Clarice Brimsey: Masochisim Tango

BIOGRAPHY

Clarice did not have a normal childhood.

She grew up in a cult  The Arcane Heavens Sanctuary. Lead by Pastor Prince Hollington. A superhuman with the power to read and control minds with his voice. His power and charisma allowed him to gather a large following, taking over a remote area in the Midwest. People tried to resist but nobody could sneak up on him with his telepathy and all he needed was a few words to make them stop and obey him. Anybody that he didn't stop on his own would be grabbed by his followers and either murdered or dragged him to be mind controlled.

Of course his power alone wouldn't be enough to control everybody, so a drug was developed by his chemists,  Fairy Tale, a euphoric and hallucinogenic drug designed to eradicate/suppress negative memories and making them easier to control by the preacher. It is based on a combination of drugs including MDMA (aka: "Ecstasy" or "Molly"), Phencyclidine, which causes hallucinations, distorted perception to sound, and sometimes violent behavior, Moon Flowers, Henbane; AKA Hyoscyamus niger, part of the nightshade family. In ancient times, Henbane was used frequently, either as a poison or recreational drug. It is native to the Mediterranean countries and parts of Asia, but was introduced to other regions of the world, including North America. All parts of this plant are very toxic, and botanists advise using gloves when handling the herb. Along with its use as a potent toxin, the plant can also cause the user to experience vivid hallucinations, and give them a "floaty feeling". These hallucinations are so strong that the experience is akin to a fever dream and other drugs.

The drugs were regularly provided to the followers and they were used to keep them doped out of their minds and even easier to control.

So basically, you have a large cult of people drugged into obedience, hallucinating that everything is wonderful and bright and happy, being trained by militia fanatics into killing machines, all being watched over by a charismatic 'leader' who can make you do anything he says and will know ahead of time if you're plotting against him. When he speaks, it doesn't matter how absurd or out of character the demand is. He doesn't have to break down any mental defenses first. You will do it or die trying. Oh yeah, and they'd made the drug into a projectile injectible, like arrows or bullets coated with it and they were even working on dirty bombs of the stuff

Now, back then, Clarice Brimsey didn't even know she had a power. Still doesn't. Yet. As far as she knows, she just grew immune to the drug. Even when she was given stronger doses, her developing healing factor could purge it from her system. Finally able to think clearly, and have fun with the implications there, she was left in a confused state for awhile as she drifted through her days and tried to figure out what was going on around her. She still took her 'medicine' with her family but it just wasn't doing anything for her anymore. Oh yeah and she got a good look at her drugged and hallucinating family. It was as horrifying as you'd expect.

So she had to learn to act happy and loopy like everyone else. Eventually deciding to experiment, she began slowly diluting the drugs her family was taking to gradually ween them off of it, to make sure that SHE wasn't going crazy. Her family's senses slowly returned to them but it was a steep uphill climb what with the drug being everywhere in their town. Well, that and everyone taking the preacher's words as law. Confused as she was about the effects of the drug, even Clarice didn't wish to stand against him. She was so sure that what he said was right. There was no way that he could be wrong. He was so nice to them. He was so sweet. So kind. So charismatic. So right! How could he be wrong? If the medicine did something to people, then, surely, surely, he was doing it for the right reasons! He loved them! He accepted them! He was going to lead them into paradise!

Wwwwweeeelllll.....turns out that, lasting telepathic alterations, such as constant mind control or erasing memories, to a person's mind leave "scars", potentially leading to symptoms similar to a severe neurological disorder, including headaches and progressive amnesia, but evolved humans possessing the ability of healing or regeneration can counter memory loss by healing the scars. Which is where her secondary power waking up came in: Wound Transferal. The damage done to her brain gradually healed but it had to transfer to someone.

Guess who got hit with it?

Suddenly, the previously untouchable preacher started developing some painful headaches, facial tics, fainting spells and started gradually acting more erratically. He still preached his holy words to his cult, but his power was on the fritz now and sometimes not acting as it should.

As Clarice continued trying to ween her family off of the drug in secret, he got himself checked out and when the results came back he was shocked to discover the damage being done to his brain. Convinced this was one of God's tests, he exercised patience and was careful to only use his powers when he needed to as he tried to figure out the truth of what was going on. He had his top men interview people around town and Clarice desperately tried to help her family to hide. Anyone suspected of being possibly responsible was restrained and taken to a private talk with the preacher. Of course, since his mind control wasn't acting as it was supposed to, this was pretty much everybody who was now acting crazy due to being on the drug without his mind control to steady them. Clarice's family were able to hide more or less in plain sight due to how many people they had to sort through.

Eventually however, Clarice was randomly grabbed off the street and dragged off to speak with the preacher. This was where things got dicey. She was subjected to a terrifying interrogation experience just based on the possibility that she might know something. It was all for nothing though, as even she genuinely didn't know what was going on. And using his powers on her only caused them to backfire on him further.

