This lil bae has been approved already, but thought I'd post her here, too :) Thought we needed someone a little bit... mean. So many cinnamon rolls ;)Avery Hillcrest
"When one burns one's bridges, what a very nice fire it makes."
- Dylan ThomasDossier
Name:Avery Hillcrest
Alias:None.
Codename:Blaze
Gender:Female
Age:22
Ethnicity:Caucasian
Place of Origin:New York, United States of America
Sexuality:HeterosexualAbility Profile
Powers:Spontaneous combustion: Subject can cause objects to suddenly burst into flame. Underdeveloped ability - current range of roughly 2m (radius). Should increase with practice. Requires no movement - only thought. Noted that emotion can cause spontaneous combustion, and has occurred during nightmares (treat subject with caution). Fire can be put out by subject, but in this case, subject is often too distraught or does not notice if asleep.
Pyrokinesis: Subject can create fire on their body (usually hands) and manipulate it in the air. It can be thrown (control is lost after 10m radius - again, may be developed further) and used to set fire to objects or people. Requires movement of the subject's body. She is also immune to fire.
Skills of Note:- Dirty fighting. She's not skilled - she wasn't exactly fighting secret agents - but she knows how to use her environment to her advantage. It was basically self taught.
- Persistence - Avery is incredibly stubborn and unrelenting. If someone hits her, she'll hit them back. In the midst of a fight, she'll ignore her injuries and submit to blind rage. It's dangerous for her, but can be useful if they're on the losing side.Psychological Profile
Mental Evaluation:Subject stumbled into the examination room with chin held high, jaw tight and aggression in her eyes as she regained her balance to walk to the unoccupied chair. It appeared that she'd been in a small altercation with one of the agents outside before entering. She took a seat with a soft huff, looking across at the window before going back to me with an angry stare, breathing heavily. I could tell already that the subject was simmering, although she was not taking it out on me yet.
Questions asked to her were first answered in a strained tone, before her words started becoming sharp. She wasn't directly angry with me, although there were certainly some biting remarks and scathing stares. The subject seemed angry with the world in general, and especially with herself. Her hands formed into fists, shoulders tensing and eyes darting around the room for escape routes as we progressed.
When I touched upon her history with gang members, she seemed to become particularly incensed. My notes on the subject quickly bursted into flame. Her expression revealed her to be more scared than I when agents rushed in to douse the fire - before it was quickly covered up by aggression toward the agents. She noticeably flinched when one came too close, then started becoming hostile. I had to quickly send the agents out before anything arose.
Avery suffers from anxiety that she deals with by using anger - as opposed to 'flight,' she uses 'fight,' as her coping mechanism. At the mention of prescribing medication, she straightened with a set jaw and stared me down for a full minute before denying that there was anything wrong with her. I suspect that she may also experience panic attacks and sleeping issues, although she was extremely evasive on this subject. I could see that her pride would not allow her to take medication, but I will be prescribing medication to be made available to her in case she decides that she needs it.
Physical Evaluation:Avery stands at 5,7" and around 125 pounds. She's very slim with strong arms and legs - fighting and running for your life will do that to you. She holds herself uncomfortably stiffly when angered, and always seems very aware of her surroundings - as if she never feels safe.
She's a pretty girl despite the often-hostile expression she has on her features, with high cheekbones and thin, arched eyebrows. Her eyes are large and green, and often accentuated by black eyeliner - to distract from the tired black circles that sometimes hang beneath them. She seems to have a habit of opening her eyes wider than a usual person would, to better express what she is saying or doing. Her hair is a medium brown that goes to slightly beneath her shoulders, usually in soft waves or pinned back. Avery's jawline is strong and angular, often set in tense restraint.Biography:Avery grew up in a bad part of New York City, with two parents who were forever arguing and a far younger brother, David. She and her sibling had a six year age gap, but were as thick as thieves. She often found herself caring for him, as her mother and father were often out of the old apartment or high or drunk. She was a defensive child at school, trying to keep up socially with little money or know-how while caring for David - but extremely selfless and caring toward him.
Life continued on as 'normal,' for the next 12 years, and occasionally Child Services checked in on them. They were never deemed a bad enough case to be taken away, and besides - Avery didn't want to leave her little brother behind. However, she was becoming anxious and overwhelmed by the responsibility that had been laden onto her shoulders. Sleeping problems and migraines started manifesting, and at age 17, her powers came into being. It started as her special secret, the way that she could light her candle at night. It progressed to more, although she always got scared and quit before it got out of hand.
