Author Games Compilation [Cycle 2]

Ladybird [Character Form]

Author Games: The Earth Unwary

Synopsis: The raven is to be respected. Never trusted.

Alias: Ladybird or Coccinella, also "Serafina" to Italian locals

Name: While she was never explicitly named, she's chosen Salina Corso for legal purposes.

Age: 19

Gender: She identifies as female, but she is able to shift fluidly between whatever she so pleases - literally.

Division: Reconnaissance and Intelligence

Time with SHADR: Six months; still in training

Citizenship: Italian (she's been told she comes from an island off the coast of Italy)

Education: Her education has been scattered, picked up here and there from various day-to-day encounters, and relies mostly on the experience of surviving alone. It has, however, picked up since her time with SHADR began. She's been firing through the basics at an impressive pace and shows promise with language and environmental sciences.

Appearance: If you were to ask Ladybird what she thought of her appearance, she would not respond in a positive manner. Therefore, we're not going to ask Ladybird what she thinks: let's stick to the facts. She's not your conventional, overly attractive run-of-the-mill hero, if a hero at all; she is built not of flesh and blood, but of obsidian and magma. Her skin, at a good time, is hardened and grey, and may serve as a type of cracked armor. Naturally, she has to move continually in order to keep from stiffening up to the point of no return, but there's also a bad time, where hardening up isn't so much the issue, but staying together is. At these times, her skin takes on the slow-burn qualities of magma, everything drooping and melting and shifting, veins running along with red-hot glow. Thankfully, this is maintained on its own for the most part through a system of circulation that even the top scientists at SHADR haven't learned the complexities of yet, but there's plenty of time. Aside from those details, she tends to stand at a height of 5'2", although this may fluctuate by an inch or two depending on the distribution of her, well, everything, and she is quite small in build. Child-like, almost. Her face takes on feminine features when she so pleases, and she prefers these to be sharp and convenient. Still, being this way comes with its insecurities: she dislikes the fact that she can't grow hair (as it continues to singe off), her eyes tend to freak people out (black irises, but let's just say the whites of her eyes look like they're filled with blood at times and that's not a pleasant sight), and everyone regards her with either extreme caution or extreme attention (like we said, she's not your run-of-the-mill employee).

Personality: Unapproachable. Salina here has just recently started becoming accustomed to the society of others, and frankly, she doesn't enjoy the company, or the cues she continuously fails to pick up on, or the words she sometimes doesn't understand. Maybe she's just unable to connect, or maybe she's shy, there's really no way for her to tell. What is fully known is that she carries herself quietly and obediently, never forcing herself too much into the center of attention even if she can't help it. She feels preyed on when everyone is looking at her, but instead of island creatures or a few cruel individuals, they're just people with powers, just like her. Except they're not like her. She is separated because she is different and she knows that and, to be honest, that's a very unpleasant feeling. Why does she have to be seen as unpleasant, though? She's honest, for she's never had any reason to lie, and she's to-the-point, for she's never had any reason to wait. They praise her, yes, but why can't they like her, too?

Metahuman Abilities: Given her background, it's a wonder SHADR selected Ladybird for their pursuits - at least, it's a wonder until you get to see what she can do. While she came into the program with no traditional education or inclination to fight, her abilities come in a range. As noted already, her biological components allow her the ability to mildly shapeshift form, use her own body as a shield in its most solid state, and apply high temperature to just about anything. With this also comes the ability to light fires, but that's a bit of a given. Less anticipated, SHADR has discovered that she also has the ability to call forth and command corvids, and even when she's not actively doing this, they are irrevocably attracted to her, hence "Ladybird." In most instances, this causes their deaths because they're flying extraneous distances with no breaks into climates they aren't accustomed to, but that doesn't stop them. She can, to put it bluntly, "possess" them to see through the eyes of one or many, which ultimately landed her in intel. There is a very blaring downside to all of this: the birds, and her own body, are finely tuned to her psyche and respond in the same ways. Unpredictably, emotionally, intensely.