Swan-Song

"A good person is as rare as a black swan." "Rara avis in terris nigroque simillima cygno."- Juvenal
Swan-Song
Player: Jessimay
Origin:	Natural
Archetype:	Martial Arts/Willpower Scrapper
Security Level:	50
Personal Data
Real Name:	Mackenzie Hill
Known Aliases:	Swan-Song
Species:	Human
Age:	24
Height:	5'6"
Weight:	175 lbs
Eye Color:	Blue
Hair Color:	Strawberry Blonde
Biographical Data
Nationality:	United States Citizen
Occupation:	Dance Instructor, Dancer
Place of Birth:	San Francisco, California
Base of Operations:	Steel Canyon, Paragon City, R.I., U.S.A.
Marital Status:	Single
Known Relatives:	Classified
Known Powers
No recorded Super Powers.
Known Abilities
Trained in Martial Arts, Swordsmanship and dance, as well as some special agent training in undercover operations and infiltration.
Equipment
Swan-Song Uniform, consisting of reinforced body armor and head armor, as well as a built-in HUD in her mask.
Misc. (Ir)rational fear of teleporters and teleportation. She prefers to keep her feet on the ground when she can instead of through alternate dimensions or however those things work. Has an infectious, commercial-grade smile and is often sincere with it. Wears a black arrow-head necklace from time to time.

Mackenzie Hill was born in San Francisco to a single mother. Her father had passed away three months before her birth, but that did not stop her mother from providing a comfortable life for her.

She grew up something of a tomboy, enjoying sports and high impact activities, but took her mother's advice and learned many different types of dance as well. Dance became a fantastic love in her life and keeps her well in shape.

When she was eighteen, she graduated from High School and was accepted into one of the more prestigious dance schools in the country - Grace Dance Academy. This school however was really a cover for G.R.A.C.E.D.: Global Resource Agency: Combat and Enforcement Division. While the regular students learned the foxtrot, tango, and how to hit it in hip-hop, the top and most trustworthy students were often initiated into the Agency's martial arts and combat training program - Mackenzie was one of them. By the time she was nineteen, she had three merits for Outstanding Performance in the Field, and was well on her way to a promotion within the Agency.

Unfortunately, the organization would meet its untimely end through a series of attacks on key members of its council. The Agency disbanded, and its agents scattered across the globe to avoid further destruction.

Mackenzie found herself in Paragon City, and set up a small dance studio in Steel Canyon. From her loft apartment above the small studio, she lived and provided for herself as best she could. Her life as an agent was not over quite yet, though.

When Mackenzie first learned of the organization known as S.C.O.R.P.I.O., her outlook was dubious at best. However, she needed the work and missed the feeling of doing something; so, despite the lump in her throat the first time she ever met with Jack Slayton, she accepted the offer of work and began her life as a S.C.O.R.P.I.O. Agent.

It got tough sometimes. Her placement into the SpecOps division didn't come as a surprise, but many of the members within the organization are a lot more hardcore than Kenzie could've ever guessed. She kept up (at least, she liked to think she did), but usually only by a hair. She spent a number of months serving as the organizations Public Relations Representative, but has recently turned in her resignation and moved on to other things.

Despite her prowess in combat (and her ability to knock a man out with a single, well-placed kick), Mackenzie has a light inside of her that seems to shine most of the time. Before Scorpio, she was light-hearted and perhaps a bit naive, even in the face of her extensive training. She does have a certain genuine love for life and the good people that live it, and she is prone to curiosity and sometimes forgets to be tactful when something sparks her interest.

However, much of her unshakable sense of humor may in fact be a cover for a deeper uncertainty or fear that she refuses to let loose. From time to time she may seem genuinely insulted when someone isn't interested in 'friendly chatter', and will generally make a note to respond in a negative way, which is almost always disguised as a joke or sarcasm.

She tends to be a bit prideful, but often puts forward what some may consider to be false modesty - it isn't so much that she's lying about what she can do or how she is as much as it seems that she doesn't want to say she can do something and then fail miserably at it. It is easier to say, "No, I'm no good at this," and then do fine than it is to say "I can do it," and then be found lacking.

Before S.C.O.R.P.I.O., there was GRACED, and her call-sign had been Swan-Song. Kenzie had never been fond of it; the very idea of a Swan Song was a final high note before the end of things. This alone was enough to seem contradictory to Kenzie's nature. It wasn't until the destruction of Graced itself, and her own brush with death, that the code name took on significance for her.

It went unused except in her own personal missions, given to her by Bastian - until the need for an alias arose, and she gained a disguise of sorts. It is unknown to all but two people who Swan-Song is behind the tearful Jester's mask.

