Standing at 5'4", Hannah is shorter than most of her peers and with a slender frame. She has waist length strawberry blonde hair, normally kept out of her face and tied in a loose bun, it has a natural curl but occasionally she will wear it poker straight. After the incident, she was left with yellow eyes like that of a snake, with a slit for an iris. She is incredibly self-conscious of it, and so continues to wear hazel coloured contacts - even if they do start to irritate her after a while. She would rather the discomfort than feel that she looks like a monster to people.
Hannah will almost always wear gloves - she is terrified of poisoning someone fatally with her touch.
Her 'Toxin' outfit is a simple black bodysuit with boots, gloves, and an eye mask. She modelled her outfit on Catwoman's, opting for simplicity. That said, she didn't leave it entirely unfashionable - when light strikes it in a certain way, you can see a snake-like scale pattern covering it.
Tell me about yourself, Miss Russell.Well, I once was a normal girl, living a normal life. I was on the path to success - my Bachelors and Masters in Advanced Chemistry under my belt, and only a few semesters away from my PhD. I had worked my way through an Internship at Wayne Enterprises too - developing non-lethal chemical weapons, and certain upgrades for a lot of the equipment used by the Justice League. A lot of it was top secret you know?
This sounds exciting for someone so young.Of course! I was using my brain to benefit my Heroes... People like Diana Prince, and Barbara Gordon. The Justice League. I suppose it wasn't really a normal life after all, now that I think of it. It was a scary time, with the Legion an ever-present threat. There was always a reason to make
more and to do
better.
Do you ever feel like you put too much into your work, Hannah?In a way. I worked hard - I wanted to prove myself, and to be honest being in those labs all day was exhilarating. I didn't want to be anywhere else. At just 25 I was creating the most magical, impossible things. I stayed at the lab 'til all hours of the night. On more than one occasion I fell asleep there...
That can't have been healthy...It wasn't, you're right. I never really saw my family anymore. I... I didn't see my younger brother, Adam, a lot. I think things were hard for him.
When did you last see your family?On my Father's birthday. But Adam didn't show. My Mother explained that he had fallen in with a tough crowd and she was worried about him and so I took off to find him.
That seems like a drastic measure to take, no?Gotham at night, is still a scary place. I shouldn't have gone alone. I should have called someone to tell them where I was, but it was family, and I felt so guilty. He had reached out to me a few times for avice but I'd been so busy working. My baby brother was in trouble with some low life Gotham thugs... Maybe I could help him. I had with me a prototype I'd been working on, it was a capsule but I wasn't sure the formula was right.
Sounds like that shouldn't have been on your person - you said it was top secret work...I
shouldn't have had it. I know I shouldn't. It should never have left the lab, I just... I couldn't stand leaving work for one night to see my family. I had been planning to test it at my home lab that night... I never made it home. The fusion saved my life though - and also ruined it.
Do you remember what happened?I remember driving around Gotham, it was so grey and it was heavily raining. I remember that. It was that wind that seems to be completely horizontal. I eventually found Adam, he was heading into some seedy looking club with some scary looking guys.
You said he'd been in trouble with Gotham Thugs?I could see that he didn't want to go in there. I knew that I could help him - I could be like my Heroes, like Wonder Woman or Batgirl. I could help him, with the prototype I could
save him.
A reckless decision, wasn't it?In a way...
So I headed downstairs after him, I just... I remember hearing arguing and then I heard a gunshot. They shot my brother, I knew it. Something came over me, I rushed in. I shouldn't have rushed in. I thought that if I broke the capsule the gas would take them down, I could use it and it would put them out for a while.
But you didn't want to kill them?Goodness no! I wanted to save Adam, and then I would contact the police!
So what happened after that?They jumped me first. It was all a blur, it was a big blur. I just remember the smell of incense in the room, cigars, and whisky. How it hurt when they twisted my arms behind my back. They didn't touch my purse but they spoke for a while. I wasn't listening, I was looking at Adam. I couldn't see him breathing. "Give the wench a scare, show her the babies..." That's what I heard. I heard him say it, I swear I did...
They dragged me out to the back. I did try to fight but they were too strong, and so they dragged me to a room with a tank. It was full of snakes.
How did it make you feel to see them?Terrified. I don't know why he had so many. But... stranger things have happened in Gotham.
So then what happened, why did they attack you?I can still hear the hissing. It was so loud, and they were all leaning up to me from in the tank. Desperate to get out. I think they were only trying to scare me. It was an accident, I think... The thugs threw me in the room and I fell on the tank somehow before they locked the door... The first one bit quickly. I could feel the heat of it's venom. It started stinging throughout my whole body - but then something else happened. I could smell the gas from the prototype... I must have smashed it when I landed see. It was just a chemical smoke, it was meant to stun people it reached but maybe the formula was all wrong. Like I said, I
shouldn't have had it. But those chemicals mixed with the venom and something happened... When I came to, they were gone. The snakes were around me. I counted 5, they were huddled beside me - I don't know, almost like they were comforting me? But the thugs were gone... They just left me there. Maybe they thought I had died.
They had taken Adam's body too...
How did you feel when you left?I came out of that room wrong. A monster.
It's been two years since it happened, how do you feel now?Better. I feel like... Like I can help people. For a long time I felt like I was bad - that I was a monster and a killer and I did everything I could do get rid of this mutation. I was depressed, I shut myself away in my lab at Wayne and turned into a recluse. All I wanted to do was be myself - the old Hannah. I eventually was able to tone it down - the venom, and started to get my life back. I'm not as scared to be around people now. I mean I even have some friends here! Since joining the Justice League properly, I feel like I can make a difference.
And is that what you want? To make a difference?More than anything. I want the world to be good, and whatever I can do to make that happen - I will do it.
Do believe in fate, Miss Russell?In a way, yes I do. This curse... It had to be me. Someone else might have made something terrible from it. My brain, and this curse. I can really help people now.
_________________________
After the incident, Hannah returned to Wayne Enterprises where she was immediately treated but the damage could not be undone. She was generating her own venom, her appearance began to change, and she gained heightened senses. Stabilised, she remained in the labs at Wayne Enterprises. Ashamed and suffering from severe self-consciousness. She would wear coloured contacts to mask her now snake-like eyes, and would wear gloves and full length clothing constantly - for fear that her touch would be fatal to someone.
She worked day and night, eventually developing a serum that slowed down her venom generation to a point where it could be controlled. She even extracted her own venom and began to use it in development of weapons for Wayne Enterprises. Slowly over time, she came to terms with herself again. Swearing to use her powers for good, swearing that she would never use them to purposefully hurt someone.
Once a lively, and spirited young woman, she is now much more reserved - for fear that she will get too close to anyone. She has a strong sense of right and wrong, and will always act in what she feels is the in the best interest for true justice. She heard the names whispered, she knew that they called her 'Snake Eyes' and 'Doubles', 'Poison', 'Dangerous'...
It wasn't until the day that she finally met her hero, Barbara Gordon that she took up the moniker of 'Toxin' and joined the Justice League. It was Barbara who convinced her with words of good advice, and by transferring her infectious spirit in some way to Hannah.
Barbara told her to take her fears and turn them into her strength to fight for
good. She was told to use what people said about her in the shadows and cast light on it - wear it as her armour. Now, in 2052, she supports the League on missions with he stealth and ability to scope out environments, to debilitate enemies, and to create unique weapons for her fellow colleagues, to push back the rising darkness cast by the Legion...
ButtsnBalls,
Festive,
Lord Wraith,
Roman,
Spoopy Scary,
BlazingBark,
Skai,
Lemons,
Nemaisare,
ColdAtlas
