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Current: None (Previous: Miss Liberty, Good Bess, Everyman) |
Real Name: Elizabeth Adams |
Age: Apparent: Varies |
Identity: Secret |
Birthplace: Unknown |
Date of Birth: Unknown |
Known Relatives: Unknown |
Height: Varies |
Weight: Varies |
Eyes: Varies |
Hair: Varies |
Grade: Freshman |
Dorm: Chord |
Background
My first memories are fragmented. A whole lot of pain, a stubborn refusal to talk, even more pain, throwing up, screaming, blackness, then something was probably a hospital ER. When I woke up in the hospital, I knew it was a hospital, but I had no idea who I was. There were repeated interviews with cops, FBI agents, agents from a carefully unnamed government agency, and finally two separate telepaths. None of them could waken any memories in me. I knew what things were, how to use them. I could tell you how to get around most major East Coast cities, except, for some reason, Miami. But I didn't know what I knew, until someone asked or I had to use the knowledge somehow.
The telepaths convinced them I wasn't faking, and that's when I finally got the story. It seems that I had called in a report of powered terrorists building bombs in a warehouse to a number no sixteen year old had any business knowing. From a disposable, prepaid cellphone that had been bought with cash. My prints were the only one on the phone, my voice matched the recording. A powered strike force had arrived in time to see the leaders vanishing through a portal leaving behind the bombs, a bunch of low ranked goons, and a teenage girl tied up and beaten nearly to death. Me.
By the time I was able to walk around the hospital room, they had decided I wasn't a suspect. One of the cops brought me the purse they had found with me at the warehouse. Fingerprints had proven it was mine… but it was nearly as much of a cipher as I was. Popular brand of purse, millions of them sold this spring. MP3 player, cinnamon gum, a popular romance novel in paperback, tickets stubs from a recent movie, a keyring with multiple keys, and a wallet. Opening the wallet revealed a transit pass, no id, about two hundred bucks in assorted bills, and an American Express Centurion Card. I turned the card over in my hand slowly, staring at it. AmEx Black cards are thicker than normal, made from annonized Titanium. There was no name on it.
The cop noticed my attention on it, and said that American Express wouldn't tell them who the card belonged to without a warrant, and a judge wouldn't issue a warrant since I wasn't a suspect. Somehow I knew that wouldn't have slowed down some of the government agents I had spoken with… and this didn't bother me. I picked up the hospital phone and dialed the number on the back, the cop prattling on how that it wouldn't do any good. But I wasn't calling accounting, I was calling the concierge service. When they answered I gave them my account number, that I needed a complete set of clothing and the sizes, and asked for my lawyer to be sent.
Forty minutes later a lawyer turns up with a shopping bag. When I explained my situation, he took it rather calmly and told me my name was Elizabeth Adams. By the time I finished showering and changing into the street clothing he had me released from the hospital and from police protective custody. Things were moving fast enough to be scary.
After the hospital he drove me to an expensive brownstone. One of the keys on my keychain fit the front door lock, and he knew the alarm code. Inside he took me to a home office and unlocked a safe. There was a pile of manilla envelopes there, and he removed one which was labeled 'Amnesia', opening that, he removed two more envelopes, opening the one that read 'female'. Inside that, he removed 4 more envelopes, opening the one that read 'teen' and handed the contents to me, putting everything else back in the safe.
It was a serious strain for me to hold things together by now. The letter inside was from… me. My name was Elizabeth Abagail Adams, and I was a shapeshifter. I had a large fortune, which the law firm of Howard, Kohn, Sprague & FitzGerald would oversee for me. I had spent a great deal of my life in government service, and as a result records for me would be nonexistent. That sent a shiver through me, followed by a surge of pride. Somehow I knew that governments were better at creating paper trails than destroying them. And if records on me were that hard to find… well, what I had been doing for the government had to be important. However, suffering from amnesia, there was no chance of me going back to my old job and life. Apparently this had happened to me before, and it might take a decade or so for my memory to come back. A decade! How old was I?If my memory did not return in a few weeks, I was to enroll in the Steranko Institute.
There were some other things in the envelope. More normal credit cards and such. Lists of properties and instructions ranging from how to work the alarm systems to never travel to Berlin as a red head. I didn't pretend to understand half of it, I just memorized it. So here I am, enrolling in Steranko. Oddly enough, I'm really looking forward to it and I can't explain why.
Personality
Beth is cheerful, courteous, and friendly. She's also the text book definition of a patriot. The words 'your country needs you' stir something in her that will not be denied. She's not a fool, she will make sure she has proper authorization for whatever she's about to leap into, but personal danger is meaningless next to the call of duty.
Logs
Links to logs the character is in here.
Attributes
STR 10 (+0) DEX 14 (+2) CON 16 (+3) INT 14 (+2) WIS 16 (+3) CHA 16 (+3)
Saves
Toughness 8 (CON, 5 Defensive Roll), Fortitude +5 (CON, +2), Reflex +5 (DEX, +3; +10 vs AoE), Will +8 (WIS, +5)
Combat
Attack 2, +8 Melee, +8 Throwing; Defense 18 (2 Base, +6 dodge focus); Grapple +8; Initiative +2 (DEX)
Skills
Acrobatics 5/+7, Bluff 7/+10 (+14), Disable Device 5/+7, Disguise 5/+8 (+28), Gather Information 5/+8, Knowledge: Current Events 3/+5, Knowledge: History 3/+5, Knowledge: Pop Culture 1/+3, Knowledge: Streetwise 3/+5, Language 3 (English; French, German, Russian), Notice 5/+8, Search 5/+7, Sense Motive 8/+10, Stealth 5/+7, Survival 5/+8
Feats
Ambidexterity, Athletic Versatility, Attack Focus/Melee 6, Attack Specialization/Throwing 3, Attractive, Beginner's Luck, Benefit 3 (Enigma), Defensive Roll 5, Dodge Focus 6, Elusive Target, Evasion, Luck 3, Power Attack, Quick Change 2
Powers
Morph 4 (Humanoids Only, +20 Disguise; Extras: Continuous; Flaws: Action - Full; Power Feats: Precise; Cost 1/Rank+1, Total: 5pp) Note: With Precise on a successful Disguise roll she can mimic a person to the point where fingerprints, blood tests, even DNA analysis will insist that she is that person.
