Skyrider
From Unofficial Handbook of the Virtue Universe
| |
| Like Hell's Angels, only from Heaven. | |
| Skyrider | |
| Player: Snaerr | |
| Origin: | Magic |
|---|---|
| Archetype: | Scrapper |
| Security Level: | ' |
| Personal Data | |
| Real Name: | Rosa Marquez |
| Known Aliases: | None |
| Species: | Human |
| Age: | 22 |
| Height: | 5'6" |
| Weight: | 140 lbs |
| Eye Color: | Blue |
| Hair Color: | Black |
| Biographical Data | |
| Nationality: | U.S.A |
| Occupation: | Biker/Freelance Champion |
| Place of Birth: | Los Angeles, California |
| Base of Operations: | Paragon City, Rhode Island |
| Marital Status: | Single |
| Known Relatives: | Mother: Maria Alvarez (Deceased)
Brother: Carlos Marquez (Deceased) |
| Known Powers | |
| Angel Fire, Divine Protection, Divine Messenger, Visions | |
| Known Abilities | |
| Hellion, Mechanic, Bilingual | |
| Equipment | |
| None | |
| Founding member of the Celestial Sentinels- no longer active | |
Skyrider is my attempt at a more cynical sort of hero- Everybody seems to take heroes either as ridiculously nauseatingly nice, or as ridiculously edgy and hardcore heroes who are so extreme in their extremeness that they're extreeeeeeeeme! But Skyrider's different. She's a Lancer, of sorts, but she's not some sort of gritty badass misanthrope. She's really fairly altruistic. She's a penitent sinner, but she doesn't wallow in angst and grief over how wrong she was and all that rubbish. She's just a woman who found a new purpose and tries, like anybody else would, to live up to it.
Contents |
Affiliations
The Celestial Sentinels - Supergroup. No longer active, as her other duties forced her away from them, but she does care about them and miss them terribly.
Personality
Skyrider comes across as, for lack of a better term, arrogant. She trash-talks like most people breathe. Any combat situation, especially, will see her providing what appears to be her own constant running commentary on "How hard" she's "Owning" these "Fool pendejos." She rarely expresses much by way of sensitivity, but woe betide those who harm her teammates in front of her. Especially one of the ones she really likes. She's also got a tendency to wax poetic or philosophical in downtime, about the real meaning of her existence. While she tries rather hard to be a devout Catholic, in accordance with her situation, she finds it difficult when she her own morality seems to conflict with that accepted by her faith, or that of her teammates. In particular, she has few compunctions about killing those she fights, viewing them as too dangerous to leave alive. The primary view of the Sentinels, on the other hand, is staunchly opposed to taking human life. [1]
Powers
Angel Fire
Skyrider was blessed by the Archangel Michael as a champion of goodness. As a result, she has been given the ability to imbue her hands with the fire of the angels, allowing her to smite evil with her bare hands. This fire burns golden-white, and demonic entities shy from its presence instinctively, but it is otherwise indistinguishable from ordinary fire both physically and metaphysically. Skyrider's mortal form isn't powerful enough to handle the pure Angel fire. [2]
Divine Protection
In exchange for her service to Michael's cause, he has blessed her with a divine shield that keeps her safe from harm. This shield fends off all physical and mystical attacks, though it can do nothing against psionic attacks, The only way for Michael to shield a mortal's mind is to strip them of free will, which he's obviously opposed to.[3]
Divine Messenger
Skyrider forfeited all aspects of her former life, including her custom-assembled motorcycle. In exchange, she was blessed with the speed of angels- she can run at near blinding speeds, far in excess of the speed of her bike.
Visions
The Archangel Michael sometimes appears to Skyrider, or, more often, sends her visions, to guide her toward her goal or steer her away from danger. These visions are rare, however, as she is expected to walk her own path, just as any other mortal must.
Abilities
Hellion
Rosa's days with the Hellions have left her with a good grasp of street-brawling techniques. She is an adept fist-fighter and knife-fighter, and she can also wield chains, though she tends to disdain weapons ever since her encounter. She can also light a fire under virtually any conditions, though again, she doesn't use that ability as often anymore.
Mechanic
Rosa used to work as a mechanic, and is well versed with the maintenance and assembly of cars, bikes, semi rigs, and various other combustion-powered vehicles. She constructed her own custom motorcycle by hand. The bike is currently in storage, a token of her former criminal life, but she still retains an exceptional grasp of mechanics.
Bilingual
The daughter of a Mexican immigrant, Rosa is fluent in Spanish as well as English, though English is her primary language.
Weaknesses and Limitations
Rosa still maintains many of the personal flaws she has since her days with the Hellions- She is rash and impulsive, she delights in violence and destruction, and she comes across as incredibly arrogant. Additionally, she tends to be distracted, now trying to over-compensate for her former selfishness by trying to protect her entire team at the expense of her own safety. She is prone to bouts of self-doubt, wondering if she was truly changed at all by her encounter, or simply had a different mask to put on it.
