Zeal

Stock Photo as Avery Amanda Aaronson

Name: Avery Amanda Aaronson Codename: Zeal Faction: N/A Position: N/A Age: 21 Hometown: Madison, New York Gender: Female Height: 5'5" Build: Slender but fit Skin: Fair Hair: Honeyed brown Eyes: Hazel flecked with gold

Details

Background

Avery Amanda Aaronson was the only child of Adam and Alice. Her life was pretty normal until she was six years old, when tragedy struck with bitter cruelty. The Aaronson residence was the victim of a home invasion while Doctor Aaronson was out of town for a medical symposium. The trio of miscreants left Avery in a coma, and claimed her mother's life. Adam was devastated. When he learned that Avery would be paralyzed from the neck down even should she wake from the coma, he was galvanized to extreme action.

Avery ended up in a virtual reality loosely based on Edgar Rice Burroughs and other Hollow Earth stories. Raised as a huntress and heroic warrior, young Avery's mind in VR learned to master her greatest advantage - the ability to Walk the Space Between Breaths, in this fictional world Avery could teleport with great skill and power!

In the real world Doctor Aaronson tried everything he could to save his daughters body but couldn't do anything about crippling damage to her spine that would have left her paralyzed from the neck down. His solution was to clone her a new body, and work on transferring her consciousness to it at some later date once its accelerated growth finished. Sadly, he was not nearly wealthy enough to afford advanced VR and life support AND cloning, so he had to cut corners, and ended up using suspect materials from shady sources, materials that proved to be contaiminated. Worse, as part of the treatment he had the two bodies filtering each other's blood to help the new one build up immunities and to prep it for the transfer.

On the day the transfer was to take place some of his shady contacts breached the house, a second home invasion, and would have interrupted it had Doctor Aaronson not delayed them just long enough. What he couldn't anticipate was that the transfer would end up for a brief moment with his daughter's mind inhabiting both bodies — and the transfer device interacting along all the points of interconnection to create a massive explosion.

Avery woke in a hospital, not knowing where she was she found herself horribly weak, and ravenous. Eventually things got sorted out and she found she was an orphan, and spent half a year in physical therapy recovering. After that she paid her bills, paid off her father's debt and barely had enough to eke out an existence in this vastly different world.

Resolved to not squander the gifts she had been given, Avery works hard at her job, and helps others whenever she can. In her heart she hopes only to make her father proud and to do the right thing…always.

Powers

Alacrity: Avery has astonishingly rapid reaction times, literally able to snatch an arrow out of the air and possibly deflect bullets fired from no closer than about ten feet. Her perceptions are able to function normally when dealing with such things - she could, for example, see the individual beats of a humming bird's wings, or pick out the altered frames in a film with subliminal images embedded.

Balance: Avery's balance is nearly perfect. It is a trivial exercise for her to walk or even run a narrow ledge, and can almost without fail land on her feet after a fall. Under most circumstances she is not subject to motion sickness, or vertigo.

Teleport: Avery can teleport herself and others by stepping through micro-ruptures in space-time. This allows her to move instantly from one point to another - she thinks of this as 'Walking the Space Between Breaths'. She's limited to around eight hundred pounds total and cannot Walk Between with others or affect objects that she cannot herself touch directly. Avery can teleport unerringly line of sight, including via a live video feed, with no other range limitations.

Teleport Stunts: Avery has learned to perform several useful stunts based on her Walk Between ability.
* Anchor: At the price of her own ability to teleport Avery can prevent another she is touching from doing so. This is very taxing, however, and can only be sustained for a brief few seconds at most. This time may be extended if the target is particularly weak, but not by much, and may be impossible if they're particularly strong.
* Flicker-Dodge: If Avery is aware of an attack, she can flicker briefly between to at least mitigate a hit, often completely avoiding it. She does not move appreciably when so doing, she's simply there and gone and there again after the attack has (hopefully) missed. Area attacks are harder to avoid, but the mitigation is fully effective still. Flicker-Dodging and Shunting are not possible simultaneously for her.
* Memory: Through diligent practice and hard work Avery has trained her mind to store up to six locations for her Walk Between power. Avery can teleport to memorized locations without line of sight. She has four sites in memory as follows: Home, Work, Aldi (The only store she can afford to shop at!), and last but not least the Tolliver Free Clinic in case of emergency but also as a place she volunteers in her free time. It only takes a few minutes at a site to bind it into memory, and can unbind one at will.
* Shunts: Avery can reach or attack through tiny portals to affect points no more than fifty feet from her. Portals can appear at any angle or location desired within range and Avery can manifest up to three at a time. Melee range shunts are nearly effortless, beyond this they cause fatigue that increases greatly with range.
* Tracer: Avery can sense the destination of most teleportation effects she witnesses and can detect a spatial 'rift' in the wake of such for up to an hour. Tracing a rift's destination is not possible after more than a few minutes in most cases, though extraordinarily powerful or large effects might last longer. If Avery is able to trace the destination of a rift she can Walk Between to its terminus regardless of distance or familiarity, but cannot teleport to another dimension. Wake Rifts are not something one can see with the unaided eye, they are invisible perturbations left by a teleport that fade swiftly as time passes.

