Twirling Comet
From Unofficial Handbook of the Virtue Universe
Fire Manipulation
John Xavier Mason (Older Brother),
Wolf J Havoc ("Adoptive" Older-Brother/Officially Unofficial Bodyguard)
((Quotes taken from saved conversations))
“You feel like a younger sister, Christine. My mikrí adelfí.” –Agenla Kedair
“You’re like that kid-sister I never wanted and get annoyed with…but love anyway. For some reason.” –Alan
“Being my little sister, it’s my job to protect you, bug you, irate you, and teach you who’s boss. But for whatever reason…you do all that for me. Thanks, sis.” –John Mason
"This 'little sister' thing seems to be a running theme in my life...." -Christine, herself.
Her name is Christine Mason. She’s abnormally tall, spunky, friendly, and an all-around ditz – but don’t let that fool you, she’s dangerous.
Only…no, she'd just like people to think so.
Christine Gwendolyn Mason was born in a small village in Scotland called Tobermory, Mull. Though the town only had a population of about 1,000, its tourist base was enormous. This allowed Christine to easily learn the ways of many different people and cultures, which allowed her for an open mind. This formed a negative standing with her family and the goers at her local church, who, in that particular town, had harshly shut doors to most of the outsiders that raised the village’s economy. It was there that she realized she didn’t fit in, and left to America with her older brother to start anew. It was there that things changed.
No one said that life was going to be easy – it’s a good thing, too, because they’d be liars, right?
Well for Christine, life wasn’t easy, but it wasn’t that difficult, either. She did wonderfully in school, was popular to all the kids there, a “Model Catholic” as her brother John would tease her, and had looks to boot. But even with all of that, it couldn’t excuse a verbally abusive mother, a father that did not exist, and religious officials that cursed her very name, just to keep her “humble”. But Christine was a creature of happiness, she refused to allow such trivalities to hinder her in her dreams. So with that, she left her world behind and traveled to America--by the suggestion of one of her friends--and found a new home in Paragon City. This new home was a difficult adjustment to say the least; she was only fourteen at the time, taken there by her eighteen year old brother, and they were certainly not used to seeing such...beings flying about. Quite literally.
Christine soon realized that she would need to take a job in order to help keep her and her hard-working brother afloat....
Now, though Christine was barely fifteen at the time she got her first job, she didn't quite look her age. Being five-foot-eleven with a body that didn't match most girls her age, she looked to be at least in her twenties. Using this to her advantage, she managed to get a job working at a local Paragon shipping company in Steel Canyon. Her job was simple--stack big crates and barrels on a gurney, and push them into the nearby trucks.
This all went well for quite awhile - until they were given a rather shoddy shipment from a company that was more-or-less sketchy. In fact, this "company" was nothing more than a gaggle of Hellions with some cash to burn. But, in need of cash, Christine managed to convince her boss to keep up with order. With a tight chest, her boss gave the go-ahead, and the company got to work. Christine started as she always did: "I threw on some gloves, tightened up my hoodie because it was freezing in that warehouse, and did a couple stretches to help pick up the metal barrels. All was pretty normal. The barrels had that...was is it...that hazard sign? But hey, I wasn't worried. I mean, even if the guys wanting to ship the stuff were Hellions, that didn't mean they'd be stupid about something this important, right?" Wrong.
It took her and the crew an hour, just an hour, to stack half of the small shipment into a truck. Being naturally pleased with herself, she made the decision to allow a small break for her group--somehow the crazy gal earned a few promotions in just a year and became the "head stacker", if you can call that a promotion--and let them kick-back. Our little worker-bee on the other hand, took it upon herself to keep up the work, and continue to stack, alone. It doesn't take a genius to guess what would happen soon thereafter.
