ALLEN
Story: He's a Class A (a.k.a. "World Class) esper weapon. Up there with Lilith, Raven, and Shion in regards to power level.
Description: Allen stands over six feet in height with a slender, but well-muscled build. His blond hair is long and flowing, his eyes dark green, his features handsome to the point of beautiful. All in all, he is the classic bishonen male archetype.
ATHENA ASAMIYA
Story: One of the many low-powered esper weapons in the world, Athena claims to be Japanese, and her appearance tends to bear her claim out, although everyone has to wonder where the name "Athena" came from—not that it matters much. Her esper talents are typical for someone of her power level, combining the ability to create defensive walls of force with physical force blasts, raw telekinesis, telekinetically-boosted leaping, and accelerated reflexes and reaction times. She also combines her knowledge of the martial arts with esper-assisted punches and kicks to wreck havoc on anyone who challenges her to hand-to-hand combat.
Along with her partner (and lover) Sie Kensou, she works the Pacific Rim, performing odd jobs of all sorts from Japan to Australia.
Description: For someone who's seen action up and down the Pacific Rim for the past several years, Athena is quite young. She says she got her start when she was 18, running the streets of Mega-Tokyo, singing and dancing in nightclubs in addition to her esper work. At any rate, she's in her early twenties, with an attractive face and athletic figure. Her hair is a dark purple color and hangs down to mid-back. She normally dresses in outfits of red and white, and never seems to dress the same way twice.
AZUMI KIRIBAYASHI
Story: Azumi is a miko, or Shinto shrine maiden, living in (or near) Mega-Tokyo. She lives in and tends to a Shinto shrine, situated on one of the few plots of greenery left in the city. Naturally, she practices Shinto herself, and is very much a throwback to a far earlier age. Azumi is also a powerful esper, mixing telekinetic and telepathic abilities. She can move objects with her mind, create impenetrable telekinetic walls, unleash bolts of telekinetic force, read minds, telepathically search for a desired mind, communicate telepathically, and occasionally has been known to have glimpses of future events.
Aside from her esper talents, Azumi also practices such traditional skills as the naginata, the bow, dance, various musical instruments, and so on. She supplements her meager income by teaching the naginata, bow, calligraphy, and traditional forms of dance to small groups of students—usually the children of corporate executives who want a veneer of traditionalism smeared over their children's upbringing. On the other hand, Azumi herself wants nothing to do with the corporations beyond her classroom encounters, although her impressive esper powers certainly would be a desirable asset to any of their operations.
Azumi is soft-spoken and polite, and tends to ignore those who are loud, rude, and arrogant. She doesn't like to resort to her esper powers, but will if pressed, as some corporate muscle-boys have found out, much to their detriment.
Description: Of average height for a 21st century Japanese woman, Azumi has a slender build, and keeps fit through practice of the bow, the naginata, dance, as well as the duties of maintaining the shrine. She dresses in the traditional clothing of a miko at all times, and often raises some eyebrows when she goes into the city proper. Still in her twenties, she has brown eyes, attractive features, and straight black hair (or dark blue) that falls almost to her ankles.
NORIKO KOBAYASHI
Story: Noriko is an officer in Mega-Tokyo's Enhanced Special Weapons and Tactics (a.k.a. ESWAT) division, handling cases of an unusual nature deemed to be outside the capabilities of regular police officers. A powerful esper, she is capable of a wide range of effects, including straight telekinesis, defensive telekinetic shields and walls, a deadly telekinetic "rupture", and even the ability to suppress another's esper powers. In addition, she's known to have minor telepathic abilities, and can communicate telepathically, detect hostile thoughts, and seek people via her telepathy.
Personality-wise, Noriko is a very detached individual. For her, business comes first, and that is that, end of story. Thus, she comes across as very cold and impersonal, to the extent her departmental nickname is "The Ice Princess" (never, ever said to her face!). She tends to not show much emotion when on duty, presenting an image of perfect efficiency while working. In keeping with this philosophy, Noriko takes great pains to ensure that her uniform is always properly arrayed, with all accouterments polished, pressed and shined. In addition, Noriko's devotion to duty means her private life is devoid of any outside influences. Thus, Noriko has avoided developing a close relationship with anyone as she feels any form of romantic affair would only interfere with her work, and besides—there will be time enough for such things "later."
