Vesper Fiend

[Vesper Fiend]

Demon, devil, and, most of all, freak; when you’re called something long enough you tend to believe it. Sometimes you become it. I was never what you would call “normal.” I really hate that word, “normal.” It’s as if I’m not deserving of the same consideration, as if I’m something less because I’m not “normal.” When I was younger, I thought they were right. I thought there was something wrong with me, and I used that as an excuse to get into more than my fair share of trouble.

I don’t need to tell you what it was like to be the only different one growing up in a group home full of normal kids. I’m sure you’ve heard it all before. I’m sure you’ve lived it in one way or another. You know how it can gnaw at you day after day to be different, the object of ridicule and derision. Some of you probably used it as an excuse to cause problems, like I did, and some of you were probably better than that. Those of you who grew up different know what it’s like. Those of you who lost family or friends because you’ve changed; I think you know it even better.

About a year ago, I was at the end of my rope. It was my last chance to clean up my act before I ended up doing something or finding myself someplace really bad. That’s when everything changed…

It was a cold, January day when the skinny, stick-figure, blond arrived. She was at least a year younger than I was, but she was already almost a foot taller. I don’t know what she was brought there for. She certainly didn’t fit in with the rest of the crowd. She was scrawny, but pretty, and she was a nice girl, the sort that everybody liked and took to instantly, even though she didn’t really try. She wouldn’t be there very long. Then she’d be off to go back to wherever she came from.

I was too used to being the outcast, to used to being the loner, to care about the new kid. I don’t know why, but that just made her more interested in me. She became my shadow. I couldn’t go anywhere without her. I couldn’t plan anything without her catching on. Before I met her, I could sneak out of the place at night and go wherever I wanted to try and cause a little mayhem. Instead, we’d only get as far as the lawn and lie outside looking up at the stars as she chattered the night away. She was the first real friend I ever had. I think maybe she was trying to save me from myself.

All of that ended in that awful fight five months later. I can close my eyes and see everything, hear every sound, smell every scent. I’ll never forget it. I’m not going to share the whole story. I’ll just say quite a few words were exchanged between me and one of the boys that day. I never did know when to keep my mouth shut back then. I took his prejudice and hatred and juiced it up pretty badly with a good dose of rage. He was known to be violent, and that night he and his boys tried to give me a beating I don’t think he intended for me to walk away from.

I’d never fought back before in my life, and it wasn’t any sense of justice that made me do it that time. It was vengeance and fury that made me strike them down. It was hatred for years of torment and for… well, for something else. When you’re called something long enough, you might just become it, and I figured I’d show them what a demon was really like. I had known about the shadow for as long as I could remember. Though I’d never used it to help me in a fight before, even in defense, I knew in that instant that I could. There were five of them and one of me. They didn’t have a chance. I fled before anyone else arrived and lingered near the broken window only long enough to hear that two of them might not survive. Then I ran, as fast and as far as I could. There’s not much I’m afraid of anymore, but I’m still afraid to find out what happened to those two boys.

At any rate, I’m sure we’ve all got things in our past we wish we could change. We’ve all got things we wish had happened differently, things we wish had never happened at all.

For a while, all I could do was run from that place. I don’t know how I got here, but every time I had to pick a road, every time I had a choice of a truck or a train to stow away on, the one heading this way somehow seemed to be the right choice.

It was in the back alleys of Paragon City that I figured I could help people. I rounded a corner one evening to find a handful of Skulls surrounding a young woman. I almost turned back around that corner, almost turned my back on her, almost hesitated too long like I did that night… Almost.

After she was safely on her way, I got to wondering if I hadn’t found some kind of purpose. After all, with the help of the shadow it seemed like I could fight up close and personal like nobody’s business. But then, why should I care? They didn’t deserve any help from me, did they? I wasn’t one of them. I was just a freak, right? Perched in a tree in Atlas Park at night, I was watching a few gang members wander about like they owned the place. As I stared at the towering statues of heroes across the way, a thought hit me so hard, it almost knocked me right out of that tree. For a moment, I couldn’t even breathe. If I ignored what I could do to help people, if I decided I didn’t give two shakes of what became of all of them, in a strange way, wouldn’t those people who called me all those awful things be right about me after all?

Now I take the fight to the thugs and criminals that would claim the streets of Paragon as their own. It’s just something I have to do, mostly because I can, because the “normal” people out there need me to… and because I owe it to Leslie.

I hooked up with some Freedom Corps guys and learned about organizations like GIFT and SERAPH and MAGI. The people at GIFT helped me find me some answers. They tell me I’m a mutant. Whether a genetic aberration or the result of some unknown experiment, who knows? They say I draw power from the Netherworld, too. I don’t know what that means exactly, but it sounds creepy.