All that it took was a single barrel, placed clumsily on the edge of the gurney, to throw the weight of the entire carrier, and drop every barrel on top. She lept at the barrels, somehow thinking she could hold up a pack of 'hundred pound metal cans, and was swiftly crushed beneath them. To worsen things, a couple of the metal-tins burst open upon the ground and released the odd sanguine liquid that was held inside. The little Scot was relentless however, and instead of crying for help, she wriggled beneath the barrels, and managed to slide out - that is, until, her right arm was snagged beneath two large barrels, and held her in place.
That was not the time to be brave, and she knew it. With a heavy inhale, she pushed her lungs to let out a terrified screech--this was a bad idea.
The fumes of the dark-red liquid swivled into her lungs and shut them tight. She couldn't breathe, and the pain from the endeavor barely aloud her the ability to move. Terrified, she squirmed as much of her body from the liquid as possible; her heart pounding, lungs burning, and vision blurring, to her, it seemed the end. And for a time...it was.
Flashes of light, people in masks, hurried words and rushed movements swam around her head. Images of tubes, wires, metal, and small blades rose fear into her diluted mind. The most horrified aspect of it all, was the pain. Centered most heavily along her chest and right arm, the pain grew intense enough, to wake her up.
Then it all stopped.
She was in a hospital bed. The room was quiet, and unassuming. Bandages covered her body, and all pain had been thoroughly washed away. She was alive, and relieved. In the seat next to her was her brother, sleeping heavily. Everything was normal, all was intact - except her right arm, which had been replaced with something far less than human. Cybernetics.
The pain of the accident aside, Christine was happy with the changes; it gave her something to aspire to. The very instant she saw that glimmering steel, she knew what she could use this for. She quit her job, and make the decision to do something that most would consider expected, and stupid. the innocent Catholic-Girl threw on a mask make from cardboard, wrapped her face up with a hoodie, bought some cheap Body-Armor from a paintball store, and painted the symbol of a burning comet on her chest. She wasn't quite sure what the symbol was meant for, or what her "hero-name" would be, but she knew that she was perfectly suited to be just that: A hero of all.
It wasn't long before she started beating up gang-members in alleyways that she realized...she wasn't cut out for this "hero" thing. Sure, she had an arm that could withstand a gunshot. But...the rest of her couldn't. After only two weeks of heroing, she gave up, and decided she needed to find another line of work as her money situation grew worse. So, she used her older appearance, once again, to conscribe herself a position that was only meant for those that are twenty-one and older. A bartender, at a local hot-spot: Pocket D. It was perfect for her. She was social, fast at mixing, and people loved throwing her tips just to hear her speak in that lovely accent of hers. One day, a customer asked for her to "Surprise him" on a drink, so, she mixed vodka with kool-aid, chocolate-syprup, protein powder, a touch of lighter fluid, a sprinkling of Jack Daniels, and a children's gummy-vitamin. With that, she topped it off with a flaming top, and tossed it to him. The drink was horrible, but the patrons were so amused by this act, they started calling the drink a "Twirling Comet".
One night, Christine found herself in her basement--a whole in the ceiling above. It took only a moment for her to notice the fire that coarsed around her, and along the edges of the hole above. She panicked, thrusting herself into the a nearby sink in hopes of putting the pinkish flames out - but to no avail. When she realized they did not harm, nor peel her flesh, she knew that these flames, came from her. At the advice of her brother, she was examined by a local hospital; they told her of what they could assume was the culprit--she had mutated.
Letting off dangerous amounts of radiation and immense heat signatures, she found that she had been given a second chance at this hero thing. So she fought, and she fought well. Donning the new title of "Twirling Comet", she set out doing what everyone else with powers was doing in Paragon City, and managed to stay afloat in the sea of heroes.
It didn't take long for Christine's social personality to earn the eyes of a small group of people. These people consisted of a brooding but lovingly perveted demon by the name, Xrell, a spunky and sisterly nymph, Agenla, the annoying but over friendly Geiger, a wolfman who seemingly went by, Wolf, a wild android called Reppu, a blonde vixen named Naomi, the dark man Alan, and far too many more. The group mentioned were her closest and dearest friends, that she considered to be more than family. It was namely Geiger that thrust Christine out of her shell of innocence and humbleness, but the entirety of this...licentious group, managed to make her into someone even more.