The more mechanical weaknesses of Skyrider, on the other hand, are fewer. Her angel fire is flawed, only acting as normal fire once summoned, and her divine protection- also weaker than it could be, due to her tarnished soul- grants her no protection against psychic or demonic energies.
Character History
Born in Los Angeles in 1988, Rosa and her brother Carlos grew up, like the daughters of many immigrants, in the south side streets, where gang warfare was a regular part of day-to-day life. It wasn't until her older brother was killed in a turf war when she was eight that her mother decided to move to a safer place. And where safer, she thought, than the place where Superheroes grew thicker than weeds- Paragon City.
Unfortunately, Paragon City was no stranger to gang activity itself, and it wasn't long before Rosa- now 12- was spending her time in the company of Hellions initiates, learning to work motorcycles and aiding them in arson and vandalism. She became one of their associates, and at the age of 15 was officially inducted into their ranks.
At 16, she was arrested for arson and vandalism, but her mother cashed in her college money to pay for the best lawyer she could find. After she was found Not Guilty, she came home to find her belongings packed and lining the street. She moved in with several other members of the gang, and she was never caught again after that. She received the nickname "Sky rider," for her ability to ride out of trouble so easily,
It all changed when she was 21. One night, after an evening of heavy drinking, she was wandering the streets, looking for a fight, and she saw one: A group of Skulls harassing the pastor of her mother's church. Though outnumbered six to one, she was drunk, looking for a fight, and felt oddly compelled to help this man. Besides, messing with a priest was low, even for them.
So she ran to the pastor's aid, and for her troubles, they beat her with bats. When they turned toward the priest again, she managed to climb to her feet and interpose herself. When the leader of the group brought the bat down again, something odd happened. She lifted her hand, and the bat hit her wrist.
And stopped
When he moved to attack her again, she held out her hand, and the leader was thrown back in a burst of white flame. Terrified, the remaining Skulls fled. She turned to help the pastor to his feet, and found him already standing. He told her that he was here on the bidding of the Archangel Michael, and that he had come to tell her that her mother was dead. He further told her that if she hadn't left her mother, she'd be alive right now. Finally, he informed her that Michael had given her a personal chance for salvation, by being his champion in Paragon City.
From that day forward, she turned her life around. She stopped committing crimes, she put her bike and everything associated with her criminal past in storage. And one day, she was visited by the Archangel Michael himself, for the first time. He told her to register as a superhero, listing his gifts as her powers, and to seek out a man called Gleaming Bolt, that they and others like them had to gather for a common goal.
He refused to tell her what it was, but she complied, and has since found immense fulfillment helping the Celestial Sentinels.
Enemies
Both The Hellions and The Skulls recognize her on sight, and both hate her- the former for her betrayal and the latter for her former allegiance. She believes the Rikti to be the danger for which the Sentinels were formed, so she is vehement in her opposition of them, and she hates the Circle of Thorns for being blasphemers and associating with demons and evil magic.
Equipment
She doesn't really carry any. She has her outfit, but by and large, her equipment is her faith and her fire.
The Celestial Sentinels
Skyrider was a founding member of the Celestial Sentinels, a small group united by higher powers in order to fight some ensuing threat. Many of them believe their purpose to be related to the whispered "Coming Storm," though they're not sure what that is, and their respective patrons don't seem to be telling. She serves as muscle for the group, and while she may seem to be a bit subversive, she is fiercely loyal to them.
- Gleaming Bolt: The fearless leader of the group, whom she's nicknamed "Geebs." He seems to have taken to the nickname. She has great respect for him as a leader; he, in turn, respects her independence and unusual tactics.
- Rumblerock: She and "Rumbles," as she calls him, get along very well, possibly understanding each other better than any other members of the team. The two share the front line, trash-talking the enemy and trying to one-up each other, and even though Rumbles has left to handle personal business, she still views him as a brother.
- Ke'ros: She and Ke'ros function in the group, and will aid each other, but they've never seen eye to eye. While they aren't hostile toward each other, Ke'ros is perhaps the most strongly disapproving of her attitude toward human life. She, meanwhile, has a strong belief that his motives aren't wholly honest, and has noticed he does a lot of... sneaking.
- Crystal Sunbeam: Crystal is like everybody's little sister, and Sky's no exception. One of the surest ways to send Sky into a bloodcurdling rage is to seriously hurt Crystal.
Trivia
- Has departed from the Celestial Sentinels, but is certain that when the final hour is near she'll be reunited with them.
- Hates tequila, margaritas, and anything else you might assume she would drink based on her ethnicity. She likes scotch.
- She occasionally lets out Hispanic slang and curses, but frequently does it wrong. It's an affectation she picked up to impress the Hellions.
Rumors
Notes
- ↑ Or metahuman, protohuman, humanoid, or otherwise sentient.
- ↑ The ability described here is Fiery Melee
- ↑ The ability described here is Invulnerability