The day they suggested I should be in school, I almost died laughing! It’d been years since anyone had tried sending me anywhere near a regular school. Then I met Kinetress, Amanda that is. At first, she didn’t strike me as the sort to be taking on street trash. Perfect skin, even perfect nails, but the one time we fought together, I found she was a good person to have by your side. I guess the whole school thing was on my mind that day and we got to talking about it. She told me all about Saint Joseph School, told me St. Joe’s was different. She said it was home to a number of “gifted” students, and I’d fit in there. When I talked to one of the counselors at GIFT, she said she’d heard of the school and thought it was great idea. She helped me apply and handled all the particulars for me. She even arranged a grant to cover the costs.

I suspect my first day was much like anyone else’s. There was the one woman army Gemini, the counselors Doc Conrads and Ms. Atwood, the coach, a few others, and, of course, the test. Once I got past all of that, I realized there were also people here who understood, people who didn’t judge me by the way I looked, or, overly much anyway, by my past. Since then, it’s been almost two months. I’m still trying to find my way around and still learning all the new faces, but it’s been a great place. I like it here. It’s the first place I’ve ever been where I feel like I belong, the first place I’ve ever been that feels like home. Well, I’m not so sure about that math class just yet…

I know I haven’t told many of you much about myself before today. I don’t much like talking about my past. What happened before doesn’t really seem to matter. The past is the past and there isn’t a thing we can do to change it. Maybe knowing something about it helps us understand each other better and maybe it doesn’t, but what’s important is what I do now and what I make of the future. I’ve got a new life here, and I’m going to try to make something of it.

And you know what? Since I’ve been in Paragon, I've got another name to add to the list... Hero. I still don’t get it. Just because of the punks I’ve fought off? It doesn’t really fit. It feels like clothes three sizes too large. Clumsy. Awkward. But when you’re called something long enough, you might start to believe it. And sometimes, maybe, if you’re lucky, you get the chance to become it.

OOC Update – January 2008

Vesper has found at Saint Joseph a way to turn her life completely around. She rarely talks in great detail about her past with anyone, preferring instead to focus on the future. She's gone from being a grade level behind in mathematics and computer skills to excelling in most subjects. History is a challenge for her. She'll occasionally joke that every important historical event happened in 1492, and she'd still rather try brute force on a computer than try to figure out why it does what it does. She's still particularly interested in literature and science, and will sometimes lament that she no longer has as much time as she used to for reading.

By all appearances, Vesper has come to accept the nature of her powers. She no longer talks about them with other students, and hasn't solicited advice about them from classmates in many months. In fact, she'll go out of the way to avoid the topic with all but a very few people, letting others operate on whatever assumption they come to, whether it is an unusual form of martial arts or super strength or even more unusual theories. She generally won't turn down an opening to patrol with friends or other students, though ostensibly, schoolwork has reduced her patrol time.

She's made many friends since coming to Saint Joseph, and found herself more welcomed at the school that she had dreamed. However, she's noticed changes in her friends, some recent, some not. Since the Rikti invasion, Ves has discovered a harder, more militant side of Sam, and the two have quarreled over the CVC and the sometimes seemingly reckless combat tactics employed by the young scrapper. Though she has not yet voiced it, she's become concerned about Portia and Bryan. It hasn't escaped her that Portia is sometimes volatile, and she's trying to hone in on what it is that sets her friend off. Bryan, whose jokes and antics Ves has credited with helping her learn to loosen up, seems to be more serious than he used to be, and though she still finds welcome refreshment when he cuts loose, she's beginning to feel it's not frequent enough. She was particularly dismayed to see the end to Bryan's on-the-field performances during the last football season. In addition, the lengthy times apart from her boyfriend Artie due to the demands his training place upon him are forcing Ves to question their relationship.

Ves hides other secrets beyond those regarding her past. Of late, she appears to be distracted. On very rare occasions, she can be seen mumbling to herself as she goes about campus, and she will often sit silently in a group and seem as if she might be elsewhere. She's never told anyone else the entire truth about what happened during the two weeks that she went missing during the second Rikti invasion, and she's told almost no one whether or not she has learned anything about her powers or simply abandoned the search.

[Vesper Fiend]

To: Arthur Winston III, Headmaster, Saint Joseph School
From: Jaynine McCrady, GIFT Counselor
CC: Dr. David Conrads, Ms. Valerie Atwood

Re: Student Application – Aleyne Kensington

Headmaster Winston,

You will find enclosed the application materials for Aleyne Kensington, as per our discussion. For some undisclosed reason, Aleyne rather adamantly prefers to use her chosen moniker instead of her legal name.

I believe Vesper, as I shall henceforth refer to her, is looking for a place where she will fit in, and the unique nature of your school and student base will suit her nicely.