It seemed that with so many people close by her side, Christine no longer felt that urge to fight as a hero. So she took a break, continued to tend bars, and spent time with her new family.
Times were good for a long time; Christine had many new friends, much of whom had gathered into varying couples, the most prominant being Agenla and Xrell--whom Christine saw as invariable siblings to herself. After some time, members of their little troup disbanded, and trickled away for a time. Tensions seemed to grow between certain members who were left, so Chris found it best to give them all some time to sort it out. With that, she packed some bags, and left back to Scotland. Instead of visiting her old town of Tobermory, she instead decided to visit the large city of Glasgow. It was there that she met a promiscuous girl by the name of Shelby Wainsford, and her friend Vixen. They all traveled back to America together, where Christine met their enormous "family", consisting of too many people for the girl to count. It was through Shelby that Christine met Becca Su'Cour, Fen, and Nikki. Though she did not get to know those few as well as the others - or as well as she would have liked, in meeting them, she purged even further from her shell until she became the Christine Mason that is known, and, somewhat loved, today.
Much time had passed for Christine. She was seventeen and enjoying every aspect of her life. Though, there were a few problems that even Christine's sense of denial and overpowering need to reduce drama couldn't cover. Random blackouts, locking joints, and memories that jsut did not fit. After consulting her friend Reppu, an android, to see if she had any friends that could help, Reppu introduced her to a special contact. This contact of hers took the both of them to a lab where they examined Christine thoroughly. What they found was something that dug deep into Christine.
She wasn't human.
Not all of her, at least. From the results, it showed that 76.8 percent of her was synthetic, 14.4 was cybernetic, and the remaining 9.8 percent was the only true organic build within her entire body. Obviously, this surprised the poor girl, and left her in a state of shock. It was so bad, in fact, that she appeared to "shut down", and her right arm, the only truly cybernetic piece of her, fell off. Reppu and her friend worked tirelessly to reattach the arm and bring Christine back. They found that with a proper electronic connection, and a few new pieces of machinery here and there, Christine powered up easily. Upon further inspection, they found that her arm had some sort of device within it that controlled certain aspects of her mind. This didn't settle well with Reppu, so she, at the risk of her own mind, connected herself to Christine and took a hard look around. She found that Christine was being controlled by an outside source -- a "hacker" of sorts that managed to wedge his way into the girl's mind. Reppu fatally forced him out of Chris by overloading his system, killing him as he tried to fight back from some unknown location. The blast seemed to create a powerful lurch of electronic frequencies caused a glitch in the girl, and threw Reppu back. Reppu found that the electricity that came from Christine was...to put it lightly, a "nice" feeling. After another inspection--and keeping the truth on what had just happened from Christine--Reppu found a simple cluster of memories.
Directly after Christine's accident, she was approached by a classmate in Paragon City who told her he could help with uptake on her arm. She readily agreed, having no idea how to work on such a thing, and allowed him to work on her arm. She never realized that he implanted a hack in her arm, connecting to her brain, that would allow him to control her during certain times. For months he used her for whatever he pleased, but found out that the radiation in her body, the same one that dissolved her real arm, was spreading through her body. Acting on the fly, he removed any infected parts of her body and replaced them with synthetics. Some would call it an astranged act of love--others, he was just fixing his favorite toy. For whatever reason, the creep had saved Christine's life.
Reppu pulled back, accidently opening a tract in Christine's memory that brought back everything that happened. The girl should have been devistated, but instead, she thanked Reppu and her friend for the help, and left. Not long after, Christine disappeared.
Two months had passed after Christine's disappearance. She didn't say goodbye to her friends, not a call nor a letter when gone - nothing. But it didn't take long for her to return to the people that she loved most.
The first people she came to, were Agenla, and Xrell.