Skills

Athletics: Avery is a highly skilled acrobat and gymnast and can be considered an expert at parkour, moving towards true mastery. She can climb at great speed, taking advantage of the tiniest of handholds. Avery is completely ambidextrous, able to use either hand with equal facility.

Martial Arts: Avery has trained hard towards mastery of both Eskrima and Aikido to the equivalent of a Brown belt, or an advanced student working towards mastery.
* Aikido: Avery's Aikido training rounds out her fighting style with locking, evasion and redirection techniques using circular motions.
* Eskrima: Avery can fight with any combination of unarmed, blade, or stick attack and defense using either or both hands and feet with great facility. She has a strong stance and is hard to trip or move against her will.

Mind Shielding: Avery's mind is hard to influence due to the peculiar energies she wields and which infuse her, as well as discipline and focus attained through training. She can resist attempts to read her thoughts, control her mind or subvert her will, but is not able to wholly negate them under most circumstances.

Survivor: Avery can hunt and forage with great expertise, she is an expert tracker, can clean and dress her kills, can drinkable water and edible flora with skill She is capable of great stealth even when moving, though not when sprinting. She has a passing familiarity with medicinal plants and herbs, and can find shelter without trouble. She's also able to make fires with little or nothing to work with beyond sticks and tinder, can set snares and has great expertise at camouflage. Alert, she is always very much aware of her environment and constantly assessing it for threats and potential dangers.

Advantages

Small Inheritance: Avery was the sole inheritor of her father's estate, she works for a living and has a small amount of money in savings. Sadly, her fathers massive debts ate the bulk of her inheritance, and her own medical bills took the bulk of what was left over.

Armoured Costume: Zeal's armoured suit is formed of next generation armour weaves enhanced and augmented by limited hidden plating to protect vital areas. The suit provides resistance to small arms fire, bladed weaponry, and limited protection against blunt impacts. The hood of the suit has a wireless connection to the OracleNet with a HUD and provides some environmental filtering as well as the ability to see in low light conditions. Both of Zeal's forearms sport bracers designed to withstand penetration by even heavy calibre rounds, they are meant to allow her to deflect bullets provided they are shot from more than ten feet away.

Standard Kit: Zeal typically carries a number of knives on her person, two longer blades for close in fighting, and several throwing knives. Additional weaponry includes a pair of collapsible eskrima sticks that mount on her bracers, along with smoke pellets in a variety of colors stored along with other useful items in the various pouches on her utility belt such as first aid supplies, a grapnel gun, and lots of energy bars.

Oracle: Barbara Gordon has taken Avery under wing as a protege, indeed, Avery has sworn personal fealty to her as her Leige Lady, much to the Batgirl's bemusement. Avery only knows Batgirl in her costumed identity and has not met her as Barbara, nor does she have access to the Clocktower at this time. It is through this relationship, which includes training and other assistance, that Avery has her new costume and upgraded weapons and other gear.

Flaws

Brave New World: Avery is a woman out of time, a throwback to a world of swords and sorcery that never was. She's still rather unfamiliar with modern society, pop culture, fashions, and her manners are very prim but out of date. Further, she clings to a moral code with absolute devotion. She will never lie, though she can remain silent. She will never steal, and she will always keep her given word, though it is her choice whether it is given or not. She will never betray a trust and must always help those in need of succor.

Energetic Metabolism: The energy that fuels Avery's powers comes from her own body. Day to day she manages to get by on about twice what a normal person needs to eat, but the use of her powers dramatically increases the need for caloric intake. The greater the exertion, the greater the need for calories. This is usually not a huge concern, she tends to carry energy bars and hard candies with her at all times but should she ever be stuck in a situation with no access to food, she could literally cannibalize her own muscles and the like quite quickly if she uses her powers. Even without power usage she will starve to death twice as fast as a normal person.

Contacts

• Contact 1: Something about them.
• Contact 2: Something about them.