Regeneration 8 (Bruised 1 & Unconscious 1/1 rnd, Injured 1 & Staggered 1/20 min, Disabled 1 & Ability Damage 1/5 hours, Resurrection 2/1 day (Not if decapitated); Power Feats: Persistant, Regrowth; Cost: 1/Rank+2, Total: 9PP)
Immunity 3 (Aging, Disease, Poison; Cost: 1/Rank, Total: 3pp)
Strike 8 (Morphing/Advanced Combat Training; Feats: Alternate Power; Cost: 1/Rank+1, Total: 9pp)
Drawbacks
Weakness (Antibiotics; Uncommon, Major, Drains CON; -3PP)
Attributes 26 + Combat 8 + Saves 10 + Feats 35 + Skills 17 (68 Ranks) + Powers 27 - Drawbacks 3 = 120PP |
Complications
Amnesia: Elizabeth doesn't remember her life before the Incident, as she thinks of it. And she doesn't realize just how much time she isn't remembering. She has made many enemies over the years, and they do remember her.
Patriot: Elizabeth is a patriot, dedicated to the United States. If her country needs her, she will go, without any thought to personal risk.
Magical Aura: Elizabeth has an aura of magic about her, one that ties her in with the United States. Anyone with magical sight will be able to spot her. And for someone wanting to cast a spell affecting the whole of the country, Elizabeth is possible the best focus they could hope to find outside an original copy of the US Constitution.
The following information has been currently forgotten by Elizabeth, and is provided for GM purposes only.
Elizabeth Abigail Adams was born in 1758 to a modestly comfortable Massachusetts family, the youngest daughter of a Congregationalist minister. Educated better than many young men of her era, she wrote anonymously against British oppression and in defense of human liberties. Some of her works were erroneously attributed to her cousins Samuel Adams or John Adams, an error which she never tried to correct. A staunch patriot became acquainted with many of America's founding fathers. A tall woman with dark blonde hair, light grey eyes, and strong, handsome features she refused several offers for her hand, vowing not to wed while America labored under the British yoke. This vow made her only more popular with a certain set of patriots. While women were not allowed to join the Freemasons during this time period, Elizabeth took part in many Freemason rituals, playing the role of America or Lady Liberty in rites designed to liberate and strengthen the new nation. With the outbreak of war in 1775, she added a new role to play, that of spy against the British.
By the time the Treaty of Paris was signed in 1783, it was obvious that something had changed Elizabeth. Or perhaps more accurately, that she had failed to change not aging a day during all that time. This lead to a new set of concerns and inquires, all of which were carefully kept secret. It was decided that the rituals she had take part in were to blame, and concerns were raised. After all, she had played the role of America in some of those rituals. If she was to marry, which was a ritual of its own, would her husband gain influence over America? If she travelled abroad and was captured, would liberty be curtailed?
A compromise was reached. Elizabeth agreed not to marry, and was given a salary. A modest residence would be provided in each state, and she would move between them, changing locations every five years. By the time she returned to the first residence, 65 years have passed, and no one would connect the 'old' Elizabeth with the new. If needed, the government would provide new identities for her. Twenty years passed before Elizabeth realized that she had changed, more than simply not aging. When she had belongings from one of her previous homes shipped to her, she was startled by the sight of an old portrait. Her hair in the portrait was darker, and the chin stronger than what she saw in the mirror each morning. Grabbing a hand mirror, she watched as her appearance shifted to match that of the portrait. And, with some concentration, shifted back again.
Working with the law firm of Perkins & Perkins in Connecticut, she carefully invested and secured her properties. Then, sometime after the war of 1812, she vanished from the Freemasons' care.
She continued to surface during various conflicts, acting as a spy in the Mexican-American war, a conductor on the Underground Railroad and then later as a Union spy. Her first overseas action as a spy was during the Spanish American war, and as her absence from the country seemed to have no effect on America, she put aside the idea that the Freemason rites had bound America somehow to her, though she was still bound by her patriotism to America. The government as a whole had lost track of her, though Army Intelligence still kept a file on 'Good Bess'.
The dawning of the new millenia saw an age of adventurers, and 'Good Bess' was one of them. As the description of her varied from tale to tale, however, the general public thought her a piece of fiction. She returned to spy work during World War I, vanishing again from public record afterwards, to resurface during World War II. Not content with mere spywork this time she was one of several women (or perhaps several of them) to fight as 'Lady Liberty' in the conflicts of the day. During the course of the war, her orders shifted from coming from Army Intelligence, to the OSS, and after the war to the newly formed CIA.
In the 60s she was again a hero as the shapeshifting Everyman, and was not called up by the CIA for service in either Korea or Vietnam. A shapeshifter who changed not only appearance, but gender and sexual orientation may have been a bit much for the CIA of the time to accept. By the Eighties this had changed, however, and Elizabeth Adams was a spy during the height of the cold war.