After her initial...sisterly scolding, Agenla was quick to welcome back the whethered-looking Christine with open arms. Even Xrell raised a brow and gave half a smile at the Scottish girl's return. The first question on their mind was where she went--for some reason, Christine refused to say; instead, she simply told them of some of the things she had done. Wherever she was, she had learned a trick or two, and gotten a bit of a better hang of her abilities. Aggie and Z seemed to care less about her exploits, and more about the fact she was alive, and well. After a week back, she grew even closer to all of her friends. Both Geiger and Alan had left - Alan left to deal with personal issues, and gave Christine a subtle goodbye, Geiger had left without a word, possibly to anyone, and just disappeared, the way that Christine had.
New people, old people gone, and a new personality of herself to deal with, Christine had a lot to work on, a lot of changes to get used to. But, falling back into her hero gig with a new suit and new abilities, she was ready to give this semi-new life a shot. It's unfortunate when things go wrong, isn't it?
Being a social butterfly, Christine managed to make even more friends than before. Unfortunately, she made a friend that had a bit of a...disease. One that only seemed to effect synthetic beings - a synthetic Organism in of itself. The little parasite found a way of off her new friend, and attached itself to her. Luckily for Christine, she wasn't all synthetic. So the little parasite managed to disease her body, but was unable to keep its mind in tact without her own brain to feed on. After time, it died, but left a residual cluster of itself in her body. This gave no powers to Chris, no special abilities, nothing except for a strange appearance on her suit...and a low immunity to disease on those few organic pieces of her. Normally, this wouldn't be a problem -- she was more silicone and machine than human, by this point...but this little bit of change came to play, later.
It can always be difficult to accept change; to see your friends with others, with different appearance, and sometimes even altered personalities. But, there are some changes, that cannot be accepted. This was one.
Christine was gone, yet again, only this time it was short, just a week. But when she returned, she did not seem herself--it was just the fact that her hair had suddenly alternated in colors, and her suit was a bit...dark, but she spoke differently, acted differently, and couldn't remember a single thing about herself. All she could seem to remember were her friends. She was even calling herself "Maxine Pressley". Her friends were concerned, but they had grown accustomed to such strangeness happening to Christine. It took them some time to finally begin to call her by this new name--but, by the time they had. She was gone.
As expected--and hoped--by her friends, the spunky Scottswoman was back, and the same girl she had always been. Six months - half a year had passed this time, the longest ever, and some of her friends and let go of the thought that she would even return. But, there she was; that same dark hair, her silly outfit, and the same broad smile she always had. She accepted that she had a, "Freak Out" as she called it, admitting to the strangeness, claiming that there was just a problem with the "wiring" in her brain. Her friends were skeptical, especially when she refused to even say where she was, disregarding any question and changing the subject, yet, being the goods friends that they were, they let it go and accepted their old friend back. Hey, at least she was normal ol' Christine again.
By this point, it would be safe to say that Christine's life has had a lot of things happen--a lot of things that seemed to have little to no real affect on her. She disappeared a few times, found out she was altered by a freak with a Tech-Fetish, had an awkward relationship with her friend Geiger--something she wanted wiped from the record--, got infected by a synthetic organism, turned into a completely different person for a short while, then came back to find her friends Xrell and Aggie, with child. A lot of good, and a bit of bad, but all of it didn't seem to change Christine at not - no worse for wear. She went back to bartender, and continued on with her friends; Alan even returned to help brighten up her days. All was looking pretty high for Christine. In fact, two of her friends were betrothed, and preparing for marriage. Christine was even a Bride's Maid, which made her all the happier! But, as her brother John pointed out, she had some issues back in Tobermory to deal with; so, with a heavy sigh, and a strong word from her brother, she left, just one more time, to deal with this "problem". The problem being the oncoming death of her mother...another sad-state, that seemed to barely affect Christine in a negative manner. It was like she couldn't feel sorrow, or anger the right way.
A horrible sense of timing. That seemed to be the theme of Christine's life. Well, that and being a perpetual younger sister to everyone and their mother. This time Christine was back, and on good terms. Her mother might have passed, but she felt good, she was excited to see all of her friends again, and was ready to not disappear randomly, for once. Unfortunately, drama reared its ugly head.