The continued usage of his power only enhanced the damage being done to his brain which caused him to begin more acting crazier and crazier and he gradually became even more divorced from reality than before. A degenerative brain condition in the one of the most powerful brains in the world. Quite a combo.

Even worse, his soldiers still hung onto his insane ranting words even as they began to fear him. Remember Azula's breakdown? It was a lot like that.

As the situation in the town began escalating between the drugged out civilians, the insane ranting of a psionic madman and the trigger happy jumpy militia, Clarice and her family got in touch with some civilians from the outskirts of the town and a group of civilians who'd arrived to try and find evidence of the cult. They sat down together and tried to think of a plan. In the past, they never would've even considered fighting back against him, even leaving aside what the drugs and his army, he was so powerful that they were just too damn scared to fight him. But now? Now, he's falling apart at the seams. His men, who were normally organized, are simultaneously ready for war and completely disorganized due to the contradicting orders being handed down and his powers going crazy. His cult is so stuck on the drug that they can't help him.

They can fight him.

They can win.

The preacher had the drugged out civilians gathered up and he gave the sermon of a lifetime, or at least attempted to, but with his mind falling apart and his powers out of control, it degraded into his deranged ranting and howling and screaming at them everyone and what was once blind obedience turned to abject terror from everyone present and his power started going crazy as his voice became more unhinged and legiony, as if there was something else speaking through him now, something wrong, with completely inhuman roaring and growling.

The last straw was when the pseudo-resistance hit them all at once and attacked his soldiers who were in no mental condition to fight at the time and were completely disorganized and they were either restrained or just flat out ran for the hills with everyone else.

He completely broke and screamed at them as his powers went out of control.

"qUiEt! QuIeT! qUiEt aLl oF YoU! jUsT DiE! dIe! I'Ll kIlL YoU. i'lL KiLl yOu. I'Ll kIlL YoU. i'lL KiLl yOu. I'Ll kIlL YoU. i'lL KiLl yOu. I'Ll kIlL YoU. i'lL KiLl yOu!"

Everyone was hit with horrific mental agony even as they began violently attacking each other with anything they had on hand. And they were several armed men and women there.

Clarice tried desperately to help them all but it was just too much for her alone and the preacher rambled and raved that he was the voice of the lord while all of this was going on.

With no other options, Clarice forced herself towards him, pushing through the wind he was generating to keep her back, pushing through the crippling mental agony and forcing herself towards him. Even as blood dripped from her nose, her ears, her eyes, she pushed herself towards him and his rantings finally descended into blind screaming rage as everyone collapsed from his powers crushing them with pain and seizing up their motor functions. All but Clarice who forced herself to keep moving through it, aided by her body healing and rehealing her wounds until she finally reached him and grabbed his shirt. She didn't have much of plan at this point, so she settled on just punching him in the face and throwing him off of his pedestal.

She collapsed against the pedestal and passed out as her internal injuries were transferred to the preacher.

Clarice woke up later in the back of an ambulance with her aunt and uncle.

Time passed and they eventually recovered in a hospital and received physical and psychological treatment for everything they'd gone through.While Clarice's aunt and uncle and some of the civilians were able to recover from it, her parents had to stay at an advanced mental health facility with the rest for further treatment.

Clarice also learned that the majority of the cult had been arrested and that the Preacher had died from his bizarre wounds and his brain basically melting into mush.

The rest of the cult was either dead or scattered to the winds.

Clarice's own memory of the downfall of the preacher was fuzzy at best but she at least remembered punching him.

She spent a long time with her parents until they were able to recover to an extent and hug their daughter.

Once they recovered enough to speak again they told Clarice to go with her aunt and uncle and set up a new life for herself, to find friends, to find happiness to enjoy her freedom. They would be fine. They could recover safely here and they would be in touch with her. They didn't want her to be tied down now that she could finally be free.

After a long discussion, Clarice agreed but she kept in touch with them every single day and she still does as her parents recover.

After bouncing from city to city to city to city they eventually ended up in Shepard.

Tragically, the whole nightmare caused Clarice to develop Theophobia, the fear of gods or religion. The origin of the word theo is Greek (meaning god or deity) and phobia is Greek (meaning fear). Theophobia is also related to Zeusophobia (fear of God or gods).

It is generally accepted that phobias arise from a combination of external events (i.e. traumatic events) and internal predispositions (i.e. heredity or genetics). Many specific phobias can be traced back to a specific triggering event, usually a traumatic experience at an early age. Social phobias and agoraphobia have more complex causes that are not entirely known at this time. It is believed that heredity, genetics, and brain chemistry combine with life-experiences to play a major role in the development of phobias and as such she tends to avoid religious discussions, churches and preachers and has an unfortunate tendency to freeze up around them.

POWERS/ABILITIES AND POWER EVOLUTIONS

POWERS

RAPID CELLULAR REGENERATION: the ability to regenerate at a super human speed. In addition to the basic stem-cell division and differentiation present in all human beings, the DNA Alternate with this ability is capable of dedifferentiation. Normal specialized cells may revert to stem cells in the event of physical damage, and these stem cells can then attach to the damaged area and go through the basic stem-cell division and differentiation. Through this process, the Alternate can heal rapidly, and even regenerate damaged organs and lost limbs.