Description: For all her impressive esper powers and impassive demeanor, Noriko is surprisingly non-threatening in appearance. She is short, standing only 5'3", and slim, scarcely weighing 105 pounds, with a trim figure. Noriko is very pale-skinned, with green eyes and short, blue-black, shoulder length hair. All in all, Noriko is physically quite attractive, but her distant personality offsets this greatly.
When on duty, Noriko wears the standard ESWAT dress uniform, which consists of low black boots, a dark blue, knee-length armored jacket, dark blue trousers, a white shirt, red tie and white gloves. Over this goes a white gunbelt holding her pistol, badge, restraints, and other equipment. Off duty, Noriko dresses in conservative Western fashions, as well as more traditional dress. At all times, she wears only the barest minimum of makeup, jewelry and other accessories.
ONIKO O'BRIEN
Story: None as of yet.
Description: None as of yet. She is of Japanese/Irish mix with green eyes and straight black hair with a hint of red to it.
PAULA MACARTHUR LAURS
Story: Paula is a corporate esper working for the Shiroko-Tsuhi Corporation. A native of Texas, she was born in 2007, at the height of the civil unrest in the United States of America and two years before the Second Civil War. During this period of riots, fighting and hardship, Paula lost her parents and her home. She ended up in one of many orphanages run by the nascent Confederated States of America. It was here that she was found by agents of the Shiroko-Tsuhi Corporation, who discovered in Paula a significant epser potential. Adopting her as a ward of the company, Paula left Texas in 2021 to become ST's first "esper weapon." What with Raven having left Shiroko-Tsuhi, she is now their only esper weapon.
Although she is a powerful esper, most of Paula's abilities stem from raw power usage, as opposed to any real skill. She tends to utilize brute strength to solve problems, with a wide assortment of force blasts at her command. More subtile skills, such as simple telekinesis seem beyond her at the present. Paula's normal attitude is one of arrogance. She is confident that her powers will carry her through any situation she may face, and thus scorns such equipment as armor or weapons (although she will carry a large revolver since all Texan's carry such items). Paula is carries a big chip on her shoulder and more then willing to prove that she is stronger, faster, and more skilled then any other psychokenetic. She is also fairly self-centered and more concerned with her own well-being than thinking of others.
Description: Paula stands a close to 5'9" and weighs a well-muscled 140 lbs. She has a well-defined, but attractive build, and wears her blonde hair straight and trimmed at the shoulder blades. She has no real field uniform, but has a noted taste for men's clothing, and tends to wear fatigue pants and a tank top when on operations. As a native of Texas, Paula also like to wear such items as cowboy-styled hats and boots as much as possible, and has even been know to combine such items with formal dress suits.
RYDER
Story: Ryder is Zero Zone born and bred. His parents came to Neo York as refugees, fleeing the chaos that had resulted from the intense fighting along the disputed border between the United States and the Confederated States. Arriving in Neo York, his family found themselves unable to find shelter, and were eventually shipped across the East River into Brooklyn, to join numerous other displaced citizens. Soon after, the city government declared the entire area a Zero Zone, cutting off the populace from any possible assistance.
Life in the new Zero Zone was hard. Shelter was plentiful, but such basic necessities as food and medicine were scare. Anarchy reigned, with smash-and-grab gangs taking all they could, burning and looting wantonly. Outside aid, usually in the form of food and clothing was sporadic. Eventually, the survivors began to band together, forming a new community amid the ruins of old Brooklyn and Queens.
This was Ryder's world while growing up. His parents managed to get by growing food in a small plot of land and performing odd jobs here and there. Although life was hard, they managed to live fairly well.
When Ryder was 16, disaster struck. A gang from deep within the Zone had gone on the rampage, burning and terrorizing their way across the more civilized sections of the Zone. His family was caught in their path. Ryder hopes that what happened was over quickly, but fears this wasn't so. With his parents and sister dead and his life effectively destroyed, Ryder became a loner, drifting from place to place in the Zone. His latent psychokinetic powers manifested to their full potential at this time, allowing Ryder to sell his services to a large assortment of employers. Now, Ryder spends his time wandering almost aimlessly, with no set direction to his life.