Now, it's plain to see that Christine is a creature that can't seem to understand that sadness and rage affect the lives of everyone, but she had willingly tossed herself into the middle of a big "Mess", as Agenla would call it. The friends that were betrothed, were no longer together, and blew up on one another in an apparently large and nasty situation. It literally split the group into two pieces. Christine to this day still doesn't know exactly what happened; all she knew at the time was that her friends were hurting, and she wanted to be there for all of them. After all, what are friends for?
For friends like Wolf, or Reppu, it was more difficult. Though she shared a strong moment with Reppu when the Android help reveal the poor girl's past, they had never been the closest--it could have been chalked up to Reppu's sordid demeanor at times, or simply because they weren't entirely compatible. That still doesn't stop Christine from calling Reppu "Family", and hanging around nearby, just to be there. For Wolf, the anti-social, emotionally-emotionless Wolf-Man, the best Christine could do was tease him relentlessly, and always be there for her Older-Brother, and official-Unnofficial Bodyguard. From Alan to Xrell, and her new friend Cainnon, to Naomi, all she had to do to get them to at least hold some semblance of happiness in her presence--was to be in theirs'. Her friends always have been, and always will be, her family, and neither she, nor they, have ever thought otherwise.
The love-life of Christine Mason has always been rather...lacking. She had only truly caught the eye of two people back in the day - one being her friend Geiger, and that didn't last very long; and the other was a succubus--which, inspite of the fact that the woman was a good friend to Christine, and very sweet...certain aspects of her demonic lifestyle was a bit different from what Christine was used to. After all, she was a literal innocent, Catholic School-Girl when she first came to Paragon City. She has had a few lookers off an on that have given her a keen eye, but it never since lasted, and she not once persued any of them. But it didn't take long, as it does for anything, for a man to snag her attention forthright. His name is Nathan Hope.
A tall, muscular, smooth-faced blonde with a soft voice, and an unassuming personality and life. Sure, he was a hero, and had a minor deft ability with a blade, but he was so normal with this lifestyle, that there was nothing special about him in a land of heroes and gods. Christine on the other hand, has never been normal. Never average, and never fully sane, even before she was a mutant-synthetic-thing. Nathan was just the thing for her...he was normal, calm, and the type of guy to stand in the 'middle' of a classroom and silently do his work. They are polar opposites in that aspect, and that seemed to be just perfect for her. It only took a few dates for them to move on a stronger relationship. Though they don't consider themselves to particular be "dating", they have become very close friends, and even begun to work with one another out on the field.
At the moment, Christine is probably spending time with her friends, and bartending on early days for a couple hours at a time. She's getting to know this new guy, and is working toward being a worthy Aunt for Agenla's oncoming baby.
- Where did Christine go all those times when she disappeared?
For the times that she can actually remember, she unwillingly left to Greece. An aspect of her mind held a rather powerful glitch, and her
subconscious assumed that Greece was her home--Christine can only assume that her mind got that thought from spending so much time with Agenla. The other times? She can't even remember. She just blacks out randomly, and disappears.
- What is she, exactly?
Exactly? She's a human, a synthetic, a cybernetic, and was someone altered by a Nymph's-Oak, giving her aspects of a Tree Nymph. Greece isn't a nice place,
apparently.
- Is that why she lost her memories?
Precisely.
- Why can't she accept painful emotions?
It's a well-known wiring issue in her brain that she refuses to mend. She doesn't see the point to giving in to sorrow or fury.
- What's the deal with what happened with Geiger?
A long story that she is telling me not to say, for fear of her burning my face off.
- Here's a question. Has she lost her V-Card?
...Who thought up these questions?
- You did.
Oh. Right.
