her parents, that he was here to offer her an opportunity to ensure that a tragedy which happened to her would not occur again. In essence, the chance to become a hero.
It was two months later that she arrived at the training camp, a small facility deep in the Blue Ridge mountains. The doctors there told her that the procedure to give her the powers she needed would only take a few days, at most two weeks, that she would be asleep for most of it but she'd be awake again soon enough. They injected her with something...and then everything went blank. It was much to her surprise that the next thing she remembered was six years later, waking up to a sterile white room and told that there were complications. The two week procedure began with catastrophic failure and they had to put her and her entire "class" on cold sleep until they could fix it. Not listening to her protests, not giving her a chance to find out what happened to her grandparents, she was given a week to rest and soon found herself she soon found herself with three dozen other women, her "class", all with pointed ears like hers, all who underwent similar procedures to her. That's when the training began.
It was intense work, practice with swords, dodging, athletics, and stamina. The tests were hard, more strenuous than what could be expected for someone who had just woken from a six year rest. Yet all the girls did it, excelling, well, mostly anyway. Lillian managed to impress her instructors, yes, standing out from the rest not because of skill but because of how bad she was. It was less than a month since she woke when she was kicked out of the program and given some money, told to never speak of this as it was classified. Yet, despite this failure, this setback, she didn't give up, vowing to train until she was good enough to protect the innocent, to deliver justice to the oppressed, and create a better world. It was nine months since that vow that she arrived in Paragon, the nation's bulwark of heroism against the forces of darkness, intent of proving herself worthy of the title of hero.
Life in Paragon
Lily managed to settle into Paragon quickly, finding herself an apartment with the money the government guys gave her, in addition to the inheritance she received from her parents and grandparent's demise. In short order she found a roommate, started making friends, super and otherwise, and began getting over her family's death, throwing herself fully into trying to save people, trying to get better. She even succeeded, taking down threats great and small, doing some work for Longbow when she could. She found herself a nice boyfriend and thought about living a normal life, taking some classes at Paragon University, heroing less and less, even entertaining delusions of normalcy. A dropped file containing her identity leading to the culmination of a Freakshow grudge leading to a torched apartment and dead roommate as well as three murdered friends, only made worse by a boyfriend's baggage, all within the span of a week. All of this caused her to take up Longbow's offer of long-term rotation to the Rouge Isles, enduring the deaths of comrades, Arachnos raids, and even a long-standing rivalry with Captain Mako which culminated in a drag out battle on top of Lord Recluse's tower. Still she led her squad to victory after victory, putting work on the Web nearly a year behind schedule. She returned a hero, to a hero's welcome, happy, content, all culminating in finding out that the super-soldier serum that gave her the abilities she so treasured was going to kill her in six months if a cure couldn't be found. Longbow offered to help but Lily knew nothing could be done, taking medical leave with the intent of getting her affairs in order and fully hoping to volunteer for a suicide mission so she could at least die with honor. Instead she got an honorable discharge. Lily was a little disheartened about that.
Life ends, then you suck
After nearly 2 months spent drinking, ordering in take out and spending her last Christmas alone in a hotel room with no one to call family and no friends about, Lily decided to say "fuck it" and go to Pocket D to enjoy herself on the cusp of her last year alive. It was there that she ran into Uruare who nearly ranted her ear off when hearing about the young woman's still held idealism. It was later that night though where she would meet the person that would change her life forever. A friend of Uruare's, Ridia Bledpetal hit it off brilliantly with Lily, both getting drunk together that night and smashing thugs for fun and profit the next evening. Lily, ecstatic to find a friend, eagerly went along with Ridia to meet a friend of hers, a Scotsman named Alex Gunn. It was there that Ridia and Alex revealed to Lily that they were vampires and after the obligatory Twilight jokes, asked Lily to become one. A life changing decision, one that should be made with care and contemplation, and Lily took the offer in less than a second. Lily was made into one that night, a vampire of the Brujah clan, a chance meeting giving her a sister in Ridia, a father in Alex, and time she once had so little of.
It didn't take long for Lily to fit in with the new crowd she found herself with, youthful energy, eagerness to fight, and friendliness earning her friends both in her clan and out of it. Given a new lease on life, she rather quickly signed up for night classes at Paragon University, majoring in Political Science and ended the long-term lease on the hotel room she was renting, moving in with Alex and Ridia on Perigrine Island. In nearly all ways, Lily's life has taken a turn for the better, her smiles are real now, her friendliness no longer a cover for despair but genuine. Of course, with all things good, some bad must follow. As with any cabal of secretive nigh-immortal undead bloodsucking monsters one is bound to encounter murder, mayhem, and all other sorts of fun. There are the politics of clans and power, of elders trying to use the new vampire against her sire, and other power plays, expected, and once Lily understood them, a known quantity. What Lily didn't expect was for her ex Lacey Gregory to walk back into her life and for her to have feelings for him, and him for her. Normally, this wouldn't be a problem, keep the fangs away, only go out on dates at night, so on. But Lacey was a Hunter, not small "h" but big, empowered by the powers that be to hunt and kill those which stalked the night, Lily included now. They met and he figured her out in a moment, promising her though that he wouldn't hurt her or her clan, a promise he fully intended to keep. But politics are politics, paranoia is paranoia, and both Ridia and Alex demanded that Lily silence him or they would do it themselves. It was the first thing Lily couldn't forgive herself for doing, killing him, despite his insisting that she do it to protect her family, crying despite his reassurances that he would be fine, that he would come back. She stayed with him till he died, returning to Alex and Ridia with a heavy heart and their approval, full of the knowledge that she could never go back now, that she had chosen her place and it was with the clan.