After a relationship sparked by S.C.O.R.P.I.O.'s Obsidian Bowman, Kenzie began to pick up the suit again for her own private purposes, and now uses it as her primary face while protecting Bowman's old haunt, Kings Row. Though their relationship is, by all accounts, finished, she continues to keep what he loved safe as best as she can, even moving to buy her own small apartment there.

• Sebastian Stewart (NPC): Her old Supervisor within G.R.A.C.E.D., Bastian is her one tie to her old life and quite probably her closest friend. Old enough to be her father, and fond enough of her to fill that role to some extent, he has been a pillar of support and the one she often turns to for answers when life gets a bit too confusing. Lately he's come around less and less often, and Kenzie's feeling the distance, perhaps too acutely.

• Obsidian Bowman: The proverbial Yang to Kenzie's happy-go-lucky Yin, James Kowalski is rude, mean, and violent - and admits to all of them with little shame. Normally Kenzie would avoid him, but something sparked between the two and while rumors abound, no one is really sure exactly what. His recent departure seems to have left an impact on Kenzie, though.
• Cherry 9: The Deputy Director of SCORPIO, Cherry was the one Kenzie found most approachable within the organization. She's proven to be exactly as her reputation states - tough as nails and smart to boot. While Cherry was keen to point out that she was Kenzie's boss, and not her friend, Kenzie suspects that attitude has fallen by the wayside recently. The two have become quite friendly.
• Jack Slayton: It took a good amount of time for Kenzie to come to a comfortable place with the man, but as time has passed, her fear of 'The Boss' has subsided and she has extended a friendly hand toward him. So far his response has been a bit ambiguous, but Kenzie suspects that the cookies have helped tremendously in bridging the gap between Executive Director and Public Relations Manager.
• Echo-3: Most of her first meeting with Tyler was spent drunk. He ended up carrying her back to the base when she passed out, which was pretty nice of him, but he also left a box of doughnuts on her unconscious body so it's a toss-up on whether or not he's really an okay guy. Also, he joined in on making fun of her the morning after. Despite all this, Kenzie considers him a decent man and a good team mate to have around.
• Mercy Guevara: Despite all the ups and downs with Mercy, Kenzie considers her a good person (who maybe needs to work on getting her priorities straight).
• Colonel Hero: Affectionately nicknamed The Boyscout of Scorpio, Mackenzie has a lot of respect for this guy (though she'd never admit it openly). He's a hard worker with good morals, and someone Kenzie would probably enjoy getting to know better if he'd just chill out and not take everything so damn seriously.
• Magnum Max: Generally finding him to be a pleasant fellow despite his inability to go five minutes without saying something completely and utterly offensive, Kenzie might consider 'Maxamillion' a friend - if she hadn't just found out that he was apparently taking part in the 'boobs' nicknames with this little winner: Macboobs. Oh yeah. Real creative.

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For a character like Kenzie, clothes are everything. Though she's hung up the SCORPIO Uniform^[1], she's still got a number of little numbers in her closet. One costume slot is devoted to her civilian clothes, one is devoted to the catsuit she wears beneath her Swan-Song ensemble, and the last? That's reserved for The Booty Shorts.

The Booty Shorts are a long-running joke; when I started playing this game I became attached to them right away. For a leggy character like Kenzie, it almost seemed criminal not to have an outfit that showed exactly how leggy she was. I don't really use them as an In-Character point, beyond the fact that she is a bit sporty and they do make good dance clothes over a leotard; they're comfortable, loose, and give her a little more coverage than the leotard itself would. It is, however, occasionally hilarious to whip them out and check out the reactions.

That being said, I've received both negative and positive reactions to The Booty Shorts. I love them either way.

Anna Nalick - Citadel
Anna Nalick - Satellite
Blue Man Group - Time to Start
Blue Man Group - Your Attention
Bright Eyes - Road to Joy
Cake - Commissioning a Symphony in C
Cake - Comfort Eagle
Cake - Comanche
The Decemberists - Sons and Daughters
Foo Fighters - D.O.A.
Iron & Wine - Jezebel
Johnny Cash - God's Gonna Cut You Down
The Killers - Mr. Brightside
Mike Doughty - His Truth is Marching On
Mike Doughty - Unsingable Name
RENT - La Vie Boheme
Roisin Murphy - Night of the Dancing Flame
Roisin Murphy - Ramalama (Bang Bang
Roisin Murphy - Ruby Blue

Here is a listing of the currently posted stories with Mackenzie in them:

• Mackenzie Chronicles