- Aggie - This is a woman that Christine considers her closest, and dearest friend. Aggie was one of the very first friends that Christine gained in Paragon, and they seemed to hit it off instantly. Every aspect of Agenla is wonderful to Christine - her personality, her lifestyle, her looks, and that sisterly way she talks to the giant Scottswoman. Whenever Agenla is around, Christine seems to grow upbeat, and even a bit immature. It's as if she knows that Agenla must be her older sister. Oh, and, there's the baby thing. Christine can't wait to see that damn baby.
"She's the most lovely, wonderful, and just all 'round best woman I've ever met. I love her like a true sister!" - Christine.
- Xrell - Originally, Christine viewed him only as Agenla's lover. He could be funny when he wanted, but tended to be cold and unresponsive to Christine. It didn't take long, however, for the two to become as close as Xrell could to the girl - which means they're pretty good friends, to say the least.
"This man is perverted, cranky, shrewd, and a real pain in the tuckus. But I love that about him. He's a lot like that cousin that stands in the background
and says curse words at you. It's like his way of saying he tolerates you!" - Christine
- Geiger - Christine's first friend, and first love-interest of Paragon. He was crude and goofy, but wonderfully protective of Christine, and treated her like his own blood. If it wasn't for him, she wouldn't be the way is she today--and that's a good thing.
"Oh, Geiger...I miss that jackass." - Christine.
- Alan - Alan was the first male to see her as a sister. He seemed to consider her something to protect, and a girl to call his family from the very first conversation they had. He has protected her, annoyed her, helped her through the bad times, and always been there with a sarcastic word, and a smile, for the good.
"Alan...what can I say? He's my brother--plain and simple. Life wouldn't be the same without him to bug me. And vice versa." - Christine.
- Wolf - It took a bit of time for Christine to break the impemetrable shell that is Wolf Havoc, but she managed it. She caught his interest from the beginning - being as wild and precocious as she is, but he seemed wary about becomming her friend. Once they had, however, he was one of the friends that she loved to half long talks with - one of the few people she could speak with honestly, and seriously. She held a torch for the man for a long time...actually...damn near since the beginning. It wasn't until she disappeared again, and he himself moved on, that she had to let those feelings go.
"Wolf...that old bastard is a great guy. He's my Official-Unnofficial bodyguard, my father-slash-older-brother figure, and one of my best friends! I can't
have a normal day without crawling up on his shoulders and feeling like a little kid. It makes every day the best darn day, ever." - Christine.
- Nams - Naomi was at first, just a friend of a friend, but as time passed, the two grew fairly close. Christine loved to hug the woman--and the woman loved to embarrass Christine with some extreme sexual innuendos. They have never been as serious with one another as she can be with most of her other friends, but that hasn't hindered their friendship at all. Hell, Naomi was even willing to have Christine be a Bride's Maid for a time.
"Nams is...a pervert, plain and simple. And I wouldn't have it any other way." - Christine.
- Reppu - Christine and Reppu hit it off right at the start. Both were wacky, wild, and somewhat insane--which made for a good friendship. Reppu was the one that helped Christine to realize her past, and tear her away from an abusive hacker; ever since then, Christine has had a strange crush for the android, and seems to take her advice seriously. Though she's never been as close as the others are to her, Christine makes a point to call Reppu her "family", and keep her close as a friend.
"Ahh, Reppu...what can I say? She's a nut, and I love her." - Christine.
- John - Christine's older brother. Been there since her birth, and always by her side. John is a soft, gentle man, with a personality that almost completely replicates Christine's--he practically raised her himself, after all. Always a source for inspiration, affection, and true love, he is the closest person to the girl.
"I love my older brother...always have, always will. He may not be a mutie like me, but he gets around decently. Needs me to protect him though--the dork."
- Christine.
"Everyone else has these things--so why can't I? Let me have it, guys!" - Christine.
((Place any comments you care to, if you know Christine. She's very curious))
((More to come, soon enough! As her story continues, so shall this Page! Oh and edits. It needs a LOT of edits...so...I'll get to that eventually. There's a problem with the comments that Christine left that I'm working to fix...we'll see what I can do.)) - User:Forever Skeptical
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?
 |