Gallery

Logs

2020-08-13 - Setting Up
Summary: Knowing where and when Klaue is holding a meet is a big thing. Log Info: Storyteller: None...
(avery-aaronson colossus gwen-stacy klavdiya-vasiliev mari-mccabe peter-parker plot spirit-of-anansi)

2020-08-09 - Teach Me
Summary: Zeal goes seeking Batgirl for assistance Log Info: Storyteller: None Date: Sun Aug 9...
(avery-aaronson barbara-gordon plot)

2020-08-09 - Dungeoneering
Summary: More delving into the tunnels beneath the Disaster Zone Log Info: Storyteller: None Date:...
(avery-aaronson klavdiya-vasiliev mari-mccabe peter-parker plot spirit-of-anansi)

2020-08-05 - Rolling Over
Summary: Another trip into subways reveals where the drugs are coming from at least. Log Info:...
(avery-aaronson brandon-davis klavdiya-vasiliev mari-mccabe peter-parker plot spirit-of-anansi)

2020-07-30 - Transformative
Summary: Tracking missing people into the Subways, the heroes make a horrific discovery Log Info:...
(avery-aaronson hod klavdiya-vasiliev mari-mccabe peter-parker plot spirit-of-anansi)

2020-07-23 - Boom Goes The Door
Summary: A foray into the subway beneath the Disaster Zone leads to an interesting discovery Log...
(alison-blair avery-aaronson brandon-davis klavdiya-vasiliev mari-mccabe peter-parker plot spirit-of-anansi)

2020-07-17 - CLAUE-strophobia?
Summary: Mari McCabe, Avery and Spider-Man meet in the Disaster Zone, plans are made to go after the...
(avery-aaronson mari-mccabe peter-parker plot spirt-of-anansi)

2020-07-15 - You Know What We Want
Summary: Cleaning up the Disaster Zone is not easy Log Info: Storyteller: None Date: Wed Jul 15...
(alison-blair avery-aaronson klavdiya-vasiliev mari-mccabe peter-parker plot spirit-of-anansi)

2020-07-10 - Don't Annoy The Natives
Summary: Mari's efforts in the DZ are interrupted Log Info: Storyteller: None Date: Fri Jul 10...
(avery-aaronson klavdiya-vasiliev mari-mccabe peter-parker plot rory spirit-of-anansi)

2020-07-04 - House of Mirrors
Summary: A House of Mirrors that gives a true reflection? Log Info: Storyteller: None Date: Sat Jul...
(alison-blair avery-aaronson dani-moonstar greer-nelson gwen-stacy isis-marik peter-parker plot priscilla-kitaen shayera-hol)

2020-05-01 - Hard Khor Cuisine
Summary: Peter seeks out Luke's, following up on an invitation from Hod, and finds surprises on the...
(anya-corazon avery-aaronson hod peter-parker social)

2020-04-05 - Those Nosy Bat-People!
Summary: All Ambrose wants to do is get away with his goods! Avery's arrival almost negates this...
(ambrose avery-aaronson social)

2020-03-21 - InDOMEitable
Summary: With a distraction in place, Agent Grey, Samurai and Avery have to take out the crystal....
(avery-aaronson barbara-gordon dylan-grey gorgon ken-harada plot)

2020-03-16 - Suited Out
Summary: Backdated Scene: Batgirl surprises Zeal and they discuss her history. Log Info:...
(avery-aaronson barbara-gordon social)

2020-03-14 - What A Distraction
Summary: In order to allow part of the group to search for the crystal, a distraction is needed. And...
(avery-aaronson barbara-gordon gorgon greer-nelson hercules hisako-ichiki plot)

2020-02-29 - Unpaid Dues
Summary: Silver Samurai to the rescue when Avery's past comes back to haunt her. Log Info:...
(avery-aaronson ken-harada plot)

2020-02-29 - Compounded Interest
Summary: Silver Samurai, and Batgirl battle the Geist in defense of a badly beat up Avery Aaronson....
(avery-aaronson barbara-gordon ken-harada plot)

2020-02-15 - Tangling Slant
Summary: Three Spiders and a Hobo-Bat encounter a demon cat possessed Domino and end up nearly in a...
(anya-corazon avery-aaronson domino gwen-stacy peter-parker social)

2020-02-10 - Distraction and Abstraction
Summary: Parkour in the DZ for fun and bruises! Long talk about what it means to be real between...
(avery-aaronson shayera-hol social)

2020-02-02 - A Little Short Sighted
Summary: Continuing their journey inside the barrier, Samurai, Zeal and Batgirl find a new ally....
(avery-aaronson barbara-gordon gorgon ken-harada plot)

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