Name: Kayla "Valkyrie" Bennett
Age: 22
Gender: Female
Appearance: Kayla's appearance can best be described as angelic - as in, a mix of the modern depictions and the unsettling Biblical ones. Her most notable features are her three wings of various sizes, growing haphazardly from scarred points on her back. Her arms and legs also bear several scars, from training to use her most powerful form.
As well as causing this obvious mutation, the bonding changed her hair from brown to white and her eyes from hazel to gold, both of which contrast with her tanned skin.
When on duty, she keeps her hair tied back for practical reasons. She wears shorts, and backless short sleeved or sleeveless tops, in order to use her transformation ability more easily.
Personality: Despite the state of the world - or rather, as a defense mechanism against it - Kayla maintains a jovial attitude. Someone has to bolster the spirits of fellow survivors. She likes to play harmless pranks, and make jokes, although her humour can border on the dark.
While slow to trust strangers, she views her friends like family. She doesn't want to grow close to others, having lost many loved ones in the past, but she can't help it. She's incredibly loyal and protective - sometimes violently so.
Abilities/Powers: Through her wings, Kayla can channel power over air, creating strong gusts of it, or compressing it into shields and launchable blades. While she can't fly as such in the same way a bird does, she can use her power to launch herself into the air, and slow her falling.
In a pinch, she can make her wings grow up to twice their base size to boost her power, and sprout temporary ones on her arms and legs, although this causes bleeding and significant pain. She only does this as a last resort, or when in a protectiveness-fuelled frenzy.
If a wing is cut off, it will grow back over the course of around two weeks, although she doesn't yet know this.
Weaknesses/Vulnerabilities: As previously mentioned, she damages her body by using her full power, to an extent that may be fatal is said form is maintained for too long. In addition, injury to her wings weakens her ability to manipulate air.
A non power-related weakness is her extreme protectiveness. Paranoid about losing loved ones, she snaps a little if she thinks someone is in danger, even if the threat is more minor than she thinks. She does everything she can to protect them, losing all sense of reason.
Specialized Equipment: Since going all out injures her, she carries around a medical kit at all times. She also has a pocket knife she kept on her while travelling to Respite City.
Biography: Kayla grew up in one of North America's smaller settlements, along with her twin sister Kara, who was referred to as the older sister due to having been born a minute earlier. Said settlement, the ironically named Bastion, struggled to hold out. It was when Kayla and Kara were 16 that the city fell, leaving only scattered groups of survivors.
The Guardian leading the group the twins ended up in led them towards America's largest stronghold, Respite City. It was a long and perilous journey, with everyone having to watch each other's backs. Not just for abominations, but scavengers looking to fight over resources. Despite not being a Guardian herself, Kara did what she could to protect Kayla.
It was when they were nearing Respite City that an abomination struck. The guardian, Alistair, used his chitinous armour and spikes to defend the group, but perished in the struggle. Fortunately, he bought the others time to reach the city, and the battle drew the attention of other Guardians who managed to defeat the abomination.
The twins spent the next few years living as normally as they could, but were plagued with fears of the haven they'd found falling as Bastion had. Between this and her respect for Alistair, someone she'd grown to see as a father figure throughout their journey, Kayla volunteered to become a Guardian herself. Kara tried to talk her out of it, but Kayla, who'd always been the most idealistic one, was adamant. So, Kara decided to undergo the bonding process along with her.
The bonding was excruciating. For a time, it seemed almost certain neither would survive. However, one did - Kayla, albeit a little broken from her sister's fate and the respite's side effects. Under the soldier name Valkyrie, she now prepares to fight to defend the city and her remaining loved ones.
Fun Facts: In denial about her sister's death, Kayla hallucinates that Kara's still there, and never went through the bonding process. She talks to her, and is confused as to why others can't see her.