Description: Ryder is of above-average height, with a trim, athletic build. He has dark eyes and straight black hair that is constantly falling into his eyes. Ryder's usual costume consists of a dark red biker's jacket, pants and riding boots. His pistol is holstered at the hip, and the knife is secured into the top of a boot.
RAN (Japanese for "chaos")
Story: Ran is, without a doubt, the most powerful psychokinetic on the planet. His exact origins are unclear, shrouded in mystery, rumor, and speculation. He may be a product of psychokinetic experimentation, as his initial appearance coincides with the destruction of a psychokinetic research lab in Japan. In any case, Ran is a highly feared denizen of the Neo York Zero Zone, and even the merest rumor of his arrival is enough to send most people into a blind panic. Even Shion, who possesses a great deal of telekinetic power herself, is said to fear him.
Simply put, Ran is power. There seems to be nothing he cannot do. He has been known to swat vector thrust gunships out of the air, crush tanks with a glance, and teleport vast distances (rumor has it he can go from the Earth to the Moon in one jump). There is strong evidence that his powers have made him far more than human, and that he may no longer be subject to such needs as eating, sleeping, or even aging.
Description: For all his power, Ran is not very physically imposing. He stands about 5'10" and weighs 160 pounds or so, with a thin but well-muscled build. His black hair is worn long and is usually wild and unkempt. Ran dresses in what ever he can find, but prefers to wear a simple outfit consisting of biker's boots, jeans and a plain T-shirt. If found in his depressive personality, Ran will act almost cowardly and inverted, trying to avoid people. When in his manic state, he exudes a forceful, dominating presence that is very hard to ignore.
SIE KENSOU
Story: [I think Sie should be made Chinese (and get a name change), so we can have a native Hong Kong esper. If so, story will follow.]
Description: Sie is about the same age and height as Athena, and as the same general athletic build (they do make a cute couple). He keeps his black hair cropped short, and tends to dress in dark blue and black. A favorite outfit is blue trousers, black turtleneck, and blue jacket.
SHION NYS (commonly called "The Empress")
Story: As the most powerful stable psychokinetic in the world, Shion's origins are quite humble. Born to a Chicago autoworker who lost his job when his company merged with a Japanese firm, Shion spent her early years in rather mundane middle-class surroundings. Her father's job loss affected him greatly; he took to drinking heavily and frequently raged against the world's mega-corporations. This attitude, whether she will admit it or not, significantly influenced Shion's opinions and ideas about the mega-corporations later in her life.
Forced onto the streets of the Chicago Metroplex after her father died from alcoholism and her mother vanished, Shion and her sister Marta lived a very precarious life for several years. Frequently without food or shelter, the two did what ever they could to survive. Eventually, Shion's psychokinetic abilities manifested to their full potential, and Shion began to use them to her advantage, hiring herself out as a mercenary to larger and larger corporations. Now, she has become quite wealthy and is well known as a solo operative. Traveling in the highest levels of society, her skills and power are very much in demand, and there is nothing that Shion would like better than to keep it that way.
Shion's powers are quite impressive. She can create a wide variety of psychokinetic effects, including powerful force blasts, defensive telekinetic walls, flight, teleportation, and so on. Her esper powers have also given her superhuman strength, putting her on par with the average cyborg. It is quite possible she has other, as yet unseen, powers.
Description: Shion is tall and long-legged, standing just over 6 feet in height. Her weight is roughly 170 pounds, giving her an athletic build. Certainly, Shion's most striking feature is her hair, which is snow white in color and falls in a thick wavy mass to just past her knees. Her cold gray eyes enhance rather than subtract from her extremely attractive features.
Always concerned about appearances, Shion takes great pains to be as well-dressed as possible at all times. When meeting with corporate clients, she dresses in the finest and latest fashions available. Usually, the exact selection will depend on the nature of the meeting, thus, she might be found wearing a low-cut evening dress, a formal business suit, or even a traditionally fashioned kimono.
When on a mission, or if expecting combat, Shion dresses in a somewhat more practical manner. Her costume consists of a black bodysuit, boots and gloves. Over this she wears a white clamshell vest. Attached to the shoulder plates of the armor is a long, double-layered, ankle-length cloak. The cloak is gray with black trim. She keeps a pistol holstered at her hip, while a sword is set into a sheath that attaches to the back of her armor.
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