Cordially,
Jaynine McCrady



General Information
Name: Aleyne Kensington
Alias: Vesper Fiend
Date of Birth: May 10th, 1991
Age: 15
Birthplace: Unknown

Origin of Powers: Genetic mutation
Nature of Powers: Vesper draws upon the Netherworld to produce both offensive and defensive effects that she uses in close quarters combat.

Physical Description: Vesper’s diminutive 4’7” form belies her age and apparent strength, sometimes causing potential opponents to underestimate her. Her gray skin and functional tail attest to her exceptional nature, but have been the focus of childhood teasing. She keeps her violet-red hair thick and long to hide her ears as best as possible.

Psychological Assessment: Often withdrawn, Vesper would prefer to remain in the periphery of a group than to draw attention to herself. Special effort may be needed to encourage her to interact with fellow students, though a craving for the friendship and personal relationships that were mostly absent in her childhood may draw her out. She is somewhat uncomfortable with the nature and strength of her powers, but seems to be adjusting rapidly. She quickly adapts to new situations, so she should handle any forthcoming advancements in her abilities as well as can be expected.

Educational Assessment: Vesper is highly intelligent and shows a keen interest in literature and science. However, there are deficiencies in her knowledge of history, social sciences, mathematics, and computer skills. Highly focused courses in mathematics and basic computer skills are recommended to bring her up to her expected grade level.

[Nox]

Hi V! Welcome to St. Joseph's School.

It looks like you have a lot on your mind. That talk we had about how our abilities seem so similar yet so different got me thinking too.

I'm looking forward to patrolling with you some time and seeing what the hubbub is about. Maybe there's a thing or two we can learn from each other.

Oh, and Math? If you want tutoring, I'll see if I can help. I've already tutored Sammy some. She actually picked up on it quickly; she just needed to get confident she was doing it right.

Later!

[Cryogene]

It was nice teaming with you against that... whatever it was. Take care, and maybe I'll see you around campus?

[Blitzen]

It was a Cracken, and we kicked it's tail!

Welcome to St. Joes, Ves, been great hitting the streets or the pool over in Fault with you.


I still hate math. Don't tell Nick.

[Cryogene]

A Kraken? Isn't that one of those things that chases Jack Sparrow in Pirates 2?

[Arthur Hadrian]

Like the giant primeval squid? I remember reading something about them dwelling in the real deep and dark places of the ocean..ya know where ancient evil is supposed to slumber and stuff? Wait....am I getting that right? Maybe Franky knows more. Little help?

Anyway, Look forward to seeing you around, Vesper!

[Mana Cannon]

It is a Kraken and No its not like the one in the movie...

Ermm HI Vesper!

[Vesper Fiend]

Thanks for the welcome, guys!

Nick, I think I'll take you up on that! Both in fact... I could really use some help with math.

Yeah, someone did call that thing a Kraken, but, uh, looks nothin' like I figure the one from mythology would look. What's with people stickin' names on somethin' that don't quite fit?

You like Pirates, Joni? I thought it was a good movie. Can't wait for the next one!

Lookin' forward to seein' all you guys around campus or on patrol. Catcha later!

[Kali Jade]

Kali checks the contents of the gift bag ,
A 20 ounce bottle of coke, a bag of pepper jack doritos , pretty pink heart shaped post -it notes , and a package with a purple gel pen are enclosed.
Smiling she Ties twisted ribbons of purple and pink on the handle of bag to close it and attaches a small card depicting butterflies and flowers ,

Inside reads,


Hi Vesper! Welcome to St Joes! Maybe we can catch up and chat or do a mish or something fun soon !
*huggles* Kali


She heads off to find Ves and give her the bag before class.

[Vesper Fiend]

"Oh, Kali! For me? You shouldn't have! Should I open this now?" Looks into the bag. "Pepper jack? That's one of my faves. How'd you guess?" Raises her eyebrows at the post-its and grins from ear to ear. "Thanks, Kali! Thanks, so much!"

[Kali Jade]

*giggles with delight *
I'm so glad you like it!
Chips FTW! I gotta go class is starting!

[Great Mongoose]

Kali checks the contents of the gift bag ,
A 20 ounce bottle of coke, a bag of pepper jack doritos , pretty pink heart shaped post -it notes , and a package with a purple gel pen are enclosed.
Smiling she Ties twisted ribbons of purple and pink on the handle of bag to close it and attaches a small card depicting butterflies and flowers.

[Woah wait... Nate never got anythin'... Or is it female only-like... Eh well whatever...]

*/e bigwave* Hey Ves!

[Blitzen]

(That's because of the hat, Nate.)

[Jimbari]

Grr a Krrraken?? Herrre?? *looks hungry* Hrrrmmm....
Oh grrr Hello Vesperrr *walks off listing food preperations*