This ability is involuntary, and exhibits properties unique even to Alternates with biological mutations. The Alternate regenerates in seconds what humans may take months or years to fully regenerate. This regeneration appears to flawlessly replicate the damaged organ or missing limb, while human repairs are often imperfect.

The regeneration leads to cellular rejuvenation, a form of biological immortality for the Alternate. Their cells that degrade are rapidly regenerated, meaning that once they complete puberty, they will not age.

Another phenomenon associated with this regeneration is its effect on humans. The blood of a regenerating Alternate is accepted by any blood type because it possesses the properties of both positive and negative O blood type. The blood is can be transfused to any blood type, and it can cause spontaneous regeneration in the recipient for a short duration after the transfusion. While the healing is permanent, after a short time, the recipient will lose the ability to spontaneously regenerate.

DAMAGE REFLECTION: Whenever Clarice takes damage, the damage is transferred to whomever is responsible or 'targeted' by Clarice while her body heals the damage that she has taken.

This power can not only reflect attacks from others, but inflicting one's self can also direct the damage to whoever is targeted by Clarice in her mind. The damage that is received is in the same location of where the damage was dealt. The damage that is reflected is not what was dealt physically, but rather "the level of damage" that was received, i.e If a man in a suit of armor attacked, and his attack was reflected, the amount of reflected damage he would receive would be irrelevant to how well his armor can defend against physical attacks. It is theorized by Miss Cody that this power might involve localized space/time alteration to transfer the wounds she's received onto a target or a form of unconscious ballistic telekinesis mixed with hemokinesis.

POWER EVOLUTION 1
WOUND INDUCEMENT: The first evolution of her powers down the road and an evolution of her damage reflection ability, allows Clarice to inflict/re-open wounds, both mental and physical, on other people through enough concentration. It can also be used to open the wounds of non-living objects such as metal or concrete, which can cause roofs and walls to crumble and collapse due to "wounds" caused in construction. This power takes a prolonged amount of time for Clarice to get a handle on it once it wakes up, with a lengthy sub-plot that involves her learning to harness and control it.

POWER EVOLUTION 2
EMPATHIC HEALING: A lighter evolution of her power and an extension of the healing aspects of her powers, it is essentially using her power in reverse, healing others' emotional and physical wounds and burdens, but the pain of the injury will also carry over to the user in terms of psychic pain and physical wounds. This power offers a comfortable touch and a healing means that is otherwise beyond the ones that heal physical injuries, since they lack the power to heal emotional traumas.The first time this power activates, it does so in a moment of  great emotional distress and while she's able to save the person she wanted, it also knocks her out for awhile. This power also takes a great deal of training to figure out but she eventually gets a handle on it and she starts spending time around sick people or at hospitals to help heal others.

Clarice eventually learns that she can combine this power with the others to heal the damage from her allies, transfer them to herself and then re-direct all of that to their enemies.

 ULTIMATE EVOLUTIONS!

LIFE GIVER: The ultimate evolution level of Clarice's powers allows her to endow anything her hands touch with life, which translates into a variety of different effects.

The first aspect of her power she discovers is the power to convert inorganic objects into living organisms, be it an animal or a plant.

For instance, she'll be able to transform a piece of luggage into a frog or a lighter into a rose.

The lifeforms would be able to persist for a long time and even a significant distance from her.
She can also freely cancel it and return an object to its original inorganic state.

The speed of the transformation varies wildly, depending on the desired form, suggesting that the transformation time is proportional to the complexity of the life form she would create.

Even when she later discovers this power, she would discover that, initially anyway, even if she produces small life forms (frogs, snakes, flies) and plants...she would be left with little or no control.

Thus, when she creates an animal, she would have to guess what the animal is likely to do in order to take advantage of it. Since the animals would not always act the way she predicts, using them can prove detrimental.

Like Clarice herself, when any of her created life forms are attacked, the damage would be reflected back at the attacker. The transformation also takes the form of a fetus growing out of the first object into the new object.

Life Shot: The next higher level evolution of her powers can also be applied to living individuals, causing their thought processes to greatly accelerate.

While it heightens the senses and brainspeed of her victims when struck, this means that, unless their body can keep up with the sudden acceleration, it also means that the then-defenseless body will feel a much more acute and intense pain over a much longer period of time when injury is taken.

Through further evolution of this power, Clarice realizes that she could also potentially even speed up an already-existing life form's lifeforce, causing them to age and degrade rapidly.

Flesh and Organ Creation: As an evolution of her other powers, Clarice discovers that she would be able to create singular body parts and organs out of inorganic matter.

Thus granting her the power to further heal and treat gruesome wounds through various means.

Life Sensor: One of the final evolutions of her power would be being able to sense life over a wide area.