Still, despite this rocky beginning, Lily's time as a vampire has been surprisingly easy. The help of Alex and Ridia has really prevented most of her natural naivete from rising to the top. Still, it's not been all easy. One of the first things that happened to her post mortum was being kidnapped by a Tzimice elder, stuck in a coffin, and nearly flesh-crafted into some monstrosity. She hasn't forgiven the clan since and nearly goes into a bloodlust and rage when confronted with one. Really though, compared to her earlier life of tragedy, she's lived a pretty charmed existence since becoming undead, opening up and gaining many new friends. This isn't to say that life is wonderful, indeed, though she's only seen small snippets, according to her contacts, she's begun to get more of a Malta trail than usual, something that worries her quite a bit. Even worse, though Lacey was only the first, there have been several hunter attacks on her and her family, one nearly leading to the death, and the capture of Ridia. Still, with the help of her friends, family, and allies, she's managed to prevail through the worst, and she's eager to meet the challenges of the future, whatever they may be.
Friends and Others
Ridia Bledpetal - Lily's big (adopted) sister, and, though she won't admit it per say, the person Lily cares most about in the world. If Ridia asked her to, there's virtually nothing Lily wouldn't do for her. Though she didn't let it on, Ridia's kidnapping affected Lily a great deal and she's become a bit more protective of her sister.
Alex Gunn - Lily's sire and the man she considers her father. Though she might be disobedient and enjoy teasing him, she still considers him the closest thing to a parent she has, and deeply cares for him as family though is worried that he might not do the same for her.
Blocker - Outside of her immediate family, Lily's best friend, bar none. He's been through nearly everything with her and she trusts him with nearly everything. Though she hasn't really told anyone, she still has a bit of a crush on him.
Uruare - An enigmatic creature, and one that Lily deeply cares for. Always confusing, always frustrating, Uruare is the one person Lily can walk away from in a conversation and know that she's grown as a person.
Personality
The years have mellowed Lillian, at least in regards to her despair. Seven years is a long time to mourn, even if she has been asleep for six of them. Even her recent personal tragedies, her killing of Lacey, her once impending death, her civilian life falling to pieces, all have been met with almost a shrug, a sigh, and a shake of her head, as if expecting things to get worse. Regardless, the young woman out on the streets of Paragon is still an unabashed nerd, is still an idealist, a closet optimist, and is still one of the friendliest people you're bound to meet. Her time in Paragon has made her an adrenaline junkie, rushing into fights head on with little regard to her own safety, confident that she'll be able to dodge anything thrown at her and determined to show off. For all her unbridled delight in kicking ass and her apparent predilection to reach for her blade rather than her pen, Lily has a sharp tongue and sharper mind, cerebral despite all evidence to the contrary. Still, through all her friendliness, idealism and stoic acceptance in what has happened to her lies a hint of despair and fear that keeps her fighting even beyond the joy she feels in combat. It is a fear that she'll lose that which she has now, her new family, her friends, those she cares for. It is this fear that motivates her above all others and will cause her to defend those she cares about regardless of the consequences to herself.
Classified Code Ultraviolet
To Director 11
Status of Project Infinite Oak, Pinnacle Objective
Subject: IO0031
Subject Name: Lillian Chou
Conditioning Level: N/A
Status: Observation Only, Lotus Paradox Unit, Paragon City
Subject 31 judged in all of Class 1 to be most unwilling to accept rejection from IO program. Determined that in the event of discharge Subject 31 would seek out training by herself and endeavor to prove herself capable. Discussion between Sister Setme of the Hand and Agent Violet Paradox 02 concluded that Subject 31 was to be failed from the program and allowed to peruse other activities to see the effectiveness Project IO in a non-controlled setting. Further, Sister Setme convinced Agent Violet Paradox of the necessity of an untainted sample, as such, Subject 31 lacks even rudimentary loyalty conditioning. As a security precaution Subject 31's genetic code will break down 24-30 months post release should she be unable to be recovered.
Currently 31 has managed to exceed all expectations, attaining a top Paragon Security Level, a Longbow commission, and accolades from the city. Further, she has yet to engage friendly forces in an organized setting though has managed to stumble upon and disrupt several scouting missions in the Rikti War Zone. All Project IO resources are not in danger of discovery, as such, it may be prudent to send her against an expendable cell to test her abilities. Should they be satisfactory, it would be prudent to recover her immediately. Further, recent sighted associations with several Class N MH1s as well as rumors that she is working with Agent Crimson are worrying, and if true, may necessitate acquisition regardless of performance before her genetic code self-destructs.
Gold Cypher 05