Unfortunately, she had a terrible nightmare at age 18 that resulted in sleep paralysis. While the nightmare had been going on, her curtains had spontaneously combusted. As she became more and more afraid, other things started catching alight. When sleep paralysis ensued, she could but watch as fire crackled around her room, sneaking on the carpet and into the rest of the house. Smoke swept through it. When she could finally move, her clothes burnt from her body as she ran to try to save her parents and brother. They were asphyxiated.
The firemen rescued her, at a complete loss as to how she survived, and clothed her in a blanket as she sat in the back of the truck. Avery cried. She sobbed as the blaze simmered down, as they brought out the burnt bodies of her family, as the one fireman tried to get any sense out of her, as her tears ran out and all that was left was shaking shoulders and panicked breath. They left her alone, for just a moment, before what appeared to be a police officer approached her, asking that she come with them to make a report (or something like that - she couldn't remember anymore). Next thing she knew, she was bundled into the back of a car and something strong smelling was pressed to her mouth and nose.
Long story short, her father had been involved with an extremely powerful druglord. They'd taken her as a sort of 'payment.' On her first night, she was drugged and raped. In her semi-conscious, confused, disoriented and terrified state, she set the filthy bedding alight and burned the man violating her. The big boss realised the power he held in his hands, and set her out to lure in other debt owers by posing as a prostitute that killed them in dark alleys. They never dared touch her again.
Those months were long and hard and difficult. She developed severe anxiety, and experienced panic attacks - but she hid her suffering with anger. Avery grew a coping mechanism of anger and resentment in order to not go mad, punching the concrete walls of her cell and screaming until her voice grew hoarse. The only thing to do, she eventually realised, was to escape. She formed a delicate escape plan, and... well. It worked.
That night was the longest night that she ever experienced. Avery ran. And ran. And ran. Her chest grew tight with a panic attack as she hid inside a convenience store, before she forced herself to run again. She was unfit for running, and so tired, and sore, but she moved until her legs fell out from underneath her and all that she could taste was blood in her throat. By some miracle, they didn't catch her that night, slumped behind a dumpster she'd crawled behind.
Avery never regained her freedom after that day. Scarred by her rape and treatment by the gang, she couldn't bear to be in closed spaces or close to any men for a long, long time. She came and went in womens' shelters, eventually growing more used to quieter men and closed quarters. Forever she was looking over her shoulder for someone to take her away, to grab her arm and throw her back in that small room. She was still angry, and became known as the woman to avoid in the shelters - occasionally starting fights, screaming and usually rude to others, even those with good intentions.
Avery still used her powers. They were useful for warming up at night, or for scaring would-be creepers away. She had been kicked out of a shelter for aggressive behaviour and it was cold, early January. Snow had fallen. Avery had been walking - what else could she do other than sit? - and it was a cold night. As sometimes happened, a man decided he'd taken a liking to her and started following her.
Bruce Banner also happened to be getting himself some groceries that fateful evening, when he spotted the man following the hunched shoulders of Avery, and turning a sharp left to follow her into an alleyway. Bruce, being the upstanding citizen that he was, immediately followed at a run. He expected to have to pull him off her - but, instead, saw her fending him off with a swirl of fire. Bruce stood there for a moment, a small expression of wonder on his face despite himself. He tried to talk to her afterwards, but she yelled something abusive before taking off.
Bruce made a point of encountering her throughout his daily routine a couple of times, and they established a small rapport. He would bring her something warm to drink or eat, and she would take it while looking at him with guarded, hostile eyes. Occasionally a biting remark would escape her, or she would flinch away if he moved too close or too quickly - but his kindness burrowed deep within her bruised and beaten heart. He quietly explained his own experience as they sat on benches, a good half metre between them, and she would listen. He, too, got angry. He, too, had done things he regretted. The space between them grew smaller. When he asked her if she would join the Academy, it took a couple of days for her to come around. But she did.
Maybe things didn't need to burn anymore.Extras
Likes:
- Bruce Banner
- Hot chocolate
- Warmth
- Having the upper hand
- Alcohol - it tends to lighten her up a little
Dislikes
- Bruised pride
- Loud, aggressive men - she's generally cautious of men all around, but these are the worst for her.
- Forced touch
- Close quarters (claustrophobic environments)
- Experiencing anxiety or panic attacks
Miscellaneous:She doesn't like her coping mechanism of anger and aggression; it's more of a necessity to avoid anxiety or panic attacks. Avery also doesn't trust easily, as a result of her history. She's still pretty angry at the world, although she's trying to be less hostile and jumpy.
:O oooh, guy and her have similar powers ^_^ they can both blow stuff up, they should practice together ;)
1x Laugh
